LSU’s offensive shortcomings were camouflaged at Clemson last year.
The game was on the road. Clemson had NFL talent on defense. The 17 points were enough to win the game, so everyone waved off the potential issues.
Then came Louisiana Tech.
The Tigers only mustered 365 yards and 23 points on the Bulldogs, and many left Tiger Stadium that night thinking something may be up. A hangover was possible. The win over Clemson was such a monkey off the back of everyone involved in the Brian Kelly era. But that was two weeks of middling offense, and it turned out to be a huge problem for Kelly’s final team.
Tech will return to Tiger Stadium for a second consecutive season this fall. Let’s learn a little more about Sonny Cumbie’s Bulldogs.
BUILDING BULLDOGS
Cumbie was under some heat in 2025.
Skip Holtz won nine-plus games in four of his first seven seasons in Ruston and topped out with a 10-win year in 2019. Things never got back on track following the pandemic, and Holtz was fired for going 3-9 in 2021.
Cumbie took over and immediately went 3-9, 3-9, 5-8. His job was on the line last fall, and he produced an 8-5 year capped by an Independence Bowl win in Shreveport. That’s obviously progress, but it needs to continue.
The former Texas Tech quarterback is just 19-31 overall at Tech and 13-19 in league play. He doesn’t need to win in Tiger Stadium on September 12, but he needs to win more Sun Belt games than he loses.
FUN BELT DEBUT
Speaking of the Sun Belt, the Bulldogs have a new home.
Tech has swapped conferences for the second time in 15 seasons entering the 2026-27 school year. The Bulldogs were in the WAC from 2001 to 2012 and moved to Conference USA where they spent 13 years from 2013 to 2025. Now, it’s the Sun Belt where they’ll join in-state rivals ULL and ULM.
They’ll play the Cajuns and Warhawks in back-to-back weekends on October 10 and 17 with ULL making the trip up to Ruston. The Bulldogs will travel 35 miles east on I-20 to tangle with the Warhawks.
QUARTERBACK QUESTIONS
Tech played a pair of quarterbacks last season, and somehow both were convinced to stay. Trey Kukuk began the season under center. He was the Bulldog starter against LSU in September.
Blake Baker, the quarterback not the defensive coordinator, stepped in and threw a late touchdown pass versus LSU on a busted coverage. He assumed the starting role until a season-ending injury struck on November 8.
Kukuk returned to the role and set a record for rushing yards by a Tech quarterback (172 yards) against Missouri State. He ran for 100-plus yards in the final three games of the year including the Independence Bowl against Coastal Carolina who is now a conference foe.
Tech only threw for eight touchdowns in 13 games. The Bulldogs were dead last in Conference USA in passing yards and passing touchdowns. Only Oklahoma State and Army threw for fewer touchdowns among FBS teams. Army only threw 68 passes all season.
No matter who takes the first snap or the last, Tech is going to need more from its quarterbacks. Cumbie once threw for 4,742 yards and 32 scores in a single season. He needs to channel some of that in a new league.
