Aloha Gang....Well first off, I hope you all are in good health and spirits today...Yesterday, we suffered a rare 0-4 day, as opportunities presented themselves several times to the teams we backed...but like always in a loss, the losing team just simply failed to take advantage of them....Like the saying goes about Opportunities...they are never lost, it is just passed on to the next person or team that is able to take advantage of them when they do appear....Anyways, that was yesterday, and I am focused on today.....
Speaking of Opportunities...Today, I have isolated Two Games that I feel are Great Opportunities for ALL of Us to Bank Big On ....These Two plays comes straight out of the WAC Conf...and these two I have also qualified to be worthy of being a BIG GAME PLAY selection for me...These BIG GAME PLAYS are again the Best Plays I got...so I am very confident in these them coming on home Big Time for us today.....This is the first time that I will be releasing two BIG GAME PLAYS in Football on the same day, but just like in CBB where I released more than one BIG GAME PLAY, today is simply another one of those Special Big Saturdays....and I am simply loving it Baby!.....Ok, so now you know whats on the upcoming menu for the day....What do you say we get this Big Saturday Party Started in a Big Frickin Way already......LETS ROCK-N-ROLL BIG TIME BABY!....AWWWRIIGHT!
**BIG GAME PLAY---WAC GAME OF THE MONTH PLAY ON:
LA TECH -2.5
Wow, if you told a lot of the so called pre-season experts that these two teams would be sitting in the upper sections of the WAC Conf at this point in the season,...I think they would of laugh their asses off at you and also ask you for a hit of whatever you were smoking..LOL.....No one expected these two teams to shake up the WAC Conf like they had done in these past few weeks...These two teams are definately playing above themselves right now...and both of their successes can be somewhat credited to new Coaches, who took over and immediately stopped most of the bleeding from last year...In addition, both of these teams can also thank the play of their SR Stars coming up with another big year again so far, as well....Anyways, only one team will come out of this sitting very pretty in the WAC Conf lead, not to mention, also for that highly sought after season ending Bowl Game...I feel that the Bulldogs of La Tech is the better team between the two, and the reason I listed below is why I see them getting another solid win at home, as well as, giving me another solid BIG GAME PLAY EZ Winner to enjoy..
Key Advantage #1 : The second coming of Barry Sanders....in RB Ryan Moats!
Yes, that is right the second coming of Barry Sanders....This doesnt at all surprise me that Moats is being considered Sanders like in his running and what he is able to do, like Barry did, when he has the ball in his hand....All Moats has done to since his days in HS till now is try to completely mimick the running style, work ethic, and even also the jersy number of Barry Sanders...In fact, before every game...Moats will watch Sander highlight tapes, which allows him to visualize and focused on doing the exact same things that Barry Sanders did...So far, I have to say that it is rubbing off on him...and propelling him to be recognized again as one of the nations Top RB's, while also leading La Tech's ground attack to rank 21st in the nation..
What also substantiates his effective abilities at running the ball, can be seen by looking at who he has been able to efficiently run it on....For instance, vs the 4th ranked Miami Hurricanes (Total Def ranked 8th..Run Def ranked 17th giving up only 3.1 ypc)...Moats was able to gain 87 yards on 14 carries for 6.2 ypc average, and a long run of 21 yards.....Vs 11th ranked Tenn (40th in Tot Def...25th ranked in Run Def allowing just 3.1 ypc)...Moats was able to rush for 104 yards on 21 carries for 5 ypc average, 1 TD, and a long run of 37 yards....Vs 17th ranked Fresno St (41st in Tot Def...27th in Run Def allowing only 3.5 ypc)...Moats rushed for 242 yards on 34 attempts for 7.1 ypc average, a long of 83 yards, and 4 TDs....Vs 3rd ranked Auburn...Moats only ran the ball 3 times for 4 yards, with a long of 4 yards...due to being injuried....Against La Tech's 3 non-ranked opponents, Moats rushed for an Whopping average of 233 ypg and a Whopping 7.9 ypc average....Oh Boy, Utep qualifies as another non-ranked opponent...
Others solid stats that Moats has acquired..is he was the first RB this year to break the 1,000 yard barrier....He is currently leading the nation in Rushing yards with 1,114....Moats is ranked third in the nation with yards per game rushing, averaging 159.1....Moats is in the top in the nation for RBs with his average per a rush total at 6.9....Moats also leads all RBs in the Nation in TDs with 12 on the year so far...BTW, he is only second to Hawaii's QB Timmy Chang in this category with 13 TDs on the year....
