Bulldogs looking for positive response

Louisiana Tech (1-3, 0-1 CUSA) is back from its bye week confident a rough start won’t define the 2024 season. But that doesn’t mean maintaining the status quo.

Returning to Joe Aillet Stadium on Thursday at 7 p.m. to host Middle Tennessee (1-4, 0-1 CUSA), the Bulldogs will have a new offensive play caller running the show as head coach Sonny Cumbie has given duties to Nathan Young, who previously worked as co-offensive coordinator and O-line coach for Tech.

It’s a move Cumbie believes will serve the Bulldogs better, with the third- year head coach not having to focus on multiple fulltime responsibilities at once — leaving him worked up and hyper-focused on perfection. Now, as just the quarterbacks coach, Cumbie is ready to have Young start the process of turning Tech’s offense into a respectable form while he can focus on serving the entire team intentionally.

“Me being the head coach and offensive play caller for two and half years, going on three, to be honest with you we weren’t very good on offense,” Cumbie said. “ We weren’t as productive as I thought we could be. You have to have awareness of your strengths, and sometimes if you pour too much into your strengths, they become a weakness. I think one of my strengths is I want everything just right. I want this thing to be perfect.

“I want every single detail down to dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s. Sometimes that can come across as a little overbearing at times. I had to have a really honest reflection of that and owning my responsibility in that. I totally think this is the right situation and right decision for our offense. It’s the right decision for our football team.”

Young has called plays at the college level back in his time at Abilene Christian from 2013- 16, getting solid production year after year. Abilene averaged 32.4 points per game under his direction and rushed for an average of 139.9 yards on the ground.

If he can bring some of that to Tech, it would be quite an improvement from where things stand right now.

Through four games, Tech is 117th out of 133 teams in scoring (18.8 points per game) and has the 6th worst rushing offense (79.5 yards per game) in the country. And Cumbie made clear at his Tuesday press conference that Young is in full control of the offense moving forward to try light a spark.

“Here’s the thing, he was highly successful when he did it. There are a lot of people that can call it, but we want a guy that can be highly successful. And coach Young can do that. He’s highly intelligent. He’s really creative, and I think he’s going to be aggressive,” Cumbie said. “And I told him, ‘I don’t want you thinking what does Sonny think I should do here? It’s your deal. I’m gonna support you.’ I told him that I’m going to be the best quarterback coach in America. It’s his deal.”

Tech will start redshirt freshman Evan Bullock at quarterback on Thursday for the second straight game after he went 26-37 for 218 yards in his first career start against FIU on Sept. 28.

MTSU head coach Derek Mason told local media he doesn’t anticipate a major change in offensive identity for the Bulldogs, regardless of play caller or quarterback. But if Tech presents a new wrinkle, Mason expects his team to adjust quickly.

“As we’ve heard, Coach Cumbie has sort of given some of the play calling duties to Nathan Young. So, how does that affect them? I’m sure it’ll look different on first and second down with your O- line coach calling plays, probably going to look a little different,” Mason said. “I think for us, our game planning has gone ahead as normal. We’re not going to change what we do. We’re just going to adapt and adjust as the game shows up.”

Both offenses might need a quarter or two to warm up if previous games are any indication. Tech and MTSU both average less than 10 points in the first half coming in, with the Blue Raiders averaging 16 ppg total – 125th nationally.

But MTSU offensive coordinator Bodie Reeder could have a unique wrinkle ready of his own after spending the 2023 season on staff at Northern Iowa with Tech defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson. Quarterback Nicholas Vattiato leads CUSA in passing with 1,285 yards, but only has 5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions to show for it. Last year against Tech, he went 23-of-29 ( 79.3%) for 248 yards with 3 total touchdowns.

Cumbie knows the familiarity between coordinators has a chance to become a factor late in the game but trusts Johnson to prepare for what might come.

“You never know from a verbiage standpoint how much they’ve changed and adapted. Coach JJ is very familiar with coach Reeder, as coach Reeder is with coach JJ,” Cumbie said. “But at the end of the day, I think both coaches are going to put together good game plans and let the players go out there and execute.”

Tech has eight games left to salvage a slow start and potentially make a bowl game. If it’s going to happen, Cumbie knows the Bulldogs can’t afford to have a poor October stretch, especially with two of the next three contests played in Ruston.

And opportunity to improve could certainly come this month if Tech executes like it wants to between upcoming games against MTSU, New Mexico State, and UTEP, who hold a combined record of 2-13 overall.

“We want to play meaningful football games in November,” Cumbie said. “You gotta have a great October to do that.”

Tech (1-3, 0-1 CUSA) hosts Middle Tennessee (1-4, 0-1 CUSA) Thursday at 7 p.m. at Joe Aillet Stadium. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.