Bulldogs eager to bounce back

Louisiana Tech will try to cast out Northwestern State from Joe Aillet Stadium in short order on Saturday, as the in-state rivals meet for the first time since 2018.

The Bulldogs (1-1) are looking for a home baptism after losing 38-14 on Sept. 2 to SMU in Dallas, trailing 31-0 at halftime and punting six times for the afternoon in a Pony Express beatdown.

But another week brings a chance to get back on track, and the Bulldogs might not have gotten a better chance to do so than Northwestern State (0-1) – an FCS program in the Southland Conference which trails Tech in the all-time series 46-17-5.

The Demons have not had a winning record since 2008, with their last win in Ruston coming in 2014. Since 2009, Northwestern State has gone 51-101 overall.

NSU opened its season with a 38-13 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette last week, not scoring a touchdown until two minutes left in the game.

Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie still had high praise for NSU and sixth year head coach Brad Laird, a Ruston native.

“I think our team’s determined to bounce back and we’ve got a lot of improvement to make from last week’s game and from this morning’s practice as well,” Cumbie said Tuesday. “Just encouraged with our team in terms of how they took correction and how we as a staff, as coaches review the film and there was a lot to learn from it and hopefully we can grow from there.

“Coach Laird has a huge history at Ruston High, the city of Ruston and Louisiana Tech with his family. I have a lot of respect for him and his program and what he’s done at Northwestern State. There’s a lot of kids on that team that know our kids, so anytime you have an in-state rivalry, in particular in the state of Louisiana, it takes on another meaning because of the passion and culture of this state.”

Tech will get its chance to improve its pass rush on Saturday, with just two sacks through two games to speak for at this stage. NSU starting quarterback Tyler Vander Waal, a transfer from Idaho State, was sacked five times in the loss to ULL.

Waal, who played three seasons at Idaho State, went 12-of-28 (42.9%) for 110 yards and a touchdown against ULL.

Tech defensive back Willie Roberts could add to his four pass breakups already this season when he faces Waal, who completed under 47% of his passes in two of three seasons at Idaho State.

Roberts said the only number that matters when evaluating Waal is his 11 games played, giving him a level of knowledge on different forms of coverage looks and ways to manipulate defenders.

And after last week’s passing performance for SMU – four plays over 20 yards and 248 total yards — Roberts said the Bulldogs can’t afford to take anyone lightly if they want to get back in the win column.

“He has a lot of experience,” Roberts said of Waal. “He’s played a lot of football, so guys like that, they know the game. You just gotta go into the game saying he’s going to know things and so will we, but I feel confident in our preparation.”

Tech may receive another leg up by kickoff if Tyre Shelton can give it a go after missing the first two games of the season due to injury.

Cumbie said he was encouraged by the Miami-Ohio transfer’s progress early in the week and had Shelton out at practice Tuesday.

Coming into the season, Shelton was slated to be second on the depth chart behind Marquis Crosby, whose return is in doubt for a number of weeks.

“I think he’ll be questionable for this game,” Cumbie said. “I think it’s going to determine how he practices (Wednesday) moving forward if he’s able to.”

Whether it be the return of Shelton or continuing to rely on true freshmen Jacob Fields and Keith Willis, Tech will need to get more from its running game.

Through two games, the Bulldogs have averaged 2.3 yards per carry with two total touchdowns.

And if Tech comes out slow on both sides of the ball again – trailing a combined 28-0 in the first quarter this season – Cumbie doesn’t expect NSU to roll over and wait for the Bulldogs to wake up.

Sitting 0-1 or not, Cumbie expects his team to come ready to play against the Demons to get back on a winning track.

“They’re gonna play inspired, and Coach Laird has done a very good job with that program,” Cumbie said.

Tech hosts Northwestern State at 6 p.m. Saturday at Joe Aillet Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.