RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech steps back into conference play this weekend as the Bulldogs host the Rice Owls at 6 p.m. on Saturday night at Joe Aillet Stadium and aim for their seventh win of the season.
 
Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m. CT on Saturday at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ for subscribers with Lyn Rollins (play-by-play), Doug Anderson (analysis) and Madison Kaufman (sideline) calling all the action on Saturday night. Fans can also tune in to the radio broadcast on the LA Tech Sports Network on KXKZ-FM (107.5) or access audio from LA Tech's radio broadcast for free through the LA Tech Mobile X app or the Red Peach Media app.
 
"When you have played nine football games and six of the nine have been on the road, believe me, the adage there is no place like home is sweet music to our ears right now," head coach Skip Holtz said. "To play two of our final three at home is something that we look forward to. It is the Red Out this week, which is always a special week with the red helmets. With it also being Military Appreciation Day, we will have an opportunity to give back and say thank you to so many men and women our country that give us the opportunity to put our heads on our pillow at night and sleep freely because of the sacrifices that so many have made before them and are making presently."
 
The Bulldogs are coming off a 45-3 loss on the road last weekend against Mississippi State in Starkville.  Overall, LA Tech enters this week's home contest with a 6-3 overall record and 4-1 mark in Conference USA games. LA Tech is 2-1 in home games this season. The Bulldogs have won three straight conference games dating back to Oct. 13.
 
"I think this team is ready to play again," Holtz said. "I think we are embarrassed for the way that we performed [last week]. I do not think that we played very well and I think everybody is going to be really excited to get back and figure out what we need to do to get this thing back on track as we come back home and play a conference game this week."
 
Rice is led by first-year head coach Mike Bloomgren and heads to Ruston with a 1-9 record on the season. The Owls are still searching for their first conference win of the season along with the team's first road win.
 
Saturday's afternoon kickoff will mark the 12th meeting all-time between Louisiana Tech and Rice with LA Tech leading the series, 7-4, including a 4-1 record in games played at Joe Aillet Stadium. The Bulldogs have won four straight over the Owls, including a 42-28 win over Rice last season in Houston.
 

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PREGAME NOTES
 

• With 12.5 sacks in 2018, Ferguson has already broken the LA Tech and C-USA record for career sacks. Ferguson also leads the country this season with 12.5 sacks, while he is only four sacks shy of matching the NCAA career sack record.

 

• Through nine games played in 2018, the Bulldog pass defense has yet to allow a 300-yard passer by an opponent, while also holding opposing quarterbacks to under 200 passing yards four times this season (91, at South Alabama; 191, at #6 LSU; 136, UAB; 121, at Florida Atlantic).

 

• This weekend's game against Rice marks Louisiana Tech's annual "RED OUT" game where the Bulldogs wear their red jerseys at home instead of their traditional home blue jerseys. Since instituting the "RED OUT" game promotion in 2009, Louisiana Tech has gone 5-4 in those games, including having won three of the last four "RED OUT" games.

 

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GAME DAY CENTRAL
 
Promotions: RED OUT, Military Appreciation Day, Scout Day, Stem Day, Halftime Fireworks
 
Tickets: Single-game tickets for Bulldog football can be purchased through the Louisiana Tech Ticket Office located in the Thomas Assembly Center. Fans can call 318-257-3631, email TechTickets@latech.edu or stop by during business hours Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Fans can also buy tickets 24/7 by logging onto LATechSports.com/Tickets.
 
The ticket booths on both the east and west sides of Joe Aillet Stadium will open at 2 p.m. this Saturday. Gates to the stadium will open at 4:30 p.m.
 
Tech Trolley: The City of Ruston will once again offer the "Tech Trolley" service for all five of the Bulldogs home games at Joe Aillet Stadium. Using iShuttle Transportation Service, the "Tech Trolley" will run continuously from the Trolley Stop in Railroad Park on Vienna Street in downtown Ruston to the Davison Athletics Complex. Signage showing the pickup and drop-off locations will be available on game days. The "Tech Trolley" will begin running five hours prior to kickoff and will run up to one hour after the game ends.
 
The "Tech Trolley" is a quick easy way to avoid the game day hassle of parking and will take priority over all other traffic in route to Joe Aillet Stadium.
 
The "Tech Trolley" will begin running at 1 p.m. this Saturday and will run up to one hour after the game ends. Fans can download the iShuttle Corporate app and utilize the password ruston to track the trolley in route.
 
Pregame Activities: One of the centerpieces of Loyal Blue Weekend is the Rock the Railroad series on Friday nights of home football weekends. This event will be held at Railroad Park in downtown Ruston and will start at 6 p.m. with live music followed by a LA Tech Family pep rally featuring the cheerleaders and Champ at 6:30 p.m.
 
Live music will start each Friday night at 7 p.m. (until 9 p.m.) with Josh Madden Band serving as the featured artist for Friday, Nov. 9. A Late Night Pep Rally will conclude the evening at 9 p.m. featuring the Tech Band of Pride, Regal Blues, Tech Cheer, Tech XXII and Champ.
 
For more information on this event go to Facebook.com/RocktheRailroadRuston and for other events go to Facebook.com/ExperienceRuston.
 

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TUNE IN
 
Louisiana Tech fans can tune into the LA Tech Sports Network this fall for all live game broadcasts for the Bulldogs' 12-game schedule as well as 12 editions of Inside Bulldog Football with Skip Holtz.
 
The LA Tech Sports Network will team up with KXKZ-FM (107.5) Ruston as the flagship station for Tech Athletics.
 
All 12 Bulldog football games can be heard on KXKZ 107.5 FM (Ruston/Monroe) as well as KDBS 1410 AM (Alexandria), KQID 93.1 HD3 (Alexandria), WUBR 910 AM (Baton Rouge), KFNV 107.1 FM (Ferriday), KJVC 92.7 FM (Mansfield), KRMD 1340 AM (Shreveport/Bossier City), KRMD 100.7 FM (Shreveport/Bossier City), KNCB 1320 AM (Vivian) and KVCL 92.1 FM (Winnfield).
 
The LA Tech Sports Network team will host a 90-minute pregame show prior to kickoff and a 30-minute postgame show. Tech Gameday, a 90-minute pre-pregame show hosted by Ed Hebert and Joel Sharpton, will also air prior to each home game live from Tailgate Alley on KXKZ 107.5 FM.
 
Bulldog fans can access free audio of every LA Tech game and radio show through the Louisiana Tech X mobile app which is available for download on the iTunes App Store or Google Play.
 

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For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, please follow Louisiana Tech on social media at @LATechFB (Twitter), /LATechFootball (Facebook) and @LATechFB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com.