Louisiana Tech shows offensive promise but fails to upset Baylor in Waco

Hunter Sheffield • September 22, 2026

Bears beat Bulldogs 36-19.

Always Something New

There were a myriad of outstanding college football games this past weekend. It all started on Friday as Willie Fritz marched his Houston Cougars into Lubbock to try and upset the loud and proud Red Raiders. After witnessing an all-time Big 12 showdown, we rolled around to Saturday where we saw Kentucky beat Texas A&M at Kyle Field, Louisville triumph over SMU, Delaware take home the cock fight with Coastal Carolina, and much more madness that reinvigorated my love of the sport. Even following all of these wonderful, competitive bouts there were even more marquee matchups to headline the rest of the day, but only one that took every headline as far as the eye could see. One matchup so furious and heated that even safety began to be a concern leading up to the game. A game that was sure to be a living, writhing hell for one school visiting the other. Only one game could garner so much interest that not a single soul would stop talking about it. What game could possibly have so much impact on the culture and ongoing existence of the sport? Well, the Louisiana Tech @ Baylor game of course. At least, it felt that way for me, especially in the first quarter. What was expected to be a slow moving, punt-happy quest for first downs became an equalized, methodical ground-pound until Baylor became more consistent in the air and Tech was unable to respond entirely. I was surprised by what I saw in ways I clearly did not expect and we have a couple different things to discuss here.


Return of the Kukuklock

This week’s offense was highlighted by the leadership of Trey Kukuk in the backfield, filling in for Blake Baker who fractured his throwing hand against LSU earlier this month. As a devoted Louisiana Tech fan, I can tell you that as much as I loved Trey Kukuk’s heart and athleticism last year and heading into this year, I was a bit concerned about his passing prowess. Well it isn’t quite perfect, but I actually felt like Kukuk was passing extremely well in this game. He was asked to throw a lot more than I thought he would, and made some excellent shots downfield. Last year, Kukuk’s highest number of passing attempts in a game was 20 and before that at JUCO Saddleback College, 33. This past weekend against Baylor, Kukuk threw the ball 44 times, more than any other single game he had ever played in college. Like I said, his accuracy was actually very impressive and while it helps to have company of the likes of Jalen Mickens and Eli Finley, there were numerous times in this game where Kukuk fit the ball into very tight windows. It showed an incredible step forward from last year, especially when being asked to throw it as much as he did. Even with that being said, Kukuk did not stray away from using his legs at all, leading the team in rushing with 75 yards on 11 carries and a handful of CRUCIAL third down conversions. Kukuk would finish the game going 25/44 with 223 yards passing and a touchdown to top it off. He did have a redzone interception that hurt at the end of the second quarter, but it did not really result from a poor throwing decision. A route miscommunication left a DB wide open where the ball was headed and he caught it without even trying. Apart from that, I felt like this was exactly what you wanted out of Kukuk who looks poised to lead this team in Blake Baker’s absence and maybe even prove to be a reliable starter in his upcoming opportunities.


Unlike Tony Franklin’s hard-nosed running offense last year, it feels like Nathan Young wants to return to the age of the throw and as such there have been less attempts to push through on the ground. At the end of the 2025 season after 13 games, Louisiana Tech was averaging just over 41 rush attempts per game and about 195 rushing yards per game. Through three games this year, Tech is averaging just 34 rush attempts per game and 122 rushing yards per game. In even more contrast, last year Tech averaged 24 passing attempts per game and is now averaging 30 through three games. Again, a smaller sample size for sure and much more athletic opponents played this year so far but you can already see a bit of the shift in offensive strategy and we will have to watch if this trend continues. Another contributor to this change is Tech’s need to catch up with their opponents who have led them in most of both the LSU and Baylor games, potentially skewing this data. The way I see it, this staff is likely hoping to be able to get the run established in their identity when Sun Belt play begins in October. Andrew Burnette did have a couple good runs in the Baylor game, but apart from his occasional sparks, Tech is looking for the opportunity for these backs to break out as they did against Northwestern State.


I cannot move away from an offensive breakdown without mentioning the very apparent upgrade in offensive skill players this year. Jalen Mickens continues to produce and hauled in four receptions for 63 yards against Baylor, including an extremely athletic 31-yard grab near the sideline through a defending corner. Mickens has now caught 13 passes for almost 300 yards quarterway through the season and is quickly approaching stat lines that rival wideouts from last year. Eli had an outstanding reception in this game too where he sprinted up the seam to score Tech’s only passing touchdown in addition to six more receptions throughout. Even Talyn Shettron and Marcus Calwise showed their worth in the receiver room as they caught three passes each for 33 yards and 36 yards respectively. Again, a game where the offense, especially the pass game, looked much improved from the last week of play against a good defense.