Key Advantage #2: Utep's pourous Run Defense...
Ok, this is one team whose stats especially on Defense you will need to look into deeper in order for you to see that the Miner's high ranking in the Nation vs the Run, is completely bogus and doesnt represent a true description of their defensive strength vs the run....First off, Utep hasnt yet faced a Top Notch RB of Moats caliber yet this season....So their ranking of 32nd nationally vs the Run, which is btw above Nationally ranked Auburn is in no way an accurate statistic to go by...Just based on them being ranked above a team like Auburn against the run is retarded in itself....so dont be fooled....Also, this statistic was padded a lot in three of the games they played in, for ex, vs non-Div 1 A opponent Weber St, lowly NMST, and pass happy Hawaii...
Lastly, Utep vs solid Offensive teams this year, that Defense was totally non-existant...for instance vs Arizona St, they not only gave a up a lot through the air, but they allowed the Sun Devils to pound out 169 yards on the ground at 4.02 ypc....Vs Boise St they allowed the Broncos to gain 214 yards on the ground and 4.4 ypc.....Vs Fresno St they allowed the Bulldogs to rush for 195 yards and 5 ypc....and in their last game vs a poor running team in Hawaii, they allowed the Warriors to gain 77 yards on 14 carries for an average of 5.5 ypc....I see a telling sign here.....Today, this so called Top ranked Run Def will have to face on the road, the best ground attack, not only in the WAC, but the best in the Country today with Moats....and there is only one thing I see happening....another Big Day and a lot of yards on the ground for Moats...Believe Me!..
Key Advantage #3: La Tech's Big Boys will dominate the trenches today...
A Big reason for the success of RB Moats, besides his abilities, is the dominant run blocking play that he is getting from his Big Uglies Unit upfront.....This year, the strength on the La Tech's Offense was not Moats at RB....It was rather La Tech's O-Line that many felt would be the Key to them having a solid year running the ball, especially with a talented back like Moats to carry the ball behind this O-Line Unit....This O-Line Unit of La Tech returns all 5 of its started from last years dominant ground pounding attack, and they also return a lot of quality reserves to keep this dominance all game and season long....This O-Line is a Veteran Unit that is also one of the Biggest Units in the Nation, with everyone on the line averaging well over 300 lbs a piece....Today, this O-Line should be able to dominate this Miner's defensive front seven who are on the smaller side, with their heaviest lineman weighing in at roughly around 285 lbs...everyone else is lighter....This is not a good matchup for this Miner team, and this weight disadvantage should only provide the Bulldogs Big Uglies with a rather easier time pounding and wearing down the Miners all game long....To be successful in football, the battle will start and end in the trenches, and clearly the La Tech will have a HUGE Advantage here, especially because they will simply pound it out all game long.....
Uteps weakness on Defense this year is their pass rushing abilities...and so far, this lack of sustaining a solid pass rush, especially vs Top quality Offenses, has hurt them in the secondary...Last week vs Hawaii's solid veteran O-Line, they were only able to record one sack on Chang....Today, vs possibly one of the nations veteran and experienced, not to forget Hugest O-Lines in La Tech....the Miners could struggle again to put on a much needed pass rush, especially since La Tech's weakness this year is in its inexperienced QBs....Last week SMU was not able to get to La Tech's QB, and he burned them for over 300 yards, 2 TDs, and no ints....Of course, this is also setup by the strong running of Moats as well....Still, the veteran play from La Tech's O-Line Unit in pass blocking, especially in games vs non-ranked opponents this year has been absolutely stellar...and a big difference from last years unit that gave up the most sacks of any O-Line in the nation.....So far vs their 4 non-ranked opponents, this O-Line has only given up 3 sacks (1 to Nevada and 2 to Fresno St)....Today, vs this O-Line of La Tech, Utep's front seven should be totally outmatched and dominated all game long, like they have never before experienced
On La Techs Defensive battles in the trenches today...I also see the Bulldogs front 7 being able to get pressure on Utep's yound QB Palmer, which should force him to continue giving up interceptions...So far this year, Palmer has thrown 23 interception..with 4 of them coming last week to Hawaii's weak Defensive unit...Not to put all the blame on Palmer, eventhough his inexperience is definately showing, but his O-Line protection this year hasnt been all that stellar....In fact, going into this year, the weakness of this Miner team, was very much anticipated to be in its O-Line Unit that returned only 2 starters from last years team...and which also lack any real depth to back up the starters this year....
