Coach Choate Moves Up to Division I-A

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[b][u]Louisiana Tech Press Wire - 2010[/b][/u] Coach Jack Bicknell of the Louisiana Tech Bulldog football team has officially left Ruston in search of greener pastures at his alma matter of Boston College. New athletic director Chip Stokely has wished Coach Bicknell all the best. This announcement has been a while in coming, however, and the Bulldogs have been interviewing for the now vacant head coaching position. The search had been narrowed down, and Director Stokely has named former head coach of the Appalachian State Mountaineers and Louisiana Tech alumnus Kenneth Choate as the new head football coach of the Bulldogs. Coach Choate brings a winning attitude to the table, coming from an Appalachian State team that won the Southern Conference three times over his tenure at ASU and two Division I-AA national championships. With a great mind for offense, Coach Choate looks to jump start this team as Louisiana Tech moves into Conference USA for the beginning of 2010. Excited about this opportunity, Coach Choate had this to say: "This is a great day for myself and my family. To return of Ruston has been a dream of mine, and it's a big deal to come back as the head coach. Coach Bicknell did a great job here over the past several years, so it will be similar to when I went to ASU. I'm also excited about the move from the WAC to Conference USA, where I believe we'll be extremely competitive."

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[u][b]Coach Choate's Thoughts on the Upcoming Season[/u][/b] It looks like we'll be able to be a top notch school in Conference USA this season, but the next two years may not be so lucky. We have 24 seniors on this year's team, and only 8 juniors and 11 sophomores. We'll be relying heavily after this season to young talent, and things could get sticky. We're going to go after some good transfer talent and try to sign incoming freshmen that can have an impact both this season and next. As far as the coaching situation, I've already cleaned house of the coordinators, or more correctly, they all left. To that end, we've signed up Barron Porcher, former offensive coordinator for Cal, and Harper Davey, defensive backs coach for Purdue. On special teams, I brought in Estes Vollenweider from Appalachian State with me to handle that job. Over the past few years, Tech has had a reputation for a stingy defense, even capturing the number one overall defense back in 2007, and top ten rankings in 4 of the last 5 years, so I won't rock the boat there. Offensively, we'll be putting a lot to the test this season as we've got some good players that just need to be let loose. This year will be a good year, and it'll be interesting to see how far we go with all the talent we have.

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[b][u]Transfer Summary[/b][/u] We target a whole bunch of transfers to try and take the load off of the incoming freshmen for next year. [u]Week One[/u] Guard Shockman Merriweather transfers to Tech from Georgia Tech. He will be a huge addition to the offensive line with most of our best linemen graduating at the end of this season. [u]Week Two[/u] We back off on our offers to transfers this week, but it pays off as JoJuan Bernet joins us from Arkansas. He's a gamebreaking type receiver, and it'll be fun to watch him develop over the next four years. [u]Week Three[/u] We only target one transfer this week, and it pays off as we land tight end Martin Shields, who as Bernet's roommate at Arkansas. These guys will help us tremendously over the next few seasons.

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[b][u]Weeks One thru Five of Recruiting[/b][/u] [u]Week One[/u] It's scouting week for us, so we spend most of our money on scouting and save some extra for the visits we have coming this week. We're high on some guys, including a wide receiver from Virginia named Terrance Swartz, who called me personally and asked for an invite to come to visit the campus. What am I going to say to a kid like that? No? [u]Week Two[/u] Another set of visits to the campus, and the recruiting begins in earnest. We don't land any recruits this week, but I never landed any this early at Appalachian State either. [u]Week Three[/u] Hopefully we can get a few guys to commit this week, as I feel that we've got some good offers out to the right players that will enhance our team. But alas, still no committments. The good news is that none of the guys we're chasing signed anywhere else either. [u]Week Four[/u] We get terrible news as free safety Irv Gifford decided to head to the pros. He was our best defensive player by far, and his loss will hurt badly. Again, no signings and none of our guys signing anywhere else. [u]Week Five[/u] It's a big week for us as we sign six players! Errict Crecion is our quarterback of the future, along with CB Kenoy Alderman, OLB Gordon Erlandson, FS Ken-Yon Rome, FB Abdual Armour and C Montrell Flanagain. On the flip side though, a lot of guys decided to sign elsewhere this week, so it's back to the drawing board for a few positions.

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[b][u]Weeks Six thru Ten of Recruiting[/b][/u] [u]Week Six[/u] Another big week as four more guys sign! WR Terrance Swartz highlights this group, as he's quite possibly the best player to sign with us so far. DT Teag Bannan, CB Jim Horner, and WR Jake McGraw round out the signings this week. [u]Week Seven[/u] It was another major coup this week as we sign six more recruits. WR Ernest Ledbetter tops this list, with OLB Nyle Tinker, ILB Denero Masters, OT Lavar Dawsey, OT Thatcher Howton and P J.C. Nedney. Only 4 scholarships remain. [u]Week Eight[/u] QB Aaron Hebron committed this week, so he'll immediately be in the mix for the number two spot on the team. 3 scholarships remain with two weeks left to go. [u]Week Nine[/u] We sign DE Tra Wonsley, and that leaves us two more signings to go. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with our recruiting class this season. [u]Week Ten[/u] Nothing this week. Check back again. [b][u]National Signing Day[/u][/b] We land another quarterback in Stacy Kadeela and RB Nat Tasker. These guys will be right on up there this season competing for backup playing time if I got them figured out right. I'm happy with my recruiting class. We landed a few guys that were super top notch, but everyone else is going to fill in a need that I saw that we had from watching game film and seeing who had left.

