Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football, 1980–89

Contents:	1980 – 1981 – 1982 – 1983 – 1984 – 1985 – 1986 – 1987 – 1988 – 1989

During the 1980s the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team twice won the Southland Conference, then left that Conference in 1986, joining the newly created non–football American South Conference as a charter member, becoming an independent team playing in NCAA Division I. The team reached the finals of the Division I-AA Championship in 1984.

1980

1980 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
Conference	Southland Conference
1980 record	5–6 (2–3 SLC)
Head coach	Billy Brewer

1980 Southland Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
McNeese State $	5	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana	4	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Texas–Arlington	3	–	2	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Louisiana Tech	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Lamar	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Arkansas State	0	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 13	at Mississippi State	Scott Field • Starkville, MS	L 11–31	32,812
September 20	at Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS (Rivalry in Dixie)	L 11–38	24,640
September 27	Western Illinois	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 42–6	18,200
October 4	at East Tennessee State	Memorial Center • Johnson City, TN	W 7–3	6,489
October 11	Lamar	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 16–7
October 18	vs. Northwestern State	State Fair Stadium • Shreveport, LA	W 27–23	36,000
October 25	Texas–Arlington	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	L 20–21	13,800
November 1	at Arkansas State	Indian Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	W 28–0	10,000
November 8	McNeese State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	L 8–45	19,200
November 15	at Southwestern Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	L 9–27	12,638
November 22	at Northeast Louisiana	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	L 14–19

1981

1981 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
Conference	Southland Conference
1981 record	4–6–1 (2–2–1 SLC)
Head coach	Billy Brewer

1981 Southland Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Texas–Arlington $	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
McNeese State	3	–	1	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
Arkansas State	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Louisiana Tech	2	–	2	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Lamar	1	–	3	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Southwestern Louisiana	0	–	4	–	1			1	–	9	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 5	at West Texas State	Kimbrough Memorial Stadium • Canyon, TX	L 10–17
September 12	East Tennessee State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 31–3	17,500
September 19	Baylor	State Fair Stadium • Shreveport, LA	L 21–28	21,000
September 26	at Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX	L 7–43	56,217
October 3	Northeast Louisiana	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	L 0–35	23,500
October 10	at Texas–Arlington	Maverick Stadium • Arlington, TX	L 14–31
October 17	at Lamar	Cardinal Stadium • Beaumont, TX	W 16–7
October 24	vs. Northwestern State	State Fair Stadium • Shreveport, LA	W 37–33	22,300
October 31	Southwestern Louisiana	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	T 17–17	13,500
November 7	at McNeese State	Cowboy Stadium • Lake Charles, LA	L 20–27	20,000
November 14	Arkansas State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 32–0

1982

1982 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
Southland Conference Champions
Conference	Southland Conference
1982 record	10–3 (5–0 SLC)
Head coach	Billy Brewer

1982 Southland Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#2 Louisiana Tech $^	5	–	0	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
Northeast Louisiana	4	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Arkansas State	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
McNeese State	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Lamar	1	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Texas–Arlington	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
North Texas State	0	–	0	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 11	West Texas State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 28–7	12,300
September 18	Eastern Michigan	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 49–12
September 25	at Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX	L 27–38	53,214
October 2	at Texas–Arlington	Maverick Stadium • Arlington, TX	W 17–14	8,149
October 9	at Northeast Louisiana	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	W 17–10	23,940
October 16	Lamar	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 40–13	14,800
October 23	vs. Northwestern State	Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA	W 33–0	17,626
October 30	at Arkansas State	Indian Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	W 24–14
November 6	McNeese State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 35–14	17,600
November 13	at Southwestern Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	L 19–29	18,963
November 20	at Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS (Rivalry in Dixie)	W 13–6	31,256
December 4	South Carolina State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA (Division I-AA Quarterfinal Playoff Game)	W 38–3	13,000
December 11	Delaware	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA (Division I-AA Semifinal Playoff Game)	L 0–17

