Football 10/1/2020 9:15:00 AM

LA Tech Takes on No. 22 BYU Friday

RUSTON – Louisiana Tech football (2-0, 1-0 C-USA) will take on No. 22 BYU (2-0) for the first time in program history on Friday, Oct. 2, at 8 p.m. (CT) at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah.

Louisiana Tech has started off its 2020 campaign with a 2-0 record, which is the first 2-0 start for the Bulldogs since 2018 and is just the third 2-0 start since 2005. LA Tech won its season opener at Southern Miss, 31-30, on Sept. 19. Louisiana Tech then improved its home winning streak to seven with a 66-38 win over Houston Baptist in its home opener on Sept. 26.

"It's been anything but normal to get to where we are right now," head coach Skip Holtz said. "It has certainly been a testament to this team that we've been able to be 2-0 at this point. To go out and do what we did against Southern Miss, with all the hurdles off the field that we had the two weeks prior to that game, and to find ourselves down 17 points and to go win that game. I made the comment that week we were going to learn a lot about our football team. Being heavily favored last week, we were going to learn a lot about our team and how we were going to play when we were expected to win. If we were going to go out and we were going to try and play to a standard, or if we were going to try to play to our opponent. I was really proud of the job the football team did on the field Saturday. There were some great individual performances. They were really focused. They were dialed in."

Holtz is in his eighth season at the helm of LA Tech football where he has collected a 58-36 overall record. He has led the Bulldogs to six straight bowl victories, including a 14-0 win over Miami (Fla.) in the Walk On's Independence Bowl last season (Dec. 26). The win was the first shutout in Independence Bowl history and the only shutout of the 2019 bowl season. Just 10 out of 130 FBS teams have won six or more consecutive bowl games, and LA Tech has the only active streak.

No. 22 BYU has won its first two games of the 2020 season after defeating Navy on the road, 55-3, followed by a 48-7 victory over Troy in Provo. BYU head coach Kalani Sitake is in his fifth year at the helm of the program where he has a 29-25 overall record.

"This is a game you're going to have to line up and earn it," Holtz said. "A lot of people have said it's one of the better BYU teams they've had in quite a while. I've certainly been impressed watching them outscore their opponents 103-10 in their first two football games. Last week is gone, this is a new week. I'm just trying to get our football team ready for a short week, travel, first plane game where we're going to get on a plane to go play the game. We'll learn even more about our football team through this week as we play this game on the road."

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LA TECH NOTABLES

Louisiana Tech will take on No. 22 BYU for the first time in program history on Friday.
BYU marks the second half of back-to-back first time foes LA Tech will face this season. The Bulldogs previously defeated Houston Baptist, 66-38, on Saturday, Sept. 26, in the first-ever meeting between the programs. This will be the first time since 2012 the Bulldogs will face back-to-back opponents for the first time (UTSA and Texas State).
Saturday's contest will be the 51st time LA Tech has faced a Top 25 opponent. The Bulldogs have won four contests against Top 25 foes. Louisiana Tech's last win over a Top 25 opponent was a 48-45 victory over No. 25 Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 23, 2016.
Louisiana Tech is 3-2 all-time in games played in Utah, with all five contests being against Utah State. The last time LA Tech played in the Beehive State was on Oct. 22, 2011, when the Bulldogs defeated the Aggies, 24-17, in Logan.
Friday's game is the 10th midweek game for LA Tech under head coach Skip Holtz. The Bulldogs are 5-4 in midweek games under Holtz, while seven of the 10 midweek games have been on the road.
Graduate student quarterback Luke Anthony was named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week, LSWA Co-Offensive Player of the Week and earned a spot on the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award's Great 8: Week Four List after leading the Bulldogs in their 66-38 win over Houston Baptist (Sept. 26). Anthony was also named an honorable mention for The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award National Player of the Week for the second straight week. Anthony accounted for six touchdowns against HBU after posting five touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown against the Huskies. In his first career start for the Bulldogs against HBU, Anthony finished the game 17-of-30 for 314 yards and five touchdowns. He has passed for eight touchdowns in the first two games of the season which is the most by a Louisiana Tech QB in the opening two games of a season in program history. His eight passing touchdowns this season currently rank second in the nation.
Freshman linebacker Tyler Grubbs has led the Bulldogs in tackles in back-to-back games, totaling 28 tackles through the first two games of the season. Grubbs currently ranks fourth in the nation in total tackles with 14.0 per game.
Redshirt freshman kicker/punter Jacob Barnes has not missed a field goal (2-of-2) or extra point attempt (13-of-13) this season.
Barnes made a career-long 51-yard field goal on his lone field goal attempt against HBU (Sept. 26). It was the longest made field goal by a Bulldog since his older brother, Jonathan Barnes, made a 53-yarder on Nov. 25, 2017. Jacob Barnes became the 11th Bulldog in program history to make a 50+ yard field goal.
Junior defensive lineman Milton Williams has recorded 2.0 sacks this season. Through his last eight games, he has 6.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss.

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GAMEDAY COVERAGE
Date: Friday, Oct. 2, 2020
Time: 8 p.m. (CT)
Location: Provo, Utah
Venue: LaVell Edwards Stadium
                Surface: Natural Grass
Series: First Meeting
               In Ruston: N/A
                    Last: N/A
                In Provo: N/A
                     Last: N/A
                In Shreveport: N/A
                     Last: N/A
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=313830
Live Audio: Tunein.com (Louisiana Tech Football)
Twitter Updates: @LATechFB

Media
TV: ESPN2
PxP: Dave Flemming
Analyst: Andre Ware
Sideline Reporter: Stormy Buonantony

Radio: LA Tech Sports Network (KXKZ 107.5 FM)
PxP: Dave Nitz
Analyst: Teddy Allen

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Season tickets are on sale through the Tech Ticket Office by calling (318) 257-3631.

For all the latest in Bulldog Football, follow them on Twitter (@LATechFB), Instagram (@LATechFB) and Facebook (LATechFootball) or visit the official website at LATechSports.com.

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