LOUISIANA TECH FOOTBALL LA Tech at Mississippi State | 6:30 P.M
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
LOUISIANA TECH FOOTBALL LA Tech at Mississippi State | 6:30 p.m. CT | Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018 | Davis Wade Stadium (61,337) | Starkville, Miss. TUNE IN GAME 9 > AT MISSISSIPPI STATE TV: SEC Network Dave Neal (PxP) LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS (6-2, 4-1 C-USA) D.J. Shockley (Analyst) Head Coach: Skip Holtz (Notre Dame, 1986) Dawn Davenport (Sideline) Career Record: 132-101 (19th season) Record at LA Tech: 44-30 (6th season) RADIO: LA Tech Sports Network Dave Nitz (PxP) Home: 2-1 | Road: 4-1 | Neutral: 0-0 Teddy Allen (Analyst) AT Nick Brown (Sideline) MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS (5-3, 2-3 SEC) Head Coach: Joe Moorhead (Fordham, 1996) COACHING STAFF Career Record: 43-16 (5th season) ON THE FIELD Record at MSU: 5-3 (1st season) Skip Holtz, Head Coach Home: 4-1 | Road: 1-2 | Neutral: 0-0 Joe Sloan, Asst. Head Coach/Inside Receivers Blake Baker, Defensive Coordinator/Safeties AT A GLANCE Tim Rattay, Quarterbacks Tony Ball, Running Backs » BULLDOGS TRAVEL TO TAKE ON MISSISSIPPI STATE ON SATURDAY IN STARKVILLE Robert McFarland, Offensive Line Louisiana Tech will continue road play this week as the Bulldogs step out of conference play for a Saturday night con- Jeff Burris, Cornerbacks test at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs will be in search of their seventh win of the season this weekend when the LA Tech travels to Davis Wade Stadium to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on SEC Net- work with Dave Neal (PxP), D.J. Shockley (Analyst) and Dawn Davenport (Sideline) calling the action from Starkville. IN THE BOOTH Todd Fitch, Offensive Coordinator » FERGUSON CONTINUES TO CHASE HISTORY Rick Petri, Defensive Line LA Tech's Jaylon Ferguson, who is the nation's active career leader in sacks (38.0), has recorded at least half a sack 24 times in 38 career starts. Ferguson not only tied the LA Tech record for career sacks last weekend at Florida Atlantic, Brian Gamble, Linebackers but the senior broke the Conference USA record for career sacks in the road win over the Owls. Ferguson also leads Erik Link, Special Teams Coordinator the country this season with 10.5 sacks. He is only six sacks shy of matching the NCAA career sack record. TABLE OF CONTENTS » LA TECH PASS DEFENSE CAUSING FITS FOR OPPOSING QUARTERBACKS Through eight games played in 2018, the Bulldog pass defense has yet to allow a 300-yard passer by an opponent, Media Information 2 while also holding opposing quarterbacks to under 200 passing yards four times this season (91, at South Alabama; Numerical Roster 3 191, at #6 LSU; 136, UAB; 121, at Florida Atlantic). Alphabetical Roster 4 Depth Chart 5 » LA TECH REACHES BOWL ELIGIBILITY FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT SEASON Game Notes 6-11 When Louisiana Tech defeated Florida Atlantic last weekend, it marked the sixth win of the season for Skip Holtz and For the Record 12 the Bulldogs, meaning LA Tech has reached bowl eligibility for the fifth straight season. With LA Tech's 51-10 win over SMU in the 2017 DXL Frisco Bowl, the Bulldogs became one of only four schools in the nation to win four straight The Last Time... 13 bowl games (along with Georgia, Utah and Wisconsin). We Are LA Tech 14 Skip Holtz Bio 15-17 » BULLDOG DEFENSE INCHING UP THE NATIONAL RANKINGS Coaching Staff 18 Tech's defense has allowed only 7 passing TDs this season, which is tied for the 13th fewest in the country. The Bull- Joe Aillet Stadium 19 dogs will meet their match this weekend as LA Tech will face a Mississippi State team on Saturday that has allowed Game Recaps 20-23 only 4 passing TDs this season, which ranks 1st nationally. The 7 TDs allowed by the Bulldog pass defense is tied with Team Statistics 24-34 UAB for the fewest allowed in C-USA in 2018. Career Highs 35-37 SERIES BREAKDOWN ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS SERIES INFORMATION Anna Claire Thomas (Primary) Overall: MSU leads, 10-3 Assistant Director / Communications Phone: (318) 257-5314 Ruston: Series tied, 1-1 Email: [email protected] Starkville: MSU leads, 9-2 Neutral: No meetings Malcolm Butler (Secondary/Credentials) Associate A.D. / Communications First Meeting: MSU won, 32-5, in Starkville (1904) Phone: (318) 257-3145 Email: [email protected] Last Meeting: MSU won, 57-21, in Ruston (2017) Streak: Mississippi State, 3 Kane McGuire (Secondary) Last 5: MSU leads, 3-2 Assistant Director / Communications Email: [email protected] THE VENUE Stadium: Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field Brock McKee (Secondary) Assistant Director / Communications Capacity: 61,337 Email: [email protected] Surface: Natural Grass 2018 SCHEDULE & RESULTS SOUTH ALABAMA SOUTHERN LSU NORTH TEXAS UAB UTSA UTEP FLORIDA ATLANTIC MISSISSIPPI STATE RICE SOUTHERN MISS WKU Sept. 1 Sept. 8 Sept. 22 Sept. 29 Oct. 6 Oct. 13 Oct. 20 Oct. 26 Nov. 3 