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Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs look to take down a power five conference team when they take on the Big Tens Illinois Fighting Illini in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, which will be held at the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 26. The Bulldogs finished as the top team in Conference-USAs West Division this season, going 8-5 overall and 7-1 in conference play. LaTech had a chance for the C-USA outright title, but lost to Marshall in the championship game, 33-26, back on Dec. 6. Illinois, meanwhile, is coming into the game thanks to a win in its regular- season finale against Northwestern, 47-33. The victory made the Illini bowl eligible at 6-6 and improved the teams conference mark to 3-5, which was fifth best in the Big Ten. LaTech sits in a good spot to pick up just its third bowl win in its seventh try (2-3-1). The Bulldogs recorded four more wins in 2014 than they did in head coach Skip Holtzs first season at the helm in 2013. The Bulldogs ranked fourth in most-improved scoring offense with a 102.1 percent improvement, going from an average of 19.2 points per game in 2013 to a current average of 37.5 points per game this season. Running back Kenneth Dixon leads the Bulldog offense. He rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns against Marshall to improve his season total to 1,238 yards and 21 touchdowns. For his career, Dixon has amassed 3,347 rushing yards with 52 touchdowns on the ground in 35 games. As a team, the Bulldogs offense averages 403.8 yards per game, going for 151.2 on the ground and 252.6 through the air. Redshirt senior quarterback Cody Sokol threw for 3,189 yards with 29 touchdowns and 13 picks this season. He was named the C-USAs Newcomer of the Year after transferring in from Iowa. It all starts with Cody Sokol, said Holtz. He came in and did a great job of getting players to buy in, setting a real example as a leader with his toughness and the way he plays the game. Sokols favorite target was sophomore wide receiver Trent Taylor, who hauled in a team-high 62 catches for 814 yards with nine scores. On the defensive side of the ball, Louisiana Tech is the national leader in points off of turnovers. With 14 points off of turnovers in the Marshall game, the Bulldogs have scored 164 points off turnovers in 13 games this season (12.6 points per game). Last season, Louisiana Tech scored only 64 points off turnovers the entire year (5.3 points a game). This will be a nice opportunity for starting defensive end Houston Bates, who transferred to the Bulldogs from Illinois. A fifth-year transfer to the Bulldog program, Bates is a previous All-Big Ten Conference selection. He started all 13 games for the Bulldogs with 28 total tackles to his credit including 10.5 tackles for a loss of 55 yards, 5.5 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, two pass break-ups and a team-leading 12 QB hurries. The Bulldogs last bowl win came in 2008 when they defeated Northern Illinois in the Independence Bowl. Illinois had to win three of its last five games to even become bowl eligible and the program had a real gut check to get there. There came a point in time right before we played Minnesota where we gathered up as a team and had to go one direction or the other, said Illinois head coach Tim Beckman. We could either step forward, meet the challenge and attack the Minnesota Golden Gophers or we could just give in. This football team was not going to do that. It was important for Beckmans squad to earn its first bowl bid since 2011, despite the lack of overall success this season. We needed to get to a bowl game, our program needs those types of things to move forward, Beckman added. I cannot tell you the excitement that is in Champaign and in our facility with our athletic department to earn a bowl game down here in Dallas. Offensively, Illinois boasts one of the top passing offenses in the Big Ten, ranking third in the conference in passing yards per game (243.2) and completion percentage (61.2 percent) and fifth in passing efficiency. Beckman has done it with a QB competition approach. Senior Reilly OToole was under center for the last two games, both wins, but Wes Hunt and Aaron Bailey are also getting action in practices leading up to the bowl game. OToole finished the season completing 58.7 percent of his passes for 1,049 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions in 12 games. Lunt completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 1,729 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions in seven games. Despite who plays under center, wideout Mike Dudek appears to be everyones favorite target, hauling in a team-best 69 catches for 965 yards with six TDs. The Illini averages 26.6 points per game with Josh Ferguson leading the way on the ground. He has run for 685 yards and eight scores. Donovonn Young has added five TDs on the ground. This is a rematch of a 2012 meeting between the two schools that saw Louisiana Tech roll to a 52-24 win in Champaign, Ill. Louisiana Tech is 2-2 all-time against the Big Ten and has won its last two meetings against Big Ten opponents. Prior to Techs 52-24 win over Illinois in 2012, the Bulldogs topped Michigan State, 20-19, in East Lansing on Sept. 13, 2003. These school have a common opponent this year in Western Kentucky. Louisiana Tech dismantled the Hilltoppers, 59-10, on Nov. 1, while Illinois beat WKU, 42-34, on Sept. 6 in Champaign. Paul Molitor Jersey . The Earthquakes (6-9-7) were coming off a 5-0 loss at home last Saturday to FC Dallas. Even with the draw, the Sounders (13-7-3) climbed back into a tie for both the Western Conference and overall top spot in MLS. Seattle, West co-leader Real Salt Lake and East leader Sporting Kansas City all have 42 points. Devon Travis Jersey . -- Crystal Webster avoided elimination at the 2013 Capital One Road to the Roar Olympic pre-trial curling tournament with an 8-5 win over Amber