NC State football scouting report: Louisiana Tech

By Ethan McDowell

NC State football dropped out of the top 25 this week after a blowout loss to No. 7 Tennessee. Now, the Wolfpack hopes to rebound in Carter-Finley Stadium, matched up against a Louisiana Tech team coming off a bye week.

This will be NC State’s third game of the season after starting the fall 1-1. Louisiana Tech is 1-0 after an open date during Week 2. The Bulldog’s lone contest of the season so far was a 25-17 win over Nicholls — an FCS program that lost 44-21 to LSU the following week.

This is Louisiana Tech’s first of two games against a Power Four opponent this season. Later this year, the program will travel to Arkansas. The Bulldogs have finished each of the past three seasons 3-9 and gave up at least 42 points to its final 3 opponents during a 6-game conference losing streak to end their 2023 season.

4 Louisiana Tech players to watch

1) Redshirt junior running back Marquis Crosby

Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie hails from the air raid coaching tree but, similar to Tennessee last week, that doesn’t mean this team is afraid to run the ball. Crosby will be the main beneficiary, and he is likely the team’s top playmaker. Standing 5-9, 201 pounds, the running back racked up 918 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2022 before missing most of last season due to injury. He made Athlon’s preseason All-Conference USA first team and rushed for 44 yards on 9 carries in the season opener. Louisiana Tech does not use him much in the passing game (9 receptions in 2022). Crosby did not start Week 1 and played 16 snaps.

2) Redshirt junior quarterback Jack Turner

Turner left the season opener with a knee injury, but Cumbie said this week that he expects the 6-5, 231-pound signal-caller to play Saturday. The former junior college transfer completed 4 of 8 passes for 70 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception in his debut. Turner also ran twice for -1 yards. He is definitely a pocket passer who averages 2.4 yards per carry for his career. This is his third season with Louisiana Tech, and he threw for 1,017 yards, 5 touchdowns and 5 interceptions while starting 4 games and playing in 4 more last fall. Turner threw all 5 of last year’s picks while standing in a clean pocket, per Pro Football Focus (PFF). He recorded 8 total turnover-worthy plays in 2023.

3) Senior offensive lineman Bert Hale

Hale is a second-team preseason all-conference selection who holds down the left guard spot for Louisiana Tech. He has allowed 1 sack and 13 pressures over 853 career snaps. The experienced interior lineman played 40 pass blocking snaps against Nicholls and finished with a perfect game. Hale gave up 0 pressures. At 6-5, 348 pounds, the senior will be an intriguing matchup against junior nose guard Brandon Cleveland and the rest of the Wolfpack’s defensive linemen. Despite an elite 86.9 pass blocking grade, he struggled in the ground game with a 52.0 mark.

4) Redshirt junior linebacker Kolbe Fields

Fields made some impressive plays as a middle linebacker against Nicholls, leading the Bulldogs with 12 tackles in the season opener. That included 2.5 stops for loss and 1.5 sacks. The former South Carolina and LSU defender did not play in 2023 after transferring to Louisiana Tech but emerged as a potential playmaker early this season. He was the Bulldog’s highest-graded defender on PFF two weeks ago with a 78.8 grade.

3 keys to the game

1) Establish a rhythm offensively

NC State has struggled offensively for seven of the eight quarters played so far this season. An inability to stay ahead of the chains is a significant reason why. The Wolfpack averaged 2.2 yards per rush against the Volunteers on first down. Tennessee tackled NC State for a loss 13 times. Western Carolina logged 9 tackles for loss in Week 1.

The Wolfpack gave up plenty of interior penetration in the running game over its first two contests and needs to shore up that part of the rushing attack if it hopes to maximize graduate running back Jordan Waters’ potential. Louisiana Tech plays a 3-3-5 defense. Linebackers Zach Zimos and Fields combined for 3 tackles for loss and 18 total stops two weeks ago. They will likely play a significant role in trying to slow down NC State’s offense.

2) Capitalize on turnovers

Turner has a history of poor ball security under center, and the previously mentioned pressure numbers indicate that NC State does not really even have to blitz the signal-caller to force poor throws. Louisiana Tech fumbled three times Week 1, losing 2, and tossed a total of 3 interceptions spread across 2 quarterbacks.

NC State has forced 3 turnovers so far this season, 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery. Those takeaways were the Pack’s main source of offensive momentum against Tennessee and helped lead to all 10 of the team’s points. Even if NC State’s offense does not show significant improvement in this game, the defense should be able to give the Pack a few short fields through turnovers.

3) Prepare to dodge the kitchen sink

Louisiana Tech is a struggling Group of Five program with 9 wins over its past 3 seasons. The Bulldogs landed at No. 7 in the preseason Conference USA poll, and the Wolfpack is now favored by 21.5 after the line opened at 24.5. NC State’s opponent has nothing to lose in this game and, coming off a bye week, should have plenty of tricks to pull out Saturday.

Turner is not a running quarterback, something the Pack has struggled with through its first 2 games. It will likely be tough for Louisiana Tech to establish much offensive momentum with a pure pocket passer feeling the heat from Tony Gibson’s defense, so expect the Bulldogs to try a little bit of everything against a Wolfpack squad eager to bounce back this weekend.