1983

1983 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
Conference	Southland Conference
1983 record	4–7 (2–4 SLC)
Head coach	A.L. Williams

1983 Southland Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#4 North Texas State $^	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
#13 Northeast Louisiana	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
McNeese State	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Arkansas State	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Texas–Arlington	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Louisiana Tech	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Lamar	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 10	at New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM	L 7–15
September 17	at Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS (Rivalry in Dixie)	L 10–28
September 24	Lamar	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	L 12–18	16,200
October 1	Chattanooga	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 17–14	16,600
October 8	McNeese State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	L 20–24	19,900
October 15	at Arkansas State	Indian Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	L 7–21
October 22	vs. Northwestern State	Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA	W 21–10	13,996
October 29	at North Texas State	Fouts Field • Denton, TX	W 25–18
November 5	Northeast Louisiana	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	L 0–17	22,200
November 12	at Texas–Arlington	Maverick Stadium • Arlington, TX	W 24–17	4,055
November 19	at Southwestern Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	L 9–13

1984

1984 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
Southland Conference Champions
Conference	Southland Conference
1984 record	10–5 (5–1 SLC)
Head coach	A.L. Williams

1984 Southland Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#9 Louisiana Tech $^	5	–	1	–	0			10	–	5	–	0
#10 Arkansas State ^	4	–	1	–	1			8	–	4	–	1
Texas–Arlington	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana	3	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
#20 McNeese State	2	–	3	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
Lamar	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
North Texas State	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 1	at Southeastern Louisiana	Strawberry Stadium • Hammond, LA	W 17–9	6,000
September 8	Southwestern Louisiana	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	L 16–17	16,800
September 15	at Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS (Rivalry in Dixie)	L 0–34	28,342
September 22	at Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS	L 8–14
September 29	North Texas State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 17–12
October 6	at McNeese State	Cowboy Stadium • Lake Charles, LA	W 24–17	20,000
October 13	Arkansas State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 20–10	15,200
October 20	vs. Northwestern State	Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA	W 5–0	9,424
October 27	at Lamar	Cardinal Stadium • Beaumont, TX	W 22–7	4,114
November 3	at Northeast Louisiana	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	L 10–12
November 10	Texas–Arlington	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 34–0	14,200
November 24	Mississippi Valley State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA (Division I-AA 1st Round Playoff Game)	W 66–19	17,500
December 1	at Alcorn State	Jackson, MS (Division I-AA Quarterfinal Playoff Game)	W 44–21	16,204
December 8	at Middle Tennessee State	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN (Division I-AA Semifinal Playoff Game)	W 21–13
December 15	vs. Montana State	Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC (Division I-AA Championship Game)	L 6–19	9,125

1985

1985 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
Conference	Southland Conference
1985 record	8–3 (4–2 SLC)
Head coach	A.L. Williams

1985 Southland Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#6 Arkansas State $^	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	4	–	0
#14 Louisiana Tech	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
McNeese State	3	–	1	–	2			6	–	3	–	2
Northeast Louisiana	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
North Texas State	2	–	3	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Texas–Arlington	2	–	3	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Lamar	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 7	at Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS (Rivalry in Dixie)	L 0–28	23,432
September 14	Southwestern Louisiana	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 24–23	17,000
September 21	at West Texas State	Kimbrough Memorial Stadium • Canyon, TX	W 20–10	7,025
September 28	Southeastern Louisiana	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 40–7	18,224
October 5	at North Texas State	Fouts Field • Denton, TX	W 33–8	15,800
October 12	McNeese State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 35–3	17,833
October 19	at Arkansas State	Indian Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	L 13–31	10,863
October 26	vs. Northwestern State	Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA	W 33–17	14,783
November 2	Lamar	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 23–22	3,200
November 9	Northeast Louisiana	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	L 9–13	21,800
November 16	at Texas–Arlington	Maverick Stadium • Arlington, TX	W 29–14	4,800

