--Senior QB Colby Cameron is the undisputed starter heading into fall camp. In the first year and a half under head coach Sonny Dykes, the Bulldogs were in a constant state of uncertainty under center, going through four starters in 2010 before naming a 17-year-old true freshman in Nick Isham to start the 2011 season only to have Cameron take over midseason and lead the team to a WAC title and a bowl game.

"It's one of those deals where you look back now as a coach and it's like, 'What was I thinking?'" Dykes said of not sticking with Cameron sooner in the 2011 season. "I must have had some kind of drug binge or something for not doing it on the front end."

Isham has since transferred to the University of Arizona, cheap air max shoes  the school Dykes was offensive coordinator at before taking the Louisiana Tech job.

--WR Quinton Patton, coming off a 1,200-yard receiving season in 2011 to go along with 11 touchdowns, has been named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list and also selected by the league's media members as the preseason Offensive Player of the Year.

To push his campaign forward for postseason awards, Louisiana Tech has made up posters of "General" Patton in his red white and blue uniform standing in front of an American flag with his name in all capital letters across the top PATTON like the iconic Patton movie poster for the 1970 Academy Award winning movie, Patton.

SPOTLIGHT ON SEPTEMBER

In the 2011 season, Tech started 1-4 early in the year but lost three of those games when carrying a lead or being tied in the final two minutes of each game. The team hopes to reverse its early season woes this fall but will have to do so with a tough opening month. The Bulldogs play a neutral-site game against Texas A&M in Shreveport, La., on Aug. 30 where he Bulldogs hope to catch the SEC's newest member in a transition phase under first-year head coach Kevin Sumlin. The following week it's more of the same at Houston and first-year head coach Tony Levine. A bit of a breather at home Sept. 15 vs. Rice will be nice, but Louisiana Tech then goes on the road at Illinois and at Virginia. By the end of September, Tech will have played four games away from Ruston and faced off against arguably the four toughest teams on its schedule.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

The offense should be better from the start of the season with Colby Cameron as the leader from Day 1, assuming he stays healthy. With four starters returning on the offensive line, that shouldn't be a huge concern heading into the year and with Preseason WAC Offensive Player of the Year WR Quinton Patton to throw to, the Bulldogs should be able to air it out and rack up points. That is what people expected two years ago when head coach Sonny Dykes was hired. If the offense takes the step forward many anticipate, that should more than make up for the step back the defense is expected to take with the loss of several key seniors. Of course special teams should again be a strength led by 2011 Ray Guy Award winning punter Ryan Allen.

AREAS OF CONCERN

There is an awful lot missing from the defense that really was the catalyst to last year's surprising run to a WAC title. The main losses from a production and leadership standpoint are linebackers Jay Dudley and last year's WAC Defensive Player of the Year Adrien Cole. If they can be adequately replaced, no worries in Ruston. But that's a tall order. On offense, RB Lennon Creer graduated and while his replacement RB Hunter Lee last year performed admirably, the reality is he is still a former walk-on who hasn't proven he can handle the grind of a full season. An injury there and the Bulldogs air-it-out offense could be grounded with no run game for defenses to worry about.

QUOTE TO NOTE

"When you sit and look at our schedule, you know, we're going to have about the same talent as almost everybody we're going to play." -- Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Dykes.

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