Keys to Victory for Washington State Football vs. Louisiana Tech

As the season winds down, Washington State needs to win two of its next three games to secure bowl eligibility for a second straight season. The Cougars can make a great stride toward that goal this Saturday as they host Louisiana Tech in what will be a first ever meeting between the two schools. The Bulldogs are just one win away from locking up a bowl spot on their side of things and will be looking to hand WSU its fourth loss in the last five games. Here's what the Cougs will need to do to avoid that fate this weekend:

Improve Offensively on Third Down

One of the major reasons Washington State came up short in their ugly showing at Oregon State two weeks ago was their inability to move the sticks on third down. Of their 13 third down tries, WSU converted on just two of them, making for a dismal success rate of just 15.4%. That number won't win a lot of games and it needs to improve against LA Tech this weekend. Right now the Bulldogs defense is allowing its opponents to convert at a 41.2% clip.

While the Cougars' offense is struggling in that department, their defense is doing just fine. In the loss to OSU, they allowed the Beavers to convert just one time out of 12 tries. If the WSU defense can keep that level of play up while the offense fixes things, their chances of getting by Louisiana Tech go way up.

MORE: How Washington State's 2025 Opponents Fared in Week 11

Clean Up Penalties

This has been one of Washington State's keys to victory several times throughout the season and yet it's a bugaboo they just can't seem to shake. Last time out the team was penalized ten more times making their running total on the season now 57. On average, WSU loses nearly 50 yards per game to flags and in their narrow losses like the one to Oregon State, that has been a huge difference maker in the outcome. Somehow the Cougars need to find a way to cut down on the penalties and lost yardage or the same thing will keep happening,

Across the board, Washington State needs to be more disciplined. The good news, though, is that when playing at home this fall, the team averages two fewer penalties than they do when playing on the road. If they can clean up some of the silly mistakes pre snap and avoid giving up the easy yards, they might be able to hang with the Bulldogs a lot better than several think.

MORE: Week 12 - Washington State Cougars vs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs: How To Watch, Preview, Storylines

Keep Thevenin at Bay

Louisiana Tech is not a heavy passing team and they haven't found a whole lot of success through the air this year. That, of course, means they typically like to keep things on the ground and they often look to do so with their top running back Clay Thevenin. Thevenin is arguably the most impactful player on the Bulldogs offense and, especially in recent weeks, he's been very productive as far as scoring is concerned. He's found the end zone five times over the last two games and has piled up 207 yards in that same span.

The game plan for Washington State's defense ought to be pretty straightforward here; focus on stopping Thevenin. If they can do that and force the Bulldogs to get out of their comfort zone and throw, things could get interesting. In last week's loss to Delaware, neither LA Tech quarterback Blake Baker or Evan Bullock looked particularly sharp. The formula for success on defense seems to be pretty cut-and-dried; make them throw.

More Reading Material From Washington State Cougars On SI