By Drew Parsley, Louisiana Tech Associate Director Strategic Communications; featured photo by Josh McDaniel
Louisiana Tech extended its winning streak to five games and remained unbeaten in Sun Belt Conference play Saturday afternoon as the Bulldogs defeated South Alabama, 35-20, at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
The Bulldogs (6-2, 4-0 SBC) secured their first 4-0 start in conference play since 2019 while completing an undefeated month of October for the first time since the same season. South Alabama fell to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
Quarterback Blake Baker completed 10 of 16 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns, while Marcus Calwise Jr. caught three passes for a team-high 68 yards and two touchdowns. Rayshun Hurt added 107 all-purpose yards, including a career-long 67-yard reception and a career-long 30-yard rush.
South Alabama struck first with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jared Hollins to Anthony Eager midway through the opening quarter. Louisiana Tech responded immediately, marching 91 yards in four plays, highlighted by Hurt’s 67-yard screen reception before Andrew Burnette capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7.
The Jaguars regained the lead on another Hollins-to-Eager touchdown connection, this time from 9 yards out, to take a 14-7 advantage late in the first quarter.
Louisiana Tech answered with 21 points in the second quarter to take control of the contest. Baker connected with Calwise for a 22-yard touchdown early in the period to even the score before the Bulldogs took their first lead on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Trey Kukuk to Jalen Mickens. The scoring play came on a double pass, with Baker delivering a lateral to Kukuk before the quarterback found Mickens in the end zone.
South Alabama responded with an 11-yard touchdown run from Keenan Phillips, but a missed extra point preserved Louisiana Tech’s 21-20 advantage.
The Bulldogs extended their lead before halftime when Baker found Calwise on a 35-yard tunnel screen for his second receiving touchdown of the afternoon, giving Louisiana Tech a 28-20 advantage at the break.
After surrendering 20 points in the first half, Louisiana Tech’s defense held the Jaguars scoreless over the final two quarters. The Bulldogs recorded three sacks, seven tackles for loss and two takeaways while forcing three turnovers on downs.
A pivotal defensive sequence came late in the third quarter when Kam Franklin forced a fumble that Alonzo Jackson Jr. recovered at the South Alabama 10-yard line. Two plays later, Baker connected with Luke Watkins for a 4-yard touchdown to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 35-20 with 39 seconds remaining in the period.
Louisiana Tech’s defense continued to deliver in the fourth quarter, including a fourth-down pass breakup by Sam Fongang that ended a South Alabama scoring threat. Janard Lockhardt sealed the victory with his first interception as a Bulldog with 1:40 remaining.
Jackson led the Bulldogs with nine tackles, a half-sack and a fumble recovery, while Jadon Mayfield added eight tackles and Taeden Rogers recorded seven tackles and his first sack as a Bulldog. Franklin and MJ Moultrie IIeach registered a forced fumble.
Louisiana Tech finished with 315 yards of total offense, including 194 through the air, while South Alabama totaled 397 yards. The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on five possessions and committed no turnovers.
The victory also marked Louisiana Tech’s first five-game winning streak since 2019, with the Bulldogs outscoring their opponents 148-80 during their unbeaten October.
NOTABLES
Louisiana Tech improved to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in Sun Belt play, its first 4-0 conference start since 2019.
The Bulldogs extended their winning streak to five games, their longest since 2019.
Louisiana Tech finished October undefeated for the first time since 2019, outscoring its five opponents 148-80.
Blake Baker recorded his fourth consecutive game with multiple total touchdowns and finished with a 212.1 passing efficiency rating.
Marcus Calwise Jr. recorded his first two receiving touchdowns as a Bulldog.
Rayshun Hurt established career highs with a 67-yard reception and a 30-yard rush.
Trey Kukuk threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Mickens on a double-pass play.
Alonzo Jackson Jr. recorded at least seven tackles for the fourth consecutive game and recovered his second fumble of the season.
Janard Lockhardt recorded his first interception as a Bulldog to seal the victory.
Louisiana Tech held South Alabama scoreless in the second half after the Jaguars scored 20 first-half points.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Sonny Cumbie
Opening Statement
“That was just a gutsy win by our football team. I thought it was a complete team win. In the second half, there was a sequence—and I think it began with Lexington Matthewspinned South Alabama inside their 10-yard line. In terms of that punt, he flipped the field and did a great job of bouncing back in his response to not having his best punt when we were backed up and against the wind. Then he goes against it again and flips the field, and one or two plays we get the fumble and then we score on offense. I’m really proud of our football team—wins are hard to come by. This was a really good South Alabama team running the football. [South Alabama head coach] Major Applewhite does a phenomenal job on offense and with his team, and [South Alabama defensive coordinator] Todd Orlando, defensively, does a great job of keeping you off-balance with his blitzes. And so, let’s just enjoy this win. I’m proud of how they played, proud of how they competed. I thought that this team played together and fed each other well at different points of time in the game. We have to tackle better in the first half—I think that was really a big concern. We didn’t tackle as well as we could have in the first half. Second half, Coach Luke Olson and his staff did a great job of adjustments and the players did a good job of handling them, able to get a shutout in the second half. And then we got the touchdown to put us up by 15. It’s going to be a fun drive home, and I’m glad to stay undefeated in Sun Belt play. We’ll enjoy this one, and then go take on a good Troy football team next week.”
Cumbie on LA Tech’s second-half defense over the past couple weeks…
“They just play really well together; they’re smart football players and they take coaching really well. I think that anything we do, from an adjustments standpoint or any tweaks we make at halftime, or even between drives our players are able to apply it. I think they take a lot of pride in how they play, and they understood when we got in at halftime that it wasn’t enough to the standard of how they can play and there was room for them to be better, and they did that. There’s a bunch of different guys defensively that stepped up—MJ Moultrie, I felt like he played a really physical game at the star position, and I was so proud of Janard Lockhardt—he’s down about missing the interception before halftime, and responds with getting his one to seal the end of the game. I’m proud of how they played, and it’s good to get this win and get to start another streak with two quarters of scoreless football.
Cumbie on OC Nathan Young‘s deceptive playcalling, especially in the first half…
“I thought he did a great job of attacking South Alabama and keeping them on their heels and toes. Marcus Calwise had a big game, Trey Kukuk, again, is just a freaking football player and finding ways to get him the ball, finding ways to get him on the field—he does play quarterback, and he’s a really good quarterback and we can win with him at quarterback, as we had proven against Army. But how many guys are going to be willing to line up in the backfield and lead up on an outside linebacker like he did today without flinching? I think that’s the epitome of our team, is guys are selfless and they don’t flinch. Rayshun Hurt got the big screen play on the second drive of the game, and that really got our players on offense to relax, settle in and execute what’s called. Each week, Coach Young and his offensive staff have done a really nice job of finding ways to attack a defense.”