Thursday, September 4, 2008
If coach Derek Dooley was surprised by Louisiana Tech’s 22-14 victory over Mississippi State last week, he hasn’t let anybody know about it.
“While there was a lot of excitement, I don’t think there was overwhelming joy,” Dooley said. “Our players had worked hard, they were ready for the game, and they were confident going into the game.”
The Bulldogs upset victory certainly caught the eyes of college football fans across the country.
Todd Reesing and the Jayhawks are preparing this week to play Louisiana Tech on Saturday. The Bulldogs are fresh off a 22-14 victory over Mississippi State and are attempting to pull off another upset of a power conference foe.
Last year Mississippi State came out of the Southeastern Conferencer with seven victories and added an eighth in the Liberty Bowl. Conversely, Louisiana Tech won five games in the Western Athletic Conference and its only claim to fame was taking Hawaii to overtime.
Despite the contrast in success, Dooley said he was trying to keep his team focused on what’s ahead rather than what’s behind.
“If you feel too good about last week’s win, then you don’t prepare to win again the next week,” he said. “We’re playing a top-five team in scoring offense and scoring defense and if you don’t come ready to play they’re going to embarrass you. They’ve done that to a lot of non-conference opponents.”
In the win, Bulldog running back Patrick Jackson rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown. He caught another touchdown and kicker Brad Oestriecher scored the rest of the points with an extra point and field goals of 48, 28 and 50 yards. Oestriecher was named WAC special teams player of the week for his effort.
The game was ugly, though, as the teams combined for seven turnovers. Senior quarterback Taylor Bennett — a transfer from Georgia Tech — had a rough outing, completing 14 of 40 passes with an interception.
Dooley said Bennett was a “work in progress” and admired his whole team for overcoming mistakes and digging out a win.
“We overcame a lot of adversity in the game, there were a lot of opportunities for us to put our head down and fold up but we kept fighting,” Dooley said.
The Louisiana Tech defense carried it to the fourth quarter, where Jackson ground out the clock.
Cornerback Steve Howze and safeties Antonio Bryant and Deon Young each made an interception. Young’s pick came deep in Louisiana Tech territory and he returned it 42 yards to mid-field. Young also recorded seven tackles and the WAC tabbed him as its defensive player of the week.
Dooley said his defense was impressive, but also tipped his perfectly quaffed hair to the Kansas offense.
“Instead of talking about their strengths, I think what you notice is there’s no weaknesses,” he said. “They’re well coached, they’ve got a great scheme and they have a phenomenal quarterback. When you combine all those ingredients you end up 12-1 and you win the Orange Bowl.
“I don’t know what the strengths are because they’re all strong to me.”
BCS conference teams rarely travel to WAC stadiums, as Mississippi State did last week, and Dooley said he’s aware of what kind of opportunity it was. This week his squad travels more than six hundred miles to play in a hostile environment, but Dooley’s only trying to follow the blueprint of the WAC’s most consistent program.
“One victory doesn’t make a program, you have to prove it over time the way Fresno State has done,” he said.
Fresno State’s reputation is the willingness to play anybody, anytime, anywhere. That motto has led coach Pat Hill’s Bulldogs to success, and now Dooley’s Dawgs will try to follow suit.
“We’ll see how we handle success,” Dooley said. “We haven’t been here often and we’ll just see if our program can handle it.”
— — Edited by Scott Toland
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