This year, improvements on the Defense, especially in its pass rushing has definately made a huge turnaround under new DC Tim Rose...who installed a 3-4 style of Defensive attack....This year, this change in defense has at least resulted in a solid pass rushing game, if nothing at all....This was something that was definately needed, and La Tech under Rose has at least been solid, if any, in this category....So far this year, they have recorded a outstanding 23 sacks on the year....Utep's O-Line given up just 12 sacks on the year...but again, several of their games were against very poor and weak Defensive teams.....I feel that if La Tech and Moats puts up a lot of points early, this will cause Utep to have to rely on Palmer's arm more, which is definately what I feel La Tech wants them to do, and definately not a situation that Utep wants to be in.....I feel that Coach Rose will be able to come up with effective Defensive schemes, especially designed to put the pressure on Palmer making him less effective and forcing him into bad throws, just like they did vs Nevada, sacking QB Lowe 9 times, when the Wolfpack were trying to play catch up....This definately gives the home team another advantage here, especially as Utep's weakness again is in its O-Line play, which is very suseptable from rushes from the outsides, off the tackles, where the Miners lack the most depth and experience....
Key Advantage #4: La Tech is Battle Tested!
You cannot in any way compare who Utep has faced this year, to who La Tech has had to battle against this year....In fact, La Tech this year, has the unfortunate task of having to play the nations most toughest schedule...La Tech has already faced 4 ranked teams (3 of them ranked in the Top 10) this year in Miami, Tenn, Auburn, and Fresno St....and although they have only gone 1-3, which btw, wasnt even expected, they were able to gain valuable experience, as well as, get a grasp exactly of their teams true strengths and weakness, something you cant fully do without facing the best and most athletic talent in the land.....Utep, has had to face three ranked teams in Ari St, Boise St, and Fresno St, but these solid teams, in way compare to what La Tech faced, and especially in 4 consecutive back to back weeks....I feel that this experience facing the best in the land will only help the Bulldogs with their confidence, while also making them that much more better as a team because of who they had to play against....Like the saying goes to become the best, you have to play the best.....well, at least in their weak WAC conf where they play, we should see this pay off for them....Utep today, shouldnt poss anything harder or more challenging then any team who the Bulldogs have already had to faced several times this year already....
Situational Edges: I feel these situations working together will give La Tech some solid edges in this game today...
-SE #1: Utep off of another Huge SU Win at home...Ok hangover didnt exist in last weeks game vs Hawaii, which I thought may be in effect off of the Miners big upset of Fresno St...but, it could be possible that the win over two straight WAC Conf Top Dogs, could have an effect, especially since Utep knows that it is taking a step down in competition in their Conf...I think the Miners see La Tech as either an equal or a team beneathe them...and this opens them up for a possible letdown...
-SE #2: 5th straight week....If I am wrong to expect a let down or flat spot for Utep coming off of two huge back to back upsets wins....then another situation that could work against the Miners in this game...is the fact that this will be a 5th straight week were they will have to be emotionally up for a game....Having to meet this energy, focus, motivation, etc..emotionally each and every week is not a simple thing at all to do...and because Utep seems to have been carrying around a lot of it the past few weeks, which was also helped out by last weeks game being played at home on HC...a down week may be expected from them today, especially since they will be in hostile territory and will not have their fans to help keep them up and motivated throughout the game...As we seen last week in the game vs Hawaii, the fans are very much important for a team to obtain and retain momentum away from their opponents...
-SE #3: La Tech gets this one at home....As I mentioned above....today I feel La Tech will have the advantage of the excited crowd on their side....The fans at Ruston have a lot to cheer about as their team sits tied for the lead in the WAC....The Bulldogs are also a solid 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS at home this year...and Home Field should be a factor favoring them again in this one.
-SE #4: This one is played on natural grass and not turf....I does seem that teams who plays well on turf, dont do so well playing on grass....In Uteps two games, on the road, on grass, their Offense and Defense which is mostly designed around speed, seemed to have struggled on the natural stuff....La Tech plays on grass, and all of their games, with the exception of last week vs SMU, were played on grass...
