Inside the Boxscores Week 3 (Part 2)

Inside the Boxscores Week 3 (Part 1)

Inside the Boxscores Week 2 (Part 2)

Inside the Boxscores Week 2 (Part 1)

Inside the Boxscores Week 1 (Part 2)

Inside the Boxscores Week 1 (Part 1)

Inside the Boxscores Week 0

2022 Western Michigan Broncos Preview

2022 Wisconsin Badgers Preview

2022 Wyoming Cowboys Preview

2022 Washington Huskies Preview

2022 Washington St. Cougars Preview

2022 West Virginia Mountaineers Preview

2022 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Preview

2022 Virginia Tech Hokies Preview

2022 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Preview

2022 UTEP Miners Preview

2022 UTSA Roadrunners Preview

2022 Vanderbilt Commodores Preview

2022 Virginia Cavaliers Preview

2022 UNLV Runnin' Rebels Preview

2022 USC Trojans Preview

2022 Utah St. Aggies Preview

2022 Utah Utes Preview

2022 UL-Monroe Warhawks Preview

2022 UCLA Bruins Preview

2022 UAB Blazers Preview

2022 UCF Knights Preview

2022 Toledo Rockets Preview

2022 Troy Trojans Preview

2022 Tulane Green Wave Preview

2022 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Preview

2022 Texas A&M Aggies Preview

2022 Texas Longhorns Preview

2022 Texas St. Bobcats Preview

2022 Texas Tech Red Raiders Preview

2022 TCU Horned Frogs Preview

2022 Temple Owls Preview

2022 Tennessee Volunteers Preview

2022 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles Preview

2022 Stanford Cardinal Preview

2022 Syracuse Orange Preview

2022 South Alabama Jaguars Preview

2022 South Carolina Gamecocks Preview

2022 South Florida Bulls Preview

2022 San Jose St. Spartans Preview

2022 SMU Mustangs Preview

2022 San Diego St. Aztecs Preview

2022 Rice Owls Preview

2022 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Preview

2022 Penn St. Nittany Lions Preview

2022 Pittsburgh Panthers Preview

2022 Purdue Boilermakers Preview

2022 Oregon St. Beavers Preview

2022 Oklahoma Sooners Preview

2022 Oklahoma St. Cowboys Preview

2022 Old Dominion Monarchs Preview

2022 Oregon Ducks Preview

2022 Northwestern Wildcats Preview

2022 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Preview

2022 Ohio Bobcats Preview

2022 Ohio St. Buckeyes Preview

2022 New Mexico St. Aggies Preview

2022 North Carolina Tar Heels Preview

2022 North Texas Mean Green Preview

2022 Northern Illinois Huskies Preview

2022 Nebraska Cornhuskers Preview

2022 Nevada Wolf Pack Preview

2022 New Mexico Lobos Preview

2022 Navy Midshipmen Preview

2022 NC State Wolfpack Preview

2022 Mississippi St. Bulldogs Preview

2022 Missouri Tigers Preview

2022 Minnesota Golden Gophers Preview

2022 Mississippi Rebels Preview

2022 Miami Ohio RedHawks Preview

2022 Michigan St. Spartans Preview

2022 Michigan Wolverines Preview

2022 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Preview

2022 Maryland Terrapins Preview

2022 Massachusetts Minutemen Preview

2022 Memphis Tigers Preview

2022 Miami Hurricanes Preview

2022 Louisville Cardinals Preview

2022 LSU Tigers Preview

2022 Marshall Thundering Herd Preview

2022 Liberty Flames Preview

2022 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Preview


Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

2021-22 Season Record 3-9 (2-6 C-USA West) - 4-7-1 ATS - 9-3-0 O/U

Returning Starters

Offense - 7
Defense - 8

Overview

When head coach Sonny Dykes left for the California job in 2013, Louisiana Tech hired Skip Holtz after stints at East Carolina and South Florida and he inherited a rebuilding project in the first season in C-USA and it in ended up 4-8 but then things turned around for the better. He put together seven straight winning seasons including six straight bowl wins but a 28-3 loss to Georgia Southern in the 2020 New Orleans Bowl followed by a 3-9 record last season did him in and the program now turns to Sonny Cumbie who took over for Matt Wells in the final five games at Texas Tech last season. Last year was a major disappointment as Louisiana Tech had 18 starters back but the offense was inconsistent and the defense was consistently bad. The Bulldogs return 15 starters but are still young and a lot of the veterans from last season have moved on as they come in with a ranking of No. 101 in returning production so there will be work to do. 

