Louisiana Tech suffered a 9-3 defeat at Sam Houston State last Tuesday night to fall to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in Conference USA play.

Three Things We Learned

1 — Red Zone Struggles

Louisiana Tech reached the Sam Houston State 7-yard line four times in the contest on offense.

The Bulldogs came away with only three points in those four drives.

Sonny Cumbie's offense is only scoring 71% of the time when it reaches the red zone in 2024, which ranks 127th nationally.

Want to take it a step further? Tech was inside Sam Houston State's 40-yard line seven times in the game and only managed to score three points.

2 — Defense Stands Tall

You've heard this one before, haven't you?

Jeremiah Johnson's defense gave the Bulldogs a chance to win against on Tuesday night with a brilliant defensive performance.

The Tech defense only allowed one Sam Houston State touchdown in the contest and limited the Bearkats to only 268 total yards of offense.

Johnson's unit now ranks 30th in scoring defense and 17th in total defense nationally.

3 — Kolbe Fields Appreciation Post

Kolbe Fields played well on Tuesday night with 5 total tackles, but this is a post about the season the junior from New Orleans, LA has had.

Fields leads the Bulldogs with 57 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF, and 1 interception.

The 6'0, 220-pound linebacker ranks 10th nationally among linebackers with a 79.5 PFF Player Grade.

Tech's entire defense has been significantly improved in 2024, but Fields has led the way with his play each week.

Two Questions Going Forward

1 — Do we have a quarterback controversy yet again?

Evan Bullock made his 5th start of the season at Sam Houston State and finished 16/25 for 148 yards and 1 interception.

Bullock was pulled in favor of Jack Turner at the outset of the fourth quarter.

Turner finished 8/15 for 59 yards in the loss against the Bearkats.

Regardless of who has played quarterback for the Bulldogs in 2024, it has been a struggle offensively outside of a 48-21 victory over Middle Tennessee on October 10th.

Might Sonny Cumbie go back to Turner who opened the season as the starter? The Bulldogs backs are against the wall and more offensive production is needed in a major way.

2 — Is Jacksonville State the best team in Conference USA?

Rich Rodriguez will bring his Gamecocks to Ruston with a 5-game winning streak on Saturday afternoon.

After dropping their first three games of the season, Jax State has averaged 46.8 points per game.

Tyler Huff has emerged as one of the better quarterbacks in the league with 1,501 yards passing, 8 TDs & 4 INTs. The Furman transfer also has 784 yards rushing and 8 TDs on the ground.

Tre Stewart leads Conference USA with 15 touchdowns from his running back position.

We'll find out if the Gamecocks are for real on Saturday.

One Prediction for Next Week

Beautiful day for football inside Joe Aillet Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

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