Football will take on the West Georgia Wolves this weekend, hot off their 51-point showing against Texas Tech.

Despite forcing Tech into overtime, the Wildcats come into week two seeking their first win of the 2024 campaign. Their week one loss came at the hands of the Red Raiders in Lubbock on a 2-point conversion attempt that fell short of the goal line.

When asked how the offense can build on its successful showing last week, offensive coordinator Rick Bowie had a single yet powerful response: “Win.”

The team fell short of a victory despite an impressive showing, forcing Tech to fight all the way into overtime, but Bowie acknowledged the only statistic that matters is the final score.

“Ultimately we’re judged at this level by wins and losses,” he said.

The offense had an impressive day after its slow start, totaling 615 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns. Three of those touchdowns came on the ground in the hands of running back Isaiah Johnson.

Isaiah Johnson, graduate running back from Lubbock, attempts to dive for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. (Photo by Ashley Henderson)

“I can’t say enough good things about Isaiah,” Bowie said. “He’s a leader for us. He does everything right, leads by example and I expect many days like that one from here on out.”

Bowie and the Wildcats offense will look to build around Johnson’s success on the ground.

“Running the football is an essential part of successful offensive play,” said Bowie.

However, it was not a solo effort. The backfield workload will be handled by the committee this year, with four backs getting snaps last week. Johnson had the most carries with 13, Sam Hicks carried the ball ten times for 13 yards, Rovaughn Banks Jr. had 9 carries for 43 yards and Nehemiah Martinez I had a carry for 11 yards.

“Everybody in that room, I think, we’re blessed,” Bowie said. “At this level of college football, you need about four of them to get through the year because of the physicality of that position. I think we’re lucky to have that.”

Jordan Vaughn is also listed in the backfield but had only one carry for one yard.

The offensive line had a strong day, holding Texas Tech without a sack.

“A lot of guys put a lot of snaps up there,” Bowie said. “I was really pleased. That’s the standard that they hold.”

Bowie’s approach to this weekend’s matchup with the West Georgia was focused on one thing – winning.

“We break down offensively on win,” said Bowie. “Every huddle we have offensively, we break down on win. We get to do that. This is a 1-0 football team. They won last week, we didn’t win last week.”

The Wolves wrote their name in the history books last weekend, beating Samford for the team’s first-ever Div. I win. Bowie had nothing but high praise for the Wolves, a school he faced the last two years at Valdosta State.

“They play extremely hard,” Bowie said. “You know, they take the identity of their coaching staff. I think, you know, similar to us, they’re really tough and they play really hard.”

Bowie also said how important it is for this matchup as the team’s home opener.

“I can’t stress this enough – they won last week. They’re an undefeated football team coming to Wildcat Stadium,” said Bowie.

Bowie said the Wildcats will need the fans’ help on Saturday as they welcome the Wolves and hope to get their first win of the season.

“It’s essential,” he said. “College football is such a passionate, emotional game.”