Louisiana Tech had real chances to put a major scare into #5 Clemson on Saturday night but were unable to overcome 4 turnovers in a 48-20 loss.

The Bulldogs will now turn their focus to a road test at South Alabama on Saturday night.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 PM on ESPN+.

Three Things We Learned

1 -- Turnovers will get you beat

In two losses to Missouri and Clemson, Louisiana Tech has turned the football over 7 times.

Not a great recipe for success.

Interceptions. Fumbles. Bad snaps.

In order to be a legit contender in conference play, Sonny Cumbie's squad MUST get the turnover issue cleaned up in a hurry.

2 -- The offense is showing flashes of being extremely explosive

Louisiana Tech rushed the ball for 6 yards on 20 attempts against Clemson, but the passing game came alive against one of the top defenses in America.

Parker McNeil was pressured on only 4 drop backs all night and was able to produce 311 yards through the air.

With that 311 yards came 7 plays of 20+ yards on the evening.

Griffin Hebert, Julien Lewis, Tre Harris, and Cyrus Allen all caught passes over 20 yards in the game.

With improved pass protection through the first 3 games, Tech's offense has shown a real ability to make plays down the field.

Get the turnover issue cleaned up and the Bulldogs *could* average 35+ points per game in the remaining 9 games.

3 -- Tyler Grubbs just continues to produce at linebacker

Tyler Grubbs is 6'0, 224 pounds. Not exactly a guy that is going to strike fear into an opponent in pregame warm-ups.

Put the pads on though, and the New Orleans native will produce at a high level.

Although the Tech defense allowed 48 points on the evening, Grubbs was all over the field with 15 tackles and 6 STOPs, per Pro Football Focus.

Through 3 games, Grubbs is leading the Bulldogs with 31 tackles.

Two Questions Going Forward

1 -- Can Louisiana Tech stop the run?

Through 3 weeks, Louisiana Tech is allowing 249 yards per game on the ground.

Not great.

Opponents are averaging nearly 6 yards per carry and have rushed for 10 touchdowns.

Not great.

There will not be another Missouri or Clemson on the schedule for the Bulldogs, but there also won't be another SFA.

It's pretty clear that the Bulldogs lack substantial depth at defensive tackle beyond Keivie Rose, Deshon Hall, Rasheed Lyles, and Shaq Spears.

If the Bulldogs prove to be soft in the middle of the defense, it could be difficult to dictate things on that side of the ball with a secondary that is one of the best in Conference USA.

2 -- Can the Bulldogs run the ball with effectiveness through the remaining 9 games?

Louisiana Tech rushed for a total of 17 yards against Missouri and Clemson.

The Bulldogs rushed for 300 yards against SFA in week two.

With South Alabama on the horizon, can the Bulldogs run the football effectively against like-competition?

It's clear that Marquis Crosby and Charvis Thornton appear to be the top two running backs at this point, and the duo appears that they can succeed when given room to run.

As much as the offensive line has improved in the pass blocking department, the unit still has questions to answer in the run game.

It starts this week.

One Prediction for Next Week

Louisiana Tech will go on the road and knock off South Alabama on Saturday night.

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