Did you hear the one about the college football team that was a part of two conferences?
There was a time this offseason when Louisiana Tech was a part of both the Conference USA and Sun Belt schedules, as it was caught in the business side of expansion and realignment.
In the end, after 13 years in Conference USA, Louisiana Tech landed in a conference that seems like it’s where it always belonged.
Now Sonny Cumbie’s team has to keep winning.
Louisiana Tech Found Its Football Home
© James Snook-Imagn Images
(© James Snook-Imagn Images)
It took three years, but Cumbie finally got the team up to a strong eight-win season. And now, in a be-careful-what-you-wish-for thing, the Bulldogs are in a stronger conference with a tougher schedule along with a higher profile.
It’ll be a change, but in a Sun Belt west with Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, and other programs to create relatively drivable rivalries with, Louisiana Tech feels like it’s home.
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Louisiana Tech Quick Hits
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Head Coach: Sonny Cumbie (5th year, 19-31; career record 21-34)
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Best Case / Worst Case: Make a push for the Sun Belt West title/Just miss out on bowl eligibility
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Key Player: Jaden Miller, QB Jr.
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Biggest Question: Can the Bulldogs produce at the same level as last year in the Sun Belt?
Louisiana Tech Key 2025 Stats
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Louisiana Tech 3rd Quarter Points: 62, 4th Quarter Points: 138
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Penalties: Opponents 104 for 874 yards, Louisiana Tech 101 for 1,011 yards
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Tackles For Loss: Louisiana Tech 82 for 305 yards, Opponents 69 for 231 yards
Offense
Nathan Young has been the offensive line coach, but now he’s taking on the offensive coordinator gig.
His attack needs more of a spark with the passing game, but the ground attack should still be good.
As long as the offense scores like it did for most of last year in its former conference, all will be fine.
What’s Working
Just score. Don’t ask any questions about how the sausage is made. When Louisiana Tech scored – okay, so almost all the points came against the weaker teams on the slate – it won.
The Bulldogs went 6-0 when scoring more than 27 points, The 335 points scored last season were the most by the program since 2019.
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The running game should be excellent again … eventually. It’s a relatively thin group of backs, but there will be a good rotation.
Kenny Thomas was a great recruit who’ll get every shot right away. Jaden Miller is a big back with upside coming in from the portal, and plenty of the rushing production will come from the quarterbacks.
The quarterback situation is good, but Blake Baker is coming off a knee injury. When he’s right, the 6-5 junior is accurate and can move. Trey Kukuk isn’t a bad option with even more mobility. He can throw a bit, too.
What Needs Work
The offensive line has to come together fast. It was great for the ground game and decent enough to keep the quarterbacks from getting clocked.
Hayden Christman is a 331-pound veteran left tackle, Ashanti Cole is a big 312-pound guard, and there’s enough in place to round out the front five, but this might take a few games to jell.
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The ground game has to be merely adequate. As good as the Bulldogs were at running the ball, bad things happened a bit too often when they sputtered.
They were 5-0 when averaging four or more yards per carry, and 3-5 when averaging fewer. Now they have to be consistent with two very FBS green – but talented – backs.
The passing game has to be more efficient. It’s still one of the mysteries of the college football universe that a Sonny Cumbie team is just okay at throwing the ball – he was a whale of a passer for Texas Tech under Mike Leach.
The quarterbacks are experienced, but they don’t do enough down the field. Interceptions weren’t a problem, but overall consistency was.
Player to Watch
Hayden Christman, OT Jr.
The 6-6, 331-pound veteran started 24 games over the last two seasons, mostly at left tackle. He’s got the experience and size to be one of the better tackles in the Sun Belt next to blasting run blocker Ashanti Cole on the left side.
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Defense
Defensive coordinator Luke Olson put together a whale of a season. The former DC at Jacksonville State under Rich Rodriguez came over to the Bulldogs, and his bunch attacked from the word go.
There might need to be more of a pass rush, but the interceptions came in bunches for the No. 1 defense in Conference USA.
There’s enough returning to have one of the best defenses in the Sun Belt.
What’s Working
The Bulldogs have enough veterans to keep it all going. They might not be Louisiana Tech veterans, but across the board, there’s experience coming in to go along with the Power Four talents about to show what they can do.
For the most part, the big losses through the portal were made up for with specific, targeted signings to fill in the gaps fast.
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The interceptions have to keep on coming. Only Southern Miss came up with more than the 22 picks that last season’s Bulldog defense generated.
