It’s time to take a look back at the 2023 season that saw the Bulldogs finish 3-9 (2-6).

We will evaluate each position with a combination of stats + PFF data and evaluate the health of the position going forward.

First up, Quarterback.

Stats

Hank Bachmeier | 182/269 (68%) for 2,058 yards, 12 total TDs, 5 INTs

Jack Turner | 84/148 (57%) for 1,017 yards, 7 total TDs, 5 INTs

Evan Bullock | 2/5 (40%) for 21 yards, INT

PFF Grades

Bachmeier | 79
Turner | 58.5
Bullock | 35.6

PFF Detailed Passing Game

Bachmeier

Passing Pressure

Kept Clean | 152/203 (75%) for 1,681 yards, 7 TDs & 2 INTs
Under Pressure | 33/70 (47%) for 390 yards, 3 TDs & 3 INTs
Not Blitzed | 140/197 (71%) for 1,655 yards, 7 TDs & 3 INTs
When Blitzed | 45/75 (59%) for 416 yards, 3 TDs & 2 INTs

Passing Depth

Behind LOS | 49/54 (91%) for 196 yards, 2 TDs & 1 INT
0-9 Yards | 90/116 (78%) for 784 yards, 2 TDs & 1 INT
10-19 Yards | 31/50 (62%) for 583 yards, 5 TDs & 2 INTs
20+ Yards | 15/38 (40%) for 508 yards, 1 TD & 1 INT

- PFF credited Bachmeier with 6 fumbles. Not sure how many of those were lost.
- Excluding sacks, PFF credited Bachmeier with 18 rushes for 155 yards.

Turner

Passing Pressure

Kept Clean | 70/118 (59%) for 854 yards, 4 TDs & 5 INTs
Under Pressure | 16/31 (52%) for 166 yards, 1 TD
Not Blitzed | 63/100 (63%) for 708 yards, 4 TDs & 4 INTs
When Blitzed | 23/49 (47%) for 312 yards, 1 TD & 1 INT

Passing Depth

Behind LOS | 37/40 (93%) for 233 yards, 1 TD
0-9 Yards | 24/40 (60%) for 196 yards, 2 INTs
10-19 Yards | 14/29 (48%) for 287 yards, 1 INT
20+ Yards | 11/27 (41%) for 304 yards, 4 TDs & 2 INTs

- PFF credited Turner with 7 fumbles. Not sure how many of those were lost.
- Excluding sacks, PFF credited Turner with 19 carries for 102 yards.

Outlook for 2024

- Jack Turner (RS JR), Evan Bullock (RS FR), and Blake Baker (RS FR) are expected to return in 2024.
- The trio has combined to complete 102/182 (56%) for 1,214 yards, 6 TDs & 8 INTs in their careers.
- With that said, I would imagine that Sonny Cumbie will look to the portal or JC ranks for additional help at QB.
- At a minimum, Turner is a solid backup with game experience while Bullock and Baker continue to develop within the offense behind the scenes.

Check it out:

Amik Robertson (Raiders) -- 50 snaps played, 61.7 PFF grade, 3 tackles, allowed 3/4 passes to be completed for 29 yards

L'Jarius Sneed (Chiefs) -- 58 snaps played, 63.7 PFF Grade, 9 tackles, 2 QB Pressures, allowed 7/10 passes to be completed for 90 yards

Trent Taylor (Bears) -- 3 snaps played, 57 PFF Grade, 61.1 punt return grade, 1 return for 1 yard, 1 fair catch

Xavier Woods (Panthers) -- 53 snaps played, 67.1 PFF grade, 2 tackles, 1/1 passes to be completed for 19 yards, 1 PBU

Milton Williams (Eagles) -- DNP (Concussion)

Boston Scott (Eagles) -- 5 snaps played, 58.2 PFF Grade, 2 carries for 14 yards, 2 missed tackles forced

Hank Bachmeier is in the portal, and Tech is in the market for a new QB.

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Question for those in the know: Did Holtz's contract have a duty to mitigate clause that would lower our payout once we fired him, and if so, how much does he get paid now to coach the Stallions? Have we been able to offset our payout to him as a result?

Are such clauses generally included in HC contracts, are are payouts upon termination guaranteed regardless?

On a related note, is there a similar clause in Cumbie's contract? (Having said that, it is clear that Holtz had much better prospects when he was fired than Cumbie could hope for when he is canned - but hey, every little bit helps).

