By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter

Louisiana Tech at LSU

Saturday, Sept. 12 • 6:30 p.m. CT • ESPN+, SEC Network+

Baton Rouge • Tiger Stadium (“Death Valley”)

Spread: LSU -31.5 | Over/Under 55.5

OVERVIEW

No. 8 LSU (1-0) hosts Louisiana Tech (1-0) on the heels of a statement 51-10 win over No. 23 Clemson in the season opener last Saturday. Somehow, the Bulldogs enter the contest coming off an even more lopsided result. Tech defeated Northwestern State (0-2) in Ruston last Saturday, 80-6. The Demons lost their season opener to NAIA Louisiana Christian of Pineville the week prior. They became just the 13th FCS program ever to lose to an NAIA school and have gone 1-31 since a shortened 2023 season due to off-field controversies. Still, 80 points is an impressive mark no matter the opponent, and with an Ole Miss homecoming for Lane Kiffin and the Tigers right around the corner, Tech will require their full attention.

Fifth-year head coach Sonny Cumbie leads Tech into its first season in the Sun Belt Conference. The Bulldogs are 20-31 under Cumbie, who previously served as the Texas Tech offensive coordinator. He enjoyed his first winning season last year, going 8-5 with an Independence Bowl win over Coastal Carolina. The Gridiron Dogs retained defensive coordinator Luke Olson after holding opponents to 20.8 points and 374.8 yards per game (20th and 68th in FBS), recording 22 interceptions (2nd) and scoring five defensive touchdowns (1st). Former offensive line coach Nathan Young took over as the offensive coordinator and calls plays for an offense led by redshirt junior quarterback Blake Baker. Baker started seven games for the Bulldogs last season before tearing his ACL. He was 10-for-14 passing for 232 yards and three touchdowns in the win over NSU and was responsible for the Bulldogs’ only score in their 23-7 loss to LSU last season.

LA TECH’S 80-POINT WEEK 1

Here is a look at how the Bulldogs amassed their enormous 80-point total against Northwestern State, which actually took a 3-0 lead with a six-minute opening drive for a 49-yard field goal:

1st Quarter, 8:48- Blake Baker 75-yard Pass to WR Jalen Mickens, 7-3

Baker connected with Mickens on a quick slant that went 75 yards to the house on the offense’s first snap.

1st Quarter, 7:52- Baker 27-yard Pass to WR Jay Wilkerson, 14-3

An interception gave the Bulldogs the ball back on the NSU 38-yard line. Three plays later, they found the end zone.

1st Quarter, 4:04- TE Joshua Brantly 16-yard Pass to WR Talyn Shettron. 21-3

The defense forced a three-and-out, and Brantly, a former Ruston High quarterback, found Shettron wide open in the end zone on a fake jet sweep.

2nd Quarter, 13:48- RB Dylone Brooks 28-yard Run, 28-3

An eight-play, 75-yard drive culminated in an inside zone run that Brooks broke off for a score.

2nd Quarter, 11:25- Shettron 37-yard Run, 35-3

Stout blocks from the Tech receivers and running back left Shettron untouched on a jet sweep as he raced the safety to the pylon.  

2nd Quarter, 7:51- Baker 9-yard Pass to TE Eli Finley, 42-3

Finley beat Demons safety Christian Williams one-on-one on an in-breaking route on third down.

2nd Quarter, 6:17- WR Dedrick Latulas 58-yard Punt Return, 49-3

After a fifth-straight NSU three-and-out, Latulas fielded a 35-yard punt on the far sideline before reversing field and weaving through the Demons’ coverage for the TD.

2nd Quarter, 4:05- RB Sergio Snider 2-yard Run, 56-3

NSU punter Jack Hurley’s knee hit the ground while fielding a low snap, giving Tech the ball on the 8-yard line, and Snider punched in the score with an extra lineman and tight end in the backfield.

2nd Quarter, 1:44- RB Jaden Miller 7-yard Run, 63-3

Mickens caught 21- and 37-yard passes to set up Miller, who beat the defense to the left edge and scampered down the sideline to give the Bulldogs a 63-3 lead before the half.

3rd Quarter, 13:22- QB Trey Kukuk 35-yard Pass to WR Luke Watkins, 70-3

Backup quarterback Trey Kukuk took over the offense in the second half. On the score, he rolled out right to find a wide-open Watkins.

3rd Quarter, 6:28- Kukuk 6-yard Pass to Latulas, 77-3

Kukuk connected on an out route with Latulas, whose defender was screened off by the outside receiver.

4th Quarter, 8:56- Hunter Rioux 49-yard Field Goal, 80-3

After third-string quarterback Jackson Bradley led two three-and-out drives for Tech’s only two punts, the Bulldogs bled out the clock and capped off their night with the field goal.

