JOURNAL SPORTS
Louisiana Tech has proven through one month of the season that it can win at Joe Aillet Stadium.
The Bulldogs are a perfect 3-0 in the friendly confines of their Dogs’ house.
However, in order for head coach Sonny Cumbie and Co. to make a true run at the Conference USA title, Tech (3-1, 1-0 CUSA) must show — on the field — that it can win in enemy territory.
Tech, whose only road game this year was a 23-7 loss at Top 5 LSU, will get another chance tonight when it faces the UTEP Miners (1-3, 0-0) at The Sun Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. CT and the game can be seen on ESPN+.
The Miners dropped three of their first four games, but all of them have been competitive with losses to Texas (27-10), Utah State (28-16) and ULM (31-25). Tech is coming off a 30-20 win over Southern Miss last weekend in a contest that wasn’t as close as the final score may have indicated.
Miners head coach Scott Walden, who saw his team almost rally back from a 24-point deficit to ULM last Saturday, told the El Paso media this week that he knows the challenge his team has in front of it heading into tonight’s contest, especially against a Bulldog defense allowing just 14.3 points per game.
“(Louisiana Tech) is a very physical program,” said Walden. “They play very, very hard. You can watch the LSU game. (Tech’s) defense is flying around. Their defense is one of the tops in the league. They have the No. 1 rush defense in the league for a reason.
“They have a great scheme. They let their kids go play. Their three linebackers are as good a three linebackers as we will see the rest of the season. They are special.”
UTEP averages less than a 100 yards per game on the ground, but the Miners total 270 yards per game through the air and rank Top 5 in the country in plays of 30-plus yards. Quarterback Malachi Nelson has passed for 1,069 yards and eight scores through four games.
Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie knows his team is in for a test.
“UTEP played Texas similar to how we played LSU,” said Cumbie. “It was a very close game …. This is a football team that plays very tough. They play very physical. They are very fast on offense. They are able to stretch the field.
“You can see the arm talent that Malachi Nelson has. He throws the ball really well down the field.”
Offensively, Tech has been explosive in the first half of its last two wins over New Mexico State and Southern Miss, scoring 58 points. However, Tech has only scored 14 points (offensively) in the second half of those two games, something Cumbie knows much get remedied in league play
However, the Bulldogs biggest obstacle tonight may be mental. Tech is just 2-18 in road games since the start of the 2022 season with six of those defeats being by one score. One of the two wins was a 24-10 victory over the Miners in El Paso in 2023.
