Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Fri Oct 9 · 11:00 PM CT
By Pablo SanchezUpdated 7d ago·2 min read
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Louisiana and Louisiana Tech haven't fought over a conference standing since 1995 — that changes when the Ragin' Cajuns head to Ruston looking to finally snap an eight-game losing streak against their in-state rival.
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Best BetLouisiana Tech
With no market data to lean on yet, this is a pure form-and-history read: Louisiana Tech has won eight straight in this rivalry and comes off an 8-win season under Sonny Cumbie, while Louisiana is trusting a quarterback who's still fresh off ankle surgery. Backing the Bulldogs at home in Ruston is the safer moneyline lean until Winfield proves the injury is fully in the rearview.
Louisiana
+Picked 2nd in Sun Belt West preseason poll
+Winfield back after posting 20 TDs last year
+4 players on Preseason All-Sun Belt teams
−Hasn't beaten Tech since a 1996 win
−Winfield still working back from ankle surgery
−Receiving corps needs more than Sampson to step up
Louisiana Tech
+Won 8 straight meetings in this rivalry
+Coming off an 8-win season under Cumbie
+Returning defense under DC Luke Olson
−First season adjusting to Sun Belt competition
−QB Blake Baker working back from a knee injury
−Among the most penalized teams in the country last year
This one carries stakes beyond bragging rights. Louisiana Tech has beaten the Cajuns eight straight times, and Louisiana hasn't won this series since a 37-31 game back in 1996. Quarterback Lunch Winfield says he's finally past the high ankle sprain that limited him late last season and the surgery that followed, while across the field Louisiana Tech's Blake Baker is working back from his own knee injury — meaning both sidelines are watching health updates as closely as the depth chart.
Whichever quarterback proves more trustworthy could decide this. Winfield finished last season with 2,200 all-purpose yards and 20 total touchdowns after taking over as the starter partway through the year, and he's got Shelton Sampson — a preseason All-Sun Belt pick after catching 32 balls and 6 scores — as his top target. Baker, when healthy, is a 6-5 junior who can move and throw accurately; if he's limited, Trey Kukuk offers even more mobility as the backup plan.
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This is also the first time the two programs have met with conference standings on the line since 1995, since Louisiana Tech is playing its first season as a full Sun Belt member after 13 years in Conference USA. For Louisiana, which was picked to finish second in the Sun Belt West in the preseason coaches poll, a win here would be exactly the kind of statement Michael Desormeaux's team needs early in West Division play.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Oct 2?vs Arkansas State—
Sep 25?@ Charlotte—
Sep 19?vs UAB—
Sep 12?@ USC—
Sep 5?vs Lamar—
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Oct 2?vs Army—
Sep 19?@ Baylor—
Sep 12?@ LSU—
Sep 5?vs Northwestern State—
Recent form.
Louisiana Tech's calling card is its defense. Coordinator Luke Olson, who came over after coordinating at Jacksonville State under Rich Rodriguez, built one of the more aggressive units in the Sun Belt a year ago behind an 8-win season under fifth-year coach Sonny Cumbie. The catch: the Bulldogs were also among the most penalized teams in the country, bleeding 78.5 yards a game on 7.8 flags, which is the kind of habit that can hand a game right back to a Cajuns offense looking to prove it belongs at the top of the West.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Four Cajuns landed on the Preseason All-Sun Belt teams — Sampson and cornerback Brent Gordon on the first team, with Kaden Moreau and Fitzgerald West Jr. earning second-team nods — which says this Louisiana roster has more proven pieces than a typical program walking into a rivalry it hasn't won in three decades. Whether that talent is enough to finally flip the series, or whether Tech's home crowd and defensive identity extend the streak to nine, is the whole story here.
