RUSTON – Bowl game wins are great, but it’s time for Louisiana Tech to insert itself back into the conference championship hunt.

The Bulldogs took down Hawaii, 31-14, in the Hawaii Bowl last December for the program’s fifth straight bowl victory, something very few other schools across the country can say, masking another disappointing end to the regular season, dropping its last two games at Southern Miss and the finale at home versus a putrid Western Kentucky squad to stumble to third in the Conference USA West division standings.

Tech’s title chase preparation kicks off Friday afternoon, the first of 14 practices over the next month before holding its annual spring football game Saturday, April 13 at Joe Aillet Stadium. Kickoff time has yet to be set.

Heavy attention and focus from head coach Skip Holtz will be on the defensive side of the ball, with Bob Diaco stepping into the defensive coordinator role, taking over for Blake Baker who is now at Miami and the crater-sized hole that Jaylon Ferguson, the NCAA’s career sack leader, left not only on the line but the entire defense with his graduation.

Just 171 until Louisiana Tech kicks off the 2019 season at Texas, here’s what to watch for as the team begins spring drills Friday:

Life without Sack Daddy

You can put numbers to what Ferguson meant to the Tech football program during his career, the record-holding 45 sacks, the 66.5 total tackles-for-loss, but you can’t measure the impact he had on opposing offenses scheming against him and what it did for him teammates and different defensive packages the Bulldogs could utilize.

With Sack Daddy, the nickname Ferguson earned during his illustrious college career, now gone, who could try to step up and be the next pass rushing force? Rising redshirt junior end Willie Baker showed flashes of what he could bring and left Holtz and his defensive coaching staff salivating over his four-sack performance in the Hawaii Bowl to end the year.

Tough act to follow

A sound argument was made that Blake Baker was the most improved, effective and valuable asset among the Louisiana Tech assistant coaches over the last two seasons. The progress the entire defense, in the pass and run game, made under his tutelage was nothing short of remarkable.

Enter Bob Diaco, who’s been a defensive coordinator at other stops, most recently at Nebraska in 2017, Notre Dame in 2013 and Cincinnati in 2009. The former Connecticut head coach (2014-16) started the season last year as an analyst for Oklahoma, before sliding into an on-field role coaching the outside linebackers.

His Nebraska defense gave up 36.4 points per game and opponents tacked on more than 50 points four times that season. Historically, Diaco’s defense have based out of a three-down look, a shift from what Tech has been running under Baker with two tackles on the interior. It’ll be interesting to see this spring if Diaco implements the 3-4 front or if he’ll change his philosophy to fit what the Bulldogs have been running.

Time is now

Louisiana Tech’s top two headlining signees from the last year’s recruiting cycle didn’t make quite the impact some believed they would in 2018.

It was almost a given that linebacker Connor Taylor, the former JUCO Defensive Player of the Year from Snow College in Utah, would come in and earn a starting job in the middle, but that’s not how things shook out. He played in all 13 games and finished with 31 tackles. With a full year’s worth of work under his belt entering his senior campaign, coupled with the spot Dae’Von Washington left open in the linebacker corps, eyes will be on Taylor to assume the position he appeared to ready to take a season ago.

Former LSU signee Willie Allen was a huge get for Tech on the offensive line. But he didn’t arrive until fall camp and battling some injuries set him behind the 8-ball and he could never fully get it going. With the departure of five senior O-lineman, including both tackles O’Shea Dugas and Michael Rodriguez, there’s certainly opportunity for Allen to fulfill the role he seemed destined to once arriving on campus.

Run game consistency

For the first time since four years, the Bulldogs didn’t have a 1,000-yard rusher in 2018. Redshirt junior Jaqwis Dancy led the run game with 667 yards and just nine rushing touchdowns. Injuries played a part in the inconsistencies, Dancy missed two games with a knee injury and Israel Tucker missed three games, but neither back could really locate the performance needed for complete offensive balance.

The offensive line play will need to improve to bring the rush attack up to a higher caliber and with the loss of three senior starters across the front, beginning the search for the best five linemen will be a crucial task this spring.

Follow Cory Diaz on Twitter @CoryDiaz_TNS and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CoryDiazTNS/