Nov. 10 Nov. 17 Nov. 24 Mobile, Ala. Ruston, La. Baton Rouge, La. Denton, Texas Ruston, La. San Antonio, Texas Ruston, La. Boca Raton, Fla. Starkville, Miss. Ruston, La. Hattiesburg, Miss. Ruston, La. ESPN+ ESPN+ ESPNU beIN Stadium/FB ESPN+ ESPN+ CBS Sports Network SEC Network ESPN+ Stadium CBS Sports Network W, 30-26 W, 54-17 L, 21-38 W, 29-27 L, 7-28 W, 31-3 W, 31-24 W, 21-13 GAME 9: LA TECH AT MISSISSIPPI STATE LOUISIANA TECH WEEKLY SCHEDULE 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 MON TUES WED THU FRI SAT SUN Skip Holtz Radio Show LA Tech Press Conference Practice No Availability No Availability LA Tech Game Day No Availability The Dawg House (6 p.m.) Holtz/Players (12 p.m.) Practice Closed (open to media for the final 30 POSTGAME Practice min.) - Coaches, players Head coach Skip Holtz Practice Closed (open to available for interviews and players will be media for the final 30 following practice. available following the min.) - Coaches, players game. available for interviews following practice. TUESDAY MEDIA LUNCHEONS MEDIA INFORMATION Head coach Skip Holtz and select student-athletes will meet with the media every Tuesday prior to a game. Lunch will COLLEGEPRESSBOX.COM be provided at noon followed by interviews with Coach Holtz and CollegePressBox.com is the official media website for Conference USA and Louisiana Tech Football. Access and download weekly selected players. Audio of each luncheon will be posted at game notes, quotes, statistics, media guides, headshots, logos and more for Louisiana Tech, Conference USA and each of its SoundCloud.com/LATechSports. member schools. Login information will be distributed to accredited media or you can apply for a password by sending an email to [email protected]. PRACTICE COVERAGE DAILY MEDIA AVAILABILITY In addition to Tuesday's media luncheon, Louisiana Tech The following is a general weekly schedule of media availability for the Louisiana Tech football team. Members of the media are student-athletes and coaches are available for in-person or expected to adhere to these policies at all times. All interview requests should be made to Louisiana Tech Assistant Director of phone interviews following practice on Tuesdays and Wednes- Athletic Communications Anna Claire Thomas at least 24 hours in advance. All media availability times are subject to change. days. All interview requests must be directed to the Lou- Please contact Anna Claire Thomas for any changes in the schedule. (Note: First year players are not available to the media isiana Tech Athletic Communications Office at least 24 unless by special request.) hours in advance. Please send all requests via email to [email protected]. For those practice days, the final 20 Monday: Skip Holtz’s radio show airs from 6 – 7 p.m. live from The Dawg House Sports Grill in Ruston. minutes of practice is open to the media. Tuesday: LA Tech’s weekly media luncheon starts with food served at noon and statements/interviews beginning around 12:30 p.m. Two players will also be made available. Practice is CLOSED to the media except for the last 20 minutes. Coaches and players are available following practice on the field. COACH/PLAYER AVAILABILITY Wednesday: Practice is CLOSED to the media except for the last 20 minutes. Coaches and players are available following All members of the Louisiana Tech coaching staff are practice on the field. available during the designated days and times throughout the Thursday, Friday and Sunday: No availability. Practice is CLOSED. year. All returning players are available during the designated Saturday: Postgame availability only. Members of the LA Tech Athletic Communications staff will escort media representatives days and times, but newcomers are not available to the media to the media room with five minutes remaining in the game. The Louisiana Tech locker room, home or away, is closed to the unless under special request that access is granted. media at all times. Postgame interview requests should be submitted to Anna Claire Thomas before the five-minute mark in the fourth quarter. SOCIAL MEDIA For games in Ruston, all Louisiana Tech postgame press conference will be held in the Jarrell Room of the Davison Athletics Louisiana Tech fans can access the most in-depth infor- Complex after each game following a 10-minute cooling off period. No interviews will be allowed on the field with players and/ mation regarding all the University’s programs through social or coaches immediately following games. Coach Holtz and select Louisiana Tech players will be available in the press conference media opportunities available online. following games. Opposing coaches will be available outside the visiting locker room following a 10-minute cooling off period. Twitter – Members of the Louisiana Tech Athletic Communica- CONFERENCE USA FOOTBALL COACHES’ TRANSCRIPTS tions department will be tweeting throughout the year with the Conference USA schools will submit transcripts of weekly press conferences each week to CollegePressBox.com.