Louisiana Tech Football

In a week of excitement and joy for the college football world, tragedy has struck one its own.

College Football Talk is reporting that Louisiana Tech has confirmed the death of running back Tyrone Duplessis in a news release.

The third-year player passed away this morning at his off-campus apartment. The cause of death, according to the release, is unknown.

The 5'8", 200-pound back played in 11 games during this three-year career at Louisiana Tech wearing No. 22.

A New Orleans native, Duplessis carried the ball 77 times in his career for 274 yards as a Bulldogs player.

No further details were given in the release, but grief counselors will be made available to the players through the university.

Duplessis was a three-year letter winner, all-state, all-metro player in high school and Rivals ranked him as one of the top 25 all-purpose running back recruits in the country. He also ran track for O.P. Walker High School.

He redshirted his sophomore of college in 2010 before rejoining the active roster in 2011.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Duplessis' family, friends, teammates and anyone else touched by his tragic passing.

Louisiana Tech Senior Linebacker Jay Dudley was despondent following the Bulldogs' 31-24 loss to TCU. Clearly distraught in the postgame interview, the team's second-leading tackler offered up some simple words:

"It's disappointing because we felt like we should have beat them."

In a lot of ways Dudley is right.

Louisiana Tech had two crucial turnovers in the first half. One came in TCU territory to kill a long drive. The other came right before the half and instantly led to TCU's first touchdown.

Throw in a missed field goal and a 14-0 margin in the fourth quarter, and you can understand where Dudley is coming from.

It's a disappointing end to a great season. The Bulldogs won eight games and were outright champions of the WAC but their close loss will leave a bitter taste in their mouths over the offseason.

"We started 1-4 and guys just kept believing in themselves and kept hanging in there and re-committed themselves and became a good football team," said Coach Sonny Dykes, who signed a contract extension earlier in the day. "It was a little disappointing, the way we played tonight, we wished we would have played better and had a better opportunity to win."

Louisiana Tech may not have won the game but they made a name for themselves.

They won their first WAC title in 10 years and made only their third bowl game in 20 years. Wednesday night they went toe-to-toe with one of the best programs in the land.

"If you asked the national media, they wouldn't know what state Louisiana Tech was in," joked Dykes. "For our guys to come out here and play with the confidence that we played with and expect to win, I think, is a real credit to them and the work ethic how far we've come as a program."

Now, the onus is on the underclassmen to take the torch and make another bowl game next season.

They return almost all of their skill positions on offense but lose a majority of their defense. If Louisiana Tech wants to have the same name recognition as TCU or Boise State, then they will need to string together consecutive winning seasons.

This fact isn't lost on the senior class.

"We started something for Louisiana Tech," said Dudley. While Dudley may not suit up for the red and blue next season, he and the other seniors have established what Louisiana Tech wants to be as a program: "Hopefully the juniors and sophomores will be able to finish it up next year."

Ryne Hodkowski is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

I don’t think this is really the sunset TCU thought it would ride into.

The Horned Frogs played their final season in the Mountain West this year, winning the conference championship and positioning themselves to once again crash the BCS party and play in a post-New Year’s bowl game. Instead, they get to take on fledgling Louisiana Tech in a pre-Christmas, mid-week matchup that is about as anticipated as holiday fruitcake.

No. 15 TCU will take on Louisiana Tech in the 2011 San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. The game kicks off at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at Qualcomm Stadium. TCU is presently a 10-point favorite, and the total is set at 55.5.

For TCU this is a far cry from the glory they experienced the past two seasons. In 2009 they played Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, and last year they toppled No. 4 Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Now they are back in the Poinsettia Bowl for the third time in six years.

The public, obviously, loves the Horned Frogs in this matchup. Nearly 80 percent of all action on this game is coming in on TCU, who is heading to the Big East next season.

But Louisiana Tech is no pushover. This team has won seven straight games, both straight up and against the spread. Outside of a blowout loss to Hawaii, Tech has been an incredibly tough out this year. Their three other losses came by just two points to Southern Miss (Conference USA champions), by one point to Houston (No. 20 team in the country and CUSA runner-up) and by six points in overtime to Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs possess a mediocre offense (No. 49 in total offense and No. 42 scoring) and mediocre defense (No. 55 in total defense and No. 34 in scoring). However, their resolve has been unwavering this year. The most impressive thing about their performance is that they have played five of their last seven games on the road and eight of their 12 games this season have been outside of Ruston.

TCU got off to a slow start this season, losing to Baylor in its opener and SMU in nonconference play. However, the Horned Frogs were able to tear through an especially weak Mountain West—which was playing its first season without BYU and Utah—and enter this game having won seven straight games.

