Whether you’re excited for the 2025 football season, or just excited to get it over with, we’re back to preview and predict how we think the Bulldogs will perform this year. We’ll provide our best-case scenario, worst-case scenario, and more.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s talk about what our typical weekly schedule will look like (at least until we start the midweek games in October):
Sunday
– Updated Scorigami
Monday
– @gtpdd_stats: Advanced Box Score
Tuesday
– Nathan’s Stat Attack post on BleedTechBlue
Wednesday
– Recap & Preview Podcast
– @gtpdd_stats: Weekly NFL Player Stats
Thursday
– @gtpdd_stats: Record Predictor
Friday
– Evan’s Three Keys to Victory post on BleedTechBlue
– Weekly Blog Post
Saturday
– Gameday!
Of course, there will be more fun stuff on our Twitter @gotechplsdntdie as well as some additional content added throughout the season on our stats page @gtpdd_stats.
Now, with that out of the way, let’s get to the preview!
Best Case Scenario
Tech doesn’t regress on Defense as much as we expect, the offense finds a new level under Tony Franklin, and the Bulldogs finally clean up the little things that have caused so many close losses in the Cumbie era. Two power conference (Wazzu, I guess, still counts?) losses and a late home loss to Liberty are the only blemishes on the way to Tech’s best record since 2019 – 9-3.
LaTech wins 6 games and goes bowling. Despite playing nearly 6 teams ranked worse than LaTech in Massey, I still think this is a stretch. Thus, this is the best case scenario for the team this year.
Assuming the defense doesn’t regress and assuming Tony Franklin’s offense is clicking right away, I’m seeing the best case as 6-6 for the season. We play two P5 teams (I’m counting Wazzu for now) and have the CUSA title favorites in WKU and Liberty on the schedule, so that’s a guaranteed four losses. Tech will Tech and drop two dumb games, but assuming everything else goes well we stumble our way into six wins and Cumbie sneaks by for another year.
Oh yeah, Tech football is so back… and by “back,” I mean potentially over .500 if the stars align and the onslaught of one possession games end in our favor.
After a 5–8 season that somehow still ended in a bowl game, we have a new dual-threat QB, a solid defense, and eight players on the preseason All-CUSA list. If the offense can find the end zone more often than the kicker does and the defense stays consistent, then we could see an 8–4 season, a bowl win, and maybe even a flirtation with the top of Conference USA.
Is it likely? Probably not. Is it possible? Absolutely. Stranger things have happened.
The number of preview posts and rankings that have Tech making a bowl game (on their own merits) was completely confounding me before I looked at the schedule. Massey Ratings has Tech at 127 out of 136 teams. That means that the computer believes there are only nine teams worse than what Tech is expected to be in college football.
And yet, the Bulldogs play five of those nine teams, including four in a row to start conference play. Add in the FCS game (which we all know never truly a sure thing) and you’re going to a bowl.
But I don’t believe the ceiling is that much higher than 6 wins. I could see Tech sprinkling in wins over Sam Houston and Missouri State, but not Liberty of WKU.
That puts the Bulldogs at 8-4, despite being much worse than other 8-4 teams across the G5.
Worst Case Scenario
As we’ve seen during the Cumbie era, any loss is possible. That said, he still hasn’t found a way to lose to an FCS team yet, so the absolute floor I see is 1-11. The defense could regress heavily and Franklin’s offense is notoriously hard to pick up in year one. Yeah, I know we have two FCS callups on the schedule, but we don’t have a great track record there lately. We could see some awful beatdowns from teams we both do and do not expect it from.
This is a much more likely scenario than I laid out above. It’s easy to look at our schedule and think… “How could Tech lose to [insert opponent here]??” Well, if the last few years are any indication – teams will be lining up to beat the Dogs. Wins might be hard to come by and Tech could be looking at a historically bad season – 1-11 is the floor, I think.
LaTech goes 0-12, and I finally have my prayers answered as the team etches its name into history as the worst LaTech football team of all time. Sonny Cumbie is then fired out of a cannon back towards Texas. Yay!
Tech could very well be the worst team in college football this year. Even with Tony Franklin at Offensive Coordinator, the offense has a long path in front of it to get back to being even average. The Jerimiah Johnson (understandably) deserted his Defensive Coordinator position leaving more questions there too.
Even if Tech beats Kent State to a race to the bottom, I don’t see them losing every game. There’s just so much bad on this schedule that even ___ could win at least one.
So I’ll bet Tech wins at least 2.
I always enter the season nowadays with cautious optimism, which definitely could turn into full-blown regret by mid-October.
The offense never gets off the ground despite the term “dual-threat QB” getting thrown around like confetti. The defense, once the team’s backbone, crumbles under missed tackles and busted coverages. Coaching adjustments? lol. They never show up and we see the same shit we’ve been seeing since Cumbie took over.
