The Louisiana Tech football team hits the road and travels to Florida to take on Florida International. La Tech comes into the matchup with a record of 2-5 after a high scoring one-point loss to Rice last Saturday afternoon. FIU comes into the matchup after a win over Charlotte on Saturday, their first in C-USA play. The opening kick is scheduled for 7:00pm on Friday night.
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Despite being down to their third-string quarterback on Saturday, the La Tech Bulldogs nearly pulled off the improbable before succumbing to Rice in overtime 42-41. After Rice opened the overtime with a touchdown and extra point, the Bulldogs matched their touchdown but the two-point conversion was tipped away resulting in a heartbreaking defeat.
“We came up short, did not make enough plays at the end. The first half, we did not do enough on the offensive side of the ball to take advantage of short field position. You are disappointed not to win at home on homecoming. Our guys fought on defense despite our injuries. There is a lot of growing and learning we still have to do as a team. For seven football games, our guys have fought and played hard. They play with a toughness. We just have to be smart and execute better.” La Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie said in his post game presser.
The Bulldogs led the game by as many as 10-points in the second half but would eventually lose both starting quarterback Parker McNeil and his backup Matthew Downing to injury. Third-string QB Landry Lyddy showed true grit, coming in with just 37 seconds left in the game and throwing a touchdown pass to WR Cyrus Allen to cut the lead to two points. He followed that up with another play, an incredible one-handed catch by Tre Harris, for the two-point conversion to force overtime. La Tech finished with 373 total yards on offense and the three quarterbacks combined to go 20-of-37 for 229 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. The team was just 4-of-17 in third down conversions.
The Bulldogs defense allowed 24 first downs and 487 yards of total offense in the game. They allowed Rice to go 6-of-13 in third down conversions. The Bulldogs had six tackles for loss and one sack in the game. They recovered three fumbles in a losing effort.
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La Tech has not been very good statistically on either side of the ball. They are ranked just 62nd in the country in scoring offense thus far in the season. They have just the 126th rushing offense in the country but do have the 17th ranked passing offense. Without much of a running game, the Bulldogs have not been very effective with their red zone offense. La Tech has the 104th ranked offense in the country. La Tech has also not been very protective of the ball, despite a 3-1 turnover advantage against Rice. They are currently ranked 90th in turnover differential. The Bulldogs have been even less effective on the defensive end, ranking 130th in scoring defense. They are last in the country in run defense and ranked just 70th in the country against the pass. Finally, the Bulldogs are fairly welcoming to their opponents in the red zone, ranking just 90th in red zone defense.
Key Injuries: Backup QB Matthew Downing is likely out for the year w ith an as yet undisclosed injury. Starter Parker McNeil is listed as a game-time decision and, if he is unable to go, Lyddy will get the start.