Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech found opportunities against Baylor. The Bulldogs just couldn’t capitalize on enough of them.
Baylor scored 22 unanswered points after Louisiana Tech tied the game early, then held off a fourth-quarter Bulldogs rally for a 36-19 win Saturday afternoon at McLane Stadium.
Louisiana Tech (1-2) reached the red zone six times but came away with points on only three of those possessions as the Bulldogs dropped their second straight game against a Power Four opponent.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed in the outcome — disappointed with not being able to come in here and get a win,” Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Cumbie said. “I think our guys, for the first three games we’ve played, we have played hard. It’s obvious that we play hard, but it’s not good enough.
“We don’t execute well enough in certain situations, and we’ve got to get better.”
After Baylor (2-1) scored on its opening possession, Louisiana Tech answered with a 15-play, 75-yard drive capped by Andrew Burnette’s 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7.
The Bears responded with two second-quarter touchdowns, including a 51-yard scoring pass from Nate Bennett to Louis Brown IV, to take a 20-7 lead into halftime.
Louisiana Tech’s defense continued to give the Bulldogs chances.
Za’Qwaun Nunn forced a fumble late in the second quarter that Jadon Mayfield recovered, extending Louisiana Tech’s streak to six straight games with at least one forced turnover dating to last season.
The Bulldogs, however, couldn’t consistently turn those opportunities into points.
“We really have to learn to rise up,” Cumbie said. “Whenever we have a takeaway in a short field — whether it’s through a takeaway or a big play on special teams — offensively, we have to be able to answer with points, and we weren’t able to do that.”
Cumbie said the missed opportunities reminded him of Louisiana Tech’s 45-14 loss at LSU a week earlier, when the Bulldogs forced four first-half turnovers but trailed 10-7 at halftime.
Baylor extended its lead to 29-7 in the second half before Louisiana Tech made things interesting in the fourth quarter.
Kukuk connected with Eli Finley for a 19-yard touchdown with 8:18 remaining, cutting Baylor’s lead to 29-13. Less than three minutes later, Jalen Mickens scored on a 2-yard run to pull the Bulldogs within 29-19.
Baylor responded with a touchdown of its own to put the game away.
Bennett completed 21 of 24 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns for the Bears, while Jayden McGowan caught two touchdown passes.
Kukuk completed 25 of 44 passes for 223 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also led Louisiana Tech on the ground with a season-high 75 yards on 11 carries.
Finley recorded season highs with eight receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown. It was his second touchdown reception of the season and his highest receiving-yardage total since recording 154 yards against Southern Miss last season.
Mickens caught four passes for 63 yards, giving him a team-leading 297 receiving yards through three games.
Marcus Calwise Jr. added four receptions for 36 yards, both season highs. It marked the Eastern Kentucky transfer’s first game with multiple receptions as a Bulldog.
Defensively, Kolbe Fields led Louisiana Tech with nine tackles, including three tackles for loss and a sack. Mayfield and Nunn also recorded sacks, while Nunn forced the fumble recovered by Mayfield.
Cumbie pointed to Louisiana Tech’s inability to finish drives, turnovers and explosive plays allowed defensively as areas that cost the Bulldogs.
“Being in the red zone six times, and you only score three times — we’ve got to kick field goals better and protect the ball better,” Cumbie said. “And we can’t give up the big plays that we did in the passing game on double moves.”
The loss dropped Louisiana Tech to 1-6 all-time against Baylor and 1-4 in Waco. Saturday marked the first meeting between the programs at McLane Stadium.
Louisiana Tech now enters an open week before hosting Army on Oct. 3 at Joe Aillet Stadium in a rematch of the 2024 Independence Bowl. Kickoff time has not been announced.