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[U][B]Coach Choate breaks down the offense[/B] [/U] It's a pretty good offense that I've inherited, and I made it a bit better through the signings that we made in the offseason. [U]Quarterback[/U] Browning Hipp is the starter here, with no questions. Orlando Traynham is is backup, and he's adequate. Anything past that, and it's goodnight for us. [I]Starter - Browning Hipp, 3.5/4.5[/I] [U]Running Back[/U] Senior J.T. Kilroy was WAC player of the year last year, and I don't see why he can't be C USA player of this year. Sophomore Jashon Massey and redshirt freshman Curly Dial are his backups, and they're more than adequate. [I]Starter - J.T. Kilroy, 4.5/5.0[/I] [U]Fullback[/U] True freshman Abdual Armour is the starter here, with not much behind him. This could be the weakest position on the team. [I]Starter - Abdual Armour, 2.0/4.0[/I] [U]Wide Receiver[/U] Junior Ernest Ledbetter and senior Ronald Tarkenton are adequate receivers, with sophomore Felipe Osika and true freshman Terrance Swartz splitting time at the third receiver spot. [I]Starters - Ernest Ledbetter, 3.0/3.5 / Ronald Tarkenton 2.5/4.0[/I] [U]Tight End[/U] Senior Noah Shedd is the starter, but hopefully he won't go down, as we aren't very deep here. [I]Starter - Noah Shedd, 2.0/3.5, blocking[/I] [U]Offensive Line[/U] A solid and deep offensive line is going to open up gashes in some defensive fronts for J.T. Kilroy and company, along with creating good time to pass for Browning Hipp. Quite possibly the best group in Conference USA.

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[U][B]Coach Choate breaks down the defense[/B] [/U] The number four defense in the nation last year, this will be another top notch showing from these guys as almost nobody graduated. We're at least two deep in all positions. [U]Defensive End[/U] Junior Kory Mauti and sophomore Donovan Simon anchor the ends, and they have adequate backups. [I]Starters - Kory Mauti 3.5/4.5 / Donovan Simon 2.5/3.0[/I] [U]Defensive Tackle[/U] The deepest part of our entire team. Seniors Artrell Spearman and Maugaula Geredine are contenders for All American awards. [I]Starters - Artrell Spearman 4.5/5.0 / Maugaula Geredine 4.0/5.0[/I] [U]Outside Linebacker[/U] Senior Rabih Rathman and junior Dean Huard are the starters here. No issues with these guys, and their backups are decent. [I]Starters - Rabih Rathman 3.0/4.0 / Dean Huard 3.0/4/0[/I] [U]Inside Linebacker[/U] Sophomore Luke Myles gets the nod here, and he's just as good as the outside 'backers. His backup is good too. [I]Starters - Luke Myles 3.0/4.0[/I] [U]Cornerback[/U] Senior Benjy Dryer and sophomore Lum Johns are good corners, and should hold up well against good receivers. [I]Starters - Benjy Dryer 3.0/4.0 / Lum Johns 2.5/4.5[/I] [U]Safety[/U] Junior Saint Benson starts at free safety, and senior Calvin Babers is the starter at strong safety. We'll be rotating in the younger talent as the season goes on to get them game experience as well. [I]Starters - Saint Benson 3.0/4.5 / Calvin Babers 3.0/4.0[/i]

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[U][B]Coach Choate breaks down the special teams[/B] [/U] We'll be fielding a decent special teams set this year, but it will be interesting to see how they perform under a first year special teams coordinator [I]Starters Kicker - Moe Upshaw 3.5/3.5 Punter - Ickey Angulo 2.5/3.5 Kick Returners - Calvin Babers (94) and Ronald Tarkenton (83) Punt Returner - Terrance Swartz (95)[/I]

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[b][u]Scheduling[/b][/u] It won't be much fun for our guys early in the season as our home opener isn't until week 7. We've only got four home games for the year and seven on the road, but the highlight is that we signed a two year contract with Arkansas, as we travel to Fayetteville this season and they come to Ruston next year. We also renew our oldest rivalry with Louisiana-Monroe as we go to Monroe. It's only a 30 minute drive from our stadium to theirs, so it might as well be a home game. Week Opponent 1 at Louisiana Monroe 2 OPEN 3 at Rutgers 4 OPEN 5 at Alabama Birmingham 6 at UTEP 7 Tulsa 8 Rice 9 at Houston 10 Tulane 11 East Caorlina 12 at Central Florida 13 OPEN 14 OPEN 15 at Arkansas

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[b][u]Preseason Top 10 Coaches Poll[/u][/b] 1. USC 2. Michigan 3. Wisconsin 4. Purdue 5. Oklahoma 6. Miami 7. Texas 8. Ohio State 9. LSU 10. Florida [b][u]Preseason Top 10 Media Poll[/u][/b] 1. Wisconsin 2. USC 3. Purdue 4. Michigan 5. Oklahoma 6. Miami 7. Texas 8. Ohio State 9. Washington 10. LSU

