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Louisiana Tech gets back to action and looks for a signature win over American Athletic Conference foe Army, while four miles to the west, Grambling takes on conference rival Alcorn State Saturday in area college football.
Winless teams at Northwestern State and Centenary are on the road Saturday for conference contests.
LOUISIANA TECH: Coming off an open date following a 36-19 loss at Baylor, the Bulldogs (1-2) are back home in Aillet Stadium to host the Army Black Knights (2-1) for their first visit to Ruston. Kickoff is 6:30 with ESPN+ coverage.
It will be the fourth all-time matchup between the two programs, and just the second time meeting at a non-neutral location. Tech fell to Army, 27-6, in the 2024 Independence Bowl which was their first meeting since 2013 — a neutral-site contest in Dallas that saw Army come out on top, 35-16.
Bulldogs receiver Jalen Mickens has surged as a top target through the first three games, posting a Sun Belt-leading average of 99 receiving yards per game and becoming the first Bulldog with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Tru Edwards achieved the feat in 2024. The second-year receiver has nine catches and sits in the top 10 among Sun Belt wideouts and is one of six SBC players with multiple receiving touchdowns through two games.
Tech has six consecutive games forcing a turnover on the defensive side of the ball, with 11 interceptions and four fumble recoveries in that span. The Bulldogs rank among the top three in the SBC statistical standings in tackles for loss (1st), total defense (2nd), passing defense (2nd), interceptions (2nd), and rushing defense (3rd).
GRAMBLING: The Tigers try to even their Southwestern Athletic Conference record at 1-1 and make homecoming happy in a 2 p.m. game Saturday at Eddie G. Robinson Stadium as Alcorn State visits.
Grambling (2-2, 0-1) was held under 270 total yards last week in a 21-14 loss to defending SWAC champion Prairie View in Dallas. Alcorn (3-2, 2-0) has SWAC wins over Texas Southern (43-40 in overtime last week) and UAPB (53-51).
SWACTV will have online coverage.
NORTHWESTERN: The Demons hope to convert growing signs of improvement into a competitive performance Saturday night in Beaumont, Texas, against nationally-ranked Lamar in a Southland Conference contest.
The Demons (0-5, 0-2) make their first trip to Beaumont in three years to face No. 13 Lamar (3-1, 1-0) at 6 p.m., weather permitting, on Saturday at Provost Umphrey Stadium. The game will air on ESPN+.
NSU has fallen behind by 21 points before the end of the first quarter in each of the past two games, but have continued to show the ability to respond. That resilience will be tested against a Lamar team that scored 28 points in the opening 15 minutes of its 49-18 win at Nicholls this past week.
“I think one of the main things we showed was resiliency,” linebacker KB Anderson-Dale said about the past two weeks. “We got down early but despite that deficit we showed that we can play with anybody. But it takes a four-quarter game to do that. I do like where we’re headed. We have the pieces. We have the talent. More than that we have the opportunity to do it again this week. If we can focus on the finer details.”
The Demons will be open next weekend, then host McNeese Oct. 17.
CENTENARY: The winless Gents have their most promising opportunity so far this season to break through when they go to Sherman, Texas, Saturday to play their first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at Austin College with a 3 p.m. kickoff.
The Gents (0-3) and the Kangaroos (1-3) both dropped one-score decisions to Schreiner. Centenary lost to the Mountaineers last week at home 14-7.
“We are in deep preparation for a very good and well-coached Austin College team,” said head coach Byron Dawson.
“We must learn from the mistakes we made last week while building on the success we had. Progress is a process, and we must continue to push forward, improve each day, and raise the standard. Our focus is on the details, playing disciplined football, and putting ourselves in position to be successful on Saturday.”