Some Stats, Trends, and Info: favoring the Bulldogs today...
-The Bulldogs lead the all time series w/ Utep by a count of 6-1....La Tech won last years game at El Paso 38-35....Utep's last beat La Tech 27-0 back in 1939 in El Paso..
-This is La Tech's Homecoming game today...where they have gone a solid 7-1 in their last 8 HC games.
-RB Moats is 100% healthy for the first time in weeks..
-Utep's leading receiver Chris Marrow exited the Hawaii game with an undisclosed injury. His status is uncertain
-Utep is 1-5 ATS (17%) in its last 6 games when the line is +3 to -3.
-Bottom line in this game for me..is very simple, La Tech should be to physical a team for Utep to be able to control or stop....RB Moats should have a field day today, running behind his HUGE ASS O-Line....as I see him rushing for no less than 150 + yards today....La Techs powerful Run Offense will also expose this so called Top Run Defense of the Miners today...and this success that Moats and the La Tech Offense should enjoy today, will trickle down into the Utep's Offensive side which may have to play and rely more than they really want to on QB Palmers arm again....Against the Warriors he threw for over 300 yards, but remember, that was at home and against a banged up Defense that allows a ton of yards....I dont expect any repeat performance of last week from him, and I do expect the Miners to go back to a try not to lose the game approach today on the road...as it is simply to much to ask or expect from any young QB coming into hostile territory, learning a new system, and who has a tendancy to give a lot of gifts to the defense in the form of interceptions....23 ints to be exact on the year already....This one being played on the road, should also make a hell of a lot of difference in the outcome today....Uteps last win at Fresno, on grass, and in hostile territory, was and still is a fluke to me....and flukes also wont happen again here in La Tech's House....Todays game will not come down to any QB shinning....Today will be all about the Running of Moats and the pounding from his Huge Ass O-Line leading the way.....Football starts and ends in the trenches...and this battle today will clearly be won and dominated in the trenches by the Bulldogs today....Take the Bulldogs of La Tech as a BIG GAME PLAY---WAC GAME OF THE MONTH selection.
-Ok Gang...I will be posting my 2nd BIG GAME PLAY w/ its indepth Write-Up a little latter on in the day...The game doesnt goes off till after 7 pm est, so check back for later for it if interested...Until then though, lets do some major damage with this BAD BOY....GL to all today and LETS GO GET EM!....ALOHA CC.
Speaking of Opportunities...Today, I have isolated Two Games that I feel are Great Opportunities for ALL of Us to Bank Big On ....These Two plays comes straight out of the WAC Conf...and these two I have also qualified to be worthy of being a BIG GAME PLAY selection for me...These BIG GAME PLAYS are again the Best Plays I got...so I am very confident in these them coming on home Big Time for us today.....This is the first time that I will be releasing two BIG GAME PLAYS in Football on the same day, but just like in CBB where I released more than one BIG GAME PLAY, today is simply another one of those Special Big Saturdays....and I am simply loving it Baby!.....Ok, so now you know whats on the upcoming menu for the day....What do you say we get this Big Saturday Party Started in a Big Frickin Way already......LETS ROCK-N-ROLL BIG TIME BABY!....AWWWRIIGHT!
**BIG GAME PLAY---WAC GAME OF THE MONTH PLAY ON:
LA TECH -2.5
Wow, if you told a lot of the so called pre-season experts that these two teams would be sitting in the upper sections of the WAC Conf at this point in the season,...I think they would of laugh their asses off at you and also ask you for a hit of whatever you were smoking..LOL.....No one expected these two teams to shake up the WAC Conf like they had done in these past few weeks...These two teams are definately playing above themselves right now...and both of their successes can be somewhat credited to new Coaches, who took over and immediately stopped most of the bleeding from last year...In addition, both of these teams can also thank the play of their SR Stars coming up with another big year again so far, as well....Anyways, only one team will come out of this sitting very pretty in the WAC Conf lead, not to mention, also for that highly sought after season ending Bowl Game...I feel that the Bulldogs of La Tech is the better team between the two, and the reason I listed below is why I see them getting another solid win at home, as well as, giving me another solid BIG GAME PLAY EZ Winner to enjoy..
Key Advantage #1 : The second coming of Barry Sanders....in RB Ryan Moats!