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[b][u]Week One[/b][/u] We open our season at Malone Stadium, only 35 minutes from our own home at Aillet Stadium to renew an old rivalry. This brings me back to the days when I was a Tech student and the year that ULM changed their name from NLU. Our t-shirt for the game that year (which I found during the move back to Ruston and consequently wore for this game under my polo) was "If at first you don't succeed, change your name and try again." [u]First Quarter[/u] It's our ball first, and it's a quick drive as Hipp hits a screen to J.T. Kilroy for a 66 yard touchdown! Moe Upshaw has the extra point blocked, and I'm pretty ticked about that. ULM moves the ball pretty well, but Benjy Dryer picks the ball off and it's our ball at our own 27. We drive to the ULM 4 where we stall and have to settle for 3. Another interception, this time by Lum Johns and it's our ball again at our own 29. We get held up at the ULM 43, but we pull out a fake punt and convert! We drive on down and J.T. Kilroy runs it in from 10 yards out for a 16-0 lead after the extra point. [i]Tech 16, ULM 0[/i] [u]Second Quarter[/u] We hold after a first down and Terrance Swartz has an 11 yard return to set us up on our 35. Kilroy gets swarmed and fumbles, setting ULM up at our 34. The get to our 4, but our defense holds after they got to our 1 and they kick a field goal. We drive to midfield and go for it on fourth down, but Kilroy gets stuffed. Two plays later, they hit a 14 yard completion but we knock it loose and recover the fumble at our 25. Ron Tarkenton catches a pass good for a first down, but now he fumbles it and ULM has the ball back again. We hold and they punt, but they hold against us at midfield, where we kick it down to the 4 with 30 seconds left, and they run the clock out. [i]Tech 16, ULM 3[/i] [u]Third Quarter[/u] We force a punt on the first drive of the second half, and we drive to the ULM 17 before stalling and settle for a Moe Upshaw field goal. ULM drives down and hit a 34 yard field goal after we have an offsides. Calvin Babers hauls the kickoff in 2 yards deep and takes it back 98 yards before getting pulled down from behind at the 4, and three plays laater Kilroy catches a screen from Hipp for the touchdown. [i]Tech 26, ULM 6[/i] [u]Fourth Quarter[/u] We hold ULM up at midfield and get the ball moving before Hipp has his pass intercepted. ULM cant' capitalize as they miss a 47 yard field goal, and on the next play, Ron Tarkenton makes up for his fumble earlier with a 71 yard touchdown reception! We hold ULM again and march down the field where Hipp hits TE Noah Shedd with a 10 yard touchdown pass. ULM gets into our territory before we Calvin Babers, who returned the kickoff nearly for a touchdown gets a pick to seal the game, and we run out the clock [i]Tech 40, ULM 6[/i] Not too shabby for my first game back here at Tech. We dominated yardage wise, but not in time of possession. We scored quickly, and other than a couple of miscues, our entire team played well. [b]Total Yards 534-324 Passing 371-201 Rushing 163-123 TOP 30:43-29:27[/b] [b]Tech Stats[/b] [u]Passing[/u] B. Hipp 26-31 371 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT [u]Rushing[/u] J. Kilroy 27-121, 1 TD J. Massey 5-24 T. Sawyer 1-23 A. Armour 2-5 C. Dial 1-0 [u]Receiving[/u] J. Kilroy 8-124, 2 TD R. Tarkenton 6-119, 1 TD E. Ledbetter 4-43 N. Shedd 4-38, 1 TD J. Massey 1-19 A. Armour 1-15 F. Osika 2-13

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[b][u]Week Two[/u][/b] It's our first bye week, and after the drubbing we gave ULM, I give the guys a single day off as a reward (not like they didn't get that already). We've got a decent Rutgers team coming up, and we need another out of conference win to give us some credibility.

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[b][u]Week Three[/b][/u] It's week three, and after a bye week, we're well rested for a road trip to Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are 1-1, but their top QB is out for a couple of games. We'll instead get redshirt freshman Tavian Fisher and their offense, which isn't anything special. Their defense isn't top notch either, so we should have a pretty good game against them today. [u]First Quarter[/u] Fireworks on the opening kickoff as Calvin Babers takes a kick a yard deep in the endzone 88 yards down to the Rutgers 13. After a penalty and a run, Browning Hipp goes to Ron Tarkenton for a 15 yard touchdown! Rutgers answers right back as Fisher hits his man for 39 and true freshman L.G. Brandt takes it 30 yards into the house. We move the ball up, but Hipp gets picked at our 42, setting Rutgers up good field position. 3 and out though for Rutgers, and it's our ball at the 20 after a touchback. We move the ball just past midfield after a pair of 10 yard runs by J.T. Kilroy, and Hipp slips a screen to Ernest Ledbetter for a 49 yard touchdown! A single first down and Fisher goes deep, but Benjy Dryer picks him off at the 5 and brings it back to the 11. We move the ball to midfield again when Kilroy gets blindsided on a screen and fumbles, giving the ball back to Rutgers. 3 and out for Rutgers as they punt the ball to our 6, where we'll start the 2nd quarter. [i]Tech 14, RUT 7[/i] [u]Second Quarter[/u] We move the ball out to the 39, but we get stopped and have to punt. We hold after a first down, and we get the ball back on our own 5 after a big punt. We march down the field methodically with a big play to Felipe Osika and a roughing the passer on the same play taking us halfway down the field. We get to the 1 but get held up and have to kick the field goal on 4th down. Sophomore Emerson Magee, after being listed as questionable for the game, gets called into the game and proceeds to head down the field. They get to our 7 before our D holds strong at the end of the half and just barely nick the field goal attemtp to send it wide and we run out the clock on the half. [i]Tech 17, RUT 7[/i] [u]Third Quarter[/u] They start the 3rd like the end of the 2nd with a good drive before we hold and they convert the field goal. A 45 yard return by Calvin Babers gives us good field position, and we capitalize afer a short drive where J.T. Kilroy takes over with two 13 yard runs and then a 20 yarder for the score. 3 and out for Rutgers, and Terrance Swartz brings the kick back 18 yards to set us up at the 44. We go three and out, and a huge punt by Ickey Angulo goes through the endzone for the touchback. Rutgers drives into our territory before Kory Mauti forces a fumble and it's our ball again. Antother 3 and out and that caps the 3rd quarter. [i]Tech 24, RUT 10[/i] [u]Fourth Quarter[/u] Rutgers gets the ball with good field position, but an offensive pass interference and a holding drags them back and we get get the ball back. We drive to the Rutgers 7 but J.T. Kilroy fumbles again, giving Rutgers the ball back. Magee comes back out after being removed right into the 3rd quarter after taking a good hit and drives down to our 5 before a 4th down sack with a minute and a half to go ends that threat, and we run the clock out for the win. [i]Tech 24, RUT 10[/i] It was back and forth yardage wise, but we made the big plays when it mattered, and J.T. Kilroy, despite the fumble as we were driving to put it away, dominated the 2nd half. We need to put more points on the board though against a team we should beat more mercilessly. [b]Total Yards 414-383 Passing 212-215 Rushing 202-168 TOP 31:56-28:33[/b] [b]Tech Stats[/b] [u]Passing[/u] B. Hipp 21-27 212 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT [u]Rushing[/u] J. Kilroy 35-169, 1 TD A. Armour 8-23 J. Massey 1-10 [u]Receiving[/u] E. Ledbetter 5-67, 1 TD F. Osika 4-45 J. Kilroy 5-39 R. Tarkenton 2-28, 1 TD N. Shedd 3-22 J. Massey 1-7 T. Swartz 1-4

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[b][u]Week Four[/u][/b] It's another bye week, and this time we're preparing for conference play. Coming up next week we have Alabama-Birmingham, then it's the full bevy of conference foes before the next bye week. Still, we should have some good practices and then be ready for the start of the real meat of the season.