The Horned Frogs have been a losing wager at the window this season (6-6 ATS), but they are still a veteran team that has won four of five bowl games since 2006.

2011 Poinsettia Bowl College Football Odds

TCU opened as one of the largest bowl favorites on the board, laying 13 points, according to college football odds (via Doc's Sports). But they are presently available at -10.5.

You can play the Horned Frogs on the moneyline for -400 or take the Bulldogs at +300.

The total for this game has held firm at 55.5.

2011 Poinsettia Bowl Betting Trends

The Bulldogs are 5-0 ATS in their last five nonconference games.

The Bulldogs are 6-0 ATS in their last six games as an underdog.

The Bulldogs are 7-0 ATS in their last seven games overall.

The Bulldogs are 5-1 ATS in their last six games on grass.

The Bulldogs are 13-3 ATS against teams with winning records.

The Horned Frogs are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games in December.

The Horned Frogs are 1-4 ATS in their last five bowl games as a favorite of 3.5-10.0.

The Horned Frogs are 1-4 ATS in their last five against the WAC.

The Horned Frogs are 0-6 ATS in their last six nonconference games.

The Horned Frogs are 0-4 ATS in their last four neutral site games.

2011 Poinsettia Bowl Predictions

I think the Bulldogs will put up a fight in this game. TCU can’t have much motivation and can’t be too excited about playing in this lackluster game after back-to-back BCS paydays. The Horned Frogs are saying all the right things leading into this contest, but I don’t see how they can get up for this game when they were hoping for a third straight BCS trip.

Louisiana Tech is scrappy and still has something to prove. It has played against some top competition and is just a few plays away from being 10-2 or 11-1.

Last year this team went into Auburn and put up a fight and also went toe-to-toe with No. 5 Boise State (45-35) and No. 9 LSU (24-16) before losing. The Bulldogs have the motivational edge, and that is usually critical in these early bowl games.

2011 Poinsettia Bowl Free Pick: Take ‘Under’ 55.5 Louisiana Tech vs. TCU

Robert Ferringo is a college football handicapper, and you can check him out here.

The Sun Belt Conference is contemplating the addition of another FBS-level football program, according to The Miami Herald's Adam Beasley.

"Sources close to the situation would not specify which school is atop the list of contenders, but the pool of potential programs is relatively shallow when the conference’s top two criteria are factored in," Beasley reports.

The Sun Belt is home to football programs in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Alabama; any prospective member to be added would likely reside in those states.

Judging by the report in The Miami Herald then you can scratch off any FCS power, such as Appalachian State, from making the jump to the conference.

Don't count on any member of an automatic-BCS bid conference from making the jump to the Sun Belt either, which leaves options from Conference USA and the WAC as the only other options for the Sun Belt.

Conference USA is in a better situation in college football than the Sun Belt is perceived to be, so do not expect any Conference USA members to make a switch, which leads back to the WAC.

At first glance, it would appear that Louisiana Tech would be the top candidate to switch conferences. The move would make geographical sense for the conference and the university, who would be able to drastically reduce travel expenses playing in their own time zone more than they are doing in the WAC.

One drawback is having three potential conference members within the state of Louisiana; Louisiana at Monroe and Louisiana at Lafayette are also Sun Belt Conference members. Would a third program in the state already dominated by LSU of the SEC be an advantage for the Sun Belt Conference?

The Sun Belt Conference currently has nine football members lined up, but will be adding a tenth football member starting in 2012 when South Alabama will debut their football program. South Alabama is a conference member in other sports.

It would make sense that the Sun Belt hope to welcome their potential 11th member at the start of the 2012 season, which means the deadline to fine a program to welcome is starting to wind down.

Any university hoping to switch conferences has until July 1 to declare their intentions.

The Sun Belt's football and athletic meetings will be held from May 22-26, which is when a vote should be expected to be held to determine if expansion will occur and which university will be invited.

It does not appear the conference will make a move to add a 12th program in order to satisfy the NCAA minimum to conduct a conference championship game.

“We’re not afraid to expand if there’s someone out there who will add value to the league, but we’re not going to expand just to reach some arbitrary number,” Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters said in the Miami Herald report. “I think we’ve got to find people who bring value to the conference.”

The WAC is losing Boise State to the Mountain West Conference starting this season and Fresno State and Nevada will follow the Broncos in 2012.

The WAC is working to preserve the future of the conference by expanding in their own respect, with Texas-San Antonio and Texas Southern slated to join the conference in the next couple of years, but it is clear the WAC is left gasping for air in collegiate athletics, at least in football.