Where did they go?

Now to discuss a segment of the game that was expected to highlight Tech’s matchup with Baylor, but rather showed a bit of weakness against elite competition. Just to be clear, the Bulldogs' entire defense did not disappear at all. Once again, Tech showed grit and physicality in the trenches that limited Baylor to 165 yards on the ground and forced a low 3.8 yards per carry. There was great pursuit of ballcarriers and another week of allowing almost zero holes to open up inside. The issues lie in the secondary, who were unable to keep up with route runners and kept getting burnt deep. Bears QB Nate Bennett did see some pressure, but when he had more than 2-3 clean seconds in the pocket, he found a man open almost every time. Without any ball hawking in this game, the guys in the third level were unable to make a meaningful impact and instead allowed explosive gains. It was disappointing, but it still should be considered that these guys played two power opponents in back-to-back weeks, hanging tough in both games with explosive playmaking receivers.


Conclusions

I have yet to mention this in a couple of my recaps/previews but Louisiana Tech’s kicking still stinks. It was a point of struggle a lot of last year and it is quite obvious already that we continue to have no one able to make even chip shot field goals. Kaegan Kent had two attempts at field goals this weekend, with the first being bailed out by an offsides penalty (after missing it from 37 yards). After the Bulldogs failed to get another first down even after the bailout, Kent missed another field goal from 34. Free points unable to be had due to lackluster kicking. Lexington Matthews has been a fine punter and Hunter Rioux a great kickoff guy but we need to find someone in Ruston, Louisiana who can kick field goals.


I’ve tried really hard to get away from complaining about officiating in football games as I have gotten older. Typically, the calls of officials are not what determine game outcomes but rather the repetitive mistakes and miscues of losing teams. The penalties just come along with all of that. That being said, I am breaking my complaint abstinence briefly to say that in this game, officiating was just awful. We saw constant no-calls of obvious holds and facemasks, horrible ball spots for Tech’s offensive drives, and an early Baylor fumble that was not blown dead when the ballcarrier was down, but after Tech had seemingly recovered the fumble. The players would then be told the play was dead before the fumble and while replay showed that the fumble was real and evident, the refs did not even review it once and allowed Baylor to score on the next play. 


It doesn’t help to complain about the game now, as we must look forward to a very physical return to Ruston against Army in two weeks. While the officiating should improve, I have my doubts about whether this secondary can really cover route runners and if the pass rush will be enough for great conference quarterbacks like Lunch Winfield and Goose Crowder. It is pretty clear that the front seven is stout and here to stay, which is reassuring. The linebackers continue to hit hard and cover well. The skill guys are appearing to improve every week! Trey Kukuk looks pretty awesome!! Army is up next and it is a game I have confidence that we can win if we execute on offense. You will really only need one or two stops or maybe just a fumble recovery to win that game. We’ll see what the extra prep will result in as we head towards week four. I’ll make sure to keep my eye on the black knights and will get into the preview as the game gets closer. Go dogs!

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Recap: LSU falls to Ole Miss in Kiffin's return 32-24

