Manny Diaz is now in his second stint as Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator. He coached the Bulldogs defense in 2010 before taking the same position at Texas, where he stayed from 2011-2013.

But in between being defensive coordinator for the Longhorns and coming back to Starkville, Diaz served in the same role at Louisiana Tech — Mississippi State’s Week 7 opponent.

Diaz has proven to be one of the most effective defensive coordinators in college football and has had success at virtually every place he has coached. In 2014, he coached a Louisiana Tech defense that finished 35th in the country, and this season, Diaz has Mississippi State’s defense ranked 47th nationally.

This year’s Louisiana Tech team also boasts a stingy defense and has an offense that can put points on the board. Sitting with a 4-2 record, Louisiana Tech’s offense is averaging 39.5 points per game and ranks 17th in the nation in total offense (493.7 yards per game).

Louisiana Tech is led by two seniors on the offensive side of the ball — quarterback Jeff Driskel and running back Kenneth Dixon. Driskel is a grad transfer from Florida, but despite his SEC roots, he has never played Mississippi State.

It might be another non-conference game, but the Diaz-led Mississippi State defense will certainly have its hands full in this one.

LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS CLOSER LOOK

Top offensive player: Kenneth Dixon, Sr. RB — Dixon is on the Doak Walker Award watch list as one of the top running backs in college football. He’s already Louisiana Tech’s all-time leading rusher and has a chance to break several NCAA rushing records this year. The 5-foot-10, 213-pounder is a nice blend of size and speed with a nose for the end zone. Dixon currently ranks 2nd among all active FBS players in total career touchdowns with 69. He’s averaging 116.6 yards on the ground per game with 583 yards and 6 rushing touchdowns already this season.

Top defensive player: Adairius Barnes, Sr. CB — Louisiana Tech has one of the best secondaries in the nation with three defensive backs ranking in the top 30 among active FBS players for career interceptions. But the unit is led by Barnes, who has 9 career interceptions and is on the Jim Thorpe Award watch list this season. Barnes is also a Mississippi native, so this will be a homecoming game for him.

Top special teams player: Carlos Henderson, R-S0. KR — Henderson is another Louisiana Tech player that showed up on a preseason watch list for a big college football award. Henderson’s versatility makes him a candidate for the Paul Hornung Award. Henderson is not only a great kickoff returner, averaging 20.6 yards per return, he is also one of Louisiana Tech’s best wide receivers at stretching the field. Henderson has 251 receiving yards this season and is averaging 16.7 yards per catch. However, he has yet to find the end zone this season as a return man or receiver.