:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/37438904/20131109_lbm_ac9_295.0.jpg)
Oklahoma and Louisiana Tech have never met in football before, making this a bit of an intriguing match-up just based on that factor alone. The Bulldogs are in their second season under Skip Holtz and are looking to rebound from a 4-8 record in 2013.
Among the six returning players on offense are Tech's leading rusher, receiver and passer from 2013. Senior Sterling Griffin caught 33 passes for 357 yards and two scores last season and while Ryan Higgins is the returning quarterback it isn't certain that he'll be the one throwing to Griffin on Saturday evening. Former Iowa Hawkeye Cody Sokol has made a strong push for the starting job and may have actually won it.
The workhorse for the Bulldogs' offense is running back Kenneth Dixon who is a bowling ball at 5-10/220. He carried the ball 151 times for 917 yards and four touchdowns in 2013 and will be the guy that Louisiana Tech looks to in order to get their offense rolling. He struggled with an injury last season but was a freshman All American in 2012.
The strength of this team should be the defensive side of the ball where the Bulldogs return eight starters from 2013. The lost last year's leading tackler Daniel Cobb but return the remaining five of their top six. Free safety Thomas McDonald is the leading returning tackler with 70 takedowns last season and corner Adairius Barnes led the team with four picks (49 tackles). They'll need to find a suitable replacement for 2013's sack leader IK Enemkpali but have a solid candidate in junior defensive end Vontarrius Dora who had 2.5 sacks last season.
Louisiana Tech didn't play a ranked opponent in 2014 and are 2-14 in season openers on the road, with the last win coming in 2012 when they beat Houston 56-49.