Yes, that is right the second coming of Barry Sanders....This doesnt at all surprise me that Moats is being considered Sanders like in his running and what he is able to do, like Barry did, when he has the ball in his hand....All Moats has done to since his days in HS till now is try to completely mimick the running style, work ethic, and even also the jersy number of Barry Sanders...In fact, before every game...Moats will watch Sander highlight tapes, which allows him to visualize and focused on doing the exact same things that Barry Sanders did...So far, I have to say that it is rubbing off on him...and propelling him to be recognized again as one of the nations Top RB's, while also leading La Tech's ground attack to rank 21st in the nation..
What also substantiates his effective abilities at running the ball, can be seen by looking at who he has been able to efficiently run it on....For instance, vs the 4th ranked Miami Hurricanes (Total Def ranked 8th..Run Def ranked 17th giving up only 3.1 ypc)...Moats was able to gain 87 yards on 14 carries for 6.2 ypc average, and a long run of 21 yards.....Vs 11th ranked Tenn (40th in Tot Def...25th ranked in Run Def allowing just 3.1 ypc)...Moats was able to rush for 104 yards on 21 carries for 5 ypc average, 1 TD, and a long run of 37 yards....Vs 17th ranked Fresno St (41st in Tot Def...27th in Run Def allowing only 3.5 ypc)...Moats rushed for 242 yards on 34 attempts for 7.1 ypc average, a long of 83 yards, and 4 TDs....Vs 3rd ranked Auburn...Moats only ran the ball 3 times for 4 yards, with a long of 4 yards...due to being injuried....Against La Tech's 3 non-ranked opponents, Moats rushed for an Whopping average of 233 ypg and a Whopping 7.9 ypc average....Oh Boy, Utep qualifies as another non-ranked opponent...
Others solid stats that Moats has acquired..is he was the first RB this year to break the 1,000 yard barrier....He is currently leading the nation in Rushing yards with 1,114....Moats is ranked third in the nation with yards per game rushing, averaging 159.1....Moats is in the top in the nation for RBs with his average per a rush total at 6.9....Moats also leads all RBs in the Nation in TDs with 12 on the year so far...BTW, he is only second to Hawaii's QB Timmy Chang in this category with 13 TDs on the year....
Key Advantage #2: Utep's pourous Run Defense...
Ok, this is one team whose stats especially on Defense you will need to look into deeper in order for you to see that the Miner's high ranking in the Nation vs the Run, is completely bogus and doesnt represent a true description of their defensive strength vs the run....First off, Utep hasnt yet faced a Top Notch RB of Moats caliber yet this season....So their ranking of 32nd nationally vs the Run, which is btw above Nationally ranked Auburn is in no way an accurate statistic to go by...Just based on them being ranked above a team like Auburn against the run is retarded in itself....so dont be fooled....Also, this statistic was padded a lot in three of the games they played in, for ex, vs non-Div 1 A opponent Weber St, lowly NMST, and pass happy Hawaii...
Lastly, Utep vs solid Offensive teams this year, that Defense was totally non-existant...for instance vs Arizona St, they not only gave a up a lot through the air, but they allowed the Sun Devils to pound out 169 yards on the ground at 4.02 ypc....Vs Boise St they allowed the Broncos to gain 214 yards on the ground and 4.4 ypc.....Vs Fresno St they allowed the Bulldogs to rush for 195 yards and 5 ypc....and in their last game vs a poor running team in Hawaii, they allowed the Warriors to gain 77 yards on 14 carries for an average of 5.5 ypc....I see a telling sign here.....Today, this so called Top ranked Run Def will have to face on the road, the best ground attack, not only in the WAC, but the best in the Country today with Moats....and there is only one thing I see happening....another Big Day and a lot of yards on the ground for Moats...Believe Me!..
Key Advantage #3: La Tech's Big Boys will dominate the trenches today...
A Big reason for the success of RB Moats, besides his abilities, is the dominant run blocking play that he is getting from his Big Uglies Unit upfront.....This year, the strength on the La Tech's Offense was not Moats at RB....It was rather La Tech's O-Line that many felt would be the Key to them having a solid year running the ball, especially with a talented back like Moats to carry the ball behind this O-Line Unit....This O-Line Unit of La Tech returns all 5 of its started from last years dominant ground pounding attack, and they also return a lot of quality reserves to keep this dominance all game and season long....This O-Line is a Veteran Unit that is also one of the Biggest Units in the Nation, with everyone on the line averaging well over 300 lbs a piece....Today, this O-Line should be able to dominate this Miner's defensive front seven who are on the smaller side, with their heaviest lineman weighing in at roughly around 285 lbs...everyone else is lighter....This is not a good matchup for this Miner team, and this weight disadvantage should only provide the Bulldogs Big Uglies with a rather easier time pounding and wearing down the Miners all game long....To be successful in football, the battle will start and end in the trenches, and clearly the La Tech will have a HUGE Advantage here, especially because they will simply pound it out all game long.....
