Louisiana Tech took one on the chin in a 51-7 loss at UTSA on Saturday afternoon.

In the defeat, the Bulldogs were officially eliminated from bowl contention.

Tech will play its final road game of the season at Charlotte on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 PM on ESPN+.

Three Things We Learned

1 -- The 'Dogs are not ready for primetime

UTSA sent a message to Louisiana Tech on Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs are not close to competing for a Conference USA Championship.

Tech turned the football over 5 times and allowed UTSA to score on all 6 of its first half possessions in getting pummeled in all facets of the game. That's just a glimpse into how things went inside the Alamodome on Saturday.

There remains a lot of work to be done by Sonny Cumbie and his staff to get this roster in a position to compete with the upper tier teams in the league.

2 -- The run defense struggles....again

Louisiana Tech ranked 131st out of 131 FBS teams when it came to stopping the run entering the contest against UTSA.

The Roadrunners piled up 258 yards on the ground and averaged 6.3 yards per carry on Saturday.

Kevorian Barnes, Brenden Bardy, and Justin Rodriguez also combined for 5 rushing touchdowns in the contest.

It wasn't pretty. It hasn't been pretty for much of the year.

3 -- Bulldogs eliminated from Bowl Contention

For just the 2nd time in 9 seasons Louisiana Tech will not play in a bowl game in December.

Tech is only 6-16 as a program over the last two seasons.

It hasn't been fun to watch as a fan; there is no other way to describe it.

Sonny Cumbie is in his first season as the head coach, the best thing the fans can do is to believe in his vision for the program and continue to support in any way possible.

The future is bright with so many young pieces returning in 2023.

Two Questions Going Forward

1 -- What's the plan?

Landry Lyddy made his second career start at quarterback on Saturday and finished 14/26 for 138 yards, 1 TD & 2 INTs.

The freshman was 9/13 for 102 yards and 1 TD in the first quarter before the wheels fell off.

The possibility of redshirting Lyddy is out the window after he played in his fifth game of the season on Saturday.

What's the plan for the final two weeks of the season against Charlotte and UAB?

Tech is eliminated from bowl contention.

It's time to get Lyddy more experience. It's time to get a number of young players extended game action over the final two weeks of the season.

2 -- Where will Tech find its motivation over the last two weeks of the season with not much to play for?

Sonny Cumbie has not lost the locker room. It's stupid to even bring that question to the table.

However, it would be naive to think that Tech would be playing with its same motivation against Charlotte this week after having been eliminated from bowl contention the previous week.

It will be VERY INTERESTING to see what kind of energy Tech comes out with on Saturday.

One Prediction for Next Week

LA Tech earns its first road win since December 3, 2020 with a win at Charlotte.

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