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When the news broke that the matchup between BYU and Army was postponed due to positive COVID tests, many wondered what the Cougars would do to replace the Black Knights on the schedule. Wonder no more as BYU announced they have agreed with Louisiana Tech to play this season on Friday, October 2. This isn’t necessarily a replacement for Army, as BYU said they will try to re-schedule that game.
The Bulldogs and Cougars have not yet matched up in their school’s history. This marks the third opponent from Conference USA for BYU this season, including Western Kentucky and UTSA.
BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe has announced a home game for the 2020 season against Louisiana Tech from Conference USA on Friday, Oct. 2 at LaVell Edwards Stadium.#BYUFOOTBALL #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/GW4B4PFzfR
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) September 14, 2020
Louisiana Tech is coming off of a 10-win season including a win in the Independence Bowl over Miami (FL) by a score of 14-0. However, the Bulldogs must replace three-year starter J’mar Smith at quarterback. Westin Elliott has been in the program for three years but he has stiff competition in Aaron Allen and grad transfer Luke Anthony.
Under Smith, the Bulldogs had a solid offense, ranking 36th in points per game last season. Defensively, they ranked 30th out of 130. After losing the opener to Texas, they finished 10-2 last year and have momentum heading into this season.
Head coach Skip Holtz will have his work cut out for him replacing tons of production in his eighth season at the helm in Ruston.
The Bulldogs open their season at Southern Miss on September 19 and then host Houston Baptist the next week before their date with the Cougars. They originally had a game with Baylor on opening weekend but it was postponed due to COVID complications.
So each of these teams now know what it’s like to have a game postponed as the season starts and having to reconfigure their schedule. BYU once again has eight games on the schedule with still the first two weekends of November open between the game on Halloween with Western Kentucky and the matchup with North Alabama on November 21.