Courtesy of Staff Reports
Louisiana Tech will return from its open date tonight when the Bulldogs host Army at Origin Bank Field at Joe Aillet Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. in the first meeting in Ruston between the two programs. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Malcolm Butler handling play-by-play and Luke McCown serving as analyst.
Tech (1-2) will look to close out the nonconference portion of its schedule with a win before beginning Sun Belt Conference play. Army enters the game 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the American Conference.
The Black Knights have won all three previous meetings, including a 27-6 victory over the Bulldogs in the 2024 Independence Bowl in Shreveport. Army also won 35-16 in Dallas in 2013 and 14-7 at West Point in 2008.
Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie said the Bulldogs have spent plenty of time preparing for an Army offense that presents a much different challenge than anything else on the schedule.
“We’ve allocated a lot of time to it,” Cumbie said. “The first thing we did on the Monday when we got back from Baylor is you take your scout offense out, and we start walking through cards, we start showing them film.”
The Bulldogs have had two weeks to prepare since falling 35-20 at Baylor on Sept. 19.
One of the biggest challenges will be dealing with an Army offense designed to control the football and limit possessions. The Black Knights enter the game averaging 355.7 yards rushing per game while possessing the football for an average of 35 minutes, 35 seconds.
Cumbie said Tech could run considerably fewer offensive plays than it would in a normal game.
“I think you’ll get probably 50 to 55 plays, most likely,” Cumbie said. “We may be on the field one time in the first quarter on offense. It’s just what they do to other teams, the way they have the ability to possess the football for long drives.”
That makes taking advantage of every possession important for the Bulldogs.
“We gotta take care of the ball on offense,” Cumbie said. “We’ve talked to our players about it. I think it’s probably more on us as coaches of trimming the call sheet down and making sure that what we’re asking them to do, they can execute at a high clip.”
Tech will also look for more production from its running game, where Dylone Brooks will be relied upon for an increased workload. Cumbie said the former Ruston High standout has shown big-play ability and has earned an opportunity for more carries.
Defensively, the Bulldogs will try to keep Army out of the short-yardage situations in which the Black Knights thrive.
“Defensively, first downs are gonna be critical,” Cumbie said. “We’ve got to get them into some long-yardage situations and get them behind the chains.”
Tech enters the game riding a three-game home winning streak dating to last season.
Tonight will also be Military Appreciation Day and Legends Day at Joe Aillet Stadium. The Bulldogs will wear their red Stars & Stripes helmets with blue jerseys and white pants.
