Baylor gets its first real look at the DJ Lagway era at home, and Louisiana Tech shows up as a brand-new Sun Belt member trying to prove it belongs a level up.
Bush’s Picks
LTBAY
LTBAY
OverUnder
Best BetBaylor
Baylor is the Power 4 roster breaking in a talented transfer quarterback at home against a team playing its first season in a new conference. The class gap here favors the Bears clearly enough that backing Baylor to win outright is the low-drama read, even with the Bears coming off a rough 2025.
Louisiana Tech
+New OC Nathan Young and DC Luke Olson bring fresh schemes
+Veteran tackle Hayden Christman anchors the line
+CFN projects a respectable 6-6 season overall
−Cumbie 19-31 career mark shows program still building
−First season adjusting to tougher Sun Belt competition
−Two new coordinators need time to gel
Baylor
+DJ Lagway brings real NFL-caliber upside at QB
+Home game vs a Group of Five newcomer
+Non-conference spot to work out kinks early
−Coming off a 5-7 season that missed a bowl
−Run defense was a major weakness in 2025
−Brand-new starting QB with zero live snaps in Waco
This is a Waco tune-up game with real stakes for Baylor's season-long trajectory. The Bears went 5-7 in 2025 and missed a bowl, and the fix at quarterback was priority one — DJ Lagway, the former Florida starter with a 10-9 record in Gainesville, transferred in to take over after Sawyer Robertson (who led the Big 12 in passing yards and touchdowns) moved on. Louisiana Tech, meanwhile, arrives as an outsider in more ways than one — it's the Bulldogs' first season in the Sun Belt after 13 years in Conference USA, and Sonny Cumbie is still trying to build real traction in year 5.
Cumbie's career mark at La Tech sits at 19-31, and the program overhauled its coaching staff again this offseason — Nathan Young steps up from offensive line coach to offensive coordinator, and Luke Olson comes in from Jacksonville State to run the defense. That's a lot of new voices trying to gel fast against a Power 4 opponent on the road. Baylor's concerns are different but no less real: the run defense was a genuine liability last year, and the Bears went 0-7 in games where they allowed 165-plus rushing yards versus 5-0 when they held the line.
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None of that changes the shape of this one on paper. Baylor is the Power 4 program with a former five-star-level arm now under center, and Louisiana Tech is stepping up a level of competition while still figuring out its own identity on both sides of the ball. The gap in overall talent and depth is the story here more than anything happening in the odds.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Sep 12?@ LSU—
Sep 5?vs Northwestern State—
Baylor Bears
Sep 12?vs Prairie View A&M—
Sep 5?@ Auburn—
Recent form.
The tackle who anchors La Tech's front, Hayden Christman, has started 24 games over the past two years and gives the offensive line a real building block, and Tye Hylton adds size up front as well. QB Jaden Miller is the player Bulldogs fans are pointing to as the guy who has to carry a retooled offense into a tougher league. College Football News projects the Bulldogs at 6-6 for the year, which tells you this isn't a program expected to be overwhelmed weekly — but a trip to Waco against a Big 12 roster in September is about as tough a spot as their non-conference slate gets.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Baylor Bears
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
For Baylor, the whole season swings on how fast Lagway and a shuffled roster mesh, and games like this one exist to work out the kinks before Big 12 play gets heavy. A home date against a Group of Five team adjusting to a new conference and two new coordinators is about as favorable a proving ground as Dave Aranda could ask for on Saturday, September 19.
