Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech continued its dominant defensive stretch Saturday afternoon, shutting out Old Dominion 26-0 in front of 20,444 fans at Joe Aillet Stadium to secure its fourth consecutive victory and remain unbeaten in Sun Belt Conference play.
The Bulldogs (5-2, 3-0 SBC) recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1959, holding the Monarchs (2-6, 1-4 SBC) to just 141 yards of total offense, including minus-13 rushing yards.
The victory marked Louisiana Tech’s first win over Old Dominion in program history and its first 3-0 start in conference play since 2019.
“This team has played complementary football in back-to-back weeks,” said Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie. “I am really excited to get this win, improve to 3-0 in conference play and remain undefeated at home. It is always important to win at home, especially on homecoming in front of our crowd.”
Louisiana Tech’s defense registered 13 tackles for loss, six sacks and an interception while limiting Old Dominion to 13 first downs. The Bulldogs have now held opponents scoreless in eight consecutive quarters following last week’s 24-0 victory at ULM.
“I am proud of our defensive effort,” Cumbie said. “Eight quarters of shutout defense is great. Continuing that next week will be a challenge, but we will enjoy this tonight. Coach Olson and his staff do a great job preparing our players, and our players do a great job of accepting coaching, trusting the game plan and executing it.”
Offensively, quarterback Blake Baker completed 28 of 34 passes for 303 yards and a touchdown while adding a rushing score. Eli Finley recorded a career-high 10 receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown, while Jalen Mickens added eight catches for 110 yards, giving Louisiana Tech two 100-yard receivers in the same game for the second time this season.
“I think our guys made plays,” Cumbie said. “We talked about it with our team before the game. Playmakers need to make plays, and they certainly did that.”
The Bulldogs wasted little time establishing control, marching 75 yards on 15 plays during their opening possession. Baker capped the 6:19 drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to give Tech an early 7-0 advantage.
The drive featured three third-down conversions as the Bulldogs continued their streak of scoring on their opening possession at home.
Following a defensive stop, Louisiana Tech extended its lead with a five-play, 66-yard drive highlighted by a 31-yard reception from Mickens and a 21-yard completion to Finley. Trey Kukuk finished the possession with a 5-yard touchdown run, pushing the Bulldogs’ advantage to 14-0 with 3:27 remaining in the opening quarter.
Tech added to its lead early in the second quarter when Hunter Rioux connected on a 49-yard field goal, matching his season long and sending the Bulldogs into halftime with a 17-0 advantage.
Louisiana Tech controlled the opening half on both sides of the ball, limiting the Monarchs to just 57 total yards, including minus-17 yards rushing. The Bulldogs converted eight of 11 third-down opportunities and held possession for nearly 21 minutes before halftime.
The Bulldogs continued their offensive production in the third quarter, assembling an 11-play, 61-yard scoring drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown pass from Baker to Finley.
Finley accounted for four receptions and 47 yards on the possession, extending Louisiana Tech’s lead to 23-0 with 7:56 remaining in the period.
“The exciting thing about seeing the plays Eli made tonight was the trust Blake had to throw the football into tight windows,” Cumbie said. “Blake trusted the placement of the football and gave Eli an opportunity to make a play. Eli went out and executed. That is encouraging from a chemistry and trust standpoint.”
Kaegan Kent added a 25-yard field goal with 9:03 remaining in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.
Louisiana Tech’s defensive front continued to disrupt the Monarchs throughout the second half.
Zheric Hill led the Bulldogs with 10 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and half a sack, while Alonzo Jackson Jr. registered seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Jadon Mayfield contributed 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, while Justice Williams added 1.5 sacks. Amari Butler also recorded his first interception as a Bulldog, helping Louisiana Tech preserve its second consecutive shutout.
“Basically, it shows the character that the defense has,” Hill said of the back-to-back shutouts. “We want to go out every day and own the opponent, not just be on the field. We want to make the opposing team not want to play football anymore.”
The Bulldogs finished with 438 yards of total offense, including 302 passing yards and 136 rushing yards, while converting 11 of 19 third-down opportunities. Andrew Burnette led the rushing attack with 63 yards on 20 carries.
Old Dominion ended the game with minus-13 rushing yards, marking the first time the Bulldog defense held an opponent to negative rushing yards since Oct. 25, 2014, when Tech held Southern Miss to minus-31 rushing yards in a 31-20 win in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
The victory extended Louisiana Tech’s home winning streak to six games, its longest since the end of the 2019 season and beginning of 2020, while its four-game overall winning streak is the program’s longest since 2019.
Despite the impressive performance, Finley believes the Bulldogs have yet to reach their full potential.
“I feel like we have not played a complete game yet and that is on all sides of the ball,” Finley said. “With the wins we are getting I am excited when we put a game together what we can do.”