Holland on Thursday. http://www.cheapbluejaysjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-aaron-sanchez-jersey . -- James Harden scored 31 points, including 25 in the second half, and the Houston Rockets dug out of a double-digit, first-half hole to beat the Orlando Magic 101-89 on Wednesday night. Roger Clemens Jersey . - Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis said Wednesday hes "nodded off" during meetings, but he said its something every player does. Kendrys Morales Jersey .S. womens soccer team to a 2-0 win over China in Colorado in the afternoon.PARIS – Milos Raonic is a much different player than the one who lost in the third round of the French Open one year ago. "Not only am I a better player purely all-around, but also on clay," said Raonic, who is seeded eighth, his highest ever ranking at a Grand Slam event. "Last year, coming in, there was a lot of doubts in my mind, struggling with a coaching change [an emotional split with Galo Blanco] and everything and I just wasnt playing my best tennis leading into it or at the event whereas now Im playing some of my best tennis, definitely my best tennis on clay and I feel like Im getting better each week on the clay." Just last week, Raonic came within a few points of knocking off Novak Djokovic at the Masters 1000 event in Rome, ultimately falling 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 3-6. After the match, the worlds second-ranked player said he could not remember the last time he felt so "helpless" in the return game. "Thats what I want every single one of my opponents to feel," Raonic said. "I know that when I can make them have a lot of doubts and a lot of insecurities on my service games, my return games get easier, because they feel the pressure that they need these games and its about imposing myself and I felt that in that match, I was able to impose myself." Raonic has won 80 pre cent of his first-serve points on clay this season to lead the ATP Tour. Thats up from the 76 per cent last season. "I think its the serve, but also the confidence I have behind the serve when the ball comes back," Raonic explained. "I think Im structuring points better. A lot of the time when people look at serve stats, they think that its just the serve and nothing happens after that, but its how you back it up and I think it creates more pressure on my opponents that when they do get my serve back, its not just about getting it back, they have to do something with it to at least neutralize [the point], because if I start the point ahead, I can finish it off." Raonic is a much more complete player than the one who burst onto the scene three years ago at the Australian Open advancing all the way to the fourth round. That remains the furthest he has progressed at a major (hes reached that stage four times, including twice at the US Open and once more at the Australian Open in 2013). It also matches the furthest any Canadian man has ever advanced in the singles competition at a Grand Slam event. But all signs point to that changing soon as the big server from Thornhill, Ont. seeks to break down yet another Canadian tennis barrier. He beat Andy Murray, seeded seventh at Roland Garros, earlier this season at Indian Wells. He pushed Rafael Nadal, the top seed in Paris, to threee sets at a hard-court event in Miami this season.dddddddddddd So as he enters the years second Grand Slam, his confidence level against the games elite is very healthy. "Its quite high actually," the 23-year-old said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I feel like every time Im getting better when I put myself in those situations. Its a big focus for me: do well in early rounds so you can face those top guys, because each time you do, youll get more experience." Raonic could get another shot at Djokovic if the draw holds to form and both make it to the quarterfinals, although the road there for the Canadian is littered with tricky propositions. Hell open the tournament on Sunday against Australian wildcard Nicholas Kyrgios. He is ranked 161st right now, but turned heads in Melbourne at the seasons first major by upsetting Benjamin Becker in the first round before falling to Benoit Paire, a top-30 player, in five sets in the second round. The 19-year-old Kyrgios is viewed as a player on the rise. "I followed him a lot, especially in the Australian Open," said Raonic. "He was having some exciting matches. He played really well. He likes to play aggressive. He likes to sort of use the ambiance around him and hes got a big personality in that sense. For me, it really comes down to taking care of what I need to take care of. Ive got to take care of my serve. Ive got to go out there, its the first match, with the attitude. The approach on the mental side is going to be very important and I must make sure I stay with patience. It doesnt matter if moments get difficult, because its still three out of five, just let my game flow and let my game follow." In the second round, Raonic could face 53rd-ranked Czech Lukas Rosol and in the third round, Gilles Simon could be waiting and its certain the Frenchman would have the home fans on his side. Then, should Raonic get to the round of 16, a showdown with ninth-seed Kei Nishikori looms. The Japanese star is 2-0 against Raonic and just beat him in Madrid (straight sets, but both went to a tiebreak). A Canadian man has never made the fourth round at Roland Garros so history seems to be within reach for Raonic, who made it clear he must do better than last years third-round finish if this tournament is to be considered a success for him. And should Raonic make more history at Roland Garros by making the quarterfinals, well, that would be an important milestone, but the rising star is hardly fixated on that benchmark. "It would mean a lot in that moment," he said, "but I dont think it would be very significant at the same time, because my ambitions dont lie in just making the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam." ' ' '