La Tech @ Kansas

[dhussdawg]

Would probably be the first thing your worthless ass donated to Tech. Nah, you keep your money and give it to the TAF. That way you can feel like you did something and people give a shit about you.

[Tech77]

Stay out of it, MT, the Kansas fans are coming here to talk to Tech fans. I won't say what you are, but you are not a Tech fan.

[TechDAG]

DAG,

Is your Big12 bashing anyway related to living in Baton Rouge and constantly listening to all the Tiger fans harp on how overrated every conference is except the beloved SEC??

Please don't tell me that you don't think that USC is for real. Here in BR, I got SICK of hearing all the PAC 10 bashing when USC split the national title with LSU two years ago. Remember the "FUSC" bumper stickers? However, after last season, I haven't heard a word about USC being overrated. lsu is on top of their game right now, but they want no part of USC this season. My animosity for lsu actually results in me pulling for the Trojans.

Anyway, I've learned down here in BR that you really have to watch out for the BR/lsu bias...it is everywhere.

Absolutely not. I just think that the Big 12 is over-rated when it comes to NC games. I think USC was the best team last year but Auburn would have given them a better game and had a team deserving of the chance. USC and LSU should have played because they were the two best teams. (I would have liked USC's chnaces), When you get blown out in your conference championship game, you should not get a NC shot.

[DocMarvin362]

Actually, last year we should have beaten Texas Tech and Texas.

Shoulda..... Coulda..... Woulda.... All mean the same thing.... You didn't.

[1L_dawg]

Absolutely not. I just think that the Big 12 is over-rated when it comes to NC games. I think USC was the best team last year but Auburn would have given them a better game and had a team deserving of the chance. USC and LSU should have played because they were the two best teams. (I would have liked USC's chnaces), When you get blown out in your conference championship game, you should not get a NC shot.

It took a co-national title and an outright national title, but lsu fans finally accept that USC is for real. They will be better this year than the past two years...I still can't believe that Leinart turned down the #1 pick in the draft to try and DEFEND the national title. USC could be in the mist of a dynasty if they win the NC this year. I believe that their recruiting has been phenomenal the past couple of years as well. Anything that pains lsu fans pleasures me.

[rockchalk]

Shoulda..... Coulda..... Woulda.... All mean the same thing.... You didn't.

No, its actually not the same thing. Due to the fact we've been in a rebuilding phase, its a good sign that we should have beaten these teams last year; the last time TTech and Texas visited, they put up 45 and 51 points against us, respectively.(and its especially positive for the direction of our program because last year's TT and UT teams were better than those of 4 years ago)

[Ktulu7]

I'll agree with ya there, Rockchalk. You guys are building back up. I think we'll have a good game this year that could go either way. I'm just wondering... that phog website seems kinda dead or somethin'... do you see my post on there? It doesn't seem to move much on there...

[rockchalk]

I just now saw your post(someone responded, btw). I think the problem was that the thread you responded in died when it turned into a debate over the difference between a good and great defense. The Phog board is pretty active; much more so than the free rivals board,

[Ktulu7]

I just created a new thread on there, so we'll see. Don't tell me our WAC buddies from Boise have a more active forum! You're BCS!!! lol.. pfft. just pickin'. Oh yeah guys... what do we wear to Kansas since they wear blue at home?? Do we go with red instead? I asked Boise the same, like if they'll wear orange or something. Some of the Boise guys on there are from/in Louisiana, can you believe that?

[hawkdoctor]

Correction...the rivals football board has much more activity it is just on the premium side. When visitors come there are plenty who venture over and talk to people. We had a bunch of Toledo, Tulsa, and Northwestern talk last year with their fans.

[Cool Hand Clyde]

Kansas will be a heavy favorite but I expect the Dawgs to pull it off, led by a stellar performance by the defense.

[Ktulu7]

Hoorah! In your FACE Kansas! just gettin' hyped up over here even though it's freakin' like three months until the season.... !! time to play NCAA '05 on the XBox w00t.

[oledawg66]

From Kansas you can expect a good defense. Some(not just Kansas fans) think our D might be the best in the Big XII. We have good depth and experience on the D Line. Last year it wreaked havoc on opposing teams qbs. Our DBs are led by All American candidate Charles Gordon(All Big XII, Third Team AA last year, led nation in INTs). The rest of the DBs are solid. But the main strength of our Defense are our LBs. All three starters will be seniors. Nick Reid was All Big XII and has a shot to make an All American team. The other two, Kevin Kane and Banks Floodman, are experienced playmakers. As a whole, the defense was amazing last year and should be better this coming year. They kept us in every game last year. We could have won every game except one, Oklahoma, and even that one was close until the second half.

Our offense is a different story; not because its bad, but because there are unknowns. The QB situation is a big question mark. Due to injuries, we had four different starters last year. First was Adam Barmann. He was adequate, leading us to victory over Tulsa, putting up 300 yards and 63 points against Toledo. But he also struggled at times. Jason Swanson, the second stringer led us to victory over Kansas State and had us up by 14 against Colorado until he got injured. But he too was inconsistent. The third stinger, Brian Luke, played horribly vs. Iowa State. But he also engineered a comeback as a sub against Texas in a game we should have won, and absolutely tore apart Missouri. The 4th stringer played well in his first and only start of his career, vs. Texas, but was removed from the game in the early second half. He was a senior. Right now it looks like Barmann will be the man, with Swanson right behind.
RBs-our playmaking back, John Randle was kicked off the team this offseason. However, the powerback, Clark Green is still with the team and should be able to carry the load. We also have a small, quick rs frosh, Gary Green, who is supposed to be very fast and elusive.
The O-Line is experienced and strong, and should be the the strength of the offense.
The WRs/TEs are another question mark, but we have a good JUCO transfer WR who played well in the spring game, to go along with a returning Senior and a couple of underclassmen. Our top recruit was a TE, so hopefully he will be able to lead the way for us there.

To be honest, most Kansas fans view the 3 OOC games to be tune-ups for the Big XII season, with La Tech being the biggest challenge. I tend to agree. While you guys will be better than FAU and App St., this should be our breakout season and I don't see it being too close of a game. We're much better than how people perceive us, and I'm predicting 38-3 in favor of the Jayhawks.

If anyone is interested, the Kansas board is www.phog.net

I hope we do give you your toughest OOC challenge. If your defense lives up to its rep based on what I have read and, of course what you are saying, it will be your strength against a lot of question marks for us. Three things have always been a staple at Louisiana Tech. Those being QB, WR, and the ability to kick field goals anytime we get into your territory. Unfortunately, all three are huge question marks going into this season. I think we probably will have difficulty putting up a lot of points against your "D". Our defense is going to have to carry the load to keep us in the game. Our line and especially our LB's should keep you guys honest. However, our secondary also has some questions to be answered this year. As another poster has pointed out, it seems like anytime we schedule teams who are not perrenial NC contenders, the year we play them they seem to have their best teams in decades. The year we joined the WAC we were ranked 33 in the Saragin rankings, lsu 85. We finally get to play them and they win a share of the NC. We probably just got lucky that didn't happen when we played y'all back in 1987 (Tech 16 Kan 11). All that to say that your predicted score is entirely possible unless some of our questions are answered on offense and our defense accepts the challenge of keeping us in the game. We should know a lot more after Sept 10th. Good luck to you guys after the 17th.