Offense

The offense started great last season as it averaged 33.4 ppg through the first five games but then faltered down the stretch behind a defense that collapsed. The Bulldogs finished No. 78 in total offense and No. 70 in scoring offense and those rankings should be much better under Cumbie and his high octane, attacking offense but a quarterback has to emerge. The leading candidate heading into camp is Parker McNeil who played under Cumbie at Texas Tech so he knows the system which is a big plus. The two leading receivers are back as Smoke Harris and Tre Harris combined for 111 receptions and 1,318 yards with 10 touchdowns and eclipsing a total of 2,000 yards is in the cards. The running game lost its leading back and Greg Garner takes over after rushing for a mere 216 yards last season. The offensive line is what will make this system click and it should be just fine with three starters back and a lot of depth and experience. 

Defense

There were three good games by the defense where it allowed 17, 19 and 23 points but the other nine games were a disaster, as they gave up 38.8 ppg and finished No. 113 in scoring defense and No. 107 in total defense. Eight starters are back and playing a new scheme will improve this unit that will be flying all over the field. The biggest issue was getting after the quarterback as not enough pressure was applied and that resulted in only 20 sacks which was No. 98 in the nation. The defensive line is big and strong with a pair of starters back in Keivie Rose and Mykol Clark who had only three sacks between them but will improve upon that. Leading tackler Tyler Grubbs was all over the place, making 97 stops at linebacker but two replacements need to be made around him. Safety BeeJay Williamson accounted for three of the nine interceptions and with a ton of experience in the secondary, more takeaways should be expected. 

2022 Season Outlook

This is not a complete rebuild that most new coaches typically get following a firing and the Bulldogs have the capability to be a dangerous team and if nothing else, an interesting one to witness that will improve in time. Cumbie directed the Air Raid offenses at TCU and Texas Tech as offensive coordinator and if he can get the most out of the quarterback here, there should be plenty of points. From a scheduling standpoint, it is not very optimal as the Bulldogs will be on the road for seven of their 12 games including Missouri and Clemson in two of the first three games sandwiched around Stephen F. Austin where new defensive coordinator Scott Power came from. The conference schedule is not bad as they only face three teams projected for more than 5.5 wins. Their O/U win total is set at 4.5 and there is a stretch in the middle where five of six games are against teams with win totals of 5.5 or less so the over is doable.

2022 Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns Preview

2022 Kansas St. Wildcats Preview

2022 Kent St. Golden Flashes Preview

2022 Kentucky Wildcats Preview

2022 Iowa St. Cyclones Preview

2022 Indiana Hoosiers Preview

2022 Iowa Hawkeyes Preview

2022 James Madison Dukes Preview

2022 Kansas Jayhawks Preview

2022 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Preview

2022 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Preview

2022 Houston Cougars Preview

2022 Illinois Fighting Illini Preview

2022 Georgia St. Panthers Preview

2022 Georgia Southern Eagles Preview

2022 Fresno St. Bulldogs Preview

2022 Georgia Bulldogs Preview

2022 FIU Golden Panthers Preview

2022 Florida St. Seminoles Preview

2022 Florida Atlantic Owls Preview

2022 Duke Blue Devils Preview

2022 East Carolina Pirates Preview

2022 Eastern Michigan Eagles Preview

2022 Florida Gators Preview

2022 Colorado Buffaloes Preview

2022 Colorado St. Rams Preview

2022 Connecticut Huskies Preview

2022 Ball St. Cardinals Preview

2022 Baylor Bears Preview

2022 Boise St. Broncos Preview

2022 Boston College Eagles Preview

2022 Bowling Green Falcons Preview

2022 Buffalo Bulls Preview

2022 BYU Cougars Preview

2022 California Golden Bears Preview

2022 Central Michigan Chippewas Preview

2022 Charlotte 49ers Preview

2022 Cincinnati Bearcats Preview

2022 Clemson Tigers Preview

2022 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Preview

2022 Arkansas St. Red Wolves Preview

2022 Army Black Knights Preview

2022 Auburn Tigers Preview

2022 Arizona St. Sun Devils Preview

2022 Arkansas Razorbacks Preview

2022 Arizona Wildcats Preview

2022 Air Force Falcons Preview

2022 Akron Zips Preview

2022 Alabama Crimson Tide Preview

2022 Appalachian St. Mountaineers Preview