LA Tech Tames Rebels, Aims for A&M
By: Lance Snow
Updated: October 6, 2012
Courtesy Louisiana Tech University:
RUSTON,
La. (Oct. 6, 2012)
- Kenneth Dixon rushed for four touchdowns and Louisiana Tech racked up more
than 600 yards of total offense to lead the Bulldogs to a 58-31 win over UNLV
before 21,850 fans at Joe Aillet Stadium Saturday
night.
Dixon rushed for 106 yards and the four
scores, Ray Holley added a career-high 140 yards on the ground and the Bulldogs
improved to 5-0 on the season for the first time since 1975. Tech, which is the
only remaining undefeated team in the state of Louisiana, also extended its
regular season win streak to 12 games which is the longest in the country
following losses earlier in the day by LSU and
Georgia.
"It was a good, hard-fought win," said Tech head coach
Sonny Dykes. "The players were a little frustrated in the locker room at
halftime after we didn't get the field goal at the end of the first half. That
was my fault. They went in frustrated, but that's the mark of a good team when
you have a 10-point lead and still go in
angry."
After leading by as many as 20 in the
first half, Tech saw UNLV (1-5) close the gap to 27-24 on a 46-yard pass from
Nick Sherry to Marcus Sullivan with 12:25 to play in the third quarter. However,
the Bulldogs then reeled off 31 unanswered points behind the running of Dixon,
who hit paydirt three times in the second
half.
It marked the third straight game that
the Bulldogs have reeled off at least 31 unanswered points, including wins over
Illinois and Virginia.
Colby Cameron was solid under center,
completing 31 of 45 passes for 316 yards and one touchdown while registering his
fifth straight game without throwing an interception. Cameron has now thrown 12
touchdowns without a pick this season.
After a Matt Nelson 27-yard field goal
gave Tech an early 3-0 lead, UNLV took their only lead of the contest as Sherry
found Taylor Barnhill for a 33-yard scoring strike as the Rebels led with 9:42
to play in the first quarter.
Following a 33-yard field goal by
Nelson, Tech scored its first touchdown on a six-yard pass from Cameron to
Quinton Patton, who finished the game with nine receptions for 116 yards as the
Bulldogs took a 13-7 lead with 2:48 to play in the opening quarter.
The Bulldogs special teams unit then
came up big as Malon Lee blocked a punt and Tech took over on the UNLV nine-yard
line. On the first play from scrimmage, Holley raced nine yards to the endzone
as Tech upped the advantage to 20-7.
UNLV appeared ready to strike again when
the Bulldog defense came up with a big stop on a fourth down and one play from
the Tech two-yard line. Following the turnover on downs, Cameron hit Patton for
a 55-yard gain on a post route that started a 10-play, 98-yard drive that ended
with a Dixon one-yard TD run. Tech led 27-7.
However, the Rebels would score the
final 10 points of the half as the two teams entered the locker room with the
Bulldogs leading 27-17.
Following UNLV's touchdown drive to open
the second half, Tech scored on five of its next seven possessions to pull away.
Dixon started the assault with a 10-yard run with 10:42 to play and then added a
15-yard run late in the third quarter and a seven-yard run early in the fourth
quarter.
"If you get a chance to make a play,
you've got to make it," Dixon said. "Our offensive line did great. Words cannot
express how good they are."
The Bulldogs final score was a 17-yard
run by Hunter Lee with 2:42 to play, capping an eight-play, 55-yard drive that
saw Lee haul the football on every play.
Tech registered 35 first downs in the
game along with 622 yards (306 yards rushing, 316 yards passing) while UNLV
recorded 23 first downs and 536 yards.
"We're banged up at linebacker but I'm proud of our
young guys stepping up," Dykes said. "When someone goes down you have to have
enough depth. I'm proud of the way Chip Hester played tonight. Ty Hook also saw
his first major action."
Defensively, Antonio Mitchum led Tech
with 10 tackles while Dave Clark and Chip Hester each added nine tackles. Jamel
Johnson recorded five tackles and one interception while Andre Taylor registered
a fumble recovery. The Bulldogs were plus two in turnover
margin.
"We're not the kind of team that can look ahead to the
next game," Dykes said. "We just have to keep improving every game. Next week
won't define our program, but it will tell us where we stand right
now."
The victory sets up a showdown next
Saturday night against Texas A&M at Independence Stadium in Shreveport set
for an 8:15 p.m. kickoff.
For complete
coverage of Bulldog Football, please follow @LATechPWalsh on Twitter or visit
the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at
LATechSports.com.
Post Game
Notes
Captains for tonight's game were Colby Cameron and IK
Enemkpali.
Tonight's announced attendance was 21,850, the
27th crowd at Joe Aillet Stadium with attendance over
20,000.
Louisiana Tech is currently one of 16 teams still
undefeated (Oregon, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Ohio, Cincinnati, Kansas
State, Rutgers, Mississippi State, West Virginia, UTSA, Oregon State, Notre
Dame, Ohio State, Louisville).
LA Tech defeated UNLV for the first time ever, now
making the all-time series 2-1 in UNLV's
favor.
58 was the most points scored by LA Tech since they
scored 63 against Mississippi Valley State on Aug. 26,
2000.
Louisiana Tech currently has the longest regular season
winning streak in the FBS at 12 games after the
win.
During LA Tech's 12-game winning streak, they have won
the turnover margin in every game and have a +26 total turnover
margin.
LA Tech is currently one of only three teams in the FBS
to score at least 40 points in every game this season (Baylor,
Oregon).
LA Tech has scored over 50 points for the fourth time
(out of five) this season.
This was the fifth straight game LA Tech has led by at
least 20 points in the game.
This was the third straight game LA Tech has gone on at
least a 31-point unanswered run.
With the win this was the first time the Bulldogs
defeated an active Mountain West opponent since the league was created in
1999.
LA Tech ran 97 total offensive plays, the most in a game
this season.
LA Tech has now converted on 31 of 32 redzone
conversions (27 touchdowns and 4 field goals).
Comments
Readers Feel...
hello