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*oops, forgot to post this* [b][u]Week 3 Top 10 Coaches Poll[/u][/b] 1. Wisconsin 2. Michigan 3. Oklahoma 4. Purdue 5. LSU 6. USC 7. Georgia 8. Miami 9. Florida 10. Texas [b][u]Week 3 Top 10 Media Poll[/u][/b] 1. Wisconsin 2. Michigan 3. Oklahoma 4. Purdue 5. Washington 6. LSU 7. Texas 8. Miami 9. USC 10. Florida

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[b][u]Week Five[/b][/u] Another week off, and now it's time to the grind of our first Conference USA schedule. Redshirt freshman QB Warren Palmer brings this team to the line, and he's surrounded by decent players. Senior RB Ryan Chamberlain and wide receivers Ruben Szalay and Bethel Hostetler will be his go to guys, but their O-Line leaves something to be desired. On defense, they have no all around top players, but everyone is solid. A key injury anywhere though, and we can exploit some holes. [u]First Quarter[/u] UAB takes the ball first, and we hold them for a 3 and out. It's our ball now after a short kick and we take over at our own 49. We move the ball up to the 32, where Moe Upshaw misses a 50 yard field goal. 3 and out again, and it's our ball at our 38 now. We can't capitalize after a three and out for us, and it's UAB ball at their 26. A big 18 yard run by Chamberlain is all for naught as two sacks and a short completion makes for a punt. It's a good one down to our 7. We move the ball out past our 30 before we have to punt, but they get a 18 yard return up to their 43. 3 and out, and they kick it into the endzone for our ball at the 20. Another bad series, and the quarter ends with us punting down to their 28. [i]Tech 0,UAB 0 [/i] [u]Second Quarter[/u] Another 18 yard Chamberlain run gets underused again, but this time they pin us at our 3. Kilroy takes over with some good runs, and Hipp hits Ledbetter for a 36 yard pass. We get down to the 28, where Moe Upshaw has his field goal blocked from 46 yards, and UAB picks it up at our 22. UAB moves the ball before we hammer Palmer, and junior Lenny Massey replaces him. They get 4th and 2 at our 36, but we hold. Another big pass from Hipp to Ledbetter for 29, and we finally drive in from the 10 on two consecutive passes to Ron Tarkenton for the first points of the game. Another punt for UAB gives us the ball back with 2 minutes left. We can't do anything with it and have to punt, but we force another punt by using all our timeouts, but Hipp can't get it far enough downfield and we head into the locker room up by only 7. [i]Tech 7, UAB 0[/i] [u]Third Quarter[/u] We move the ball up to the UAB 42, and a play action fake to the fullback freezes the defense just enough for J.T. Kilroy to slip free for a 58 yard touchdown reception! First play of the ensuing drive is a 13 yard pass play, but Kory Mauti hustles upfield and causes and recovers the fumble at the UAB 33. We can't capitalize as Moe Upshaw misses his 3rd field goal of the game. Massey methodically drives them down the field to the 39 where he hits his man for a touchdown to pull back to within a single score. Next play, Terrance Swartz causes a safety/corner pick and goes 80 yards to give us a 2 score lead again. 3 and out for UAB this time, and it's our ball at our 30. UAB stacks the line against Kilroy and causes 2 losses and we can't move any further, so we punt. We can't hold again as at the end of the quarter as Massey hits another receiver and they pull back to within a touchdown. [i]Tech 21, UAB 14[/i] [u]Fourth Quarter[/u] Hipp and company move the ball into UAB territory, but he gets picked, and they bring it back out to their 49. They get to our 28 before we stiffen up and force a 46 yard field goal. Calvin Babers brings the ball back to the UAB 45 after taking it at the 10, setting us up with good field position. One first down, and we take the gamble on the long field goal again, and this time Upshaw converts the 47 yarder to put us back up by a touchdown. UAB gets out to midfield, but we force a punt with 3 minutes to go, and they punt it through the endzone. We pound the ball out with short runs, ticking time off the clock, and with 20 seconds left, Massey goes deep, and Lum Johns picks the ball off and we wrap up our first Conference USA victory! [i]Tech 24, UAB 17[/i] Numbers wise, we dominated this game in the air, but they held J.T. Kilroy in check most of the game. We put out 20 first downs to their 12, and that was the real difference in the game. Moe Upshaw missed two field goals and had one blocked, or this one would have been over early. [b]Total Yards 451-306 Passing 341-179 Rushing 110-127 TOP 33:22-26:46[/b] [b]Tech Stats[/b] [u]Passing[/u] B. Hipp 18-27 341 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT [u]Rushing[/u] J. Kilroy 39-112 A. Armour 4-2 [u]Receiving[/u] E. Ledbetter 6-117 T. Swartz 1-80, 1 TD J. Kilroy 4-64, 1 TD R. Tarkenton 3-40, 1 TD F. Osika 2-18 N. Shedd 1-12 A. Armour 1-10

