WKU Football: Louisiana Tech Preseason Preview
With the kickoff of football season less than five weeks weeks away, We’ll continue to bring you our preseason look at each of WKU’s regular season opponents between now and the start of the season. Today we continue the series with a rematch of last year’s Conference USA Championship , the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech.
Date & Time
September 16, 2017, 6 p.m. CST
Location
Houchens Industries - L.T. Smith Stadium
Series
Last Meeting
In last season’s Conference USA Championship Game, WKU jumped to a 38–27 halftime lead. Ace Wales dominated the game, scoring five touchdowns on 262 yards from scrimmage, garnering MVP honors in WKU’s 58–44 victory.
TV/Radio
TV - Stadium
Radio- Hilltopper IMG Sports Network
2016 Season
Louisiana Tech started off slow, losing a heartbreaking opener to Arkansas in Fayetteville on way to a 1–3 start. They came on strong the rest of the season, winning their next seven games (including a victory over WKU) and winning the Conference USA West Division with an 8–4 record. After losing the Championship game to WKU they rebounded nicely to beat #25 Navy in Armed Forces Bowl to finish 9–5 overall.
Returning Starters
11 (five on offense and six on defense)
Relevant Preview Articles
Bill Connelly’s SB Nation Louisiana Tech Preview:
This season could go in quite a few different directions. It’s easy to assume regression for the offense and progress for the defense, but the amount of each could make the difference between a six-win season and a long-awaited Conference USA title.
I’m optimistic. The defense finally has a little continuity, and if Ephraim Kitchen is able to stay on the field, the secondary should boast stability. And while it will be hard to maintain last year’s offensive pace, I would be surprised if the Tech offense fell out of the Off. S&P+ top 40.
Pete Fiutak’s College Football News Louisiana Tech Preview :
With all the turnover and all the concerns on both sides of the ball, this is going to be a far worse team than last year’s juggernaut. However, they’re in the far easier West and the schedule couldn’t possibly be more favorable.
Three Players to Watch
There’s no other way to put it — the 6'5" 255 pound junior is a physical specimen with the stats to back it up. During his sophomore campaign in 2016, Ferguson led Conference USA with 14.5 sacks to go along with 49 total tackles on the season. He, surprisingly, was snubbed as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, losing out to Rice senior linebacker Emmanuel Ellerbee. As great as Ferguson was last season, Forrest Lamp and Darrell Williams did hold him sackless in both meetings. Unfortunately for WKU this season, both are gone. Jimmie Sims, Matt Nord or whoever wins one of the tackle jobs will have their work cut out for them preventing Ferguson from terrorizing WKU’s backfield.
While La Tech will be breaking in a new quarterback and some new receivers early in the season, they’ll get to lean upon a steady 1000 yard rusher in Craft. The 6-foot senior from Houghton, Louisiana complimented Tech’s passing game perfectly last season. Craft was a threat on the ground gaining 1074 yards with nine touchdowns, and the air chipping in 340 yards and four touchdowns. In another expected shootout, having a premier back like Craft will be a steadying presence that will help their young quarterback settle into his first road test of the season.
The quarterback of the future is now the quarterback of the present for Tech. The former three-star prospect out of Meridian, Mississippi almost upset Arkansas last year in Little Rock when starter Ryan Higgins was benched for a DWI. In the one-point loss, Smith put the Bulldogs in position to win passing for 212 yards while completing 19–31 passes. After that game, he relented the spot back to Higgins, only seeing spot time passing for 200 yards on seven completions with two touchdowns in mop up time. He is now the clear cut starter heading into his sophomore campaign. Skip Holtz has proven over the course of his tenure in Ruston that he knows how to develop passers. How Smith will handle WKU’s experienced secondary and aggressive defense will be crucial in the week three outcome.
Preseason Thoughts about the Game
- Who will have the better bounce back?
WKU and Louisiana Tech have almost mirror schedules the first two weeks of the season. In Week 1, they both host in-state FCS programs, EKU and Northwestern State. They then upgrade their schedule by playing against a winnable Power 5 program, as WKU travels to Illinois while Tech hosts Mississippi State. Regardless of the outcome of each of those games, both teams will quickly have to regroup for a game that is towards the top of each of their schedules. Injuries also could be a factor heading into the game as well coming off of games against teams with more size and depth than your average G5 team. The team with less of a hangover will have the upper hand.
2. Will Tech’s new play makers emerge by Week 3?
The fact that Tech is picked to win the Conference USA West, despite losing three All-Conference players, is a testament to the talent and track record of Skip Holtz. Tech has to not only replace All-Conference quarterback Ryan Higgins but must also replace two NFL draft picks in receivers Carlos Henderson and Trent Taylor. They have potential pieces ready in the previously mentioned Smith and a pair of transfers at receiver. Teddy Veal was productive in two seasons at Tulane, gaining over 800 yards receiving and they also have an Oklahoma transfer in Adrian Hardy. If those three players are the real deal then Tech can expect a smaller drop-op than expected, but if they’re not ready then they could struggle to keep up with WKU high scoring attack.
3. Payback motivation
WKU has played Louisiana Tech more than anyone else since joining C-USA, splitting the four games 2–2. Unfortunately for Tech, WKU has won when it mattered the most with the 2015 loss costing them the West Division and the 2016 loss costing them the Conference Title. The question is how much will those losses drive Tech’s preparation and motivation in this one? The WKU game is sandwiched between a pair of SEC games (Mississippi State & South Carolina) on Tech’s schedule. Will Tech’s players pin their emotional hopes to this one or will they just see this as another conference game?
4. Potential Sell-Out
Depending on how the first two weeks play out, this game has a good potential of being close to a sell-out. This game will fall on parents weekend, annually one of the best attended games of the season (see: Vanderbilt last year). If the Tops can upset Illinois the week before, will fans and parents respond by packing the Houch and giving the program the atmosphere they deserve for a crucial game of this magnitude?
5. Will WKU see Tech again?
At Conference USA media days, the coaches picked a rematch of last year’s title game. Like last year, this regular season contest could just be the prequel of a more important match-up later in the season. Whoever wins will have the home-field tiebreaker should they tie with the same conference record. We also learned last season that whoever wins the first game isn’t guaranteed to take the Conference title.
Preseason Prediction
Louisiana Tech has show itself to be WKU’s most even rival in Conference USA. Their defensive front led by Ferguson has the potential to throw Mike White’s precision passing attack out of rhythm. The fact that the game is in Bowling Green and will be the first road test of the season for the Bulldogs gives WKU a clear advantage. This game will be another high scoring shootout, however I see WKU riding a powerful running game from D’Andre Ferby to put away the Bulldogs midway through the 4th quarter.
Final Score Prediction- WKU 52 Louisiana Tech 41
Best places for Louisiana Tech coverage as the game gets closer
Louisiana Tech has a nice community of coverage across the internet. Their local paper is The News Star out of nearby Monroe, LA. They have a really solid rivals site in BleedTechBlue, and LATechReport.com does a good job of aggregating most of Louisiana Tech’s stories across the internet, while Bulldog Barks & Bytes is a well trafficked message board that will help you get the pulse of their fan base. We also want to give a shout out to Tanner Spearman, who writes about Tech and C-USA for Underdog Dynasty.
What do you think about WKU’s chances of tieing up the all-time series with Louisiana Tech? Which team’s previous game will affect them the most? Does this game have sellout potential? Let us know in a comment below, via twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page.
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