The Bulldogs are struggling for stability.
After moving on from Skip Holtz in 2021, Louisiana Tech gambled on Sonny Cumbie, who had no head coaching experience outside of the four games he served as the interim for Texas Tech that same year. It wasn’t a bad idea—Cumbie had worked as an offensive coordinator for the Red Raiders and TCU, and his recruiting ties to Texas are useful.
But there’s little sign that he’s going to work out in Ruston as his third season at the helm gets rolling. Louisiana Tech went 3-9 in each of his first two seasons, and last year finished 112th in SP+. The Bulldogs were gutted by departures in the offseason, losing veteran quarterback Hank Bachmeier to Wake Forest and big-play receiver Cyrus Allen (778 yards on 46 grabs) to Texas A&M. Leading receiver Smoke Harris (83-796-4) graduated, while third-leading receiver Kyle Maxwell left for Washington State.
The portal can make life harsh on G5 programs, especially the ones trying to climb back to respectability. And this Tech team lost tons of meaningful experience, in general, ranking near the bottom of FBS in returning production. There are 50 newcomers on the roster.
At quarterback, Louisiana Tech is going with Jack Turner, who started a handful of games for an injured Bachmeier in 2023. The returns were not great—he completed just 57% of his throws, and threw as many INTs as TDs (five). But the alternative is redshirt freshman Blake Baker, who had no college experience prior to the 2024 opener, when he was pressed into action after Turner injured a knee.
Turner is expected to start Saturday, though his health may be worth keeping an eye on.
The re-worked receiving corps is expected to lean on transfers Jimmy Holiday and Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim, both of whom had 20 grabs for other G5 programs last season, plus Tru Edwards, who was the fourth-leading receiver in 2023 with 284 yards. Tru is the son of LTU legend Troy Edwards, who you might remember beat out Torry Holt for the Biletnikoff Trophy in 1998.
There’s good news at running back, at least, as Marquis Crosby returns from an injury that cost him almost all of 2023. In 2022, he racked up 918 rushing yards on 5.0 per carry.
The Bulldogs return a pair of starters up front and are pretty good at the guard spots, which includes 348-pound veteran Bert Hale on the left side.
Defensively, Louisiana Tech has a solid, experienced defensive end in Mykol Clark, who has 28 starts under his belt. The middle of the line is probably going to be a work in progress, and definitely NC State should treat it as such.
The Bulldogs have some playmaking ability at linebacker, with Zach Zimos (60 tackles in ‘23) returning and former Sakerlina/LSU recruit Kolbe Fields entering the mix with a bang (12 tackles in the opener). Kent State transfer CJ Harris made two dozen starts there, and had 30 tackles and 6.0 TFL in 2023.
The secondary is largely reworked, but does return corner Cedric Woods, who is the most experienced guy on the roster with 34 career starts.
But the overall picture is unpleasant, what with Tech having to replace lots of production from a unit that finished 122nd in SP+. The rush defense completely bottomed out in Cumbie’s first two seasons, with the Bulldogs allowing 243 yards per game on 6.1 yards per carry in 2022, and 233 and 5.5, respectively, last fall. Nebraska and Liberty both rolled up over 300 yards on them last year, while Jacksonville State went for an appalling 522 yards in the season finale.
Opponents ran the ball an average of 42 times per game while attempting about 26 passes per game. If this run defense can’t show signs of life, the rest is academic.
It’s pretty clear what we need to see from NC State this week in order to start feeling better about the season beyond Saturday. If this is a game in the fourth quarter, uh, well, it’s best not to think about that.