Coming off a bye week following a pair of losses to Power Four conference teams, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs look to bounce back against Army West Point Saturday at Joe Aillet Stadium.
Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+).
The game is a rematch of the 2024 Independence Bowl won by Army 27-6. It’s the third meeting overall with the Black Knights having won all three.
Louisiana Tech (1-2) lost to LSU 45-14 on Sept. 12 and Baylor on Sept. 19 after a season opening 80-6 victory over FCS team Northwestern State.
Army (2-1) is a member of the American Conference, which is part of the Group of Six conferences. The Sun Belt is also a member of the Group of Six.
The Black Knights are coming off a 21-17 conference victory against Temple. Army opened the season with a 59-3 victory over Bryant and followed that with a 28-24 loss to South Florida.
“Really good football team coming off the big win against Temple,” Louisiana Tech Head Coach Sonny Cumbie said. “Obviously (they) present a lot of different problems for our defense.
“And from an offensive standpoint they do a tremendous job. Cale Hellums is their quarterback. Very, very similar to Bryson Daily, the kid we played two years ago in the bowl game.”
“Just a competitive, tough runner, makes the throws when they need to be made. So it’s going to be a great challenge for us. They play the game very physical. Very tough football team.”
Hellums had a team-high 104 on 22 carries against Temple and scored all three touchdowns. He leads the team with 246 yards on 47 carries and five touchdowns.
Louisiana Tech starting quarterback Blake Baker missed the Baylor game after suffering a fractured hand against LSU.
Baker’s status for Saturday’s game was listed as questionable on the Wednesday injury report.
Trey Kukuk, who started the final five games last season after Baker suffered a knee injury, replaced him. He completed 25-of-44 passes for 223 yards and one touchdown with one interception. He also rushed for 75 yards on 11 carries.
Kukuk had a fumble deep in Baylor territory. The Bulldogs also missed a short field goal after a penalty gave them a second opportunity.
“We feel like we can do everything from an offensive standpoint,” Cumbie said. “I think the biggest thing in particular the last game is just the turnovers, taking care of the football. If we do have to attempt field goals we have to make them so we’ve addressed that.”
Tight end Eli Finley had a season-high eight catches for 65 yards against Baylor. Finley has 14 for 132 on the season.
Jalen Mickens leads the team in receiving yards with 297 on 13 catches.
The Bulldogs haven’t had much success on the ground so far. They are averaging 122.3 yards per game. Kukuk leads the team with 127 yards on 20 carries.
Army rolled up 279 yards rushing with its triple-option offense against Temple. The Black Knights are averaging 355.7 yards rushing and 81.0 passing.
They are allowing an average of 331.0 yards per game.