Well, howdy, and welcome to the orchard. Champ Tullos here, former fullback, full-time peach man and the proudest Bulldog in Lincoln Parish. I spent my playing days running into people a yard from the end zone, and I spend my Saturdays now hollering at Joe Aillet Stadium. Life is good, the peaches are in the freezer till next June, and the Bulldogs are 2-0 in their brand-new league. That's what we call peachy.
Part 1: The I-20 Showdown, Picked Clean
Last Saturday night, Louisiana Tech went 35 miles east to Monroe and beat UL Monroe 24-0. A shutout. A goose egg. A peach pit with nothing left on it. It was the first I-20 Showdown since 2000, according to ULM Athletics, and 20,653 folks showed up to watch.
Now, I'll be honest, because a fullback tells you exactly where he's going. The first half was slower than a tractor on a two-lane road. It was 0-0 at the break. ULM sacked Blake Baker on the second play, Armoni Rue picked him off, and the Warhawks blocked one of our field goals. Their defense played hard in that first half, and I tip my cap. We also missed two other kicks. Kaegan Kent went 1-for-3 on field goals and Hunter Rioux missed one. Somebody get those boys a peach cobbler and a hug.
Then the second half came, and the orchard bloomed. Taeden Rogers intercepted Aidan Armenta on ULM's first pass of the half, and Sergio Snider ran it in from the 5 for a 7-0 lead. Then Baker threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Bockler at the end of an 11-play, 66-yard drive. Then he did it again early in the fourth, another 2-yarder to Bockler. Same play, same man, same result. As a fullback, I love a short-yardage play so good you run it twice. Kent closed it out with a 21-yard field goal.
Baker finished 15 of 21 for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Marcus Calwise Jr. caught eight passes for 119 yards. Andrew Burnette carried 22 times for 79 yards and just kept leaning on folks. Alonzo Jackson Jr. made eight tackles with two for loss, and Kam Franklin returned an interception 66 yards. ULM finished with 228 yards and went 2-for-11 on third down.
That makes two straight Sun Belt wins. The week before, Oct. 10, we beat Louisiana 32-31 at home. One point, one heartbeat, one very sweet Saturday. We're 4-2 overall and 2-0 in our first season in the Sun Belt, which we joined on July 1, 2026, after 13 years in Conference USA.
Part 2: Hear Ye, Hear Ye, the Monarchs Are Coming
Saturday, 5 p.m. Eastern, ESPN+, Old Dominion visits Joe Aillet Stadium.
The Monarchs are 2-5 and 1-3 in the Sun Belt, and they lost 23-15 at home to Georgia Southern last Thursday. They went 3-for-10 on third down and ran 32 times for 65 yards. Sixty-five yards on 32 carries. Friends, I used to get more than two yards a carry with three linebackers hanging off my back.
The Peach Ripeness Scale
I grade every offense like a peach. A ripe one gives a little when you squeeze it and smells like summer. A green one is hard as a doorknob.
AP's preview has Old Dominion's offense 138th in FBS in yards, at 266 a game. It's 131st in passing, 122nd in rushing and 130th in scoring at 17.7 points a game. ODU converts just 33% of its third downs, 120th, and holds the ball for 27:30 a game, 123rd. That, my friends, is a green peach. You could knock on it like a front door.
Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech scores 33.3 points a game, 43rd in FBS. Our turnover margin is plus-5, 15th in the country, and ODU's is minus-3, 99th. Baker has nine touchdown passes and only one interception. Jalen Mickens leads us with 32 catches for 476 yards. And Alonzo Jackson Jr. leads the defense with 41 tackles and five sacks. That's a ripe one.
Credit Where It's Due
I'll say it plain: Old Dominion's defense is solid. AP ranks it 47th in FBS in yards allowed. Lucas Struck has 52 tackles and Javen Gibson has five sacks. And here's my honest-fullback confession: according to AP, our red zone offense ranks 118th, scoring on 76% of trips. That's the part of the field where I used to live! I want those Bulldogs running behind the big guys up front like it's the last peach on the tree.
And the history isn't on our side. CollegeFootballData.com has ODU 2-0 against us, winning 30-27 in 2014 and 23-20 in 2021, both in Norfolk. Two three-point games. Well, the Monarchs have never been to Ruston for this one. Welcome. Wipe your feet.
A Brief History of Royalty
The Monarchs played football from 1930 to 1940, then stopped for 68 years, per Wikipedia, and started back up in 2009. Sixty-eight years! That's not a bye week. That's a peach tree that took a nap through World War II, the moon landing and the invention of the microwave. Louisiana Tech, on the other hand, has been playing since 1901. Our first game was a 57-0 loss to LSU, and we kept showing up anyway. That's Ruston for you.
And speaking of history, Terry Bradshaw played quarterback here. Wikipedia says he started out second on the depth chart behind Phil Robertson, who later invented the Duck Commander duck call. Only in Ruston could the backup become a Hall of Famer and the starter go on to build a duck empire. We grow talent like we grow peaches.
Champ's Porch: Ruston vs. Norfolk
Ruston. Our little city had 22,166 people in the 2020 census, and every June we host the annual Peach Festival. The historic Dixie Theater opened in 1928, and it's still the arts hub of town, home to the community theater, the civic symphony and the Piney Hills Gallery. Grambling is six miles down the road. The railroad helped build this town, and Interstate 20 runs right through it, so you can get here easy. Leaving is the hard part.
Norfolk. Now, Norfolk is home to Naval Station Norfolk, the world's largest naval base, and I salute every sailor stationed there, sincerely. Norfolk also has the Nauticus maritime museum, the battleship USS Wisconsin and the Chrysler Museum of Art. Fine places.
But think about it: a town built around the world's biggest Navy base, and its football team is named for kings. In America! We fought a whole war to get rid of those. The Monarchs show up in Ruston, a town that grew up on land donated by a parish sheriff, not a king, and they want us to bow? Friends, the only royalty in Lincoln Parish is a Peach Festival queen.
Norfolk had 238,005 people in 2020, more than 10 Rustons. But it's a water town. The city's own history is all ships and harbors. When the Monarchs come inland to the Piney Hills, there's no harbor, no ocean breeze and no battleship to hide behind. Just a whole lot of pine trees, a red-and-blue crowd and a stadium we've been playing in since 1968.
Peach Pie Wisdom
Here's my plain fullback math. Louisiana Tech is 2-0 in the Sun Belt, coming off a shutout, with a quarterback who's thrown one interception all year and a defense that just held a team to 228 yards. Old Dominion has the 138th-ranked offense in yards and just ran for 65 yards on 32 carries. If the Bulldogs fix their kicking and finish in the red zone, this one will be peachy by halftime instead of after it.
Come early, bring a lawn chair, and if anybody offers you a peach, say yes ma'am.
My call: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 30, Old Dominion Monarchs 18.