The possibility of losing Louisiana Tech may actually benefit the WAC as it takes one school that is far out of the core of the conference footprint, reducing travel expenses for all parties involved.

Kevin McGuire is the national college football writer for Examiner.com. Follow his college football discussion on Twitter @CFBExaminer.

The Western Athletic Conference is on hard times.  The faces of the conference (Boise State, Hawaii, Fresno State, and Nevada) will all be gone by 2012, heading for greener pastures in the Mountain West.  The replacements are two FCS programs (one with only one year of history) and a non-football school.  FCS schools Montana and UC Davis have declined an invite, and now North Texas has declined an invite as well.

Seattle U still wants to join and the WAC plans on visiting the campus soon.  But, without a football program, they aren't going to save the WAC. What will happen next?  Look over to Ruston, LA and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. 

Many, myself included, had them going over to C-USA, but that might not be a done deal anymore.  Since Katrina, the Louisiana schools have had budget cuts, and it was announced by Governor Bobby Jindal that another budget cut of about 35% will occur for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.  Three schools are expected to be really hurt by this: Monroe, Grambling, and Tech. 

While La Tech was able to get away with making minor cuts in the athletic department the past two years, they won't be able to do it again. They can't afford to stay in the WAC pass 2011 (travel will hurt the school, but so would the conference buyout, thus making them stay for 2011).  And C-USA may not want a school with the potential financial problems that Tech faces. 

That leaves the Sun Belt, a conference based in New Orleans that has already lost two schools (Denver and New Orleans) but are in no way hurting like the WAC.  The Belt has 11 schools under its umbrella (nine of them in FBS with a 10th in 2013 in the Southern Alabama Jaguars) and are a lot more localized than the WAC.  That means better travel costs, better rivalries, and better support and attendance. 

Wait, what about loyalty to the WAC?  Well, that went out the door when the WAC (according to El Paso reports) offered to trade Tech for the Miners (UTEP declined the invite). 

The WAC is doing everything they can to survive—it's time the Bulldogs do the same.

Offense

Bye bye Derek Dooley. Hello Sonny Dykes. Dykes brings a high octane-passing attack to Louisiana Tech that the WAC won't be ready for. Every year besides Boise State, Tech always has the best athletes in the WAC, they just have never seemed to bring it together for a good run. I'm sick of hearing about Nevada!

Nevada does have a great offense but besides their defensive end its one of the worst defenses in the nation especially the secondary tech will throw all over Nevada. For Fresno State I see Tech pulling that game out also, and its in Ruston.

Tech has one of the best returners in the nation in Phillip Livas, the question is who will win the QB job. Will it be last year's starter Ross Jenkins or Auburn transfer Steven Ensminger. But Livas will get help with two transfers Tim Molton (LSU) and Ahmad Paige (Tennessee). RB will be okay but Lennon Creer transfer from Tennessee will carry most of the load.

Defense

Tech's defense will be solid with Adrien Cole and Solomon Randle returning at LB. The D-line will have to step up and replace what D'Anthony Smith did at Tech. They have Matt Broha at LE but other then that, there aren't many proven players on the D-line. The secondary is solid led by Safety Tank Calais who will be one of the best defensive players in the league.

Overview

9-3 is my guess but 8-4 won't be bad I see them losing to Texas A&M, Navy who has a very strong running game and Boise State. But in the next years to come Tech will win WAC championships due to Boise's departure to the MWC. It looks like a great year for the Bulldogs and a great team Ruston will be proud of.     

I would like to personally thank my buddies KJ and Chris Feron on showing me the Tech campus and the weightroom and some of the practices.

Say what you like about the talent of the Bulldogs, but they certainly can set their goals high.

The 2010 complete Tech schedule was recently released, and it should be an interesting first season for Sonny Dykes, who is faced with the task of renovating the 4-8 team from '09.

9/04/10 - vs. Grambling State

This will be the first time these two teams have met, despite being only five miles apart. Grambling is an FCS team playing in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. While GSU is a relatively good team, Tech should have no trouble shutting down the Tigers in Sonny Dykes' first game as head coach.

The game will be played in Independence Stadium.

Pick: La Tech

9/11/10 - @ Texas A&M

This game should be interesting. A&M went 6-7 last year, and ended with a crushing defeat in the Indy Bowl against UGA, 44-20.

Johnson is a scrambler. Tech's CBs have the speed and coverage ability to severely limit his air game, and that means that the line will have to compensate by shutting down the ground game and scrambles.

Tech has never beaten Texas A&M in the seven games they have played since 1981.