Uteps weakness on Defense this year is their pass rushing abilities...and so far, this lack of sustaining a solid pass rush, especially vs Top quality Offenses, has hurt them in the secondary...Last week vs Hawaii's solid veteran O-Line, they were only able to record one sack on Chang....Today, vs possibly one of the nations veteran and experienced, not to forget Hugest O-Lines in La Tech....the Miners could struggle again to put on a much needed pass rush, especially since La Tech's weakness this year is in its inexperienced QBs....Last week SMU was not able to get to La Tech's QB, and he burned them for over 300 yards, 2 TDs, and no ints....Of course, this is also setup by the strong running of Moats as well....Still, the veteran play from La Tech's O-Line Unit in pass blocking, especially in games vs non-ranked opponents this year has been absolutely stellar...and a big difference from last years unit that gave up the most sacks of any O-Line in the nation.....So far vs their 4 non-ranked opponents, this O-Line has only given up 3 sacks (1 to Nevada and 2 to Fresno St)....Today, vs this O-Line of La Tech, Utep's front seven should be totally outmatched and dominated all game long, like they have never before experienced
On La Techs Defensive battles in the trenches today...I also see the Bulldogs front 7 being able to get pressure on Utep's yound QB Palmer, which should force him to continue giving up interceptions...So far this year, Palmer has thrown 23 interception..with 4 of them coming last week to Hawaii's weak Defensive unit...Not to put all the blame on Palmer, eventhough his inexperience is definately showing, but his O-Line protection this year hasnt been all that stellar....In fact, going into this year, the weakness of this Miner team, was very much anticipated to be in its O-Line Unit that returned only 2 starters from last years team...and which also lack any real depth to back up the starters this year....
This year, improvements on the Defense, especially in its pass rushing has definately made a huge turnaround under new DC Tim Rose...who installed a 3-4 style of Defensive attack....This year, this change in defense has at least resulted in a solid pass rushing game, if nothing at all....This was something that was definately needed, and La Tech under Rose has at least been solid, if any, in this category....So far this year, they have recorded a outstanding 23 sacks on the year....Utep's O-Line given up just 12 sacks on the year...but again, several of their games were against very poor and weak Defensive teams.....I feel that if La Tech and Moats puts up a lot of points early, this will cause Utep to have to rely on Palmer's arm more, which is definately what I feel La Tech wants them to do, and definately not a situation that Utep wants to be in.....I feel that Coach Rose will be able to come up with effective Defensive schemes, especially designed to put the pressure on Palmer making him less effective and forcing him into bad throws, just like they did vs Nevada, sacking QB Lowe 9 times, when the Wolfpack were trying to play catch up....This definately gives the home team another advantage here, especially as Utep's weakness again is in its O-Line play, which is very suseptable from rushes from the outsides, off the tackles, where the Miners lack the most depth and experience....
Key Advantage #4: La Tech is Battle Tested!
You cannot in any way compare who Utep has faced this year, to who La Tech has had to battle against this year....In fact, La Tech this year, has the unfortunate task of having to play the nations most toughest schedule...La Tech has already faced 4 ranked teams (3 of them ranked in the Top 10) this year in Miami, Tenn, Auburn, and Fresno St....and although they have only gone 1-3, which btw, wasnt even expected, they were able to gain valuable experience, as well as, get a grasp exactly of their teams true strengths and weakness, something you cant fully do without facing the best and most athletic talent in the land.....Utep, has had to face three ranked teams in Ari St, Boise St, and Fresno St, but these solid teams, in way compare to what La Tech faced, and especially in 4 consecutive back to back weeks....I feel that this experience facing the best in the land will only help the Bulldogs with their confidence, while also making them that much more better as a team because of who they had to play against....Like the saying goes to become the best, you have to play the best.....well, at least in their weak WAC conf where they play, we should see this pay off for them....Utep today, shouldnt poss anything harder or more challenging then any team who the Bulldogs have already had to faced several times this year already....
