Friends, your Army Black Knights have a big game on the road this week against the La. Tech Bulldogs. It’s hard to know what to make of this Bulldogs team considering they’ve so far only played one terrible FCS program and two top-tier Power 4 teams, but we’re gonna find out.
Through three games, La. Tech has shown a balanced offense mixing a predominantly short passing game with a bunch of read-option-style runs. They’ve also shown a really good rushing defense. To win this week, the Black Knights will need their very best stuff.
Let’s talk about how they get that done.
On the road to Louisiana Saturday night.
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 28, 2026
🆚 La Tech
📍Ruston, La.
🏈 7:30 p.m.
Watch live on ESPN+ and listen on the Varsity Network App. #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/iKNnp0AzNe
Five Keys to Beating the Bulldogs
Win at the Line of Scrimmage
We’re expecting a potentially sloppy game against a team with a big, talented defensive line. Through three games, La. Tech has allowed just 3.0 yards/carry, and that’s in games against some pretty damned good teams in LSU and Baylor. And while Army has shown the ability to pitch the ball and otherwise get out to the perimeter this season, it’s unclear how much the staff will want to risk pitches — or option plays of any kind — if the weather turns as bad as forecasts suggest it might get. The Black Knights may need to rely on blunt force trauma to win this week.
Luckily, they have guys who can get this done. This Army Team has an excellent offensive line, especially on the interior, and they have two big power fullbacks in Carson Smith and Jake Rendina, both of whom can move the pile in traffic.
If we get decent weather, Army can make La. Tech LB Alonzo Jackson Jr. their read key, get the ball out to the perimeter, and perhaps find chunk runs all over the field. They have excellent tackles and blocking tight ends, and we’ve seen them make this work a lot this season. However, if we get rain, mud, and misery, the Black Knights will need to win a fistfight in a phone booth. Either way, it has to start up front.
Photographer Mike K. Heit got out to practice this past Wednesday. More pics from practice and interviews with SBs Zach Mundell and Samari Howard are up on our Patreon page.
Lock Down the Red Zone
Army’s defense gave up a ton of yards last week, and they gave up more explosive plays than we might’ve liked, but they played excellent red zone defense, too. As much as anything, that’s why they won. In four red zone trips, Temple kicked a field goal, missed a field goal, and turned the ball over twice on downs.
We may see something like that again this week. The Bulldogs have shown a definite tendency to favor the short passing game. They’ve also missed enough field goals this season that they’re likely to go for it more than you might expect on fourth down in plus-territory.
If Army can avoid getting burned for big plays and then tighten up in the red zone, they’ll have an excellent shot at winning this game, even if they give up a lot of yards between the twenties.
Grit and toughness won out.#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/yzWdz1U54B
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 28, 2026
Contain QB Trey Kukuk’s Mobility
La. Tech has played two different quarterbacks this season, Blake Baker and Trey Kukuk. Baker is ostensibly the starter, and he’s more of a downfield passing threat, but he also went out earlier this season with a broken hand. We are therefore much more likely to see QB Trey Kukuk get the start on Saturday.
That’s not good news. Kukuk is by far the better runner, to the point that he actually leads this team in rushing. Plus, given the way Army’s defense has struggled with running, read-option-type quarterbacks, Kukuk might actually match up better against this Black Knights’ defense. Worse, Baker has taken 8 sacks this season, but Kukuk has only taken 1 because he’s much better at avoiding the rush.
Army struggled at times against Temple QB Ajani Sheppard’s running, but they did a nice job either containing him in the pocket or stringing out his runs laterally late in last Friday’s game. If they can manage something like that again, they have a good chance of forcing a mistake from Kukuk, who’s completing just 62.7% of his passes this season for an average of just 5.5 yards/attempt.
Like Sheppard, Kukuk is more likely to try to solve problems with his legs. If Army can frustrate La. Tech’s running game and keep Kukuk contained, he is statistically unlikely to win this game from the pocket.
Army Head Coach Jeff Monken Weekly Press Conference: Week 5 vs LA Tech https://t.co/7VDaiKeDgu
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 29, 2026
Win the Turnover Battle
La. Tech has lost 3 fumbles and thrown 2 interceptions this season, but they’ve also manufactured 4 interceptions and caused 4 opponent fumbles, recovering 3. That gives them a net turnover margin of +2, good for 39th in the FBS.
By comparison, Army has lost just 1 turnover this season, and that came on a wild, last-ditch hook-and-ladder play at home against USF. However, the Black Knights also haven’t forced any turnovers, leaving them distinctly middle-of-the-pack in overall turnover margin despite having been very careful with the football this season.
To win this game, the Black Knights absolutely must continue to protect the ball. If the defense can also force their first turnover of the season, perhaps as a fumble in sloppy conditions, that will go a long way towards helping them win this game.
Play Clean
Penalties were the only things that stopped Army’s drives last week at Temple. The Black Knights didn’t even draw a lot of penalties in Philadelphia, but three of their four penalities stopped drives, and they can’t have that again.
It will help if Army can show a more varied offense. Asking guys to repeatedly punch above their weight class between the tackles can trigger sloppy play over time. However, if the Black Knights can mix it up, keep La. Tech’s defense off-balance, and play disciplined football, they will have an excellent shot at winning this game.
Final Thoughts
This game should tell us a lot about this Army Team because it’s on the road against a squad that matches up well against what these Black Knights do on both sides of the ball. Moreover, La. Tech has a big team. Army will need no shortage of hard-nosed, gritty performances to get a win.
Can this Army Team still be great? We’ll start to find out this Saturday night.
Go Army! Beat La. Tech!!!
