Bulldogs ready to conquer road woes Friday at UTEP

December 3, 2020. That’s the last time Louisiana Tech won a road game.

As if it already weren’t enough the Bulldogs (2-3) return to Conference USA action on Friday at UTEP (1-4) to get the juices going and begin the path toward contending for a league title, a three- year drought still remains for the program to try to finally overcome its road issues.

Flash back to December 2020 and the Bulldogs are closing out a 5-5 season and loss to Georgia Southern in the New Orleans Bowl – the last bowl appearance for Tech.

Skip Holtz was still head coach, and the COVID-19 pandemic was close to a year old.

Safe to say times have changed since then, and the 2023 Bulldogs hope they can leave the past behind, take down UTEP, and start fresh with a road victory on Friday.

Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie won’t let his team run from it, not this time. After his first year finished 3-9 overall and 0-7 on the road, the second-year head coach of the Bulldogs will make the streak top of mind for players this week.

“Yeah, we’re talking about it every day with our players in our meetings. It’s time for us to go on the road and win a football game,” Cumbie said. “I’m going to ask the guys in our team meeting if they remember where they were in December of 2020, and just how much time has passed. I think it takes an approach of a great week of preparation. I think it takes a great practice on Tuesday night, Wednesday, and really as you travel on the road of being locked in on the intent of what we’re doing.”

Abe Delfin, the seventhyear center for the Bulldogs, is one of just four players who started for Tech in December 2020 and remain on the roster. For him, the road challenges have stemmed from a lack of focus and preparation beforehand, with players losing their routine and unable to string together consistent fight.

Now, as he tries to break the streak before his final season in Ruston comes to an end, Delfin believes this is the team to do it.

“It’s just getting down and focusing,” Delfin said Tuesday. “Not having won a game on the road in a while is kind of been tough but I think this team’s a little bit different just in the sense of we just have a fight in us that I haven’t seen in us before.” The challenge of winning includes another wrinkle with the game being on a Friday night rather than Saturday, the first of fourstraight games for the Bulldogs played on unusual days with upcoming contests on Friday, Thursday, Tuesday, and Tuesday.

Delfin said there’s nothing Tech can do but handle business and prepare as much as they can ahead of the games.

“I’ve played a couple Friday games and it’s a quick turnaround,” Delfin said. “You’re losing a day and you just have to be prepared and you just have to take extra time within the week. You kind of lose routine of what you do during the week and you have bump up everything a little bit.”

Zach Zimos, a former Arkansas Razorback who transferred to Tech in the offseason, has faced road woes before at his previous SEC home. Zimos, who was with the Razorbacks from 2019 through 2022, watched his team go a combined 4-13 on the road in that span.

Like Delfin, Zimos said road wins come from high levels of execution and maintaining focus, even if travel and new environments get in the way.

For him, Friday is the first step toward turning the road into an opportunity rather than a curse.

“UTEP is the priority and what’s most important, and getting a road win,” Zimos said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten one and that’s definitely going to be the goal.”

Tech (2-3, 1-0 CUSA) faces UTEP (1-4, 0-1 CUSA) at 8 p.m. Friday at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.