By Chadd Cripe
ccripe@idahostatesman.com

Louisiana Tech football coach Derek Dooley said Wednesday he’s having a difficult time finding a weak spot in Boise State as he prepares for both teams’ WAC opener next Wednesday at Bronco Stadium.

He’s particularly impressed with freshman quarterback Kellen Moore, whose pass-efficiency rating of 179.8 is way higher than senior starter Taylor Tharp’s rating of 121.44 through three games last year.

Tharp finished at 152.85 last year.

“All the attention they get is well-deserved,” Dooley said. “When you watch the film, you don’t really see any weaknesses. They lose their quarterback and not only does the next guy fill the void, but he does it in a much more convincing fashion.”

Dooley was the special teams coordinator on an LSU team that won the national title, so he hopes the Bulldogs can carve out an edge there. The Bulldogs (2-1) forced a turnover and had a long punt return in their win against Mississippi State and turned a blocked field goal, long punt return and fumbled return into three touchdowns against Southeastern Louisiana.

Dooley knows the Broncos also put a huge emphasis on special teams.

“Both of our victories, we’ve had a big-time impact on special teams,” Dooley said. “… That will be a real challenge for us (against Boise State).”

Louisiana Tech is above .500 despite a terrible start statistically. The Bulldogs rank sixth in the WAC in scoring offense (21 points per game), last in pass offense (163.3 yards per game) and last in pass defense (348.7 yards per game).

They have compensated with stingy red-zone defense (three touchdowns allowed on nine trips), strong rushing numbers (163.7 yards for, 93.3 yards allowed) and the best punt team in the WAC.

The Bulldogs have allowed 23.0 points per game. Their defense has been a mixed bag.

“At times we’ve played well,” Dooley said. “At times we’ve struggled quite a bit. The best thing we’ve done is we’ve made the other team kick a lot of field goals, which I think is important.”