Last year, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs gave the LSU Tigers all they wanted in a 23-7 loss in Tiger Stadium.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs (1-0) get another shot at the Tigers (1-0) in the same venue. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network+).
As was the case last year, LSU is highly ranked in the nation and coming off a victory over Clemson. The Tigers are No. 8 in both the AP Top 25 and the coaches poll.
But this is a very different LSU team. Of course, the biggest difference is Lane Kiffin has replaced Brian Kelly as head coach. Kiffin basically overhauled the entire team through the transfer portal with a few notable exceptions like linebacker Whit Weeks and defensive back DJ Pickett.
LSU defeated Clemson 17-10 last year. Last Saturday, the Tigers won going away 51-10 in Kiffin’s debut.
Louisiana Tech also rolled, defeating Northwestern State 80-3 in its season opener. The 80 points are a modern program record and caught Kiffin’s attention.
“Anytime you score 80 points, even over 50, no matter who you’re playing that’s doing a lot of right things on offense,” he said during his press conference earlier this week. “They’re really well-coached.”
Kiffin said Louisiana Tech’s defense presents a challenge because it’s “unusual.”
“The defense they play is really unusual so you’ve really got to change a lot of rules, do a lot of different things and stuff,” Kiffin said. “It presents a lot of challenges. They played great obviously in all phases last week.”
The Bulldogs are a 35.5-point underdog, but Kiffin knows they’ll be fired up.
“This will be a big game for them, in-state game,” he said.
Louisiana Tech receiver Dedrick Latulas, a New Iberia product who was named the Sun Belt Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a punt for a touchdown against NSU, is excited about getting a chance to play LSU again.
“I feel like it’s big for us us,” he said during a press conference earlier this week. “I’m a down south Louisiana guy. Just growing up I really didn’t get those experiences so getting them now in college is like second to none especially being a player on that field being able to experience that. I feel like it’s definitely special. I just go out there and make plays. It’s a blessing.”
He believes the Bulldogs have a shot at pulling the upset.
“Honestly I think we can bang on anybody,” he said. “You see the name and you expect LSU to be this big name team to go and put points on everybody but I feel like we held our own. We did really good last year. So now it’s just build on top of that. Make more plays and come out with a W.”
Louisiana Tech fifth-year Head Coach Sonny Cumbie knows the Bulldogs aren’t playing the same LSU team that limped to a 7-6 record last season. But he believes last year’s experience will help even though he also has some new players making the trip.
“I think every experience if you use it properly I think it can can help you and benefit you,” he said. “The fortunate thing is we have a lot of kids on our team from Louisiana and the fortunate thing is we have a lot of our kids who were in that arena last year. We took that trip down there and so the travel and all that stuff will be the same. The hotel will be the same. So there’s some familiarity there.”
Cumbie was impressed with what he saw from LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt.
“I was really impressed with the arm strength,” he said. “He’s got an extremely quick release. He’s accurate with the football. He does a great job with his pocket presence. His ability to run and extend plays was a killer. He ran for over 100 yards. A lot it was scrambles and I just think he has a great feel for when to move up and move through the pocket and keep plays alive.”
Kiffin said the romp over Clemson is in the past.
“What you do the week before whether that’s good or bad has nothing to do with what you’re going to do the next week,” he said.
He and his staff are also trying to make sure the Tigers don’t start thinking too much of themselves.
“That’s a big challenge,” he said. “That’s a real thing. It happens more now than it used to because of their phones. It’s constant. It’s on their phones all day how great they are.”