Louisiana Tech (1-0) enjoyed a bye week to rest and recover from its seasoning opening win against Nicholls this past weekend.
The Bulldogs will travel to NC State (1-1) for a non-conference matchup on Saturday.
Kickoff is scheduled for 11 AM on ACC Network.
Three Things We Learned
1 — Conference USA is a Mystery
I don't think it's much of a surprise, but Conference USA will take some time to figure out in 2024.
FIU beat Central Michigan 52-16 on Saturday. The Panthers had not scored at least 52 points in a game since September 29, 2018 when they scored 55 against Arkansas Pine-Bluff.
Liberty outscored New Mexico State 21-7 in the fourth quarter to earn a 30-24 road win.
UTEP had 41,609 folks show up for the season opener in Scotty Walden's first season. However, the Miners missed a 32-yard field goal in OT to fall 27-24 to Southern Utah.
Middle Tennessee, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, and Sam Houston State suffered defeats by an average of 34.7 points per game.
WKU beat Eastern Kentucky 31-0, but the Hilltoppers actually struggled? The Colonels were only down 17-0 in the 4th quarter.
Will take some time before we truly figure out who the contenders are in league play.
2 — NC State struggles for a second straight week
Tech will travel to Raleigh this weekend for a matchup with a Wolfpack team that hasn't quite looked like the preseason top 25 and sleeper playoff team that many touted them to be in the preseason.
After defeating Western Carolina 38-21 in week one, the Wolfpack fell 51-10 against #14 Tennessee on Saturday night in Charlotte.
Grayson McCall struggled with only 104 yards passing and 3 turnovers at the quarterback position.
Defensively, Tony Gibson's unit gave up 450 yards of total offense to the Volunteers.
Maybe Tech is catching the Wolfpack at the right time? We'll find out.
3 — Jack Turner's Injury
Sonny Cumbie mentioned on Monday, September 2nd that the Bulldogs signal caller would only be out 1-2 weeks based on the initial diagnosis of his left knee injury suffered against Nicholls.
Cumbie is next set to speak to the media on Tuesday regarding Turner's status for the NC State game on Saturday.
Getting Turner back into the lineup at quarterback will be key in Tech's efforts to pull off an upset against the Wolfpack.
Two Questions Going Forward
1 — Can Tech run the football?
The Bulldogs broke in three new starters along the offensive line against Nicholls on August 31st, so it's understandable that there were going to be some things to work through in terms of chemistry up front.
The biggest concern? Tech only ran for 2.7 yards per carry against the Colonels.
Tech has to get Donerio Davenport and Marquis Crosby going in the backfield to opens things up in the passing game for the offense.
2 — Defensively, how will Tech fare in Raleigh?
It's no secret, Tech's defense dominated Nicholls to the tune of 200 total yards and only 10 points allowed in the season opener.
Test passed.
Up next? A date with an NC State team that has playoff aspirations in 2024.
The Bulldogs will certainly be playing with confidence come Saturday, but NC State isn't Nicholls. The Wolfpack have talent all over the field and will be a good test for Jeremiah Johnson's unit.
One Prediction for Next Week
Tech's defense forces two turnovers against the Wolfpack.
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