Washington State 2025 Spring Opponent Outlook: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

When Washington State comes off its second bye week, it will begin a pivotal three-game stretch to close out the regular season. The first of those contests will be a home matchup with Louisiana Tech in Week 12. The Bulldogs have never met the Cougs on the football field and when they do in mid November, the stakes may high for both. Sonny Cumbie's team, in many ways, remains largely unchanged from what they were a season ago.

The Bulldogs reached their first bowl game in four years last fall, coming up short to Army in the Independence Bowl. That team, despite only winning five games, however, was the best one that Cumbie had fielded in his three years at the helm. This season's iteration of LA Tech will look... at least on paper... similar to last year's meaning that Jimmy Rogers and company should have a pretty solid blueprint of what (and who) to prepare for.

Offense

The offense will once again run through quarterback Evan Bullock who is coming into his redshirt sophomore season. Bullock tossed for 2,104 yards, 14 touchdowns and just three interceptions last fall and was one of Conference USA's more accurate passers with a completion percentage of 65.7%. The big difference this year, though, is that he will no longer have star receiver Tru Edwards at his disposal and will have to look for a new top target.

While guys like tight end Eli Finley and wideout Jay Wilkerson will still be around for Bullock, some new faces will be as well. Devin Gandy transferred in from FCS Sacramento State over the offseason and is looking to make an immediate impact in the passing game. Finley and Wilkerson, while serving in more complimentary roles in 2024, should also have increased productivity this season after combining for 576 receiving yards and four TDs a year ago.

The Louisiana Tech O line and running game will also be quite familiar. Omari Wiggins is still expected to see the bulk of the carries as a junior and will be looking to improve on a season in which he ran for 527 yards and four scores. The only new face on the front will be that of senior guard Jonathan Dennis who came over from Oregon.

Defense

Defensively the Bulldogs will boast a lot of senior talent across the board but specifically at the linebacker spot. Sifa Leota and Kolbe Fields are expected to spearhead the middle. Fields finished second on the team with 71 stops last year while Leota made 43. The pair also combined for 15 tackles for loss and five sacks.

Standout corner Cedric Woods also returns for his grad senior season after leading the squad with five PBUs last year and making 30 stops of his own. He and safety Blake Thompson will lead the Bulldogs secondary which will also have some transfer talent in the form of senior corner Noah Biglow. Biglow comes in from Pitt.

Louisiana Tech hasn't changed nearly as drastically as many of Washington State's 2025 opponents and that could be both a good and bad thing. The film is out there on a bunch of these guys and Cumbie, now in Year Four, has well established what kind of team the Bulldogs are. The group only seems to be improving though and could pose a real threat to the Cougars when they meet on November 15.