Scouting the Enemy: Lamar will be looking for a signature upset

The Lamar Cardinals are led by second year head coach Mike Schultz. Coach Schultz was the running game coordinator at TCU from 1998-2000 and most notably coached LaDanian Tomlinson. In 2001, he was promoted to offensive coordinator at TCU when Gary Patterson took over the head coaching duties in Fort Worth. Schultz held that position until 2008 and aided in the development of current Cincinatti Bengals QB Andy Dalton. After that coach Schultz has had stints as offensive coordinator at Illinois, Middle Tennesee, and Texas State before taking his first collegiate head coaching job at Lamar.

Since 2010, when the Lamar football program was reinstated after being dropped from the university in 1989, the Cardinals have only had one winning season. It’s been a tough restart for the Cardinals and the Red Raiders should be able to end this game before it even begins on September 8^th.

Offense

Lamar’s offense has yet to find a solidified starter at quarterback. Last season they played 3 different QBs. If I had to guess who will be the starter when they come to Lubbock, I would say it will be Darrel Colbert. Darrel is an SMU transfer that started six games last season for the Cardinals. He completed 54% of his passes with 8 TDs as well as 285 rush yards and 5 TDs.

Last year Lamar rushed for 1,753 yards and passed for 2,363 yards as a team. We will see a well-balanced attack from the Cardinal offense which should keep David Gibbs and his defense on their toes. Look for the Red Raider defense to force a few turnovers in this game as the Cardinals put the ball on the ground 25 times last year while 10 of those led to turnovers.

Defense

The Lamar Cardinal defense is nothing to be afraid of. From bad tackling to missed assignments, this defense can’t stop anything. I’ll be surprised if the starters are still playing mid-way through the 3^rd quarter. This defense gave up 35.5 ppg last season and they were vulnerable to the rushing attacks of their opponents. Don’t be surprised if Tech puts up over 600 yards of total offense in this one. The Cardinals gave up 5.2 yards per rushing attempt and 7.61 yards per pass. In other words, Texas Tech should have no problems scoring in this game.

Key to the game

Kliff and company have to get off to a fast start. When playing FCS competition, the ultimate goals are to win big, avoid injuries, and get some experience for the younger players. If the Red Raiders can go up 14 within the first few possessions of the 1^st quarter then I think this one will be a great game to watch the players that will be redshirted get some valuable game experience.