LA Tech looks to continue home winning streak Saturday against Marshall

RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech football (3-1, 2-0 C-USA) has won eight straight games inside Joe Aillet Stadium and will look to make it nine on Saturday, Oct. 17, when the Bulldogs host Marshall (3-0, 1-0 C-USA) at 5 p.m. (CT).

“It’s early in the season, but you’ve got the number one in the east and the number one in the west facing off this early in the season,” head coach Skip Holtz said. “It has all the billings to be a great matchup game.”

The Bulldogs are 3-1 this season, including 2-0 inside Joe Aillet Stadium after a 66-38 win over Houston Baptist and a 21-17 victory over UTEP. Louisiana Tech finished the 2019 season a perfect 6-0 inside The Joe. Since joining the ranks of Division I-A/FBS in 1988, LA Tech has posted a 104-41 record at home, a winning percentage of 71.7 percent.

“Overall, it’s great to win,” Holtz said about the victory over UTEP. “It wasn’t all roses. It wasn’t all positives. There’s some things we need to grow on from it. It’s a great learning experience for our team. Hopefully they’ll understand that as we go through this season, we are going be a work in progress as we go through all 11 games. We’ve got to keep getting better.”

Holtz is in his eighth season at the helm of LA Tech football where he has collected a 59-37 overall record. He has led the Bulldogs to six straight bowl victories, including a 14-0 win over Miami (Fla.) in the Walk On’s Independence Bowl last season (Dec. 26). The win was the first shutout in Independence Bowl history and the only shutout of the 2019 bowl season. Just 10 out of 130 FBS teams have won six or more consecutive bowl games, and LA Tech has the only active streak.

Marshall has won all three of its games this season after a 59-0 win over Eastern Kentucky, a 17-7 victory over App State and a 38-14 win at WKU. Doc Holliday is in his 11th season at the helm of the Thundering Herd where he has collected an 81-51 overall record.

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LA TECH NOTABLES
• Saturday’s game marks the first time Louisiana Tech will host Marshall as a C-USA foe. Since the Bulldogs joined the league in 2013, they have played Marshall in Huntington, West Virginia in 2019 and played there in the 2014 C-USA Championship game.
• LA Tech and Marshall had met just one time prior to the 2014 C-USA Championship game when Louisiana Tech defeated Marshall, 26-0, on Oct. 9, 1942, in Ruston, La.
• The Bulldogs have won eight straight games inside The Joe after defeating Houston Baptist (66-38) and UTEP (21-17) so far in the 2020 season. Louisiana Tech was an undefeated 6-0 mark inside Joe Aillet Stadium in 2019.
• The eight game winning streak is tied for the fourth longest home winning streak at The Joe.
• LA Tech has posted a 104-41 record at home since joining the ranks of Division I-A/FBS in 1988, a winning percentage of 71.7 percent.
• Louisiana Tech has now started 3-1 in each of the last three seasons.
• The Bulldogs have forced a turnover in 34 of their last 36 games.
• Since joining the league in 2013, Louisiana Tech leads Conference USA with 189 forced turnovers.
• Three Bulldogs have recorded an interception this season in sophomore defensive lineman Deshon Hall (at Southern Miss, Sept. 19), sophomore defensive back Bee Jay Williamson (Houston Baptist, Sept. 26) and freshman defensive back Cedric Woods (UTEP, Oct. 10). Louisiana Tech has now posted an interception in eight of its last nine games.
• LA Tech leads C-USA and ranks fifth in the nation in fourth down conversions at 87.5 percent (7-of-8).
• Five Louisiana Tech skill players have recorded multiple touchdowns in a single game in junior wide receiver Griffin Hebert (2 at USM, Sept. 19), sophomore wide receiver Wayne Toussant (2 vs. HBU, Sept. 26), senior wide receiver Isaiah Graham (2 vs. HBU, Sept. 2=6), sophomore wide receiver Smoke Harris (2 at No. 22 BYU, Oct. 2) and senior running back Israel Tucker (2 vs. UTEP, Oct. 10).
• Sophomore wide receiver Smoke Harris has caught three touchdown receptions this season, including a 66-yard touchdown catch at then-No. 22 BYU (Oct. 2), to rank 16th in the nation.
• Redshirt freshman kicker/punter Jacob Barnes has not missed a field goal (2-of-2) or extra point attempt (18-of-18) this season.
• Graduate student quarterback Luke Anthony has passed for 10 touchdowns this season to rank fifth in the nation. Anthony is responsible for 66 points this season which ranks ninth nationally.
• Freshman linebacker Tyler Grubbs leads the Bulldogs in tackles with 42 this season. Grubbs led LA Tech in tackles in back-to-back games to open the 2020 season, totaling 28 tackles through the first two contests. Grubbs currently ranks 11th in the nation in total tackles with 10.5 per game.
• In his last 10 games, junior defensive lineman Milton Williams has totaled 7.5 sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss. He has recorded a tackle for loss in nine of those 10 games and has recorded a sack in seven of those 10 games. He posted a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss in the win over UTEP.

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GAMEDAY COVERAGE
Date: Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020
Time: 5 p.m. (CT)
Location: Ruston, La.
Venue: Joe Aillet Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf Revolution
Series: Marshall leads, 2-1

In Ruston: LA Tech leads, 1-0
Last: (1942, LA Tech won, 26-0)
In Huntington: Marshall leads, 2-0
Last: (2019, Marshall won, 31-10)
In Shreveport: N/A
Last: N/A

Live Stats: https://latechsports.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Live Audio: Tunein.com (Louisiana Tech Football)
Twitter Updates: @LATechFB

Media
TV: CBS Sports Network
PxP: Rich Waltz
Analyst: Aaron Murray
Sideline Reporter: AJ Ross

Radio: LA Tech Sports Network (KXKZ 107.5 FM)
PxP: Dave Nitz
Analyst: Teddy Allen

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