While the game against Grambling should be a given victory, this one will be a true test of Dykes' coaching skill.

However, the A&M offense is still very good, while the defense is lacking. If we can force turnovers and keep the chains moving, it should be a winnable game.

But a team coming off a 4-8 season and major coaching changes rarely breaks out a Cinderella season, and unless Tech's offense and defense go through an incredible maturation, these bragging rights will stay at College Station.

Pick: Texas A&M

9/18/10 - vs. Navy

This will be the second game of the one-for-one deal with the Naval Academy. In 2009, the Midshipmen had a wonderful season, going 10-4 and ending with a bang in a Texas Bowl win over Mizzou.

Navy had the No. 4 rushing attack in the nation last year. With the loss of much of our D-box strength, this game will probably go to the Academy.

Pick: Navy

9/25/10 - vs. Southern Miss

This will be the first meeting since 1992 for these two teams, when Southern Miss beat us 16-13.

The Golden Eagles went 7-6 last season, finishing with a New Orleans Bowl loss.

They like to spread the field, and so Tech should be able to cover them well and prevent the air game.

Pick: La Tech

10/02/10 - @ Hawai'i

Conference play opens in Honolulu, against a team that Tech lambasted in the annual Red Out game in Joe Aillet Stadium. Everything was clicking for the Dawgs that night.

Hawaii went on to a 6-7 record, including a brutal 51-10 domination in Aloha Stadium by Wisconsin.

Once again, the air game is the Warrior's greatest strength, and Tech will be hard-pressed in the secondary, but the matchups are favorable.

We should have no trouble this year against Hawaii.

Pick: La Tech

10/09/10 - vs. Utah State

The last game against the Aggies was one of the '09 Dawgs' many fluke losses.

Utah State went 4-8 in 2009 but somehow managed to hold Tech back for a 23-21 win.

The retooled offense will not let this year be a repeat.

Pick: La Tech

10/16/10 - vs. Idaho

Yet another fluke loss, this time by one point. The 7-5 Vandals beat Tech 35-34 in a game Tech should have won.

Idaho's season ended with another one point win, this time against Bowling Green in the Humanitarian Bowl.

However, they do present a dual threat, putting up impressive numbers in both the air and ground games.

But revenge should be strong motivating factor for Tech, and this game is the Dawgs' homecoming. Joe Aillet will be roaring for Vandal blood, and they will not escape unscathed.

Pick: La Tech

10/26/10 - @ Boise State

No one had any doubts last year about the 13-0 Broncos crushing the poor Dawgs in a required conference game last year.

That was before the 4th quarter, when Tech was so close to an upset they could smell it. A tired Dawg defense and Kellen Moore's arm finally shot Boise into the clear to continue their undefeated season.

The game will be televised on ESPN2.

As much as I would like to see an upset here, and as much as Tech is improving, Boise is improving more (no pun intended).

We will give them a run for their money again. I am prayin' for an upset.

But I will pick conservatively.

Pick: Boise St.

11/06/10 - vs. Fresno State

Fresno finished 8-5 last year, No. 3 in the WAC.

However, they only beat Tech, the other WAC Bulldog team, by two points: 30-28.

That brings the number of two or less point losses by Tech to three games.

These other Bulldogs have a very solid RB, Ryan Matthews, who rushed for 1808 yards and 19 touchdowns last season, despite suffering a concussion against Nevada.

Statistically, though, Tech dominated last year's game. The game was won by a Fresno field goal in the final minutes of the game.

Matthews did not play against Tech due to his injury the week before.

Fresno ended the season with a 35-28 loss to Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl.

Unless we can significantly improve on rush defense, this Dawg fight goes to Fresno.

Pick: Fresno St.

11/13/10 - @ New Mexico State

Louisiana Tech crushed NMS last year in Ruston with a 45-7 win. They should be able to replicate in Las Cruses and extend their win streak against the Aggies to four.

NMS slid out of 2009 on an eight-loss streak to finish 3-10.

Pick: La Tech

11/27/09 - @ San Jose State

In the last game of the '09 season, Tech was desperately looking to end a heartbreaking season on a good note.

And they got it.

They defeated the 2-10 Spartans 55-20 and headed to the showers.

It was a crushing blow to the Spartans. Dick Tomey had hoped to end his career on a high, but the Dawgs put their foot down.

Tomey was the sixth most winningest coach in the FBS before his retirement.

Tech's Daniel Porter set the school all-time career rushing record in that game, going 199 yards for a career total of 3,352 yards.

Even with SJS's new coach, they should not be a problem for the Dawgs once again.

