2010 Record: 5-7 (4-4), 5th WAC2010 Bowl Game: None
2010 Schedule/Results
@ Grambling, W 20-7
@ Texas A&M, L 48-16
Navy, L 27-23
Southern Mississippi, L 13-12
@ Hawaii, L 41-21
Utah State, W 24-6
Idaho, W 48-35
@ Boise State, L 49-20
Fresno State, L 40-34
@ New Mexico State, W 41-20
@ San Jose State, W 45-38
Nevada, L 35-17
OFFENSE
389.8 yards per game
The offense had its moments in 2010, but some of those moments were not so good. Sonny Dykes has spent a majority of the off-season working on some fundamental flaws, and finally feels that he has some solid pieces to work with, specifically at QB, where Ross Jenkins has moved on after posting 1762 yards and 12 TD passes against 6 picks in 2010. Those numbers were not nearly enough to excite Dykes, who believes in a more pass happy offense. Colby Cameron and Tarik Hakmi both return after seeing time in a prolonged QB battle in 2010 that went well into the system, but it could be niether of themwho gets the nod in 2011 after Dykes recruited JC transfer Zach Griffith and incoming freshman Nick Isham, both having come from Air-Raid styled offenses.
Whoever starts at QB will have the benfit in the return of solid RB Lennon Creer, who rushed for 1181 yards and 10 TDs in 2010. Creer's return will ensure that whoever the QB is will have someone to keep defenses honest lining up behind or beside him in the backfield. Finding a complimentary back to Creer will be fundamental in ensuring long term success, and nobody had fulfilled that spot as of yet.
The top 7 receivers will return in 2011, including leading receiver Taulib Ikharo, who had 50 catches for 530 yards on the season. Richie Kasey had 42 receptions on the season, and he too will return for action. Both receivers have to be looking forward to a more open attack in 2011.
Expect a rebuilt offensive line in 2011, as Dykes attacked this position with a fire in his gut. Several JC additions will be available in the fall, most of which have a shot to be named starters in a completely refurbished unit.
DEFENSE
462.1 yards allowed per game
The right thing to say would be that there was no such part of the game being played in 2010 at Tech even resembling a defense. Teams passed against the Bulldogs at a clip of 290 yards per game, and they rushed against Tech at a clip of 171 yards per game. Yeah, you could say that the defense was a train wreck of a unit. The issues always start up front, which is another area that Dykes recruited feriously for 2011, landing many strong candidates from the JC ranks that should start or see heavy time in a rotation.
The good news is that Matt Broha will return after registering 14 TFLs on the season up front. The building should start around him, as Broha will be a senior in 2011. Matt Hitt was close in production, but will not return in 2011. Broha had 9 sacks on the season.
Jay Dudley and Adrian Cole were very busy at LB last season, collecting a total of 174 tackles on the season, and both will be back to continue with the transition, whic us great news. Solomon Randle will join them as the starting trio at LB returns intact. They need to be a more attacking and versatile unit if they have a prayer of helping stem the bleeding that went out of control in 2010.
Chad Boyd, Ryan Williams, and Javontay Crowe are the leading candidates to start in the secondary, with the 4th spot up for grabs in 2011. All three will be juniors, but they were massacred as sophomores. Hopefully another year should show some serious growth and development, or else it looks to be more of the same from this group.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Matt Nelson hit on 14 of his 18 FG attempts in 2010, which is all you could have asked of him. He returns as a junior in 2011, which is solid news for the Bulldogs.
Ryan Allen was also a young sophomore in 2010, but did manage to eek out an average of just over 40 yards. Again, off-season development is key in regards to Allen, as he can only get better.
Phillip Livas averaged over 15 yards per return on punts last seaosn, and had busted one loose for a score. There are two problems with that. First, Livas has now graduated, and second, he rarely got a chance to return punts, as the defense never could stop a soul. Livas also returned kicks, and busted out a score there too.
FINAL NOTES
Tech was very lucky to win 5 games in 2010. They were a mess on defense, and Dykes never got to fully implement his wide open passing attack, as the personnel was not suited for it. The rebuilding is under way, but it may take awhile. Dykes is having delusions of grandeur if he believes that he can sneak in and take the WAC title in 2011, even if Boise State is out of the league effective now. The main issues to worry about is whehter or not the WAC will be a viable league for Tech starting in 2012, and there don't seem to be any interested parties in taking in the Bulldogs should the WAC fall apart completely after all of the defections.
2011 NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
9/3 @ Southern Mississippi, 9/10 Central Arkansas, 9/17 Houston, 9/24 @ Mississippi State, 11/12 @ Ole Miss
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