Oct. 17, 2008

RUSTON -- Louisiana Tech Athletic Director and head coach Derek Dooley announced the Bulldogs 2009 non-conference football schedule Friday.

The schedule includes road games at Auburn, Navy and LSU and a home game against Nicholls State.

Dooley and the Bulldogs will open the 2009 season Sept. 5 at Auburn against the Tigers, a one-game contract that was recently signed. Auburn leads this series 10-0-1 and it will mark the first meeting between the two programs since 2004.

Tech's game against Mississippi State in Starkville is now set for 2012.

One week after playing Auburn, Tech will travel to Annapolis, Maryland, to face the Navy Midshipmen on Sept. 12. This will be the first of a home-and-home series against Navy as the Midshipmen will return the game to Ruston in 2010. It will mark the first game between the two programs.

The Bulldogs host Nicholls State Sept. 19 in Ruston. Tech leads the all-time series against the Colonels 3-0, including a 31-21 win the last time the two teams met in 2006.

Tech's final non-conference game of the year will be against the LSU Tigers on Nov.14 in Baton Rouge.

Dooley also announced that Tech has signed a four-year deal to play Southern Mississippi starting with a home game in Ruston in 2010. The Bulldogs and the Eagles will play in Ruston in 2010 and 2013 and in Hattiesburg, Miss., in 2011 and 2014.