Returning home after the final bye week of the season, Jimmy Rodgers and company look to pick up the pieces from what was once a team on the rise that hit a major speed bump in Corvallis two weeks ago. Maybe we just play awful in Corvallis now? Having been in the house to watch us lose the last three meetings there — all games we were favored in — with consistently poor performances, I’m starting to think the chainsaw sound effect on every third down (and the rain) might actually cause problems for the Cougs. Who knows.
Moving on from that, the Cougs will look to regroup in Martin Stadium this weekend against a feisty Louisiana Tech squad. Oddsmakers have WSU favored by 8.5 points, which feels a little crazy to me considering our offense couldn’t even reach that many points last time out. Plus, I believe this Louisiana Tech team is better than the Toledo team we were actually underdogs against in our last home game. Let’s take a look at how the Bulldogs’ season has gone so far.
Louisiana Tech (5–4)
Rankings: #91 CBS Sports | #84 RPI | #91 CFB Professor (1st in Conference USA) | #95 Strength of Record
Wins: vs. Southeastern Louisiana (24–0), vs. New Mexico State (49–14), vs. Southern Miss (30–20), @ UTEP (30–11), vs. Sam Houston State (55–14)
Losses: @ LSU (7–23), @ Kennesaw State (7–35), vs. Western Kentucky (27–28), @ Delaware (24–25)
Offense Rankings (All Division I Teams, Per Game)
28.1 Points (T-#67) | 366 Yards (#82) | 181.9 Passing Yards (#102) | 171.6 Rushing Yards (#50)
Defense Rankings (All Division I Teams, Per Game)
18.9 Points Allowed (#19) | 374.8 Total Yards (#73) | 237.3 Passing Yards (#112) | 126.9 Rushing Yards (#39)
To better understand this team and how they perform against competition similar to WSU, let’s remove their wins against Southeastern Louisiana (an FCS team ranked #21), Sam Houston State (who would be 0–9 if not for a miracle win in Corvallis despite being outgained by 300 yards), and New Mexico State/UTEP (both among the bottom 15 Division I programs in nearly every major statistic). LSU isn’t elite this season — hence Brian Kelly’s firing — which is why they are still worth including in the data.
Closest Comparisons to WSU-Level Opponents
Louisiana Tech (1–4) | +1 Turnover Margin (4 Turnovers, 5 Forced)
Opponent Quality:
@ LSU (#43 CBS | #22 SOR | #21 CFB Professor)
vs. Southern Miss (#68 CBS | #52 SOR | #56 CFB Professor)
@ Kennesaw State (#58 CBS | #45 SOR | #92 CFB Professor)
vs. Western Kentucky (#74 CBS | #60 SOR | #93 CFB Professor)
@ Delaware (#97 CBS | #99 SOR | #119 CFB Professor)
Offense Averages:
19 Points (#122) | 316.2 Yards (#118) | 209.2 Passing Yards (#90) | 107 Rushing Yards (#122)
Defense Averages:
26.2 Points Allowed (#83) | 403.6 Yards (#103) | 290 Passing Yards (#133) | 113.6 Rushing Yards (#30)
Takeaways
- The Bulldogs are 1–3 on the road this season.
- Against top-120 Division I teams, their pass defense ranks among the three worst in the country.
- They are 0–2 in one-score games.
- They have attempted only eight field goals all season, making just five, with a long of 38 yards.
What stands out most when you dig into the numbers? Their pass defense has benefited the most from facing weaker opponents — against better programs, they’ve been a sieve. On the other hand, their rushing defense has held up surprisingly well in losses to higher-quality teams.
The most concerning stat mismatch: Louisiana Tech is +6 in turnover margin, while WSU sits at –10 on the season. That’s a 16-turnover margin swing.
Normally, I’d feel confident that our passing offense could move the ball easily against this defense. But after what we saw in Corvallis, we won’t know until they line up on the field. This should, however, be a good opportunity to get right. Statistically, WSU most closely mirrors Western Kentucky and Delaware — both one-point losses for the Bulldogs, so this could be a close one.
One more note: the furthest west the Bulldogs have traveled this year is El Paso. Colder weather in Pullman could absolutely play a role in ball control and offensive game plans.