Preview: LA Tech vs. Old Dominion

RUSTON -- Louisiana Tech returns to Origin Bank Field at Joe Aillet Stadium Saturday afternoon as the Bulldogs welcome Old Dominion for Homecoming and look to extend their three-game winning streak while remaining unbeaten in Sun Belt Conference play. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT, with the contest airing on ESPN+.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Oct. 24
Time: 4 p.m. CT
Location: Ruston, La. (Origin Bank Field at Joe Aillet Stadium)
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: LATechSports.com/Stats
Radio: Z107.5 | LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics App

SERIES HISTORY
Series: Old Dominion leads 2-0
In Ruston: First Meeting
Streak: L2

The Bulldogs (4-2, 2-0 SBC) enter the weekend following a 24-0 shutout victory over in-state rival ULM, marking their first road conference shutout since 2008. Tech has opened its inaugural Sun Belt campaign with consecutive victories over UL-Lafayette and ULM and is one of three conference teams remaining unbeaten in league play, joining James Madison and South Alabama.

Saturday will be the third all-time meeting with the Monarchs (2-5, 1-3 SBC) and the first time taking the field together in Ruston. It is also the third time to meet as conference foes, but the first as both being members of the Sun Belt.

The beginning of the Sun Belt era is off to a hot start in Ruston, as the Bulldogs enter Homecoming Weekend 2-0 with wins over their two in-state rivals, UL-Lafayette (W, 32-31) and on the road in Monroe against ULM (W, 24-0). The shutout over the Warhawks was the sixth time the Bulldogs blanked ULM in a football game in program history, and was also the first shutout in a road conference game since 2008, when Tech beat San Jose State, 21-0, on Nov. 8 of that year when they were members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

WHAT'S AT STAKE / A LA TECH WIN…

Would be the program's first-ever win over Old Dominion at home and in program history
Would be Sonny Cumbie's 24th coaching win at Tech and 26th of his career
Would extend the Bulldogs' winning streak to four games and home winning streak to six games
Would give Tech a 3-0 start in conference play for the first time since 2019 and the fifth time since 2004
Would be LA Tech's 129th all-time win over teams currently in the Sun Belt

MATCHUP NOTES

Saturday will be the third all-time matchup between LA Tech and Old Dominion, and the first-ever meeting taking place at Origin Bank Field at Joe Aillet Stadium
It is also the third meeting as conference opponents, with their previous two clashes occurring during their tenure in Conference USA
This will be Sonny Cumbie's first-ever game coaching against the Monarchs, while this is ODU head coach Ricky Rahne's second-ever game against the Bulldogs--his first game was a 30-27 overtime victory in Norfolk in 2021, his first official season as head coach
With Saturday being an inter-division clash, ODU currently sits in seventh in the SBC East standings and LA Tech sits at the top of the West, being one of two undefeated teams in SBC play remaining entering the weekend

LET BLAKE BAKE
Quarterback Blake Baker is off to a strong start in conference play, with 497 passing yards on a completion rate of 74.6% and an efficiency rating of 167.06, six total touchdowns and no turnovers. He had a career day in the program's first-ever Sun Belt game with 319 passing yards on a career-best 76.2% completion rate (min. 25 attempts) along with 3 passing touchdowns and 1 rushing score. It was just the second time in his career with 300+ passing yards and the first time to do so along with multiple passing touchdowns. His three scores through the air tied his career high from the season-opening win over Northwestern State and his 54 rushing yards marked a season high for the Cypress, Texas native. He has 9 passing touchdowns, 857 passing yards and just one interception on the season, along with a Sun Belt-best 169.4 efficiency rating.