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[b][u]Week Six[/b][/u] After last week's close call with Alabama Birmingham, we head out west to face a former WAC opponent in UTEP. The Miners had a pretty good season their last in the WAC, but have fallen on hard times since joining Conference USA. They're led by junior Sylvester Sutherland at quarterback and another junior at wide out Dokie Nece. Senior RB J.J. Sherrard and sophomore Marlin Lemaster aren't anything spectacular, and neither is the rest of their offense. Their defense has been having trouble stopping people at their 1-3 record, and their best offensive showing has been 19 points the past two weeks. [u]First Quarter[/u] UTEP picks up a single first down, but their top receiver Nece goes down on the 2nd play of the game. We take over at our 22, and drive to the UTEP 26 before Browning Hipp gets sacked. We drop to punt and try for a fake as we had 3 missed field goals from over 40 last week, but it fails as Ickey Angulo's pass drops short. They pick up another first down, but they have to punt, and it's our ball at our 19. Hipp and J.T. Kilroy drive us down with a good pass/run mix to the UTEP 12, but we get forced to kick the field goal and kick off as the quarter ends. [i]Tech 3,UTEP 0 [/i] [u]Second Quarter[/u] Again, it's a single first down and punt back to our 22. We get out close to midfield before we get stopped, and Angulo punts to the 6, pinning them deep. They get a couple of first downs this time, but a short punt puts us at our own 31. We get all the way down to their 11, and Moe Upshaw puts it through from 29 to give us a 6-0 lead. Marlin LeMaster breaks free for a 22 yard run, but It's a huge sack by Kory Mauti for 14 yards makes it second and real long. They punt it back, and Terrance Swartz frees up this time with an 18 yard return to our 37, and add to that a 15 yard piling on penalty after the whistle puts us at the UTEP 48 with 2 minutes in the half. We get down to the 4, but the ghost of last week pops up as Upshaw misses from 22 to end the half. [i]Tech 6, UTEP 0[/i] [u]Third Quarter[/u] Our ball to begin the half, but after one first down and two fumbles that we recover, but we have to punt, and it's a good one down to the UTEP 12. 3 and out for UTEP, and Terrance Swartz cuts loose again with a 36 yard return to the UTEP 24! A 12 yard Kilroy run, and Hipp hits Kilroy with a curl for the touchdown! Sutherland drives the Miners down the field down to our 2, where LeMaster punches it in to answer our score. We get a pair of first downs after a bad kickoff return, and UTEP sets up at their 25. They move to midfield, we force a punt that goes out of the endzone. We pick up a few yards before the final quarter begins. [i]Tech 13, UTEP 7[/i] [u]Fourth Quarter[/u] A good sustained drive puts us all the way to the UTEP 4, but we get stopped on 3rd down, so we kick the field goal from 20 and make it. A big pass from Sutherland puts UTEP into our territory, and backup RB senior Kevin Maston hits for a 20 yard run. Luckily for us, Kory Mauti comes through big again as he bats a Sutherland pass into the air and picks it off! Hipp moves us well, but a delay of game by Hipp and a bad route that didn't go far enough by Ernest Ledbetter puts us short of the first down, and Moe Upshaw misses from 47. Sutherland hits two big passes before he hits a wide out screen at our 2 for the touchdown with 2:38 left in the game. We pound the ball as they call all their timeouts, but Hipp puts and end to their hopes with a 3rd and 9 pass to Felipe Osika for 13, and we run the clock out to win another one! [i]Tech 16, UTEP 14[/i] Two more missed field goals, and I'm thinking about swapping kickers to our younger guy, Cleo Darche, who handles our kickoffs. Browning Hipp had a great game as he completed 30 of 34, but 5 sacks killed our momentum throughout the game, and our running game was hit and miss all game. Certainly not the performance we expected against this defense. [b]Total Yards 476-350 Passing 280-208 Rushing 196-142 TOP 38:49-21:25[/b] [b]Tech Stats[/b] [u]Passing[/u] B. Hipp 30-34 280 yards, 1 TD [u]Rushing[/u] J. Kilroy 37-150 A. Armour 9-63 J. Massey 3-12 [u]Receiving[/u] J. Kilroy 8-95, 1 TD R. Tarkenton 8-63 E. Ledbetter 7-63 F. Osika 4-37 N. Shedd 1-14 A. Armour 1-6 K. Blades 1-2

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[b][u]Week 6 Top 10 Coaches Poll[/u][/b] 1. Wisconsin 2. Oklahoma 3. Michigan 4. Purdue 5. Minnesota 6. Ohio State 7. Florida 8. USC 9. Washington 10. LSU [b][u]Week 6 Top 10 Media Poll[/u][/b] 1. Wisconsin 2. Oklahoma 3. Michigan 4. Minnesota 5. Florida 6. Ohio State 7. Washington 8. Purdue 9. USC 10. LSU

[kennywanchizoate]

