EL PASO, Texas – Louisiana Tech put an end to its road losing skid while also remaining unbeaten in conference play, defeating UTEP by a final score of 24-10 on Friday night at the Sun Bowl.
LA Tech (3-3, 2-0 CUSA) used all three phases to get the victory. Offensively, it was a pair of explosive pass plays to go along with another 100-yard rushing performance by Tyre Shelton. Defensively, it was keeping UTEP (1-5, 0-2 CUSA) off the scoreboard in their final four drives. And on special teams, it was Smoke Harris electrifying with a punt return for a touchdown.
“I think it was good for our team and I think it’s the first time this season we started with a touchdown on the first drive,” Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie said. “It was a great start for us. And we talked all week about our defense being able to create an opportunity for us on special teams. And then (Harris) made it happen.
“Starting as quick as we did on offense with a 14-point lead and then we settled in defensively and played physically. The fast start helped us because there’s a lot of things to improve on from an offensive standpoint. But I’m really proud of how we started the football game; it was incredible.”
It was a downer when the Bulldogs lost the coin toss for the first time this season. However, the Bulldogs needed just five plays to find the end zone on their opening drive of the contest. The big one was Cyrus Allen going 85 yards on a catch-and-run down to the 1-yard line. Shelton punched it in from there to make it 7-0 just a little over two minutes deep into the game.
After the LA Tech defense forced a 3-and-out on the Miners first drive of the night, Harris took a punt return to the house for 67 yards to give the ‘Dogs a quick 14-0 lead.
Punter Blake Ochsendorf pinned UTEP back on its own 7-yard line, but the Miners proceeded to go on a 15-play, 93-yard drive that was made up of 13 rushing attempts. The 13th one put UTEP into the end zone on a 2-yard carry with the first play of the second quarter.
LA Tech did its own version of ground-and-pound later in the stanza, leading to a 32-yard field by Jacob Barnes to make it a 17-7 lead with 2:28 to go in the half.
UTEP got its own field goal, a 36-yarder to close out its opening drive of the second half. But that was the last time the Miners would find the end zone. The LA Tech defense forced another 3-and-out, had a turnover-on-downs near its red zone, and for good measure stopped the home team at the 4-yard line with multiple pass breakups.
“Our defense did a good job in the red zone,” Cumbie said. “Their backs were big; they had a good combination. I think defensively our guys did a nice job of tackling. We created some takeaways, and that was a key. We challenged our team in all four sides of the football. And I think we played well and got a tough win on the road. So I’m very proud of how our guys did that.”
The Bulldogs cashed in one more time in the second half thanks to an extended drive because of a UTEP penalty. As a result, Jack Turner dropped in a perfect pass to the back corner of the end zone to Tru Edwards on the first play of the fourth quarter for the 20-yard score.