BC & Beck are back for BTB Radio on Tuesday night! SportsTalk 97.7 FM at 6 PM.

- We’ll recap Tech’s historic performance at Jacksonville State
- We’ll react to some of the coaching changes
- We’ll react to Tech’s 3rd straight 3-win season and how optimistic we are for the program getting back to its winning ways in 2024
- Matt Belinson w/ The Ruston Daily Leader joins us at 6:30 to share his thoughts on football season

- We’ll breakdown the Dunkin’ Dogs game vs Southern Utah + our optimism for Hester’s squad going forward

Calls/Texts — (888)-993-7762

LA Tech & Dillard are set for a 2 PM tipoff from the Thomas Assembly Center on Saturday.

Tech is looking for its 5th straight win.

I know this game won’t get a lot of chatter, but I think it’s important. Why is it important? There will be times this season when Daniel Batcho gets in foul trouble. We know what Will Allen is off the bench, but Terri Miller has to be ready to make an impact as well. Getting Miller extended minutes today is big for him in knocking the rust off coming off the broken foot.

Take care of business.

Decided to book a European vacation for October

Yesterday as I was preparing to leave the game, I ran into 3 menacing recruits with tags around their necks. I asked them if they enjoyed the game and they mentioned that they did. I then asked, will yall give Louisiana Tech a look because we need players like yall to turn the program around. They looked at me and said “no sir and started laughing”!!!

That hurt me.

2 stars and zero stars are our best friends now.

Louisiana Tech & Sam Houston State are scheduled for a 2 PM kickoff on Saturday afternoon.

The game will be on ESPN+/KXKZ 107.5 FM for those watching/listening at home.

The Bulldogs come in at 3-7 (2-4). The Bearkats are 1-8 (0-5).

Louisiana Tech has lost 4 one-score games in 2023, while Sam Houston State has also lost 4 one-score games. Both teams are clearly better than their records would indicate, so we are likely in for a really good football game.

Tech is a 7.5-point favorite. O/U 49.5.

Hank Bachmeier has not thrown an INT in his last 139 pass attempts. Bachmeier has 9 TDs & 0 INTs in his last 5 games.

Smoke Harris will play his final home game in a Bulldog uniform. Harris has a catch in 42-straight games.

DeMarcus Griffin-Taylor averaged 27.8 yards per kickoff return & was named CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week last week. Hopefully he can keep that going.

DeShon Hall will play his final home game in a Tech uniform on Saturday. Hall has a career-high 3.5 sacks.

It’s homecoming, let’s gooooooo!!!! Looking forward to seeing everyone at The Joe!

Wanted to let you all know my wife Jessica pulled off the win in House District 53 last Saturday!

I think we will have a great friend to Tech in the legislature....

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

Collectively, we all have much for which to be thankful. I hope you and your family do as well.

Lastly, I pray all of you remain safe and avoid the dangers inherent to this particular holiday.

Louisiana Tech & McNeese are set for a 3 PM tipoff on Wednesday afternoon.

Game will be on ESPN+/107.5 FM.

Tech is a 6.5-point favorite.

Should be a really good challenge for the ‘Dogs.

Myles Carelock is gone as well, per sources.

Nate Johnson is gone as well, per sources.

We'll keep up with the roster for next year in this thread. I'll keep it updated throughout the off-season.

Position Players:

C Jorge Corona
C Jackson Slaughter
C Baylor Cobb

INF Will Safford
INF Logan McLeod
INF Colton Hegwood
INF Grant Comeaux
INF Slade Netterville
INF/P Ethan Bates
INF/OF Dalton Davis
INF/C Karson Evans

OF Cole McConnell
OF Adarius Myers
OF Brody Drost
OF Thaxton Berch
OF Nick Alonso
OF Luke Smith
OF/LHP CJ Sturiale

RHP Isaac Crabb
RHP Jacob Havern
RHP Grant Hubka
RHP Nick Fraginals
RHP Greg Martinez
RHP Reed Smith
RHP Alec Sparks
RHP Ryan Porche

LHP Ryan Harland
LHP Caden Copeland
LHP Hayden Toal

Signees/Transfer Commits:

RHP Hayden Harmon
RHP Blake Hooks (JUCO Transfer)
RHP Nate Crider (JUCO Transfer)
RHP Josh Taylor (JUCO Transfer)
RHP Sam Broderson (Transfer from Wingate University)
RHP Turner Swistak (Transfer from Tennessee)
RHP Brenton Thiels (Transfer from West Alabama)
RHP Will Melby (Transfer from UCF)

LHP Reece Tarini
LHP Brodey Walker
LHP Luke Nichols (JUCO Transfer)
LHP Connor Nation (JUCO Transfer)

C Jake LaRocca

INF Colton Coates
INF/P Will Mabry
INF/OF Hutson Guinn
INF Jake Smith
INF Reid Snider
INF Michael Ballard (Transfer from Eckerd College)
INF Kasten Furr (Transfer from UNO)

OF Cade Patterson

I'll answer any questions that you guys might have. If I missed anyone, please let me know. If anyone is leaving that you hear of, please let me know.