They picked off quarterbacks two or more times in six games and won five of them. The secondary loaded up with reinforcements, landing four defensive backs to go along with experienced corners Amari Butler and Kam Carter.
The secondary held up well against the midrange passers. The Bulldogs lost all four times they allowed quarterbacks to hit 60% of their passes, and went 8-1 against everyone who didn’t.
They didn’t exactly face a slew of passers who’ll be the next Patrick Mahomes, but the line made everyone uncomfortable, and the secondary had a way of attacking to make big plays.
What Needs Work
There’s a massive loss of top-end production. Again, the staff did a nice job in the portal of finding enough players to keep the music going, but there are a lot of key guys from last season doing something else.
Safety Jakari Foster is done after his eight-interception season, Jacob Fields is off to TCU after making 92 tackles with two pick-sixes, Mekhi Mason is a key linebacker now for Kansas State after his 14.5 tackle-for-loss campaign, and corner Michael Richard was a big get for Michigan State.
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The defensive tackles are super thin. Granted, the line revolved around a three-man front with tackle-sized ends, but with 328-pound Christian Davis off to SMU, there isn’t a sure-thing 300-pound brick wall on the nose.
Yeah, the secondary came up with a slew of big plays, but it also got roasted like your more than your morning coffee. The Bulldogs gave up 240 yards per game through the air and were hit for 280 yards or more six times.
Player to Watch
Jadon Mayfield, LB Soph.
One of the top playmakers from last year is back in his hybrid outside linebacker spot. Mayfield got his feet wet making 61 tackles with 3.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. Now he’s a season veteran among the returning parts up front.
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Keys to the Season
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The new parts coming in on defense have to be up to their projected upside – the takeaways have to continue.
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The super-young running back corps needs to be great right away.
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The quarterbacks have to be healthy and make more big pass plays.
Player Who Needs To Shine
Jaden Miller, RB Jr.
Miller was fantastic for the Keiser Seahawks at the NAIA level, running for 1,127 yards and 18 touchdowns, and finished his career with over 1,600 yards with 24 scores.
He might be untested at the higher football levels, but going into the season, he’s about it when it comes to any appreciable experience among the backs.
Biggest Concern
THE PENALTIES
There might be a whole slew of other things that need fixing, but cutting down on the flags is right near the top.
Only four teams were hit with more than 70 penalty yards per game. Louisiana Tech was crushed with more than anyone else, losing 78.5 yards on 7.8 penalties per game.
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Biggest Game
Louisiana, October 10
It’s Louisiana Tech’s first game of its Sun Belt life, and as it turns out, it’s a big one.
With three road games in the next four, and a tough home date with Old Dominion in the middle of all that, it needs to get by that team from three hours down the road to have any real shot of being in the Sun Belt race.
Getting a win over what should be a natural rival would be big, too.
Transfer Portal
It’s complicated.
Louisiana Tech didn’t bring in a ton of transfers, and it lost some huge producers from last year, but overall it wasn’t a bad run in the portal.
Several JUCO players and super-small school options will contribute right away, but there’s little margin for error on some of the higher-end signings.
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Best Signing
Tye Hylton, OT (Florida State)
The 6-5, 290-pound former good recruit for Florida State will quickly find a home somewhere on the Louisiana Tech front five. He’s more of a tackle than a guard, but the coaching staff will put him somewhere to get him on the field.
Biggest Loss
Mekhi Mason, LB (Kansas State)
Mason got his mail in opposing backfields last season, leading Conference USA with 14.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and 68 stops. His combination of interior size and quickness will be missed.
Other Names to Know
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Talyn Shettron, WR (Oklahoma State)
CFN Season Prediction
It took three years for Sonny Cumbie to build up the program into a Conference USA factor, and now he has to deal with a tougher conference schedule and do it with a whole slew of question marks about his starting 22.
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On the plus side, there’s enough experience overall to find the right mix by the time the Sun Belt season starts.
CFN Prediction: 6-6
It helps to be in the far easier Sun Belt West – no dealing with James Madison or Marshall from the East – but it’s still going to be a bumpy ride.
Forget about the paycheck games at LSU and Baylor, and hosting Army isn’t going to be a breeze.
However, there are just enough winnable Sun Belt home games – along with an almost certain win over Northwestern State – to scratch and claw for six wins.
(Here’s the punch line … this year’s team would’ve been among the favorites to win the Conference USA title.)
Related: Arkansas State Football Preview 2026: Can the Red Wolves Win the Sun Belt?
