Louisiana Tech's win streak meets a Southern Miss offense with a new passer

The central story is a team on a long run against a team still settling at quarterback. Louisiana Tech has won five straight overall and six straight at home, while Southern Miss changed passers between its last two games. Those two facts frame most of what can be said about Saturday's 5:00 PM ET kickoff at Joe Aillet Stadium.

Southern Miss turned to John White, who led the team with 35 pass attempts against the James Madison Dukes on 2026-11-05. The game before, Landry Lyddy led with 30 attempts against the UL Monroe Warhawks on 2026-10-31. White led in only 1 of the last 3 games, so his body of work as the starter is small, and the team's recent results were shaped partly by a different passer. Steven Robinson has 58 carries over the last 3 games, first among the team's running backs, with Jamarice Wilder at 37. Mario Sanders leads the receivers with 16 receptions over that span.

Louisiana Tech has no such question. Blake Baker has led the team in pass attempts in 3 of its last 3 games, most recently with 19 attempts against the Troy Trojans on 2026-11-07. That is modest volume, but it is a single game and says little on its own. Eli Finley, the tight end, has 17 receptions over the last 3 games, one more than Jalen Mickens, the leading wide receiver, at 16. Andrew Burnette leads the backs with 32 carries over that stretch, with Rayshun Hurt at 17.

Louisiana Tech's other runs include 4 straight wins after a win at home, 3 straight covers of the spread overall, and 3 straight games going under the total. Southern Miss, meanwhile, has gone over the total in 3 straight games. Those two total streaks point in opposite directions. Streaks describe what has happened rather than what comes next, so they mostly show that the two teams have recently played different kinds of games. The spread streak is the one that carries a result against the number, but three games is a short run.

Little else complicates the picture. Neither team reports an injury, the teams have not met in the last 400 days, and the forecast of 57°F with a 10 mph west wind and partial cloud is mild enough that it should not hinder either passing game.

Overall, the evidence is thin and mostly about form and usage. Louisiana Tech's winning and covering run is the strongest piece, and Baker's steady role adds stability. Southern Miss's quarterback change is the biggest open question, and the total streaks conflict rather than agree. Everything here rests on short windows: three-game usage counts and streaks of three to six games.