Sonny Cumbie walked into the locker room with visible frustration toward his team. The Bulldogs just gave up 14 unanswered points to the Florida International Panthers, a team who hadn’t won a home game against an FBS opponent since Nov. 23, 2019, to trail 21-17 at halftime. Cumbie, head coach of Louisiana Tech, made his point clear as crystal to his team as they gave up a lead they would never get back. “It takes 33,” Cumbie said Tuesday. “ I told them at halftime [ of Friday’s loss at FIU], I wasn’t very pleased with how we finished the first half, ‘It takes 33 players. That’s it, that’s how many it takes. And we travel 70. If we can’t find 33 out of the 70, then there’s going to be a different 70 or however you do it.”’ The 42-34 loss in double overtime to FIU dropped Tech to 2- 6 overall and 1-3 in Conference USA, good for the Bulldogs’ third loss in a row. But it drew lines in the sand for Cumbie and his team. They see this Saturday as a true gut check. With a bowl game all but out of the picture and hopes of a C-USA title dashed, the Bulldogs host Middle Tennessee (4-4, 1-3 C-USA) with not just a win, but pride, up for grabs. Who wants to be a part of the program’s future? Do the Bulldogs want to play for one another?
