LA Tech vs. Southern Miss Preview
Louisiana Tech plays its final game inside Joe Aillet Stadium this season, hosting Southern Miss on Friday night at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
The Bulldogs snapped a five-game losing streak this past Saturday, winning 42-32 over Charlotte at home. It was arguably the best offensive output by the team this season, racking up a season-high 504 yards of total offense behind the arm of Aaron Allen and the legs of Marcus Williams, Jr.
Allen, making his second start of the season at quarterback, completed 78 percent of his passes (21-27) while throwing for a career-high 324 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile on the ground, Williams, Jr. was a workhorse with his career-high 29 carries for 131 yards and four rushing touchdowns, the most by a Bulldog running back since Kenneth Dixon in 2015. He has totaled 674 rushing yards and a team-high eight touchdowns this season.
Smoke Harris caught eight of those passes by Allen for 98 receiving yards. The wideout has led LA Tech (3-7, 2-4 C-USA) in receptions in all 10 games this season, having compiled 61 receptions for 645 receiving yards.
Southern Miss (1-9, 0-6 C-USA) enters Friday's game having lost eight straight games with its lone victory being a 37-0 shutout win over Grambling State back on Sept. 11.
The Golden Eagles, under first-year head coach Will Hall, have faced several challenges this year at the quarterback position as they have used a total of 10 QBs this year. On the ground, Frank Gore, Jr. is the anchor as he leads the team with an average of 73 rushing yards per game.
This will be the 63rd meeting on the gridiron between the two programs with USM leading, 35-17. The Bulldogs have won two straight in the series, including last season's thrilling 31-30 comeback win in Hattiesburg. LA Tech has never won three straight against Southern Miss in their history.