[b][u]Week Seven[/b][/u] An even closer call against UTEP than against UAB, and I'm starting to wonder if we're as good as everyone expects us to be this season. Hopefully my gut feeling is wrong, and we're just in a funk. We're putting up the yardage, but not the points to go with it. We try to snap out of it this week as we take on another former WAC rival in Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane are are 0-6, and all but their game at home against UTEP were blowouts, so that's a good sign for us. They're led by sophomore Colston Dobler, and after watching game film, I see why Tulsa has lost all their games. RB Richmond Suala is their best option, but there really aren't any players on their offense that scare me. Same for the defense as well, but after last week, I'm not taking anything for granted. [u]First Quarter[/u] First play from scrimmage after we take the opening kickoff is a 22 yard run by J.T. Kilroy, and we continue down the field before Browning Hipp caps the game off with a 3 yard swing to Kilroy for the score. Tulsa moves the ball to midfield, where we hold them, and their punt heads into the endzone for a touchback. We can't really get anything going this time, and Ickey Angulo booms it 54 yards where we down it at the Tulsa 9. Bad news here, as Kory Mauti gets taken out low by a Tulsa lineman, and then gets taken off the field on a stretcher. Not good news for us at all. We move senior DT Waine Mix out to Mauti's end position, and he rewards us with a forced fumble, that the other end Donovan Sirmon picks up at our 48. Two runs for Kilroy and a first down ends the first quarter. [i]Tech 7,TLSA 0 [/i] [u]Second Quarter[/u] Hipp and company bring the ball inside the Tulsa 10, but can't convert a 3rd down, and Upshaw puts the 3 points through. Suala dives up the middle on the 2nd play of the drive, but strong safety Calvin Babers nails him, and Artrell Spearman recovers the fumble at the Tulsa 21. We can't move the ball though, and Upshaw kicks the field goal. Dobler leads his troops down the field methodically, but their kicker, Clayton LeBlanc, misses from 43 to leave them off the board. Nice to see I'm not the only one with kicking issues. We get to midfield, but get held up for a 4th and inches. I pull out the fake punt again, and Ickey Angulo hits Tremain Sawyer for the first down this week and 10 yards! We still can't put another one in the end zone, and Upshaw adds another 3, and before the end of the first half, we meet our point total from last week. We force a punt, but it goes to our 6 with a minute left. I let Kilroy run twice to run the clock down, and on the last play Hipp gets sacked waiting for a deep man to get open. [i]Tech 16, TLSA 0[/i] [u]Third Quarter[/u] 3 and out for Tulsa, but we can only manage a single first down. Angulo pins them at their 1, and Dobler fumbles in the endzone on third down as Artrell Spearman strips him of the ball and hangs on for the touchdown! Another 3 and out, and Terrance Swartz returns the punt 14 yards to our 47. It's methodical down the field as Kilroy gets a few good runs and Hipp with some good passes before hitting Swartz for the 10 yard touchdown pass! 35 yard kickoff return and a 15 yard piling on penalty puts Tulsa at our 40 to start. They pick up a single first down before kicking a field goal to put them on the board finally. We get the ball back to end the quarter. [i]Tech 30, TLSA 3[/i] [u]Fourth Quarter[/u] We get into Tulsa territory, but can't convert a 3rd and long, so we punt it, and Angulo pins them at their 3 this time. Dobler goes to the air on first and gets the ball out some, but another sack two plays later and he fumbles, where Lum Johns picks it up and takes it down to the 3, where Kilroy runs it in the next play. Time to get some other guys some playing time. Dobler goes incomplete and then throws a deep ball that Benjy Dryer picks off. Jashon Massey picks up a few yards, but Hipp has a pass tipped at the line and is picked off and returned almost to midfield. We hold, but a good punt by Tulsa puts us at our own 5. Orlando Traynham heads out to finish out the game, but it's three and out there for us, and Tulsa gets the ball back with good field position. L.C. Bratkowski comes out for Tulsa this time as QB, but he can't get the ball moving and they turn it over on 4th and long, and we run the clock out to go to 3-0 in Conference USA! [i]Tech 37, TLSA 3[/i] A dominating performance by our defense, but a subpar showing by our offense, despite the scoreboard. Still and all, I can't complain too much. [b]Total Yards 333-185 Passing 201-111 Rushing 132-74 TOP 33:29-26:31[/b] [b]Tech Stats[/b] [u]Passing[/u] B. Hipp 21-27 191 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT [u]Rushing[/u] J. Kilroy 29-121, 1 TD A. Armour 4-13 J. Massey 5-10 C. Dial 2-2 [u]Receiving[/u] J. Kilroy 6-70, 1 TD F. Osika 8-52 R. Tarkenton 2-21 N. Shedd 2-19 E. Ledbetter 2-17 T. Sawyer 1-10 T. Swartz 1-10, 1 TD A. Armour 1-2 J. Massey 1-0

[kennywanchizoate]

[b][u]Week Eight[/b][/u] Two close games and a blowout now in our Conference USA schedule, and this week we defend our home turf as Rice comes to town. Rice is another former WAC foe as well, but just as UTEP, they haven't had great success since joining Conference USA. True freshman Clayton Conley brings this Owls team to the field, and he's got a good running back in senior Bucky Heeter. His receivers outside senior Harlon Herman aren't all that hot, and their line is marginal. On defense, they've got some pretty good guys, but we see some weakness in their corners. For us, Kory Mauti won't be starting on the D-Line, but we're starting senior Waine Mix in his place, so we should be okay. [u]First Quarter[/u] Two plays in, Waine Mix goes down with a knee injury, and we may be without him for the game. Conley takes his team to midfield, but he throws an errant deep ball, and Lum Johns picks the ball off at the 8 and takes it to the 14. Browning Hipp has to take the team down the field as Rice stacks the box against our run game, but ultimately it is J.T. Kilroy who takes it home on a 5 yard pass from Hipp to give us the lead. 45 yard return for Bucky Heeter, and Rice is set with good field position. He adds runs of 11 and 10 before Conley hits a 24 yarder down to our 10. We hold fast and force the field goal, and it's our turn for a good return as Calvin Babers takes the ball up to the 39. Kilroy has runs of 14 and 9 and we have a few shorter gains before the clock runs out on the quarter. [i]Tech 7, Rice 3 [/i] [u]Second Quarter[/u] Hipp continues to bring the guys down the field, and he hits Ron Tarkenton with a 13 yard pass for his second touchdown pass of the game. Two big passes from Conley moves Rice down to our 20, but he gets picked by Benjy Dryer on an out route, but Heeter pulls Dryer down after a 10 yard return out to our 31. We get to the Rice 36, but it's 4th and long and we're out of field goal range, so Ickey Angulo punts it down to the 4. We hold for a 3 and out, but they get a booming 62 yard punt, and we take over after a short return to our 33. We get a break as there was a spearing call at the end of the play, so we set up at our 48. A few good plays puts us at the Rice 7, but we can't convert a 3rd and a long 1, so we kick the field goal. Rice gets the ball back with 2 minutes, and they pick up a first down, but Conley gets picked again, and Duane Huard returns it 15 yards down to the Rice 33. Great pass to Noah Shedd, our big tight end, puts us down to the 8, but Moe Upshaw misses from 26 to end the half. [i]Tech 17, Rice 3[/i] [u]Third Quarter[/u] We start with the ball in the 3rd quarter, and a couple of good runs by Kilroy start off. Noah Shedd goes down with an injury, and he won't be back this game. We get the ball down to the Rice 22, but Moe Upshaw misses from 40. He's done for the day, as I sit him down and chew him up one side and down the other. 7 missed field goals in 3 games is inexcusable, and Cleo Darche will kick for the rest of the game for us. We hold Rice on their side of the field, and we take over after a good punt at our 29. The drive gets all the way down to the one, but Kilroy is hammered in the backfield on 3rd down, so Cleo Darche comes out and kicks the field goal. Rice drives it to our 32, but we hold and they pooch punt it to our 6. Kilroy picks up 11 on the first play, but gets hammered and fumbles at the 20 to give the ball right back. [i]Tech 20, Rice 3[/i] [u]Fourth Quarter[/u] Heeter gets 8, 1, and then down to the goal line, where he fumbles it into the endzone and out of bounds, giving us the ball back at our 20! Browning Hipp takes over the game with 4 consective good passes all the way down to the 4, where Kilroy runs it in for the score. Rice gets into our territory, but we hold and they miss a 45 yard field goal. We take Kilroy and the starting receivers out as there's 5 minutes in the game left. We can't pick up a first though, and Rice gets a big punt return to our 37. Nothing doing for Rice as they miss another field goal. On 3rd and long, Hipp gets picked at our 26 with less than a minute remaining, but Rice can't convert as we pick up another Conference USA win! [i]Tech 27, Rice 3[/i] We dominated this game from gun to gun, and almost doubled up Rice's yardage total, and trounced them in time of possession. I told Moe Upshaw that if he didn't shape up this week, I was swapping him out, and I followed through with my promise. He'll be back in next week, but if he continues to botch easy kicks, he's going to sit the rest of the year. [b]Total Yards 481-272 Passing 275-160 Rushing 206-112 TOP 38:03-21:57[/b] [b]Tech Stats[/b] [u]Passing[/u] B. Hipp 23-31 275 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT [u]Rushing[/u] J. Kilroy 33-148, 1 TD J. Massey 7-36 A. Armour 11-17 E. Ledbetter 1-5 [u]Receiving[/u] E. Ledbetter 6-86 R. Tarkenton 4-39, 1 TD F. Osika 3-32 A. Armour 3-32 J. Kilroy 4-31, 1 TD K. Blades 1-25 N. Shedd 1-25 J. Massey 1-5