Louisiana Tech will host Southern Utah on Tuesday afternoon.

Tipoff is scheduled for 3 PM on ESPN+/KXKZ 107.5 FM.

Tech is 2-1 overall, and Southern Utah is 1-2.

Rob Jeter is in his first year as the HC of the Thunderbirds, so they have a number of new faces across their roster.

The Bulldogs are a 13.5-point favorite.

There are a lot of opinions on what staff changes should happen. Not to mention the ramp up in recruiting now that season is coming to a close. It’s do or die for this football staff if they want to see real change. Realistically, what should change, and what will change?

DC is likely gone (speculating), I wonder who else walks out with him. I hope to see a restructure on offense as well, if Cumbie stays he has just got to figure out how to run a game day offense.

I also really hope staff is prioritizing recruiting this week especially with our season ending sooner than most. I know it’s thanksgiving week and things slow, but my Lord if you look at our rivals commits list, it’s disheartening compared to years past.

Came across this Wiki, it lists Sonny Cumbie as an Air Raid coach. Should we update this wiki article and remove his name?

Might as well start this now

- Kendall Briles
- Graham Harrell
- Joe Sloan

Tech will close out its 2023 season on the road at Jacksonville State on Saturday.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 PM on ESPN+.

Tech is 3-8. Jacksonville State is 7-3.

The Gamecocks are an 8.5-point favorite, O/U 54.5.

All season yall know I’ve harped on Power and his inability to coordinate a defense. I cried all season how he needs to get out of 2shell look when folk are running the ball down our throats. I harped on how he has been unsound all season long. I harped on how he doesn’t know how to make necessary adjustments to fix the leakage.

Yesterday I was talking to 2 guys and they mentioned that they coached at Faulkner College etc and mentioned that they knew Coach Blackwell etc. I told them that he left after 2021 and his knock was not getting the signals in on time and the chuckled 🤭 like they’ve heard it before.

They then mentioned to me “do yall stay in 2 deep” I said yes sir. They then proceeded to say “J State is just gonna keep running the ball”! I said yep.

Now, all season we have been -1 at least every game we have played in. Well yesterday we were -2/-3 because now this team ran with the QB!!!! There were times that J state guys didn’t even have anyone to block because Power didn’t have enough hats in the box. THE FOLKS HAD 300+ yards before halftime!!!!!

After half nothing changed! I just knew he would go cover 1 or Zero to stop the bloodshed. He did neither in which WE ARE ON THE CONFERENCE USA RECORD BOOKS FOR GIVING UP 520+ yards on the ground. WOW wow wow

54-19 Texas at half. Check please!

Report on X that Power has been fired. Ben, any word?

It is now time for our leaders and our incoming president to really figure out what to do with Tech. We lack funding, we need fan/student support, and we need to be done with Cumbie. When he was hired I was pumped as I thought he did a great job at TT. My boss at the time said that Cumbie was a more conservative OC but he would be light years better than Skip. Cumbie is almost as good as a checked out Skip. EW and other leaders REALLY screwed up with this hire.

How do we get out of this mess? Well how did USM get out of this mess? They sold their home game for Nebraska to buy out Ellis Johnson. We must do the same with NC St or Kansas. That just solves getting rid of Cumbie. Even if we get rid of Cumbie that still doesn’t solve everything. We are still bottom of the barrel for budget. We had Briles and another coach interested in coming to Tech before settling on Cumbie. We couldn’t afford them. Henderson needs to make an immediate change to the fees BS and act like the adult in the room so that Tech can properly fund the university in all aspects. That will open the door for better sports but also raises for our current profs as well.

It is time for bold leaders and bold decisions to be made. If Henderson is the guy then I don’t envy him for taking the job because of the mess that he has inherited. If big moves are not made then indifference will settle in more and the university could easily become NSU or worse in the coming years.