Pick: La Tech

12/04/10 - vs. Nevada

Kaepernick and Taua travel to Ruston this year after deconstructing the Dawgs the previous season.

Tech has not beaten Nevada since 2004.

Last season's game was Wolf Pack coach Chris Ault's 200th win; Nevada's expectations and fans bolstered Kaepernick's incredible read ability as well as Taua's run game to lift them 37-14 over the Dawgs.

It was blow after blow for Tech as Kaepernick threw, handed off, and scrambled all over the field.

The Wolf Pack, No. 2 in the WAC last year, went 8-5 and ended with a 45-10 loss to SMU in the Hawaii bowl.

This is Tech's final game of the season, a home game, no less. Factoring in the high possibility of injuries, the chances that we'll break Nevada's five-win streak are low.

We've got to have a loud, final game, rip-roaring crowd if we want to end this season well.

The Wolf Pack had the second worst pass defense in the nation last year. That's a weakness we have to exploit.

Pick: Nevada

Final regular season prediction: 7-5

GO DAWGS!

Muschamp. Calhoun. Holtz. Big names flying around somewhere up in Tennessee. Something to do with the latest Volunteer crisis. Nothing to worry about down in Ruston.

Front-page news in the major college strongholds. Tremors in the north for Bulldog fans, no big deal.

Friday afternoon, that all changed.

Derek Dooley tendered his resignation to Louisiana Tech University and accepted the head coach offer from the University of Tennessee.

Shockwaves rocked northeast Louisiana. The catch out from under Nick Saban at the Miami Dolphins, after a 17-20 record at Louisiana Tech, had resigned.

Dooley had restored a faltering Louisiana Tech team to, if not national prominence, self-respectability with an Independence Bowl win in 2008. This was the Bulldogs' first bowl win in 30 years, and its fourth Independence Bowl showing. He was the athletics director as well as head coach, a valuable combination.

The appeal of Dooley to the Vols is obvious: He learned much of his coaching from Saban as a TEs/RC coach and then a RBs/ST coach at LSU, seeing a National Championship. His father is Vince Dooley, the legendary Georgia coach.

The Louisiana Tech job was Dooley's first shot at head coaching, and he didn't do too poorly. The 2009 season, however, brought his record from 12-12 to 17-20, despite an amazing season of almost-upsets.

Although Bulldog fans like us grieve the loss, Dooley made the wise career move and catapulted from the WAC to the SEC and an excellent team.

I wish him the best of luck with the Volunteers.

Looking Forward:

Offensive coordinator Frank Scelfo is acting as interim head coach, and deputy athletic director Bruce Van De Velde has been named the acting athletic director.

Although it hasn't even been a day, the university is already in the process of hiring a new head coach.

What's the outlook? Favorable, I would say. While Louisiana Tech is not a national program, it is full of potential, as evidenced by the Boise State and LSU games during the 2009 season. Dooley, after all, was a grab from the NFL.

We eagerly await the university's choice: they'll choose the best bet going into 2010.

When Louisiana Tech has won this season, they've won big. 48 points, 27 points, 45 points.

Trouble is, they've only won three games.

But they've scared the bejesus out of the Big Guns across the country.

First was Idaho, who won by one point late in the game. The next week, Boise State's Broncos cruised into the Joe looking for an easy win. They were the highest ranked team ever to play Tech at home.

They ran back to Boise with a hard-fought win, again, late in the game.

And now the Tigers from just down the road in Baton Rouge.

Looking at the numbers, it's not too bad, considering LSU's No. 8 ranking. The Bulldogs had 23 first downs to LSU's 15, three of four converted fourth downs, and by the second half had amassed more yards than LSU had allowed per game previously.

Daniel Porter's jump pass for a touchdown with two seconds remaining in the first half smacked of Tebow Time football. This is Tech at its best, calling risky plays against the favored team and coming on the right side.

322 total yards, with 107 kick return yards. And a ball-control time of 36:20. Not bad.

But not good enough. Yes, Tech has been plagued with injuries. Yes, they've played back-to-back top-10 teams. Yes, they played well.

But.

But they didn't finish the game. The second half spelled doom for the Bulldogs as Keiland Williams picked up two touchdowns to seal the deal against Tech.

Tech's young freshmen starters played amazingly well against a quicker, stronger, bigger, older, and more experienced LSU, and racked up their highest score since the ancient win over the Tigers in 105 years.

These freshmen coming into next year will have had first-hand experience against big physical teams, and they know what they have to do to improve.

Tech's bowl chances this year are shot...but next year is a whole new game.