[mauboy]

You're having a great season!

[kennywanchizoate]

I've actually finished the entire season, but I haven't written the rest of it up. It gets more exciting at the season goes on. And believe you me, I've almost punched my laptop on some of the missed field goals by Moe Upshaw! KennyWan

[kennywanchizoate]

[b][u]Week Nine[/b][/u] It's another week and another win for the new Conference USA machine Louisiana Tech, and this week we're marching into Houston to face the Cougars, who are currently 1-6 on the season, with that only win in conference play. We need to keep up the good work to secure the conference championship and a bowl bid as this is the midway point of our conference schedule. The Cougar offense is lead on the field by redshirt freshman Tinker Mason with wide out junior Tyoka Howell as his main target. Their running game is pretty solid, with senior Willis Mitrione and a decent line in front of them. On defense, redshirt freshman Denero Rote anchors their line, with Freddie Baxter in the middle of the backers and Vic Haddad at the main corner. Not an overwhelming group, but not the worst we've seen this year by any stretch of the imagination. [u]First Quarter[/u] Our ball to start the game, and Browning Hipp and J.T. Kilroy start it out with a pair of good Kilroy runs and a few good pass plays. We get held up at the Houston 23 though, and Moe Upshaw hits from 41. I suppose last week's berating and benching did some good. Good return for Houston, and a huge 49 yard pass from Mason puts them at our 18. Mitrione runs 4 straight times and bangs it in from our one to give them the 7-3 lead. Calvin Babers sets us up at our 41 after a good return, but we stall at the Houston 35 and can't convert on 4th down. Two plays later though, it's our ball again as Calvin Babers picks off Mason and gives us the ball on the Houston 43. We can't capitalize again as Upshaw misses from 45. Now I'm fixing to get mad and toss Upshaw into the drink, and he sits down for the rest of the game again. Luckily, Lum Johns picks off another Mason pass and takes it 36 yards down to the Houston 8 as time runs out in the quarter. [i]Houston 7, Tech 3 [/i] [u]Second Quarter[/u] 1st and goal at the 8, and we score on 3rd down from the 3 as Hipp hits Armour for the 3 yard touchdown pass! Another 2 plays, and Lum Johns picks off another Mason pass, and this time he takes it 10 yards to the Houston 33. We take it in from 2 yards out on Kilroy's legs and take a 17-7 lead. 3 and out for Houston, and it's our ball at our 9 after a good punt. We drive down the field before stalling out, and Cleo Darche hits from 42 yards out to extend our lead. Senior Rabih Rathman picks off another pass, and sets us back up at our own 41. We don't get far as Ron Tarkenton gets popped and fumbles at the Houston 41. 3 and out for Houston and a good punt, but Terrance Swartz breaks loose and takes it 82 yards to the house! We get the ball back with just under a minute left to play, but can't get anything going to close out the half. [i]Tech 27, Houston 7[/i] [u]Third Quarter[/u] After a first down, we force the punt, but we can't get much going and punt it away. Big gain on the first play as true freshman Mason Kostrewa breaks one for 51 yards on us down to the 11. We hold them there, and they miss a field goal to give us the ball back at the 20. Nothing going here as we punt it away, but another Mason pick, as this time it's Benjy Dryer taking it back to just on the other side of midfield. We can't get much more going though, and Cleo Darche nais it from 46 yards out. We force Houston to punt as the quarter finishes. [i]Tech 30, Houston 7[/i] [u]Fourth Quarter[/u] We drive methodically down the field, but Cleo Darche misses from 35, and now I'm hot at Darche. But another pick makes me feel better as Montrae Martinez takes the deep ball away from his man and brings it back to our 38. Our backups come in for the most part and move the ball down the field, but Kilroy comes in at the 2 and bounces it in the end zone for the score. Backup senior QB Taman Stautner comes in for Houston, but he gets picked off as well by DT Artrell Spearman, and that seals the game up. [i]Tech 37, Houston 7[/i] Besides the first drive of the game for Houston, they did almost nothing on offense. Our defense was more than up to the task, but I'm still concerned about our offense in critical situations. We did enough to blow Houston out, but I'm wondering about the games down the stretch as we start getting tired. We're 7-0 now and getting votes in the polls, but we haven't cracked into the top 25 just yet. [b]Total Yards 410-208 Passing 225-101 Rushing 185-107 TOP 43:20-16:40[/b] [b]Tech Stats[/b] [u]Passing[/u] B. Hipp 20-33 225 yards, 1 TD [u]Rushing[/u] J. Kilroy 38-141, 2 TD J. Massey 7-20 C. Dial 5-27 M. Tongue 1-2 A. Armour 3-(-1) [u]Receiving[/u] R. Tarkenton 3-76 J. Kilroy 7-55 E. Ledbetter 6-42 A. Armour 2-22, 1 TD F. Osika 1-16 K. Blades 1-6 N. Shedd 1-5

