After a gritty four-point win against the Temple Owls this past Friday afternoon, Army heads down to Ruston, Louisiana, for the first time in program history. The Black Knights were previously scheduled to play in Ruston in 2013, but that game was moved to the Cotton Bowl for the opening weekend of the Texas State Fair. The Black Knights also took on the Bulldogs in the Independence Bowl two years ago in La. Tech’s long-time alternate home venue, Independence Stadium.
Your Need to Know leading into kickoff on Saturday night in Louisiana! #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/q6EdbNhbLn
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 30, 2026
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Head Coach Sonny Cumbie, of Texas Tech and TCU fame, is in his fifth year leading the Bulldogs. Luke Olson serves as the team’s defensive coordinator, now in his second year. Olson’s triple-option experience came during his eleven years at Tulsa as a defensive assistant when the Golden Hurricane faced Navy eight times. During those matchups, Tulsa went 1-7, allowing an average of 35 points per game. Tulsa allowed just 6 points in their lone victory during the pandemic season.
This year, though, the Bulldogs beat Northwestern State by 74 points to start the season before losing to LSU and Baylor over the following two weeks. Against LSU, the Bulldogs kept the score within a field goal at the half while the Baylor game stayed close for a little more than a quarter. Tech then had last weekend off to prepare their defense for this week’s contest.
Those Who Served. Military Appreciation. Legends Day. America 250. 🇺🇸
— LA Tech Football 🏈 (@LATechFB) September 28, 2026
Army comes to Joe Aillet Stadium for the first time on Saturday. 🏈
Some things are bigger than the game.
📅 Sat, Oct 3 | 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+
Sponsored by @radiancetechinc
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Offense
The Bulldogs present a fairly balanced attack on offense, but make most of their yards through the air. QB Blake Baker started the first two games before sitting out against Baylor with a fractured hand. It’s unclear whether he’ll be available this Saturday. Backup QB Trey Kukuk got the start against the Bears. Both quarterbacks boast ~60% completion rates, but Baker averages about double the yards per attempt while Kukuk is by far the better runner.
In fact, Kukuk, who has seen action in all three games, now leads the team in rushing with 127 yards on just 20 carries. He’s joined by the running back duo of Andrew Burnette and Jaden Miller, who each have 19 carries. The team’s top two receiving targets — by a lot — are WR Jalen Mickens and TE Eli Finley.
Perhaps this squad’s biggest issue this season has been their ability to convert third downs. Their conversion rate this season sits just over 40%, and perhaps worse, they’re just 2/7 on fourth down. They’re also prone to allowing sacks, having given up 9 on the year. Perhaps some of Army’s hungry defensive linemen can do something with that.
"When you surround yourself with great people, it's hard not to be great."
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 30, 2026
Carson Smith at our This Week in Army Football radio show on Monday.
The show airs Monday nights of a game week at 7 p.m. on @GoArmyWestPoint's YouTube channel and on the Varsity Network App. #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/1rpmu7mmXH
Defense
LB Alonzo Jackson Jr. leads La. Tech’s defense with 26 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 passes defended, and an interception. No one else on this defense has anything close to those numbers, though S Sam Fongang has 21 tackles, 11 solo.
Still, this defense has done a good job of forcing mistakes. As a group, they’ve forced four fumbles and recovered three, and they have four interceptions, including a 100-yard pick-six by CB Jordan McRae. More to the point, only one of those seven turnovers came in their game against Northwestern State, the FCS program they played in week one who also has a loss to an NAIA program.
Just as important, this defense has been good against the run, even against teams like LSU and Baylor. So far this season, they’ve allowed 132.7 yards/game on just 3.0 yards/carry, good for 74th in FBS college football. Army’s offense will need to be aggressive this week if they want to be successful, but they’ll also need to be very careful with the football to avoid turnovers.
Run It Back.
— LA Tech Football 🏈 (@LATechFB) September 25, 2026
Pick 6 U returns — $6 general admission tickets, back in circulation just like the play itself.
Time to run it back. Today. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
🎟️ | https://t.co/FbTmp5cTMc pic.twitter.com/bUskAUjiwK
Special Teams
K Kent Keegan is 0/2 on field goals this year but a perfect 22/22 on points-after. His career long is just 42 yards. His shaky start has led in part to La. Tech’s low fourth down conversion rate. This team needs to get close to even try for a field goal. We should expect to see some fourth down conversion attempts in the red zone this week as well.
P Lexington Matthews averages 44 yards per punt with 4 punts of 50+ yards. If this game becomes a low scoring affair, we might be in for a Ray Guy Award showcase.
Key Takeaways
First and foremost, the Black Knights need to hold onto the damn ball. This is always true, but this week’s opponent has a propensity to knock the ball loose.
Second, Army needs to force errors in the red zone. Given their kicking woes, expect the Bulldogs to take chances to turn potential three-point possessions into seven-point drives. The Black Knights need to assume that once the Bulldogs are too close to punt, they’re in four-down territory.
Finally, Army needs to shake off their night stink. In the Jeff Monken Era, Army is just 12-16 in night games. Maybe that’s because the team’s normal home kickoff time is noon. Maybe it’s something else. Either way, this particular night game smells like a trap.
The Army brand of football 🏴☠️#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/4ek2uNwaDM
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 29, 2026
Final Thoughts
This is Army’s first and hopefully only game available exclusively via streaming this year. Memphis and Rice are the only remaining games with unannounced networks, so we’ll see. Regardless, sorry Danno, you’ll need to pony up the $13.99 this month to watch Army on the Plus this week. Pro Tip: if the Memphis game ends up on the Plus as well, buy the monthly subscription the morning of and it will still be active for the potential Rice ESPN+ game twenty-eight days later.
As always, the Varsity App will have Rich DeMarco’s radio call. Meanwhile, the Firstie Club is where you’ll find the world’s greatest game day chat. Come on in; the water’s fine!
The Black Knights can and should win this week, but they’ll need to play disciplined, aggressive football to get that done. Here’s hoping for steady improvement at every level.
Go Army! Beat La. Tech!!!