By David Billiot Jr • September 21, 2026
The hype was serious and the tensions were palpable. After months of talk, LSU and Ole Miss were finally ready to spot the ball. Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford was built up with drama after drama, tit for tat pettiness, and good ole fashion hate. Two good teams were set to square off with what was one of the most anticipated regular season matchups in recent history. Finally, it was time to play football. 1 st quarter flow After winning the toss and choosing to defer, LSU sent the defense out to start the game. They got the start they were looking for, putting early pressure on Trinidad Chambliss and the Ole Miss offense. After a short gain and then a holding penalty, Chambliss threw a swing pass to Kewan Lacy that was dropped, but it was reviewed and ruled a backwards pass, moving the ball way back to the spot in which Lacy recovered the ball for a loss of 14. The Tigers forced the 3-and-out and started with great field position at their own 39. Unfortunately, Sam Leavitt and the offense were going to get off to a slow start and they answered with 3-and-out of their own. After Ole Miss put together a 12-play, 59 yard drive to strike first on a 37-yard Lucas Caneiro field goal, the early game jitters continued for Kiffin’s signal caller. They’d give the ball right back with another 3-and-out. That’s when the Rebels found their groove, marching right down the field for a 6-play, 78 yard drive that included two plays of 30 or more yards. Chambliss hit Caleb Odom for 30 yards on a 3 rd and 6 to get down to the LSU 5 yard line and Lacy fought his way right through the middle to make it a quick 10-0 lead. Leavitt and the offense finally gained their first 1 st down with under a minute to play in the 1 st quarter. 1 st quarter summary The biggest takeaway from the 1 st quarter was how frantic Sam Leavitt was. He looked extremely uncomfortable and borderline nervous. Was he actually nervous, considering that he’s started in a playoff game? I’m not sure, but it was rough. Blake Baker’s defense actually had Chambliss and the Ole Miss off balance early, forcing them to use two of their timeouts on their first two drives. Unfortunately, they were left on the field for 20 plays in the 1 st with the offense being anemic, so they were gassed early and that led to zero pressure on the touchdown drive. Kiffin’s offense finally found their rhythm to close the quarter with some short passes. 2 nd quarter flow The promising drive that ended the 1 st quarter quickly fell apart with a sack of Leavitt that put the Tigers behind the sticks, eventually leading to a punt. After Grant Chadwick pinned the Rebels deep at their own 8, it took just three plays for them to get across midfield. A Lacy run of 22 yards and a 23 yard reception by Odom quickly put the Tigers on their heels. Just a few plays later, LSU had the chance to get off of the field, but failed to stop a 3 rd down conversion and Chambliss soon after hit Traylon Ray for a 21 yard touchdown to send Vaught Hemmingway in to a frenzy with a 17-0 lead. It was time for the Tiger offense to wake up or things would get ugly and although it took 17 plays, they marched 75 yards with a near 8 minute drive to find the scoreboard. They converted three 3 rd downs and a 4 th down, but finally got down to the 2 yard line where Dilin Jones bashed his way in for his third touchdown of the season to make it 17-7. With under 2 minutes left in the half, it was crucial that Baker’s unit kept some of the momentum that their offense finally gained, especially considering that LSU would receive the ball to start the 3 rd quarter. That was not the case, though, as Chambliss made things look easy. Consecutive completions of 12, 14, 17, and 7 yards had the Rebels set up at the 20 yard line with 18 seconds left and no timeouts. After an incompletion, Ole Miss had a 3 rd down with just 10 seconds left and close to settling for a field goal. Unfortunately for LSU, Chambliss is the best quarterback in the country and as he scrambled forward without many options, he somehow gunned a pass through the zone defense in to a tight window to Deuce Alexander for a dagger of a touchdown before halftime to make it 24-7. 2 nd quarter summary Leavitt’s struggles continued for much of the 2 nd quarter outside of one drive. His footwork was rough, causing his accuracy to struggle. The tackling against Lacy suffered as the defense began to get tired. Ole Miss went 7-9 on 3 rd downs in the first half, which extended drive after drive and wore LSU down. The last second touchdown looked to be a killer going in to the half with Ole Miss having all of the momentum. The injury to Dashawn Spears made things even worse. 3 rd quarter flow Needing to get something going coming out of the locker room, it was another 3-and-out and things did not look good for the Tigers. Finally, though, they got a much needed big play. On a 3 rd and 6, Ty Benefield blitzed Chambliss and forced an errant throw in to the hands of Ja’Keem Jackson, returning it to the Rebels 33 yard line. Leavitt and Jones took over with their legs, each running the ball on three consecutive plays with Leavitt finally punching it in from 4 yards out to make it a 24-14 game. Ole Miss was looking to answer to retake momentum and had the chance by getting the ball down to the LSU 35 yard line, but a holding penalty put a big damper on their drive. Caneiro came out to attempt a 53-yard field goal, but pushed it right. Somehow, the Tigers were a score away from making it a one-possession game. Leavitt found Winnie Watkins for a gain of 19 yards to start the drive, then converted a 3 rd and 11 with a 23 yard pass to Trey’Dez Green. With a 2 nd and 13, Leavitt threw a pretty good pass to the right side of the endzone for Jackson Harris, but the Hawaii transfer was unable to come down with it. Charlie Weis Jr dialed up the same route on the very next play, but this time it was an even better throw and a beautiful catch by Watkins and just like that, it was a 24-21 game. Tensions were rising for the Rebels, especially after their ensuing drive stalled after making it to midfield. On a 3 rd and 10, Benefield sacked Chambliss for a loss of 20 to force just the second punt of the night for the home team. After bad punt and an Ole Miss penalty, LSU took over at their own 40 yard line and somehow, some way, had the chance to take the lead. After two plays to start the drive, we’d head to the final quarter. 