We drop winnable games, get blown out by our opponents, and limp to a 2–10 finish that has us begging for basketball season to start. On the bright side, maybe this will finally be how we get rid of Cumbie
Biggest Question Mark
Everything! But mostly it’s gotta be the QB position. Evan Bullock played fairly well given he started 3rd on the depth chart last season. But the rumors are it’ll be Saddleback College transfer Trey Kukuk getting the nod as starting QB. He’s quick and picks up first downs on the run, but his arm is inaccurate and he has no experience at the FBS level. Or even FCS level! Tony Franklin wants to utilize a mobile QB, so I guess that means Bullock is sidelined for now. So yeah, keep an eye on the QB situation…
*Just kind of gestures to everything*. I mean, we have a new offensive coordinator that has had success here before, but does he have the talent to work with? Do we have a QB that can win the starting job and not lose it by Week 5? With Jeremiah Johnson gone, what does the defense look like? What is this team?
I think the quarterback situation is the most obvious choice… but since Matt and Nathan covered that, I’ll go with the defensive line. Looking at the roster, there’s not a lot of names I recognize. Leading pass rusher David Blay is off to green (and orange)er pastures in Miami – who steps up and takes his place? We know that Luke Olson likes to leave his DBs on an island, will our front be able to generate enough pressure to help them out? Will they be able to stop the run??
Short of pointing to everything and screaming and given that the others have covered offense and defense, I’m going to say special teams. I feel like we never know what kind of productions or issues we get out of that unit lately. Are we going to be able to kick field goals? Can we return punts and kick offs for more than 15 yards? Will we give up a 60 yard return ourselves? Who knows! I will say that I yearn for competent special teams who can actually affect the game in a positive way.
Not to sound redundant, but literally everything is what comes to mind immediately. I’ll leave it at that because I think the guys have covered the aforementioned everything.
Breakout Player Prediction
QB Trey Kukuk
Because if he can be that cliche college football QB that wins game with legs and occasional arm talent, he has the potential to make a huge difference. A mobile QB is not something LaTech has had in many years, especially a run-first type QB. The potential is there. Now will he take it and “run with it” ? Let’s see.
WR Dane Benedix
This is me assuming Kukuk gets the QB nod out of camp and doesn’t do something to lose the job against Southeastern.
Yes, Benedix is a walk-on in a crowded receiver room, but he’s coming from Saddlebrook College along with Kukuk, so there might be some chemistry there. And without an obvious #1 target, why not him?
RB Omiri Wiggins
I’m not going to play into the new QB hype given the last few years, so I’m picking Wiggins as a sneaky contender. He showed potential in limited action last season, but 2025 could be the year he breaks out as the guy in the backfield. In Tony Franklin’s system, where the passing game might struggle early, Wiggins’ vision, contact balance, and ability to pick up yards after initial contact could make him the focal point of the offense and a key factor in keeping drives alive.
TE Eli Finley
Does he count as a breakout player contender if he’s listed on several watch lists and has preseason honors? Regardless, I see him as being the most reliable option as a pass catcher and he’ll put up some great numbers for a TE.
WR/DB Jacob Fields
Fields looks to be an impact player not just at his primary position in the defensive backfield, but also in select offensive packages. I’m excited to see how the Bulldogs manage him throughout the season. Looking at the Tech offensive skill positions, we may need him more often on that side of the ball!
Final Predictions
This season has the potential to be unbelievably incredible to a rollercoaster that’s going to derail. That being said, I think we will fall somewhere in the middle; actually, right in the middle, at 6-6.
We won’t be bad, we won’t be good. We’ll just exist. However, given our strength in schedule, being somewhere in the middle is probably just as bad as a losing season.
This schedule is just so damn bad. That’s the thing. The 2025 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs could be a bottom ten team in college football or a conference champion caliber team and end up with nearly the same record. A bowl game is far from a done deal, but it does feel likely if a even just a single things go right for Tech this year. I’m going to predict 7-5
I’m coming into this season with almost no prep or research into the team, so I’m going to use my good pal ESPN’s analytics to predict the most likely outcome.
3-9. Yikes.
Now, a lot of these metrics are very speculative at this point and they will change as the season goes on. But what else do we have to go with at this stage? Everything is based on returning production (lol as a G5) and camp reports that are never as accurate as you hope. From all I’ve gathered in the very little I’ve read from our beat reporters, we still don’t have a clear #1 at QB and that makes me very nervous on how well the offense will play. The defense will regress due to the coaching change, but we still have some great players on that side of the ball. So in my mind, we have a season of very frustrating close losses to watch. The defense will do a lot to keep us in games into the fourth quarter, but the inability of the offense to actually generate any points will keep us from putting games away or completing a comeback.
There’s a ton riding on the four game stretch beginning on September 13th. Let’s all agree that Tech goes 1-1 before this stretch. Then you’ve got: NMSU and USM at home, UTEP and Kennesaw on the road. All four of those games are very winnable. Now, Tech hasn’t exactly excelled on the road under Cumbie (2-17… lol). But if you come out of these four games with either three or four wins, you’re looking pretty great going into a home matchup with WKU. Win that game, and the sky’s the limit…
But I have to be realistic here. Tech will not win three or four of those pivotal games. They’ll lose to USM and one or both of the road games. From there the season will unravel a bit, and they’ll go 5-7. Even that feels generous because a bunch of the wins are coming on the road!
LaTech goes 4-8, Cumbie is fired after the season ends, Ryan Ivey reanimates the non-deceased corpse of Lou Holtz, and LaTech goes into the Sun Belt looking to get ‘em some.