[kennywanchizoate]

[b][u]Week 9 Top 10 Coaches Poll[/u][/b] 1. Oklahoma 2. Wisconsin 3. Oregon 4. Michigan 5. Minnesota 6. Penn State 7. Miami 8. Oregon State 9. Florida 10. Ohio State [b][u]Week 9 Top 10 Media Poll[/u][/b] 1. Oklahoma 2. Wisconsin 3. Michigan 4. Minnesota 5. Penn State 6. Oregon 7. Florida 8. Oregon State 9. Washington 10. Texas

[kennywanchizoate]

[b][u]Week Ten[/b][/u] Two more games past this one in Conference USA, but this one is a big one as we square off with the Green Wave of Tulane. This is our first meeting in a long time with this in-state opponent, and I'm wanting to make a statement to the rest of Conference USA. Senior Jace Hickman leads the Green Wave onto the field, and sophomore Boobie Thielmann is his top back. Lyle Serwanga and Russ Macklin are Hickman's main targets, and it's a decent line in front of them. No one special on their defense, although cousins Winslow and Roosevelt Searcy on the D-Line are a good tandem. [u]First Quarter[/u] The first drive of the game is ours, and we take it all the way down to the Tulane 14 before J.T. Kilroy fumbles after a good pass by Browning Hipp, and Tulane starts at their 8. 3 and out with a punt of 53, and we take over at our 43. 3 and out for us, and we put it at the 17 for Tulane. Hickman gets picked on the second play of the drive by Benjy Dryer, and he takes it to the 27 of Tulane. A few yards down to the 18, where Hipp hits Ron Tarkenton for the touchdown! Tulane drives down the field themselves, but we hold them at our 10 and force the field goal to end the quarter. [i]Tech 7, Tulane 3 [/i] [u]Second Quarter[/u] We get into Tulane territory before a holding call backs us up to our 43, but Hipp goes deep to Felipe Osika for a 57 yard touchdown strike! Tulane walks it up the field into our territory before Calvin Babers ends the threat with an interception and return to the Tulane 46. 3 and out though for us, and we punt it to the 14. Big play to start as Jace Hickman is out of the game for a single play after losing his helmet, and Orantes Whittington goes deep for a 57 yard completion. We hold up after two penalties and a sack made 3rd and 31 for Tulane before they have to kick a field goal. 3 and out again for us, and we punt to their 21. We force yet another punt, but it backfires on us as Kilroy fumbles again and they pick it up at our 22. We're in luck though, as they miss the field goal and we kneel for the last play of the half. [i]Tech 14, Tulane 6[/i] [u]Third Quarter[/u] Tulane starts with possession in the 2nd half, and they move it into our territory before we hold fast, and they punt it down to our 6. We can't move the ball yet again, and Tulane sets up at our 42 after a short punt. Hickman goes deep and hits his man for a 42 yard touchdown, but they go for 2 and miss it, leaving us with a 14-12 lead. We finally get the ball moving, but we get held up just in Tulane territory, and Ickey Angulo puts Tulane at their 4. We get another big play on defense as Lum Johns picks the ball off and returns it to the Tulane 46. We get lucky with a couple of silly defensive penalties on Tulane, and Felipe Osika gets in the end zone with a 13 yard pass from Hipp. We force a punt as the end of the quarter. [i]Tech 21, Tulane 12[/i] [u]Fourth Quarter[/u] We get a first down, and on the following 3rd and 5, Hipp hooks it out to Felipe Osika again, and Osika is in the end zone for the 3rd time in the game! We hold 3 and out for Tulane, and on the ensuing drive, Osika makes a critical 3rd down catch that lets J.T. Kilroy roll into the end zone from a yard out for another score. 3 and out again for Tulane, and we pound out the ball before Moe Upshaw misses from 47 yards for a field goal. Hickman goes deep for a 58 yard strike, but that's all that happens as we get the ball back at our 2. We hand off 2 straight times as the clock runs out, and we're now 8-0, 6-0 in Conference USA play now. [i]Tech 35, Tulane 12[/i] Yards were very close in this one, and time of possession was much closer than in a lot of our games in the past few weeks. This was a coming out party for sophomore Felipe Osika as he caught 4 passes, 3 for touchdowns! [b]Total Yards 467-405 Passing 273-309 Rushing 194-96 TOP 31:36-28:30[/b] [b]Tech Stats[/b] [u]Passing[/u] B. Hipp 17-22 273 yards, 4 TD [u]Rushing[/u] J. Kilroy 31-155, 1 TD J. Massey 8-22 A. Armour 5-13 D. Anderson 2-9 [u]Receiving[/u] F. Osika 4-121, 3 TD R. Tarkenton 4-57, 1 TD J. Kilroy 4-45 E. Ledbetter 3-23 J. Massey 1-15 T. Swartz 1-12