NC State is aiming to bounce back and work on its various weaknesses, and Louisiana Tech appears to be the perfect opponent.
The Bulldogs defeated Nicholls 25-17 at home on Aug. 31, and then had a bye week last weekend. Louisiana Tech went 3-9 last year and ended the season on a six-game losing streak to finish 2-6 in Conference USA.
NC State (1-1), which fell out of The Associated Press top 25 poll after its 51-10 loss to Tennessee, will host Louisiana Tech (1-0) at 12 p.m. Saturday on the ACC Network.
Five Louisiana Tech players to watch
Freshman quarterback Blake Baker
Louisiana Tech started Jack Turner at quarterback against Nicholls, but he got injured and logged 13 plays. Enter the 6-foot-5, 224-pound Baker, who went 12-of-24 passing for 207 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He added eight carries for 22 yards. The former Cypress (Texas) Cypress Ranch High product redshirted last year, and threw for 6,158 yards and 65 total touchdowns in his prep career.
Junior running back Marquis Crosby
The 5-9, 201-pound Crosby had a quality debut in 2022 in rushing 183 times for 918 yards and nine touchdowns, plus nine receptions for 65 yards. He was healthy for one game in 2023, but is back and started the season opener. The Bulldogs rotated backs and Crosby had nine carries for 44 yards. Crosby rushed for over 100 yards in four games in 2022, including 16 carries for 197 yards and two scores in a 52-17 win over Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 10.
Junior middle linebacker Kolbe Fields
Fields committed to Memphis and then signed with South Carolina in the class of 2021. He then transferred to LSU in 2022, but he's found a home at Louisiana Tech. The 6-0, 220-pounder redshirted last year and made his debut against Nicholls and had 12 tackles, three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He was a Rivals.com three-star prospect coming out of New Orleans (La.) Rummel High.
Senior left guard Bert Hale
The massive 6-5, 348-pound Hale started 11 games last year and seven games in 2022. He had a grade of 65.4 and pass blocking grade of 86.9 against Nicholls in the opener. The Epps (La.) Oak Grove High standout was named to College Football News preseason first-team All-CUSA squad, along with being on Phil Steele's College Football Preview magazine's second-team All-CUSA.
Junior outside linebacker Sifa Leota
The 6-3, 229-pound Leota had three tackles and 1.5 sacks in the win over Nicholls. Loeta played at North Texas in 2022 and had 24 tackles and 2.5 sacks, and then logged two games for the Mean Green in 2023. Leota attended Trinity High in Euless, Texas, before going to North Texas for three years.
What to watch for from Louisiana Tech
1. Who will be the quarterback? Louisiana Tech named junior quarterback Jack Turner the starter and that lasted for 13 plays against Nicholls, before he exited with an injury. With a bye week, the Bulldogs could have a decision between Turner and redshirt freshman Blake Baker to run the Air Raid attack.
The 6-5, 231-pound Turner went 84-of-147 passing for 1,017 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions last year, with 29 carries for 61 yards and two scores last year. He went 4-of-8 for 70 yards, one touchdown and one interception against Nicholls.
Baker was workmanlike in the 25-17 win, but isn’t a scrambler. Baker is just as big as Turner at 6-5 and 224 pounds. He threw for 207 yards and a touchdown, but also had two interceptions. He had a 21-yard run to finish with 22 rushing yards on eight carries.
2. Linebackers will lead the way. Louisiana Tech’s defense featured aggressive linebackers in the 25-17 win over Nicholls.
The Bulldogs defense needed a massive make-over after allowing at least 31 points in seven games last year. It cratered over the last three contests in allowing 56 points to Liberty, 42 against Sam Houston State and 56 against Jacksonville State.
Linebackers Kolbe Fields and Sifa Leota appeared to be the main cogs in the defense, and had six sacks in the win. Leota and Fields had 1.5 sacks apiece.
The sacks led to Nicholls to end up with 37 carries for 62 yards, but running back Collin Guggenheim was individually solid with 18 rushing attempts for 79 yards.
3. Solid on special teams. The conditions got wet during the game against Nicholls, but redshirt sophomore punter Patrick Rea of Melbourne, Australia, was a standout.
Rea punted seven times for an average of 43.4 yards and a long of 70. He landed two inside the 20-yard line and one was a touchback. Rea punted in four games in 2022 and averaged 39.6 yards per punt.
Kicker Buck Buchanan made a 24-yard field goal and punt returner Tru Edwards had three punt returns for 51 yards, with a long of 34. Buchanan went 2 of 4 on field goals in a reserve role last year, with a long of 53, and he handled the kickoffs.
Both Dedrick Latulas and Demarcus Griffin-Taylor handled the kick return duties. Griffin-Taylor averaged 24.7 yards on nine kickoffs last year.
Three keys to the game for NC State football
1. NC State is going to be about itself this week. The talent gap between the Wolfpack and Bulldogs is considerable, which means how does offensive coordinator Robert Anae want to approach things.
NC State could establish the run game and mix in the pass, getting senior quarterback Grayson McCall some rhythm. The Wolfpack could also just air it out in the first half and turn McCall loose, and see what that looks like.
The odds it could be the latter where the first half will be about passing the football around the yard, and the second half will be the time to work the clock and the ground game. Either way, NC State needs to feel good again on offense after the humbling experience of tallying just 18 yards on offense in the second half against Tennessee.
2. NC State had about 8-9 months of hearing platitudes from the fan base, media entities or organizations that have ties to the program, who are essentially de facto public relations organizations.
That all came crashing down during the second half against Tennessee, and now the real work begins. NC State got an up-close and humbling view of the gap between being good and being great, and needs that chip on the shoulder to begin anew. The countdown to the Clemson game Sept. 21 has started, and the ACC goals are right in front of them.
Establishing the trenches will be key. NC State shouldn’t have trouble with Louisiana Tech’s defensive line. The Bulldogs have good size with 6-5, 272-pound senior Mykol Clark and 6-3, 260-pound senior Jessie Evans at defensive end. They are joined by 6-4, 303-pound David Blay and 6-3, 309-pound Kells Bush at defensive tackle. Evans had the best Pro Football Focus grade of 72.4, but the other three struggled at sub-61.2. Time for NC State’s offensive line to put the hard hat on.
3. NC State’s linebackers were one of the question marks going into the season, and this should be a game where they can shine.
Redshirt junior middle linebacker Caden Fordham got his feet wet against Tennessee after getting ejected against Western Carolina five plays into the game for targeting. Fordham has eight sacks on the season, but this is the game he should bust out and get 10-plus tackles.
Redshirt junior Sean Brown entered the season with a lot of buzz after converting from safety, but has had two games with low grades from Pro Football Focus to start the season. He has 15 tackles and two tackles for loss.
Fifth-year senior Devon Betty has four tackles in two games and has played part-time with the Wolfpack often playing six defensive backs.
NC State has two sacks this season, with one coming on the last play of the game against Western Carolina in the 38-20 win. Getting zero sacks against Tennessee and allowing three is a red flag moment.
Three numbers of note
13 Bowl game appearances, going 8-4-1, with the last appearance in a 38-3 loss against Georgia Southern on Dec. 23, 2020, at the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
51 Newcomers added to the Louisiana Tech roster, including 29 transfers.
4,742 Passing yards for Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Cumbie during his senior year at Texas Tech to go 8-4 in 2004, to go along with 32 touchdowns.
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