Bye week check on the Bulldogs

Louisiana Tech (1-3, 0-1 CUSA) is not where it wants to be as the calendar shifts to October for its bye week.

Three straight losses, most recently a 17-10 road defeat at the hands of the FIU Panthers, have the Bulldogs in a hole to begin league play — making the math of reaching bowl eligibility harder to project.

But what exactly has kept Tech from winning at the level it expected this year? If you’ve been watching the Bulldogs this year, the numbers back up what you’ve likely seen.

Breaking down the statistics, the arrow of blame points mostly to an offense that has not only struggled to score but struggled to find consistency at the most important positions. Defensively, improvement has been actualized after an offseason building up the hire of defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson, but there are some areas worth keeping an eye on as Tech returns from its bye week on Oct. 10 to host Middle Tennessee at Joe Aillet Stadium.

Here’s a look at where Tech stands four games into the 2024 season.

Offensive struggles

Tech has not scored over 25 points this year, struggling with stalled out drives to begin games, while an underachieving run game hasn’t delivered a balance.

Through four games, the Bulldogs have punted or turned over the ball on 63% of their first-half drives and have not scored an opening drive touchdown this year.

Out of 133 teams in the FBS, Tech has the 7th worst rushing offense with an average of 79.5 yards per game at 2.4 yards per carry. The Bulldogs have one rushing touchdown from a running back, while wide receiver Jimmy Holiday has 3 rushing scores.

The Bulldogs rank 117th out of 133 teams in scoring at 18.75 points per game, while also being one of 12 teams in the country with single digit touchdowns (9). The teams’ passing offense ranks modestly at 57th nationally at 243.2 yards per game, but the quarterback position has been a shifting battle so far.

Redshirt junior Jack Turner started Tech’s first three games but was benched against Tulsa in the second half and didn’t return.

The following week at FIU, Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie started redshirt freshman Evan Bullock at quarterback. He finished 26-of-37 for 218 yards in his first collegiate start.

Overall, Tech’s quarterback room has combined for 973 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions at a 57.8% completion percentage — 104th nationally.

If you’re looking for bright spots, Bullock has not turned the ball over in his three appearances this season and has completed 70% of his passes (43 attempts).

At receiver, the Bulldogs have been led by Jay Wilkerson (149 yards), Tru Edwards (208 yards), and Marlion Jackson (183 yards), each averaging less than 53 yards a game.

Defense’s rise is real

The hiring of Jeremiah Johnson as defensive coordinator has provided a real improvement to Louisiana Tech’s ability to compete.

Through four games, the Bulldogs rank as the 26th best run defense in the country (110.2 yards per game) after allowing 232 yards per carry last year. In the team’s previous 24 games from 2022-23, Tech allowed 30-plus points in 16 games. This year?

Try one 30- point performance from NC State, which could technically be classified as only 23 points allowed since the Wolfpack scored off a pick six.

If you were to take away two pick sixes thrown by Tech’s offense, the Bulldogs’ defense has allowed just 18.25 points per game, which would be 35th nationally.

If you wanted to find a blemish on what has otherwise been a major turnaround for Tech’s defense, the Bulldogs have just 3 takeaways this season, tied for last in CUSA with just a single interception.

Otherwise, Tech’s defense also ranks 29th in total defense (299.5 yards per game), 56th in passing defense (198.2 yards per game), and 42nd in opponent third down conversion rate (33.9%).

Overall, the Bulldogs have work to do this week before returning to action against Middle Tennessee (1-4, 0-1 CUSA) on Oct. 10. Tech will have two of its next three games at home for CUSA’s midweek contests.