Torbush led Tech to a 3-8 record in 1987:

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I was hoping to have this out earlier today, but it just didn’t work out. Tom Gentile is going to start writing for me some, so here is his first piece:

In the Bulldogs first Saturday game in over a month, Louisiana Tech faced what one could say would be their biggest challenge all year against the now 9-0 Liberty Flames. With that being said, Liberty went into cruise control for the majority of the game, easily winning 56-30 and walking all over this Bulldog team.

With the Bulldogs falling to 3-7 on the year, officially out of bowl contention, the questions about this team’s success have narrowed down to basically just one question, who wants to be locked in and committed to this team? Going over each position group might give some insight to who is locked in. Going over each group isn’t just about stats, but about how they performed in key situations throughout the game.

Quarterback Hank Bachmeier made his second straight start after being absent from the team for a few weeks due to injury. Hank played very well last night, so far as to actually outgain Liberty QB Kaidon Salter in both completion percentage and total passing yards, with Bachmeier going 23-33 with 304 passing yards in the game. Unfortunately, Salter made a much larger impact for the Flames, accounting for four passing touchdowns compared to Bachmeier’s two.

The offensive line also played much better in the passing game than last week’s performance against New Mexico State, only allowing two sacks in the game. As for the run game, not much could get established throughout the game, as a whole Tech only managed 84 total rushing yards compared to Liberty’s 305, and only had 2.8 yards per rush. The Bulldog’s longest run came from Bachmeier himself on a 17 yard run in the second quarter.

As for the Bulldog’s RB committee, no one had more than eight yards on a rush. Keith Willis had a solid game with two rushing touchdowns, and Tyre Shelton came back for 29 yards after missing last week with injury, but other than that, there wasn’t much of an impact on the ground, only gaining seven first downs on 30 rushes.

While there were over 300 total passing yards in the game, players on an individual level were impactful as well. Tru Edwards was solid, grabbing 85 yards on six receptions and a touchdown. Cyrus Allen had 68 yards on five catches, and Smoke Harris had a touchdown in the game as well. The only problem with the receivers is that they aren’t getting the ball like they should be. Neither receiving TD was in the first half, and Smoke didn’t even have a reception until the second half, in order to be successful, Tech’s impact players need to get the ball earlier and more often.

Flipping to the defensive side of the ball, nothing really went right against this high powered Liberty offense, giving up over 600 yards of offense in the game, 305 on the ground and 297 in the air.

RB Quinton Cooley had a field day for the Flames offense, picking up 179 of Liberty’s 305 rushing yards on 23 attempts. Tech's defensive front was overmatched by the staunch offensive line that has led to Liberty being the 2nd best rushing team in FBS this season, and only adding to that by scoring four TD’s on the ground. This has been a recurring issue all season for the Bulldogs and it has led to them being in the bottom 10 in FBS in rushing defense.

The pass defense looked out of sorts too, also giving up 300 yards and also giving up four touchdowns in the air. CJ Daniels and Noah Frith both had breakout games, each having three receptions and averaging over 25 yards per reception, and each accounting for one touchdown. Aaron Bedgood and Bentley Hanshaw also had one touchdown each.

While there’s nothing to play for anymore, these next two games can determine who can respond to adversity and who can be coachable, it can also determine whether or not the coaches are capable of motivating their players despite the disappointing season.

Louisiana Tech’s next game will be in Ruston at 2:00 PM Central Time against 1-8 (0-5) Sam Houston State. The game will be televised on ESPN+. Louisiana Tech is looking for their first 4+ win season since 2020, while SHSU is still searching for their first FBS win as an FBS school.

New week:

Takeaways:

- Career-night for Edwards
- Bachmeier hasn’t thrown an INT in his last 139 attempts. 9 TDs & 0 INTs in last 5 games. Career-high QB Rating for the season
- Roberts allows 3 TDs at CB

First pitch is scheduled for 1 PM at JC Love Field this afternoon.

I’m BEGGING you to provide updates throughout the game 😀

I won’t be there, harvest season won’t give me a day off.

@RF_Dawgs will provide us with a recap.

Should be a nice challenge for Tech.

Catch BC & Beck after the game on KXKZ 107.5 FM. I’m sure it’ll be a dandy!!

Greg Phillips State Farm Hotline/Textline:

Calls — (800)-730-8031

Texts — (888)-993-7762

No podcast, tune in live!

We want to hear your thoughts on the game! It’ll be entertaining as always! Tune in!

Tech opens as a 6-point favorite.

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Takeaways:

- OL goes distance
- Edwards is in his right position
- Solo Lewis sighting
- Richard sees uptick in snaps after a lower total last week
- Nason nearly plays 100% of snaps

Tough night:

Let’s hear ‘em!

Liberty 52
Tech 20

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@gtpddEvan formulates the recipe for an upset tomorrow night:

The Flames have the #2 rushing attack in the country, but the passing number are eye opening:

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No surprise there

50 Weird and Stupid US Laws

Liberty hammers WKU in Bowling Green on Tuesday night.

Jacksonville State goes to Miami and beats FIU by 25.

Brennan Morse w/ ASeaofRed.com helps preview the Flames:

BC & Beck are back on the air Tuesday night for BTB Radio! We'll start up at 6 PM on SportsTalk 97.7 FM.

- Recap of the loss to New Mexico State
- Gridiron struggles in one-score games, what does it say about a coach? A team? Will it balance itself out?
- Hoops preview w/ Basketball season starting next Monday
- Jon Manson w/ ASeaofRed.com joins us at 6:45 to preview Liberty Football
- Kevin Sweeney w/ Sports Illustrated joins us at 7:00 to talk CUSA Hoops in 2023-2024

Calls/Texts - (888)-993-7762

Let's go!!!

You can play in 4 games and still maintain your redshirt. This is all per Tech's participation #'s on the website + a look at PFF + what I've seen on the field, so I think it's pretty spot on.

Hayden Christman - 1 game
Colton Deckard - 2 games
Collin Franta - 1 game
Jacob Fields - 8 games
Eli Finley - 8 games
Cam Hill - 1 game
Obi Okeke - 1 game
Dedrick Latulas - 7 games
Michael Richard - 9 games
Judd Rouyea - 1 game
Dakota Williams - 9 games
Tavis Williams - 1 game
Keith Willis - 4 games

Blake Baker - 0
Evan Bullock - 0
Tre Webb - 0
Ja'Marion Kennedy - 0
Keystone Allison - 0
Ked Harper - 0
Delvin Whittaker - 0
Demardrick Blount - 0
Charlie Robinson - 0
Roy Brackins - 0
Troy Smith - 0

- Fields, Finley, Latulas, Richard, and Williams have officially lost their redshirt. They'll be true sophomores in 2024.

Sonny Cumbie, Hank Bachmeier, Bert Hale, and Jeslord Boateng will speak to the media on Tuesday. Starts at noon. I'll have it covered.

Starts up at 11:30 AM on Tuesday. I'll have it covered.

Stat Attack | Liberty

@ntruppel takes a look at Liberty’s ability to build a lead and clamp down on defense in the 4th quarter:

Starts up at 7:30 AM. I’ll have it covered.