JOURNAL SPORTS
One week after recording a season-opening shutout over Southeastern Louisiana, the Louisiana Tech defense proved it wasn’t a fluke.
The Bulldogs defense played toe-to-toe with a 5-star filled LSU offense Saturday night at Tiger Stadium in a 23-7 win by the No. 3 ranked Tigers.
And although Tech (1-1) came away on the short end in its first loss of the season, the Tech D made another statement.
Tech recorded eight tackles for loss, including three sacks, and held the Tigers to only two touchdowns despite LSU having the football for almost 37 minutes.
“I think there are a lot of positives to take away like how hard our guys played defensively and made LSU earn everything they got,” said Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie.
LSU led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter after Garrett Nussmeier found Nolan Aaron on a 7-yard TD pass in the closing seconds of the opening stanza. The Tigers added a 23-yard field goal with 6:24 to play in the second quarter and led 10-0 at the half.
The Bulldogs offense was anemic most of the night. Tech managed just 71 yards of total offense in the opening two quarters against a talented, speedy and athletic Tigers defensive unit.
“We haven’t gotten into a rhythm offensively,” said Cumbie. “We have to be able to run the football. We need to find playmakers at wide receiver who can get open. We have to find guys who can make plays.”
LSU (2-0) upped the lead to 17-0 in the third quarter, capping a 33-yard drive with a 3-yard scoring run by Caden Durham following a shanked punt by John Hoyett Chance.
“I’m disappointed in our special teams tonight,” said Cumbie. “I was very frustrated with our special teams. Consistency is what we seek. We have to be consistent on every play. We have to play smarter on special teams. We did some foolish things on that unit tonight that we didn’t do last week.”
LSU added a 46-yard field goal by Damian Ramos with 11:14 remaining in the game to up the lead to 20-0.
Tech then inserted quarterback Blake Baker into the game. After a three-and-out on the first possession with Baker, the Bulldogs then drove 74 yards on 13 plays and got on the scoreboard with a 33-yard TD pass to Devin Gandy with 4:02 remaining in the game.
“We weren’t being very productive (on offense) at any position,” said Cumbie when asked about the decision to switch quarterbacks. “We were looking for a spark. I thought (Blake) gave us that. We have to continue to look at our personnel and find people who can make plays for us.”
LSU mounted one final drive. The Tigers had a first and goal from the Bulldogs three-yard line in the closing minutes, but three straight run plays netted just one yard, forcing the LSU to go to the right foot of Ramos for a chip shot field goal.
“I think our defense was really impressive,” said Cumbie. “At the end they are at the 2-yard line and an SEC offense … chooses to kick a field goal instead of trying to punch it in. I think that’s a sign of respect for the job our defense did all night.”
LSU rushed for 128 yards on 34 carries with 91 yards coming on two plays (only 37 yards on the other 32 carries).
Mekhi Mason led Tech with 11 tackles (1.5 TFL, 1 sack) while Jacob Fields added nine tackles and Jamal Shelby Jr added seven tackles. Former Ruston High star Jadon Mayfield recorded his first collegiate sack while another former Bearcat in Christian Davis registered a sack.
“(Our linebackers) really play downhill and aggressive,” said Cumbie “They don’t hesitate, and they prepare that way. They love to play football. Even (Jadon Mayfield) … look at the plays he made. We have a great group of linebackers that play very well together.”
LSU outgained Tech 365 to 154 with the Bulldogs managing just 23:08 of time of possession in the contest. Tech was penalized 13 times for 140 yards while the Tigers were called for nine penalties for 77 yards.
Tech returns to action Saturday when it hosts New Mexico State at 6:30 p.m. at Joe Aillet Stadium.
