Louisiana Tech vs. #22 BYU: Preview, Odds & Prediction

Location: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT

Kickoff: Friday, October 2nd 8:00 p.m. CST

TV: ESPN2

Radio: Ruston: KXKZ 107.5 FM. Provo: KBYU 89.1 FM

Series Record: First Meeting

Betting Line: BC -24, O/U: 59

Friday hosts two FBS games so unless you are a masochist and prefer to watch Wake Forest get smashed like a piñata by Campbell come on down to Provo.

BYU has been on a tear the first two games of the season. The Cougars have notched a 103-10 combined score against Navy and Troy, beating both teams on the football field worse than Harry Callahan did to Scorpio in Dirty Harry. But dammit Bobby don’t count out the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. The 2-0 LA Tech squad are facing their toughest opponent of 2020 by traveling to Utah to prove they can hang with the best in the country.

It May Get Ruff

Tech head coach Skip Holtz is 13-14 against out of conference FBS teams since taking over in 2013. To get to an even .500 they’ll have to upset a BYU team that’s been pretty much unstoppable on both sides of the ball.

The Bulldogs need to get their running game started in order to keep the fast-paced BYU offense off the field. Running back Justin Henderson is averaging 5 yards a carry and Israel Tucker is grinding out 6.4 a pop. Between those two though they only have one touchdown but that shouldn’t matter as their job is to take the pressure off quarterback Luke Anthony With a BYU defense allowing only 96 passing yards a game, he’ll need it.

Anthony though is no pushover himself. The Abilene Christian transfer has a solid 8 to one touchdown to interception ratio, but only has 58.8% completion rate which would qualify him to be an All-American in 1961 but not 2020. His 9.1 yard per pass is efficient so if he can produce Friday like he has been so far this year the Cougars may have their hands full. Considering they’ve played the likes of Navy who run the ball like’s its 1951 and Troy who dropped an egg in the passing game, Anthony and his corp of receivers could shred the Brigham Young secondary.

BYU-tiful

The Cougars have been on a tear as BYU has racked up the points through this crazy 2020 season. With 103 points scored so far they are only 85 points away from the total the 2016 Rutgers teams scored all through their fateful 2016 season.

After destroying Troy and Navy like the Death Star destroyed Alderaan, we have to ask, who has been the x factor? Offense? Defense?

Quarterback Zach Wilson has completed a staggering 80% of his passes but his running attack has been the crown jewel of this offense. 15 players have rushed the ball, with five hitting the end zone for paydirt. BYU’s rushing touchdowns per game almost match their rushing yards average (4.5 to 5.2).

Like I said before, the Cougars have only allowed 96 passing yards a game but the rushing defense has allowed 69.5 yards a game on a 2.5 yard per carry average. With monsters like defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga and linebacker Isaiah Kaufusi penetrating the opponents’ backfields, the BYU defense has been wild n’ out on offenses.

Conclusion

Across the board BYU is in the plus zone of the +/- zone like no other team in the country. Louisiana Tech will have some success but unless the entire BYU first team gets the runs, look for the Cougars to roll. Gimme the BYU 53-28 win.