By Drew Parsley, Louisiana Tech Associate Director Strategic Communications; featured photo by Josh McDaniel
RUSTON — 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.
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.
Offensively, quarterback Blake Bakercompleted 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.
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, outgaining Old Dominion while 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.
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.
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 -13 rushing yards, marking the first time the Bulldog defense held their opponent to negative rushing yards since October 25, 2014, when LA Tech held Southern Miss to -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.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Sonny Cumbie
Opening Statement
“This team has played complementary football in back-to-back weeks. 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. It was a great crowd and the culmination of a great week that everyone on campus put together. I am proud of our defensive effort. 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. We feel like we have talented players on both sides of the football, and that was on display tonight. Eli Finley and Jalen Mickens made big plays, Blake Baker made some really great throws, and I thought our offensive line played a consistent game. We are proud of our football team for getting this win. These victories never get old. I was also really proud of Kaegan Kent. I know the first field goal does not officially count, but he has made three in a row, and we are excited about that. We will count the first one that he made. The last attempt was affected by a poor snap and hold. I wish we would have scored more touchdowns in the second half and finished stronger offensively. Overall, I thought Lex punted the ball really well outside of the final punt. We have some things to clean up with our coverage in red-zone specialty punt situations. I am proud of our staff and team for getting this win, and I am excited for our fan base to celebrate a homecoming victory. We have one more game in October, and this is a pivotal month for our football team.”
Cumbie on Old Dominion’s secondary and what allowed the passing game to be successful…
“I think our guys made plays. We talked about it with our team before the game. Playmakers need to make plays, and they certainly did that. Our quarterback, offensive line, tight ends and receivers made great plays, and it was great to see. Our players understood that, statistically, Old Dominion had a really good defense. They play outstanding defense. You do not go into Boone, North Carolina, and win a football game in those conditions without being a good defensive football team. You saw how that team played on Thursday night. Coach Young put together a great game plan. Our receivers created separation, and when there was not separation, the accuracy of Blake Baker’s throws allowed our guys to make plays. That is what it came down to. He was extremely accurate, and accomplishing those things requires everyone. It takes protection, and when you talk about protection, you are talking about the offensive line, running backs and tight ends.”
Cumbie on the Blake Baker–Eli Finleyconnection…
The exciting thing about seeing the plays Eli made tonight was the trust Blake had to throw the football into tight windows. I should probably show him some video of Hartwell throwing to Ahmad Hudson, putting the ball in a spot where only Ahmad could make the catch. That was encouraging to see tonight. 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. Those are things they have developed, and we have to continue building on that connection and putting the ball in positions where Eli can make plays. I was also proud of Marcus Calwise. From a receiver standpoint, he plays extremely hard. Just from watching the iPad during the game, he probably had at least three or four pancake blocks. He gives tremendous effort on the perimeter, and seeing him play the way he does is exciting. It is great to see other players continue to elevate their performances.”
Tight End Eli Finley
Finley on what it’s like to play with a defense like Tech’s on the other side of the ball…
“First off, I want to give all glory to God, our team, and our community. That was great support out there today and we feel it when we go out on the field. It was a great start today. Unfortunate 2nd half from us on offense, but it is good coming off the field knowing defense has our back. They are going to go out there and get a stop for us to go back in there. I feel like we have not played a complete game yet and that is on all sides of the ball. With the wins we are getting I am excited when we put a game together what we can do.”
Finley on the Bulldogs’ strong start to Sun Belt play…
For us it has nothing to do with the conference, it is about who we are as a team and how we approach every week. Our mindset is to go 1-0 each week. If we continue doing that, regardless of the opponent we are playing. I feel confident about who we are and where we are headed.”
Linebacker Zheric Hill
Hill on what it means to have consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1959…
I am going to give God all the glory and praise. Basically, it shows the character that the defense has. 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. Every time you step on the field, that mentality does not matter who it is, that is the mindset we are going to go out with. Just making history, I love it and it feels good.”