1986

1986 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
Conference	Southland Conference
1986 record	6–4–1 (3–2 SLC)
Head coach	A.L. Williams

1986 Southland Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#2 Arkansas State $^	5	–	0	–	0			12	–	2	–	1
North Texas State	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Louisiana Tech	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Northeast Louisiana	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
McNeese State	1	–	4	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Lamar	0	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant Ranking is from the Sports Network Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
August 30	at Tulsa	Skelly Stadium • Tulsa, OK	W 22–17	25,667
September 13	at Baylor	Baylor Stadium • Waco, TX	L 7–38	31,000
September 20	West Texas State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 24–21	11,600
September 27	at Fresno State	Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, CA	L 10–34	34,528
October 4	North Texas State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 17–10	17,300
October 11	at McNeese State	Cowboy Stadium • Lake Charles, LA	W 28–16	18,000
October 18	Arkansas State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	L 17–20	17,800
October 25	vs. Northwestern State	Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA	T 13–13	12,301
November 1	at Lamar	Cardinal Stadium • Beaumont, TX	W 39–20	3,225
November 8	at Northeast Louisiana	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	L 6–20	20,381
November 22	at Southwestern Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	W 23–14	15,780

1987

1987 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
Conference	Independent
1987 record	3–8
Head coach	Carl Torbush

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 5	at Baylor	Baylor Stadium • Waco, TX	L 3–13	22,535
September 12	Northeast Louisiana	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	L 7–44	24,975
September 19	at Mississippi State	Scott Field • Starkville, MS	L 13–14	23,200
September 26	at Kansas	Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS	W 16–11	23,000
October 3	at Chattanooga	Chamberlain Field • Chattanooga, TN	L 18–20	16,300
October 10	McNeese State	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 7–3	17,311
October 17	at Arkansas State	Indian Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	L 3–37	15,232
October 24	vs. Northwestern State	Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA	W 23–0
October 31	at Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX	L 3–32	53,779
November 14	[[{{{school}}}|Southwest Missouri State]]	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	L 10–13	13,780
November 21	at North Texas State	Fouts Field • Denton, TX	L 5–10	8,125

1988

1988 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
Conference	Independent
1988 record	4–7
Head coach	Joe Raymond Peace

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 3	at Mississippi State	Scott Field • Starkville, MS	L 14–21	28,747
September 10	[[{{{school}}}|Houston]]	Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA	L 0–60	18,222
September 17	at Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, WY	L 6–38	18,128
September 24	[[{{{school}}}|Nicholls State]]	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 31–10	18,339
October 1	at Kansas State	KSU Stadium • Manhattan, KS	W 31–28	24,000
October 8	Southwestern Louisiana	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 19–16	18,615
October 22	at Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	L 3–66	51,703
October 29	Arkansas State	Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA	L 22–31	15,875
November 5	at Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, TX	L 17–56	48,023
November 12	Southern Miss	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA (Rivalry in Dixie)	L 19–26	7,500
November 19	at Northeast Louisiana	Malone Stadium • Monroe, LA	W 23–0	17,500

1989

1989 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
Conference	Independent
1989 record	5–4–1
Head coach	Joe Raymond Peace

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 2	at Southwestern Louisiana	Cajun Field • Lafayette, LA	W 40–14	20,200
September 9	at [[{{{school}}}|Western Michigan]]	Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI	L 20–24	20,242
September 16	at Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	L 7–34	65,109
September 30	at East Carolina	Ficklen Memorial Stadium • Greenville, NC	T 29–29	25,462
October 7	at [[{{{school}}}|Akron]]	Rubber Bowl • Akron, OH	L 24–31	13,107
October 14	Northern Illinois	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 42–21	17,300
October 21	at Arkansas State	Indian Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	W 40–37	15,891
October 28	Tulsa	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 34–31	17,100
November 4	Northeast Louisiana	Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA	W 24–6	23,500
November 11	at Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL	L 23–38	77,237