LA Tech Misses Once In A Generation Opportunity at LSU
THAT should've been the headline this morning.
Last night was a missed opportunity for LA Tech in Tiger Stadium. Instead of coming to Tiger Stadium to COMPETE for a win, it was obvious that LA Tech's offensive football coaches --particularly Tech's OC Tony Franklin, and HC Sonny Cumbie-- had chosen a strategy to simply play it safe, and be satisfied with getting out alive.
While hoping nobody gets hurt is an admirable goal, it's not why we play the game.
We play the game to WIN. If former LA Tech football coaches Gary Crowton and Jack Bicknell had planned the same offensive scheme as Franklin and Cumbie chose last night, LA Tech would have never beaten the Alabama Crimson Tide twice in the late 1990's. It painful to think that Tech fans, Tech alumni and supporters would have never experienced those beautiful, historical, generational, seminal victories if today's leaders were in charge back then.
How bad was the LA Tech offense against LSU? Well, it was literally "kiddie ball" bad. After 3 and 1/2 quarters of play in Tiger Stadium, and with last year's starting QB Even Bullock (6'5, 210) inexplicably sitting on the bench for unknown reasons, LA Tech had managed to compile only 76 yds of TOTAL offense and zero points. The starting QB is this game --Trey Kukuk (6'1, 210)-- was NOT getting it done. Very late in the 4th quarter, Kukuk was replaced by last year's sometime starter Blake Baker, who is officially listed this year as Tech's QB3. To Bakers' credit, he engineered a 13-play 74-yd drive to paydirt, with 4:02 left in the game and Tech trailing only 20-7.
At this point I was thinking, why, why, why did Franklin & Cumbie wait so long to replace Kukuk with Baker? Kukuk has a much smaller frame than Baker and Bullock, and Baker appears much better suited for taking LSU's punishment on QB runs. But Franklin and Cumbie chose to go up against the #3 ranked team in the nation with a QB who's small and has been unable to move the offense in two games. This was a classic blunder by two coaches who should have known better.
After the team's poor offensive showing, you could almost hear Franklin and Cumbie say. "Gawlieee! We never expected to be in a position to actually need an offense. We were just trying to make sure nobody gets hurt before we start conference play".
BUT SOMEBODY forgot to tell the LA Tech DEFENSE!
The Tech Defense played a lights out game all night long, down to the final whistle. The Bulldog DB's made an interception early, while the Tech DL stuffed the middle on many occasions and held the nation's #3 ranked Tigers to only two scoring touchdown's on the entire night. And while Tech's Defensive front and LB's were shoving the LSU OL around in the trenches with several "goal line stands", you could almost hear the disappointed silence as Tiger fans made their way to the exits knowing their team could only muster a measly 23 points on this night.
And despite being on the field for almost 37 minutes of play (vs the Tech offense's only 23 minutes), the Tech Defense showed no signs of weariness when they held the Tigers to a short FG with another defensive goal line stand on the night's last drive.
Yeah, this was a DEFENSIVE performance for the ages. Unfortunately that kind of recognition only comes when the team wins. Regardless, hats off to LA Tech Defensive Coordinator Luke Olson.
It's just too bad we didn't get the same kind of effort & performance from Franklin and the LA Tech Offense.
This was a missed opportunity for one of those seminal generational wins for LA Tech. You know....one of those wins Tech fans would remember and talk about 25-30 years from now.
But frankly, just any offense at all would have been very helpful to the cause.
Last night was a missed opportunity for LA Tech in Tiger Stadium. Instead of coming to Tiger Stadium to COMPETE for a win, it was obvious that LA Tech's offensive football coaches --particularly Tech's OC Tony Franklin, and HC Sonny Cumbie-- had chosen a strategy to simply play it safe, and be satisfied with getting out alive.
While hoping nobody gets hurt is an admirable goal, it's not why we play the game.
We play the game to WIN. If former LA Tech football coaches Gary Crowton and Jack Bicknell had planned the same offensive scheme as Franklin and Cumbie chose last night, LA Tech would have never beaten the Alabama Crimson Tide twice in the late 1990's. It painful to think that Tech fans, Tech alumni and supporters would have never experienced those beautiful, historical, generational, seminal victories if today's leaders were in charge back then.
How bad was the LA Tech offense against LSU? Well, it was literally "kiddie ball" bad. After 3 and 1/2 quarters of play in Tiger Stadium, and with last year's starting QB Even Bullock (6'5, 210) inexplicably sitting on the bench for unknown reasons, LA Tech had managed to compile only 76 yds of TOTAL offense and zero points. The starting QB is this game --Trey Kukuk (6'1, 210)-- was NOT getting it done. Very late in the 4th quarter, Kukuk was replaced by last year's sometime starter Blake Baker, who is officially listed this year as Tech's QB3. To Bakers' credit, he engineered a 13-play 74-yd drive to paydirt, with 4:02 left in the game and Tech trailing only 20-7.
At this point I was thinking, why, why, why did Franklin & Cumbie wait so long to replace Kukuk with Baker? Kukuk has a much smaller frame than Baker and Bullock, and Baker appears much better suited for taking LSU's punishment on QB runs. But Franklin and Cumbie chose to go up against the #3 ranked team in the nation with a QB who's small and has been unable to move the offense in two games. This was a classic blunder by two coaches who should have known better.
After the team's poor offensive showing, you could almost hear Franklin and Cumbie say. "Gawlieee! We never expected to be in a position to actually need an offense. We were just trying to make sure nobody gets hurt before we start conference play".
BUT SOMEBODY forgot to tell the LA Tech DEFENSE!
The Tech Defense played a lights out game all night long, down to the final whistle. The Bulldog DB's made an interception early, while the Tech DL stuffed the middle on many occasions and held the nation's #3 ranked Tigers to only two scoring touchdown's on the entire night. And while Tech's Defensive front and LB's were shoving the LSU OL around in the trenches with several "goal line stands", you could almost hear the disappointed silence as Tiger fans made their way to the exits knowing their team could only muster a measly 23 points on this night.
And despite being on the field for almost 37 minutes of play (vs the Tech offense's only 23 minutes), the Tech Defense showed no signs of weariness when they held the Tigers to a short FG with another defensive goal line stand on the night's last drive.
Yeah, this was a DEFENSIVE performance for the ages. Unfortunately that kind of recognition only comes when the team wins. Regardless, hats off to LA Tech Defensive Coordinator Luke Olson.
It's just too bad we didn't get the same kind of effort & performance from Franklin and the LA Tech Offense.
This was a missed opportunity for one of those seminal generational wins for LA Tech. You know....one of those wins Tech fans would remember and talk about 25-30 years from now.
But frankly, just any offense at all would have been very helpful to the cause.