Louisiana Tech set to host Marshall
RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech (3-1, 2-0 C-USA) has won eight straight games inside Joe Aillet Stadium and will look to make it nine on Saturday when the Bulldogs host Marshall (3-0, 1-0 C-USA) at 5 p.m.
“It's early in the season, but you've got the number one in the east and the number one in the west facing off this early in the season,” Louisiana Tech head coach Skip Holtz said. “It has all the billings to be a great matchup game.”
The Bulldogs are 3-1 this season, including 2-0 inside Joe Aillet Stadium after a 66-38 win over Houston Baptist and a 21-17 victory over UTEP.
"Overall, it's great to win," Holtz said about the victory over UTEP. "It wasn't all roses. It wasn't all positives. There's some things we need to grow on from it. It's a great learning experience for our team. Hopefully they'll understand that as we go through this season, we are going be a work in progress as we go through all 11 games. We've got to keep getting better."
Marshall has won all three of its games this season after a 59-0 win over Eastern Kentucky, a 17-7 victory over App State and a 38-14 win at WKU. Doc Holliday is in his 11th season at the helm of the Thundering Herd where he has collected an 81-51 overall record.
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Louisiana Tech has plans to honor Hall of Famer Fred Dean, who passed away Wednesday evening at the age of 68 following an illness.
Dean anchored a Bulldog defensive unit from 1971 through 1974, leading Louisiana Tech to an incredible mark of 44 wins and only 4 losses. The Bulldogs won national titles in 1972, 1973 and 1974 with a star-studded cast led by their ball-hawking defensive linemen.
In the NFL, Dean played on five division winners, in three NFC championship games and in two of San Francisco's Super Bowl victories (Super Bowls XVI and XIX).
Dean was named to four Pro Bowls (1980-1982, 1984) and selected All-Pro twice (1980-1981).
He was inducted to the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.