Recent Rivals

Up until the year 2008, Louisiana Tech and Army had never met to play the sport of football against each other. This initial meeting came amidst Louisiana Tech’s tenured WAC membership and in the 7th week of a season that Tech started 1-0 against an SEC opponent. While Derek Dooley would manage to salvage this year in the latter half of the schedule, he was unable to pull out a win at West Point and the Dogs would fall 7-14 to the Black Knights. The next matchup between these schools occurred in 2013, Skip Holtz’ first year coaching for Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs and Black Knights would find each other in the middle of the season yet again, this time with the venue of the Cotton Bowl. It was obvious that Coach Holtz would need some more time to improve, especially after receiving the 16-35 rout from Army in a game that saw Terry Baggett break through for 143 yards and two TD’s on 18 carries. The most recent meeting of these teams is an independence bowl game many Tech fans are quite familiar with and wish to forget about. Three losses in the past to a storied program makes way for an opportunity to make a new etching in history with a win in Ruston today. 

Straight out the Bye

Today, the Bulldogs return to Joe Aillet stadium for a game in Ruston for the first time in 28 days. After an electric home opener against Northwestern State, the Bulldogs had two power opponents on the road to face in LSU and Baylor. Following these big, physical matchups that resulted in a pretty penny earned, Tech looks to face an opponent that is mostly their own size. However, as many already know, Army is no pushover and not even an ordinary opponent by any means. Luckily, following Tech’s road trips to power opponents, they were rewarded with a bye week and an extra opportunity to prepare for the ultra-unique style of play that the Black Knights bring.

If you happen to be living under a rock, Jeff Monken and his Army squad runs an option-heavy scheme that relies on misdirection, quick decisions, and elite athleticism on the ground. Army leads the FBS in rushing yards per game and is top 10 in total rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, total rushes, and rushing yards per carry. They convert 50% of their third downs and have been 5/5 on fourth down so far. According to their stat site, they have had 11 attempts to score in the red zone and have been successful in scoring 12 times, whatever that means. Army averages 35 minutes of possession per game, while Tech averages nearly 28. Army has only 30 total passing attempts on the year and has yet to turn the ball over through the air. It will be extremely difficult for the Bulldogs to get anything going for themselves if they do not manage to score every chance the offense is given the ball, as it is quite likely that Army will be banking on that gameplan. Going down multiple scores against an academy team is nearly a deathwish and the coaches need to prioritize efficiency when they are able to make points happen.

Hold the Line

Louisiana Tech has been touting an outstanding defense all of this year so far, claiming it as a strong suit every step of the way. Last week was an abnormal deviation from this trend as Tech’s secondary looked unable to prevent any success through the air. The pass rush also failed to impact Baylor’s backup QB, Nate Bennett and he managed to complete 21 of 24 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Most of those yards earned through the air resulted from massive blown coverages and defensive miscommunications that allowed easy, long dimes to be thrown. That being said, Tech still looked extremely stout at the line of scrimmage and continued its trend of stopping runs attempted between the tackles. No takeaways in the air from the ballhawking dogs but a fumble recovery did give an extra possession to Tech when interceptions were not happening. These defensive dogs have one of their greatest tests ahead of them and will need to put their top-10 TFL tacklers at the forefront of any plans today.

Army’s defense has had a small sample size to show from, but in the preseason there were many questions about who would be replacing a number of key starters that were not returning in 2026. So far, they have not given up many scores but a lot of credit is given to their offense that is outstanding at keeping the ball away from their opponents. Their one loss came to USF as a final drive touchdown vaulted the bulls ahead in the 4th to take home the W. In this game, Michael Van Buren Jr. managed to pass 239 yards in the air with a near 66% completion rate. The USF run game was a lot less efficient, however, with only 135 total yards on 25 carries across the team. Army’s most recent opponent, Temple, also passed all over them with 242 yards and two aerial touchdowns. Army did give up more rushing yards in this game, but managed to prevent scoring opportunities and took away the close game in a 21-17 win. It is hard to know what kind of defensive identity Army is going to bring today, but Tech has to take advantage of the opportunities in the air and bring their A-Game on the ground that they started to find against Baylor. 

Conclusions

It seems to me that the Black Knights will be doing everything in their power to take as long as they can to earn points, as they have in many years past. Tech’s key to winning this game has to be to do the same on offense and to force unfavorable 3rd down and distances via TFL’s and potential sacks on defense. If Tech can get two stops in this game, it may just be enough to squeak out a win. If they can get one or more turnovers, the whole dynamic has a potential to change. Tech’s offense is hoping to hum with whoever trots on the field to play under center, as both Blake Baker and Trey Kukuk have displayed improvement and abilities to lead their team. I heard through the grapevine that a new kicker will be trying to debut in this game, so field goals could become more optionable in moments that need them. As I head to this game today, I am very excited to find out if the Bulldogs are ready for yet another challenging opponent before finally beginning in their new conference against ULL. Make sure to catch the game today on ESPN+ at 6:30 PM. GO DAWGS!