3 rd quarter summary Things looked bleak for the Tigers after the 3-and-out to start the half while down 17. Blake Baker deserves a ton of credit, because despite the onslaught that his defense faced in the first half and the questionable soft coverage, he adjusted and turned the heat up on Chambliss in the 3 rd quarter. The interception was caused by a blitz by Benefield and then his sack at the end of the quarter is what stalled a drive that had a chance to net a field goal, at the least. Leavitt finally looked comfortable, hanging in the pocket and zinging balls to his receivers. The offensive line stepped up and the ground game with Jones helped open up the entire offense. 4 th quarter flow Following a 3 rd down conversion to start the quarter, Trey’Dez Green made a 19 yard reception to get down to the Ole Miss 39, but a helmet to his knee knocked him out of the game. Jones followed with his biggest run of the game, a 20 yarder down in to the redzone. Back-to-back runs of 4 yards by Leavitt and Jones had the Tigers with a 3 rd and 2 from the 3 yard line. A direct snap to Jones went for a 2 yard loss and it forced Kiffin to settle for the 23 yard Scott Starzyk field goal to tie the game at 24. LSU had marched all the way back, but Trinidad Chambliss was still Trinidad Chambliss, despite the 3 rd quarter struggles. A few plays after a big gain of 22 to Horatio Fields, the Rebels faced a 4 th and 1 at the LSU 40 yard line and Pete Golding left his offense on the field. Former Tiger, JT Lindsey, had been in the game for the injured Kewan Lacy and took the direct snap for a massive conversion. Just a little bit later, Golding called a timeout prior to a 2 nd and 10 from the LSU 14 yard line with just over 6 minutes left to go in the game. Chambliss ran an incredible play-action bootleg around the left corner with no one near him to score their first points of the second half and retake the lead. Surprisingly, the Rebel offense stayed on the field for what seemed to be a crazy decision to go for two. They ran hard counts and got LSU to jump offsides twice in a row, moving the ball up to the 1 yard line where Lindsey would punch through and give his team a 32-24 lead. Needing an immediate answer, the Tiger offense found themselves immediately with a 4 th down at their own 31 yard line. Knowing that giving the ball back to Chambliss would likely mean he’d ice the game, Kiffin kept Leavitt out there and he scrambled for a gain of 13 to keep their hopes alive. Leavitt and Jones went to work on the next few plays, setting LSU up with a big 3 rd and 8 where Harris drew a pass interference to move the ball down to the Rebel 10 yard line. After a 5 yard scramble, backup tight end Zach Grace got called for a false start. Leavitt scrambled again, bringing up a 3 rd and goal from the 6 yard line. There were a lot of throws that Leavitt would like back from this game, but the biggest one came next when he missed a wide open Grace that would have been an easy touchdown. With the game on the line, Leavitt tried to hit Harris on a crossing route, but the ball got batted at the line and fell in to the the hands of an Ole Miss defender to secure the win. 4 th quarter summary This game was essentially over when LSU settled for a field goal to tie the game earlier in the 4 th . They had all of the momentum and Ole Miss was fully on their heels and panicking. A touchdown in that scenario to take the lead would have really put the pressure on them. Yes, a top quarterback like Chambliss very well could have found a way, but the Tigers made it too easy for them by taking the pressure off with just a tie game. The decision to run another direct snap to Jones at the goal line was perplexing, especially considering that they’ve shown it multiple times this year and even earlier in the game. On the final drive to try and send the game to overtime, Leavitt missed two possible touchdowns. The 1 st and goal where he scrambled for 5 yards, he tucked the ball a little too early instead of keeping his eyes down field, where he would have seen Harris running open in the end zone. Then, the misfire to Grace was brutal. Final summary This was another tale of two halves for LSU. We saw the slow start against LA Tech and the same issues plagued them against Ole Miss. To be honest, they’re lucky they even had a chance in this game after spotting 17 points to the best quarterback in the country. Again, Blake Baker deserves credit for the adjustments that he made, because the defense did just enough to allow the offense to find their footing and make it a game. The injuries were brutal. Spears tore his ACL and is done for the year. While it looked as if Green may have suffered the same fate, considering how emotional he appeared and unable to walk off of the field, great news came on Sunday. There are no tears or anything more than a sprain, meaning he will be able to return this season. Losing both of those guys on top of losing this game would have been worst case scenario. All in all, LSU lost to a top-10 team on the road. It happens. There were plenty of frustrating moments, but Ole Miss is a really good team. They’re likely a playoff team, once again. Pete Golding and their offensive coordinator, John David Baker, deserve a lot of credit, as do the players. LSU will return home for a very important matchup with Texas A&M in primetime on Saturday night. I will be back in Death Valley to keep you covered, so stay tuned here on The Kneaux. Follow me on X @DCBilliotJr and join us on Wednesday night for a Texas A&M preview episode of Geaux Deep Dive on YouTube, X, Spotify, Twitch, or Kick.

ULM unable to erase deficit to SLU

By Dusty Thibodeaux • September 20, 2026
Warhawks fall to 0-3 after 38-35 loss to Southeastern Louisiana
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