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Bicknell Hopes Bulldogs Confidence Not Shaken


 

  
Posted Oct 24, 2002 18:05:55
Bicknell Hopes Bulldogs Confidence Not Shaken

RUSTON - Heading into this weekend's homecoming contest against Nevada, Louisiana Tech head coach Jack Bicknell has all the confidence in the world in his team's ability to break its current four game losing skid.

However, the biggest concern for Bicknell is where his player's confidence level is at heading into the important Western Athletic Conference game against the Wolfpack (3-4, 2-1).

"I know as coaches we have confidence in this team," Bicknell said. "I hope the team has confidence in themselves. You can talk about it all you want, but the key is to go out on the field and play with confidence. I have a lot of confidence in this football team."

Following road losses to Penn State and Texas A&M, the Bulldogs (2-5, 1-2) still felt like they were a football team ready to begin defense of their WAC championship. However, after tough losses to Rice and SMU over the past three weeks, Tech now faces a must win scenario for the remainder of the season.

"I don't think we are frustrated," said junior signal caller Luke McCown. "We are angry because we know we are better than we have played the last few games. We know we have the players to execute and win ball games. We showed that last year. We need to go out and prove it."

Many factors have played into Tech's recent struggles, including turnovers where the Bulldogs rank near the bottom in this week's NCAA statistics in turnover margin. Where last year Tech won three or four close league games, this year the Bulldogs aren't getting the breaks at critical times.

"I can't put my finger on why we are struggling right now, but I like the team and I like their attitude," Bicknell said. "It's not that far away from what we did last year. It is a competitive conference, and we are going to have our hands full every single week we go out and play."

Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Joe Aillet Stadium.