Posted by: Pete Roussel on June 14, 2012

Sonny Dykes feels good about the talent level of his players at LA Tech.

So good, that's he believes his players are more talented than the roster at Ole Miss and Mississippi State, two teams that LA Tech faced in 2011.

Dykes told the Monroe News-Star, "We have better players than people think. Last year we played Mississippi State, and I swear to you there was no difference in our players and theirs. I was shocked. There was no difference. They might've had a little more depth, but across the board our players were about as good as theirs. We played Ole Miss, and we kinda played 'em at a time that wasn't really good for them, and I think we beat 'em by about 24 points and had better players than they did. I was shocked. I would like to say we coached 'em better or we were real smart and pat ourselves on the back, but we had better players than they did."

Really? A team out of the WAC has better players than Mississippi State?

Dan Mullen fired back today by telling Brandon Marcello of the Clarion-Ledger, "I guess if the players are equal we must have better coaches here at Mississippi State since we won. But they are a very good football team. Sonny does a great job with their program."

Mississippi State defeated LA Tech by the score of 26-20 in overtime last season in Starkville.  LA Tech outgained Mississippi State 359-340, but three turnovers and an ineffective run game hurt Dykes' team.

At least Dykes like his players: "The thing I love about being at Louisiana Tech is we don't have entitled kids - we just don't have 'em. And if they're entitled, they don't last long. It's really, incredibly refreshing because we have a bunch of guys that are kinda leftovers, kind of I say the ugly kids that sat by themselves at lunch in the cafeteria - a team full of those type of kids and really a coaching staff full of those type of guys - and so for us, our guys have a chip on their shoulders, and so it's a fun place to coach."

Dang, I wish LA Tech and Mississippi State were scheduled to play this year.  Unfortunately, the teams aren't schedule to play again until 2015 in Starkville. But hey, admit it, there's nothing like an SEC-WAC coaches' feud in the middle of June.

You can evaluate the LA Tech talent on Thursday, September 30  at 7:30 pm CT on ESPNU when the Bulldogs take on Texas A&M.

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