KEY STORYLINES

1. Blake Baker vs. … Blake Baker?

LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker faces off against a quarterback by the same name (no relation) and the school where he was DC and linebackers coach from 2015-2018 for the second straight season. The Tigers won an ugly 23-7 game last season, and while it was another sign of bad LSU offense, the defense was lights out. Tech punted on nine of its 10 possessions. The one blemish came on a 74-yard touchdown drive led by Baker, who was then the backup. Baker went on to take over starting duties for the Bulldogs and finished the year with 1,251 passing yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions with 260 yards and three TDs on the ground in eight games. Baker’s LSU defense was dominant against Clemson, but the redshirt junior who can make plays with his arm and legs brings more experience into Death Valley than the pair of Clemson signal callers.

2. Kick Starting The Passing Game

LSU was dominant in every facet of the game last Saturday, but if there was one area that could use improvement, it was the passing attack. Quarterback Sam Leavitt passed for 230 yards and a touchdown on 28 throws, but his 57.1 completion percentage was the worst of any Southeastern Conference starting QB. Part of the reason he was able to rack up 113 yards and two touchdowns rushing was because he often improvised and scrambled as protection broke down or receivers failed to get open. LSU receivers dropped three passes, accounting for a quarter of Leavitt’s incompletions. Leavitt’s interception should have been caught by Malik Elzy. The matchup with Louisiana Tech should be a good opportunity for Leavitt and his receivers to build chemistry and confidence before SEC play kicks off.

3. Reading The Run-Pass Option

The Louisiana Tech offense thrives on quick RPOs. Cumbie likes to get the ball out quickly to speedy wide receivers on screens, out routes and quick slants. The Bulldogs also showed in their blowout of Northwestern State that they can create their fair share of explosive plays. They had six passes of 20 yards or more and seven runs of 10 or more yards. Cumbie is often credited as an “air-raid” disciple of the great Mike Leach after playing for and coaching under him at Texas Tech. But his Tech offense has evolved to prioritize the run. The Bulldogs ran the ball 63. percent of the time last season, and Young’s promotion from offensive line coach to coordinator should only reinforce that tendency.

4. Don’t Get Trapped

This has “trap game” written all over it. LSU is coming off of an emotional blowout win in the first game of the Kiffin era with an even more charged game at Ole Miss slated for next week. The messaging from LSU has been that the team is remaining focused and dedicated to improving no matter how lopsided the Week 1 outcome was or who their opponent is in Week 2. Video screens in the facility this week read, “Louisiana Tech has beaten LSU before. Get your mind right. 1-0 is all that matters. Get over yourself! You ain’t done s—-.”

BULLDOGS TO WATCH

LB Kolbe Fields: The sixth-year graduate linebacker returned from a season-ending knee injury last year. He totaled nine tackles against LSU, where he began his career, last season.

TE Eli Finley: A premier tight end who chose to return to Ruston for his senior season, had four catches for 52 yards and a TD in the opener and led the Bulldogs with 444 yards on 38 receptions last year.

QB Trey Kukuk: Tech’s Taysom Hill, Kukuk started and finished 2025 as the Bulldogs’ starter and has settled into a do-it-all role as a passer, ball carrier, receiver and blocker. He completed all four of his passes for 45 yards and two TDs and took five carries for 50 yards against NSU.

WR/PR Dedrick Latulas: The Sun Belt Conference special teams player of the week has blazing speed Tech likes to utilize in the return game and on quick screens

KEY MATCHUPS

LSU running back Dilin Jones vs. Tech Linebackers — Jones wowed with 23 carries for 113 yards and two touchdowns in his LSU debut. The linebacking corps made up of Fields, sophomore Zheric Hill and redshirt junior Alonzo Jackson Jr. is the strength of the Bulldogs’ defense.

LSU defensive ends Jordan Ross & Princewill Umanmielen vs. Tech tackles Troy Smith III & Hayden Christman — Ross and Umanmielen combined for 10 tackles, three sacks and four tackles for loss in limited playing time versus Clemson. Smith and Christman are a pair of veteran tackles on a line that did not allow a sack last week.

STATS AND TRENDS

LSU is 20-1 all-time against LA Tech. The lone loss was, 6-0, on Oct. 29, 1904, in Ruston after LSU won eight days previously, 17-0, on Oct. 21 in Baton Rouge.

Kiffin is 18-0 against Group of Six (Group of Five prior to 2024 PAC-12 realignment) teams as a power conference head coach.

LA Tech’s 80 points scored against Northwestern State is its highest total since becoming a Division I program. 

The largest upset of LSU based on pregame points spread in history is Troy’s 24-21 win in 2017 in Tiger Stadium, where LSU was a 20.5-point favorite. The Tigers are favored by 31.5 on Saturday.

The 2017 Troy game was also the last time LSU lost a non-conference game at home.

THE OUTLOOK

The Tigers are 31.5-point favorites for a reason. LSU should take care of business at home in front of another sold-out Tiger Stadium crowd, but the Tigers will need to limit Tech’s explosive plays to keep things comfortable. Look for another dominant performance from the LSU front seven that can stuff early-down runs and get home on creative blitzes in pass situations. The offense will again rely on its rushing attack to overpower the Tech defensive front as Leavitt searches for more consistent accuracy in the passing game.