SUN BELT FOOTBALL COMPANION GUIDE • ALPHABETICAL 8 OF 14
2026 Season Snapshot • Ruston, Louisiana
8 wins (best since 2019)
SBC
Live schedule, lines and results for Louisiana Tech.
Loading schedule…
HEAD COACH
Sonny Cumbie — 5th season at Louisiana Tech
LIFETIME COACHING RECORD
19–31 at Louisiana Tech
Took over a struggling program in 2022 and has improved his win total each season since: 3-9, 3-9, 5-7, then an 8-win 2025 campaign, the program's best since 2019. Rewarded not with a raise but with a voluntary pay cut, personally redirecting money back into the roster as Louisiana Tech makes its first-ever Sun Belt season.
LOUISIANA TECH ATS RECORD
No single published career ATS figure
2025 finished with Louisiana Tech's best record since 2019 (8 wins), scoring 335 points, the most by the program since that year. The Bulldogs went 6-0 when scoring more than 27 points — a real, specific formula for winning that the offense will look to repeat in a tougher new conference.
HEAD COACH SALARY (2026)
~$850K (post pay-cut)
TEAM NIL VALUATION (EST.)
Coach-funded (15% of
PRIMARY NIL COLLECTIVE
Not publicly named
salary redirected) Coach salary per Brobible/On3 (Feb. 2026 restructured deal: Cumbie accepted a pay cut from his original $1M annual salary, redirecting roughly 15% of it directly into NIL funding and program departments). Louisiana Tech has not disclosed a team NIL figure beyond Cumbie's personal contribution.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Nathan Young • 1st season • Spread
Promoted from offensive line coach to replace Tony Franklin. Inherits a genuine QB competition between Blake Baker (6-5, accurate, but coming off a knee injury) and the more mobile Trey Kukuk, plus a run game led by portal add Jaden Miller and recruit Kenny Thomas.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Multiple • Base defense TBD
Louisiana Tech's defense supported an offense that scored a program-best 335 points in 2025; specific 2026 defensive continuity to be confirmed as the program adjusts to its first Sun Belt season.
2025 RECORD
8 wins (best since 2019)
Program's best season since 2019, scoring 335 points (most since that year) in a Conference USA campaign — the launching point for Louisiana Tech's first-ever Sun Belt season in 2026.
HOME FIELD
Joe Aillet Stadium
Artificial turf (FieldTurf), Ruston. A program entering a new conference with real rivalries restored (Louisiana, ULM, Southern Miss all now in-conference) after Cumbie's steady four-year build finally produced a signature season.
| SLOT | PLAYER | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB1 | Blake Baker | Jr | ★★★★★ | 6-5 and accurate when healthy, in a genuine competition with the more mobile Trey Kukuk after battling a knee injury; the more talented ceiling if he's fully recovered for 2026. |
| RB1 | Jaden Miller | — | ★★★★★ | TOP TRANSFER Portal addition and big-bodied back with real upside, joining recruit Kenny Thomas in a run game beat writers call thin in numbers but talented at the top. |
6-5 and accurate when healthy, in a genuine competition with the more mobile Trey Kukuk after battling a knee injury; the more talented ceiling if he's fully recovered for 2026.
Portal addition and big-bodied back with real upside, joining recruit Kenny Thomas in a run game beat writers call thin in numbers but talented at the top.
| PLAYER | POS | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line under new OC | OL | — | ★★★★★ | Nathan Young was promoted directly from offensive line coach to offensive coordinator, giving the trenches direct continuity with the new playcaller. |
Nathan Young was promoted directly from offensive line coach to offensive coordinator, giving the trenches direct continuity with the new playcaller.
| PLAYER | POS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Front seven in transition | DL | Part of a program adjusting to its first Sun Belt season; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed closer to Week 1. |
Part of a program adjusting to its first Sun Belt season; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed closer to Week 1.
| PLAYER | POS | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary in transition | DB | ★★★★★ | Part of the program's first-ever Sun Belt roster; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed as fall camp progresses. |
Part of the program's first-ever Sun Belt roster; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed as fall camp progresses.
2025 ATS
2-1
66.7% cover rate — 14th of 82
2025 Straight up
2-1
Point differential +3
Scoring environment
39
Combined points per game — 80th highest of 82
Home / road ATS
1-0 · 1-0
Totals 0-3 O/U (0-1 home, 0-1 road)
Points scored / allowed
20 per game scored (73rd) · 19 allowed (14th)
Margin & schedule
Margin of victory +1 (48th) · Strength of schedule -6.7
SRS power rating
-5.7
62nd of 82 — projected points vs. a league-average team on a neutral field
Offensive SRS
-11.4
79th of 82
Defensive SRS
+2.5
40th of 82
Points (margin of victory)
+1 · 48th of 82
Against the spread
2-1 (66.7%) · 14th of 82
Totals (combined PPG)
39 · 80th of 82
Computed from CollegeFootballData 2025 results and closing consensus lines.
Saved Just J research for Louisiana Tech.
Cumbie voluntarily gave up roughly 15% of his own $1M salary to fund the roster — joining Brent Venables and Mike Norvell in a small, real trend of coaches self-funding NIL after finally building momentum.
Louisiana Tech's move from Conference USA required a lawsuit against C-USA before a resolution was reached — a real, contentious departure on top of the on-field jump in competition level.
Louisiana Tech was 6-0 in 2025 when topping 27 points and 0-6 when it didn't — a clean, trackable in-season signal for how competitive the Bulldogs will be in their first Sun Belt season.
Promoting the O-line coach to OC suggests real internal confidence in that room — a positive continuity signal even as the program jumps to a tougher conference.
Notes are maintained in the Admin area — no code changes required.
