LOUISIANA TECH 2024 BULLDOG FOOTBALL 3 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
13 bowl appearances
DATE/TIME: Saturday, Aug. 31 | 7 p.m. CT LOCATION: Joe Aillet Stadium (Ruston, La.) SERIES HISTORY: LA Tech leads, 4-0 STREAK: LA Tech, 4 LAST MEETING: Sept. 19, 2009 | Ruston, La. LA Tech 48, Nicholls 13 MEDIA: ESPN+ TALENT: Chris Mycoskie (pxp), Shea Walker (analyst), Madison Kaufman (sideline) RADIO: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app TALENT: Malcolm Butler (pxp), Teddy Allen (analyst), Jerry Byrd (sideline) STATS: LATechSports.com/Stats
LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGs (0-0, 0-0 cusa) Head Coach: Sonny Cumbie Record at LA Tech: 6-18 (3rd year) Career Record: 8-21 (4th year) Record vs. Nicholls: 0-0
VS NICHOLLS COLONELS (0-0, 0-0 southland) Head Coach: Tim Rebowe Record at Nicholls: 53-48 (10th year) Career Record: Same Record vs. LA Tech: 0-0
BULLDOG STORYLINES AND returning LEADERS
A total of 20 different Bulldogs earned at least one preseason honor heading into the 2024 season.
• Would extend LA Tech’s unbeaten streak versus Nicholls to five. The 5-0 record against the Colonels would tie for the most wins against an unbeaten without a loss for the Bulldogs. • Would give the Bulldogs their eighth straight victory at home versus an in-state opponent.
• Also new to the Bulldogs for the season opener will be their helmets. Officially unveiled at a team meeting on Aug. 14, the white helmets feature a Tech script that dates back to the 1960s. The helmet will be matched up with LA Tech’s throwback LT Blue uniforms they unveiled back in 2022.
183 CARRIES | 918 YARDS | 9 TDS (2022)
• Sonny Cumbie enters his third season at the helm of the Bulldog Football program. LA Tech has gone 3-9 each of his first two seasons, including four losses by one possession in 2023. The Bulldogs aim to get back to a bowl game for the first time since 2020 (went to seven straight bowls from 2014-20). • Jack Turner was officially named the starting quarterback by head coach Sonny Cumbie at CUSA Media Day. Turner enters his third year at LA Tech and is coming off a season where he appeared in eight games including four starts. This will mark the fifth straight season that the Bulldogs will have a different quarterback start game one. It will also mark the first time since 2020 (Aaron Allen) that a returning Bulldog will start the season opener. • It has been 15 years since the last time LA Tech played Nicholls on the gridiron. The Bulldogs have played seven other in-state schools since then (Grambling, Tulane, UL-Lafayette, Northwestern State, Southern, LSU, and Southeastern Louisiana). LA Tech has won seven straight at home against in-state foes, a streak that dates back to 2015.
23 RECEPTIONS | 284 YARDS | 2 TDS (2023)
LB
A LA TECH WIN...
• Would give the Bulldogs a 1-0 record to start the 2024 season. It would also snap their six-game losing streak and their four-game home losing streak that is a carry over from last season.
• Bulldog fans will get to enjoy a brand new video board at Joe Aillet Stadium. At a cost of $6.8 million dollars, it is a 3,240-square foot end zone display that measures 36 feet high and 90 feet wide. It features 10-millimeter pixel spacing as well as a custom audio system. It replaces the old video board that was installed in 2009. It is the second largest video board in the state of Louisiana behind only LSU who just installed its new one.
ZACH ZIMOS
The Bulldogs have won 10 straight season openers that have been played at home.
84/148 (56.8%) | 1017 YARDS | 5 TDS (2023)
MARQUIS RB CROSBY
Defensive end Mykol Clark is projected to make his 48th appearance in a game at LA Tech.
• After five straight seasons of opening up on the road (201822), LA Tech will start the year at home for the second consecutive time when it hosts Nicholls. This is not customary as the Bulldogs have played their first game of the season in Joe Aillet Stadium just four times in the last 15 years. The ‘Dogs are 12-1 all-time in season openers at the Joe, having won 10 straight dating back to 1979.
TRU WR EDWARDS
The Bulldogs added 50 newcomers to the 2024 roster, including 30 transfers.
QB JACK TURNER
• Louisiana Tech is set to play its 122nd season of football. The Bulldogs first fielded a football team in 1901 and have played every year since except for 1918 and 1943 when those particularly seasons were discontinued.
BY THE NUMBERS
50 48 20 10
3 NFL HALL OF FAMERS
60 TACKLES | 26 SOLO | 3.5 TFL (2023)
2024 SCHEDULE
NICHOLLS Aug. 31 ESPN+ 7 p.m. CT
at NC STATE Sept. 14 ACC Network 11 a.m. CT
TULSA Sept. 21 ESPN Platforms 6 p.m. CT
at FIU* Sept. 28 ESPN Platforms 5 p.m. CT
MIDDLE TENNESSEE* at NEW MEXICO STATE* Oct. 10 Oct. 15 CBSSN ESPNU 7 p.m. CT 8 p.m. CT
UTEP* Oct. 22 CBSSN 7 p.m. CT
at SAM HOUSTON* Oct. 29 ESPNU 7 p.m. CT
JACKSONVILLE STATE* Nov. 9 CBSSN 3:30 p.m. CT
at WKU* Nov. 16 CBSSN 11 a.m. CT
at ARKANSAS Nov. 23 SEC Nework+ TBA
KENNESAW STATE* Nov. 30 ESPN Platforms 2 p.m. CT