R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Arkansas State (9-3) vs. Louisiana Tech (8-4)
New Orleans
Dec. 19, 2015
It might be hard to believe, but Arkansas State and Louisiana Tech used to be rivals of sorts. The two programs played in the Southland Conference and Big West Conference together and have met 38 times in their histories with the Bulldogs leading the series 26-12.
But the last time these teams met was in 1998 and that resulted in a 69-21 Louisiana Tech victory.
Probably won’t be that easy this time around.
Fast-forward to today and the Red Wolves are coming off a Sun Belt Conference title, after winning eight consecutive games — all by double digits — following a 1-3 start. The Red Wolves didn’t lose a conference contest, but it struggled mightily in nonconference games against USC, Missouri and Toledo.
The Red Wolves are going to need all of that offense against a Louisiana Tech team that averaged 36.8 points per game. The Bulldogs, however, are coming off a tough 58-24 to loss to Southern Miss that cost them a shot at the Conference USA title. In that game, Louisiana Tech quarterback Jeff Driskel threw three interceptions and was subsequently benched.
Still, Louisiana Tech will look to Driskel and running back Kenneth Dixon to lead the Bulldogs in what will likely be a high-scoring game. Dixon has 83 total career touchdowns and has a chance to break the FBS record for most rushing and receiving TDs in a career.
These teams are pretty evenly matched. The Red Wolves average a few more points per game at 41, but the defenses give up roughly the same amount of points. Expect this to be a high-scoring affair with a fair split crowd.
Picks
Graham: Jeff Driskel is better than he showed against Southern Miss a few weeks ago and he’ll be eager to show that in his final collegiate game. It will be close, but I like the Bulldogs, 41-38.
Nick: Yeah, I'd give this last wrinkled dollar in my pocket that I earned to see this game. OK, maybe not. I just needed to quote Eric Church's Knives of New Orleans here. Arkansas State 31, Louisiana Tech 24.
Sam: Jeff Driskel actually has better weapons at Louisiana Tech (Kenneth Dixon, Trent Taylor) than he did during most of his time at Florida. He’ll put them to good use, but Fredi Knighten and Arkansas State will hang with them every step of the way. I'll take La. Tech in a shootout, 41-38.
For more Arkansas State news, visit RedwolfReport.com.
For more Louisiana Tech news, visit BleedTechBlue.com.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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