Situational Edges: I feel these situations working together will give La Tech some solid edges in this game today...
-SE #1: Utep off of another Huge SU Win at home...Ok hangover didnt exist in last weeks game vs Hawaii, which I thought may be in effect off of the Miners big upset of Fresno St...but, it could be possible that the win over two straight WAC Conf Top Dogs, could have an effect, especially since Utep knows that it is taking a step down in competition in their Conf...I think the Miners see La Tech as either an equal or a team beneathe them...and this opens them up for a possible letdown...
-SE #2: 5th straight week....If I am wrong to expect a let down or flat spot for Utep coming off of two huge back to back upsets wins....then another situation that could work against the Miners in this game...is the fact that this will be a 5th straight week were they will have to be emotionally up for a game....Having to meet this energy, focus, motivation, etc..emotionally each and every week is not a simple thing at all to do...and because Utep seems to have been carrying around a lot of it the past few weeks, which was also helped out by last weeks game being played at home on HC...a down week may be expected from them today, especially since they will be in hostile territory and will not have their fans to help keep them up and motivated throughout the game...As we seen last week in the game vs Hawaii, the fans are very much important for a team to obtain and retain momentum away from their opponents...
-SE #3: La Tech gets this one at home....As I mentioned above....today I feel La Tech will have the advantage of the excited crowd on their side....The fans at Ruston have a lot to cheer about as their team sits tied for the lead in the WAC....The Bulldogs are also a solid 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS at home this year...and Home Field should be a factor favoring them again in this one.
-SE #4: This one is played on natural grass and not turf....I does seem that teams who plays well on turf, dont do so well playing on grass....In Uteps two games, on the road, on grass, their Offense and Defense which is mostly designed around speed, seemed to have struggled on the natural stuff....La Tech plays on grass, and all of their games, with the exception of last week vs SMU, were played on grass...
Some Stats, Trends, and Info: favoring the Bulldogs today...
-The Bulldogs lead the all time series w/ Utep by a count of 6-1....La Tech won last years game at El Paso 38-35....Utep's last beat La Tech 27-0 back in 1939 in El Paso..
-This is La Tech's Homecoming game today...where they have gone a solid 7-1 in their last 8 HC games.
-RB Moats is 100% healthy for the first time in weeks..
-Utep's leading receiver Chris Marrow exited the Hawaii game with an undisclosed injury. His status is uncertain
-Utep is 1-5 ATS (17%) in its last 6 games when the line is +3 to -3.
-Bottom line in this game for me..is very simple, La Tech should be to physical a team for Utep to be able to control or stop....RB Moats should have a field day today, running behind his HUGE ASS O-Line....as I see him rushing for no less than 150 + yards today....La Techs powerful Run Offense will also expose this so called Top Run Defense of the Miners today...and this success that Moats and the La Tech Offense should enjoy today, will trickle down into the Utep's Offensive side which may have to play and rely more than they really want to on QB Palmers arm again....Against the Warriors he threw for over 300 yards, but remember, that was at home and against a banged up Defense that allows a ton of yards....I dont expect any repeat performance of last week from him, and I do expect the Miners to go back to a try not to lose the game approach today on the road...as it is simply to much to ask or expect from any young QB coming into hostile territory, learning a new system, and who has a tendancy to give a lot of gifts to the defense in the form of interceptions....23 ints to be exact on the year already....This one being played on the road, should also make a hell of a lot of difference in the outcome today....Uteps last win at Fresno, on grass, and in hostile territory, was and still is a fluke to me....and flukes also wont happen again here in La Tech's House....Todays game will not come down to any QB shinning....Today will be all about the Running of Moats and the pounding from his Huge Ass O-Line leading the way.....Football starts and ends in the trenches...and this battle today will clearly be won and dominated in the trenches by the Bulldogs today....Take the Bulldogs of La Tech as a BIG GAME PLAY---WAC GAME OF THE MONTH selection.
-Ok Gang...I will be posting my 2nd BIG GAME PLAY w/ its indepth Write-Up a little latter on in the day...The game doesnt goes off till after 7 pm est, so check back for later for it if interested...Until then though, lets do some major damage with this BAD BOY....GL to all today and LETS GO GET EM!....ALOHA CC.