DEFENSE REMAINS STAGGERING
Alonzo Jackson Jr. continues to be the star of Louisiana Tech's high-energy defense, leading all Sun Belt defenders with 10.0 TFLs and 1.67 TFLs/game along with his five sacks being tied for the second-most in the conference. Jackson Jr. is among the top 10 in the country in TFLs, and has led the Bulldog defense to sitting in a tie for the 13th-most team TFLs (47) and the eighth-best per-game rate for team TFLs (7.8) in FBS. Along with his impressive ability to make stops, Jackson Jr. has also contrbuted with one interception, two pass breakups, one hurry and a forced fumble and fumble recovery thus far in the season.

Louisiana Tech's defense enters Week 8 tied for the Sun Belt lead with 9 interceptions, a conference-best 7.8 TFLs/game and 47 total team TFLs for the second-most, and also sitting amongst the top 5 in opposing team passing efficency (127.4), third-down conversions (.369), fourth-down conversions (.444) and turnovers forced (13). Jackson Jr. paces the Sun Belt with 10.0 TFLs and his 5.0 sacks are tied for the second-most in the conference. Louisiana Tech is tied with James Madison for the most players with 40+ tackles, with the three Bulldogs being Jackson Jr. (42), followed by Kolbe Fields (41) and Jadon Mayfield (40).

NO FLY ZONE
Janard Lockhardt has proven to be one of the top defensive backs statistically in the country, with his 1.17 PBUs/game currently tied for the ninth-best rate in FBS, and his seven total breakups among the top 20 in the country. Jordan McRae is one of four SBC defensive backs with at least three INTs thus far, and is the only player in the league with 100+ return yards and an interception returned for a touchdown this season. Four of the top six players in interception return yardage (McRae, Kam Franklin, Zheric Hill, Kam Carter) all reside in Ruston.

SPREADING THE RECEIVING WEALTH
Over the past two weeks, Lousiana Tech has seen three separate 100-yard receving performances, two of which were during the Bulldogs' inaugural Sun Belt win over the Ragin' Cajuns of UL-Lafayette. Eli Finley (9 rec., 114 yards, 2 TD) and Talyn Shettron (8 rec., 102 yards) were the duo in the SBC opener, followed with Marcus Calwise Jr. (8 rec., 119 yards) putting on a show against ULM in Monroe on Oct. 17. Calwise Jr.'s performance set new single-game career highs in catches and yardage, as well as giving Tech it's SBC-leading fifth 100-yard receiving game by four different receivers, which is also the most for a single team in the conference. It is also the first time since 2022 the Bulldogs have at least four different receivers with a 100-yard receiving performance through the first six games (Cyrus Allen at Missouri; Griffin Hebert at No. 4 Clemson; Tre Harris vs. UTEP; Smoke Harris at North Texas).

Jalen Mickens has surged as a top target through six games, entering the weekend with the second-most receiving yards (476) and second-highest game average (79.3) in the SBC. He became the first Bulldog with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Tru Edwards achieved the feat in 2024 during his tenure in Ruston. The second-year receiver is one of two SBC pass catchers with 30+ catches and at least 450 yards entering Week 8 of the 2026 season. His nine catches vs. ULL are tied for the most in a single game among SBC receivers, along with Eli Finley's nine receptions in Saturday's win over the Ragin' Cajuns. He also has the fourth-most receiving yards in a single game and the third-longest reception in a single game among all Sun Belt receivers.

TECH #TAKERS
The Bulldogs have nine consecutive games forcing a turnover dating back to the 2025 season, with 16 interceptions and four fumble recoveries in that span. LA Tech also has a turnover forced in 17 of their last 19 games since the start of last year. Among those contests, the Bulldogs have forced multiple turnovers in 10 of them. Since the start of 2025, the Bulldogs have picked off opponents on 31 separate occasions along with six fumble recoveries. Since the start of 2025, the Bulldogs have nine games with multiple interceptions--tied with Notre Dame for the most in the country over that span.

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Players Mentioned

Blake Baker

Marcus Calwise Jr.

Kolbe Fields

Eli Finley

Kam Franklin

Zheric Hill

Alonzo Jackson Jr.

Janard Lockhardt

Jadon Mayfield

Jordan McRae

Jalen Mickens

Talyn Shettron

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