RUSTON – Louisiana Tech football will take the field for the first time in the 2020 season on Saturday as LA Tech takes on conference-rival Southern Miss (0-1) at 6:30 p.m. (CT), at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss.
"We're excited about this week and about getting out there, getting in practice and getting to play the game," head coach
Skip Holtz said. "There's a lot of excitement with not only playing but having the opportunity to start with a conference game, on the road for six of the last seven years, and to have it be Southern Miss. We're just excited about having the opportunity to play in this game that has such a great history and tradition to it."
Saturday's matchup will be the 52nd meeting between the Bulldogs and the Golden Eagles, marking the third most-played matchup for LA Tech in program history. Southern Miss leads the overall series, 35-16, and holds the 18-7 edge in games played in Hattiesburg. As conference rivals in C-USA, the teams have a combined score of 207-215 in seven meetings, with Southern Miss holding a 4-3 edge. However, Louisiana Tech posted a 45-30 victory over Southern Miss in the most recent meeting on Oct. 19, 2019. The Bulldogs have defeated the Golden Eagles back-to-back times on three occasions in program history (1959-60, 1976-77, 2013-14).
Louisiana Tech is 58-54-5 all-time in season openers, including 18-39-0 in season openers on the road and 3-4 in season openers under Holtz. LA Tech is 52-35-5 all-time in conference openers, including 19-16-1 in conference openers on the road. Since joining Conference USA in 2013, the Bulldogs are 4-3 in C-USA openers, including 3-2 in conference openers on the road. Saturday's conference opener at Southern Miss will mark the sixth time in the last seven seasons Louisiana Tech has started C-USA play on the road. It will be the first time Louisiana Tech has opened the season against a conference opponent since 2004 when LA Tech defeated Nevada, 38-21, in Ruston while in the WAC.
Holtz enters his eighth season at the helm of LA Tech football where he has collected a 56-36 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..
Southern Miss opened the season with a 32-21 loss to South Alabama on Sept. 3. Scotty Walden will make his debut against LA Tech after being named the Golden Eagles' interim head coach on Sept. 7. This will be the first time Southern Miss will have an interim head coach in the middle of a season.
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LA TECH NOTABLES
- Louisiana Tech finished the 2019 season ranked in the top-30 in the nation in 11 categories, including first in redzone defense (0.647), third in defensive touchdowns (5), fifth in passes intercepted (17), 10th in turnovers gained (26), 22nd in first down offense (304), 22nd in winning percentage (0.769), 26th in turnover margin (0.54), 26th in tackles for loss allowed (4.92), 28th in team passing efficiency defense (119.39), 30th in scoring defense (21.8) and 30th in blocked kicks allowed (1).
- Senior running back Justin Henderson is coming off a 1,000-yard rush season after carrying the ball 188 times for 1,062 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. Henderson was the 13th Bulldog in program history to rush for 1,000 yards, and finished the 2019 season ranked 13th in the nation in rushing touchdowns (15) and 19th in total touchdowns (16).
- Junior wide receiver Griffin Hebert finished the 2019 campaign ranked 35th in the nation in yards per pass attempt with 17.90. Hebert finished the season with 537 total receiving yards, averaging 41.3 yards per game.
- Senior wide receiver Adrian Hardy led the Bulldogs in the 2019 season with 53.4 receiving yards per game. Hardy is 70 receiving yards away from reaching 2,000 in his career. Hardy would become the 13th Bulldog in program history to reach this milestone.
- Louisiana Tech returns its two leading kick returners in sophomore wide receivers Wayne Toussant and Smoke Harris. In kick returns, Toussant averaged 25.8 yards per game and Harris averaged 23.3 per game.
- Junior defensive lineman Milton Williams and senior linebacker Ezekiel Barnett led LA Tech in sacks and quarterback hurries in the 2019 season. Williams had 5.5 sacks for 31 yards and Barnett had 4.0 sacks for 19 yards, while both record six quarterback hurries each.
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GAMEDAY COVERAGE
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2020
Time: 6:30 p.m. (CT)
Location: Hattiesburg, Miss.
Venue: M.M. Roberts Stadium (36,000)
Surface: Matrix Turf
Series: Southern Miss leads, 35-16
In Ruston: Southern Miss leads, 16-9
Last: (2019, LA Tech won, 45-30)
In Hattiesburg: Southern Miss leads, 18-7
Last: (2018, Southern Miss won, 21-20)
In Shreveport: Southern Miss leads, 1-0
Last: (1967, Southern Miss won, 58-7)
Live Stats: https://southernmiss.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Live Audio: Tunein.com (Louisiana Tech Football)
Twitter Updates: @LATechFB
Media
T
V: ESPN2
PxP: Dave Pasch
Analyst: Mike Golic
Sideline: Lauren Sisler
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.
