30 Years and Counting

The significance of Louisiana Tech’s move to the Sun Belt could not have been embodied in one game more than the incredibly emotional comeback victory against long-time rival ULL. The Cajuns had managed to capitalize on a multitude of Louisiana Tech mistakes late in the game and executed numerous explosive plays to jump ahead of the Bulldogs by 12 points with 11 minutes and 30 seconds remaining on the clock. ULL reached the endzone for the final time after a 23-yard run and subsequent 45-yard touchdown pass, a gut-punch for the Bulldog faithful that had remained in Joe Aillet to rally behind their team. To make it even worse, Tech’s next possession ended prematurely when a 3rd & 2 snap in ULL territory went 19 yards over the head of QB Blake Baker and forced a punt. While many distraught fans could not fathom the idea of overcoming the apparently dominant team in front of them, Tech’s players could not have cared less about the scoreboard. The defense returned to the field and forced a three and out immediately. Once Tech regained possession, they took nearly three minutes across eight plays to score and shorten the ULL lead to just five points: 26-31 with less than four minutes to play. Tech would need one more stop for the opportunity to take the lead with a touchdown. The Cajuns would attempt three straight runs that netted them only five yards and yet again the defense would force a three & out. On Tech’s final meaningful possession, they took another eight plays and almost two minutes to punch their way into the endzone and take a 32-31 lead. After a failed two-point conversion, ULL could walk off a win with a field goal, starting from their own 25 yard line in need of at least 35 yards to make a reasonable field goal. 

With 46 seconds remaining on the game clock, Tech fans began an uproar on every down. Joe Aillet Stadium transformed into a cacophony colosseum with noises of all kinds erupting from both sides of the stands. Claps, screams, yells, barks, bangs, clangs, you name it. Decibels previously unheard in Ruston were manufactured in those final 46 seconds. For fans it felt like an eternity, previous close games flashing through our minds as we knew so well what it felt like to be on the losing side of such circumstances. First down, the ball is snapped. A dropback for a pass, held in Lunch Winfield’s hands for nearly five seconds before being slung deep and uncatchable. Second down, the ball is snapped. Another dropback, this time held for even less time and released as another high, uncatchable ball. Third down, the ball is prepared to be snapped. The uproar grows louder. Louder than it had been all night. Even after losing some attendees over the course of this close game, the vibrations of sound were more jarring than ever before. The ball is snapped and Lunch fakes a handoff, shuffling in his pocket as his routes develop downfield. Within moments he sees pressure on his right from Emmanuel Oguns. He makes one final adjustment to avoid a sack and releases the football with a trajectory to the midfield. Louisiana Tech’s Jordan McCrae is waiting there for it. Leaping high above into the air, McCrae contorted his body to snag Winfield’s floating pass and fell down with full possession. A Louisiana Tech takeaway. In a stadium that could not have been any louder, the crowd managed the impossible to match what felt like an impossible triumph over the Cajuns. In their first meeting with the Cajuns in 11 years and their first Sun Belt game ever, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs extended their streak against the school from down south and began conference play 1-0. 

Winning Ingredients

Tech was in an interesting quarterback situation leading into this game against the Cajuns. For the past two games, Trey Kukuk had started under center amidst an injury to week one/two starter Blake Baker. Baker fractured his throwing hand against LSU back in September and needed surgery to recover from his issues. In Baker’s recovery, Kukuk heeded the call and led the Bulldogs to Waco (losing 19-36 against Baylor) and back home (to win 31-29) against Army. At the end of the game against Army, Kukuk rushed towards the sideline before being horsecollar tackled by an Army defensive player. Amidst the play, he unfortunately injured his ankle which was later determined to be a likely sprain of some kind. Blake Baker would enter the game to finish the final few offensive plays against Army and Kukuk exited the field. It was later announced that Blake Baker would start against ULL the following weekend with Kukuk’s involvement being a “gametime decision.” Luckily for Tech fans, if either one of these players are playing, success is sure to follow.

Blake Baker concluded this game with arguably his best single-game performance as a Bulldog. He went 32/42 passing with 319 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed for 35 total yards, including an incredible fourth down scramble into the endzone to begin the 12-point comeback late in the game. He was not afraid to throw to his playmakers and repeatedly layered his passes between defenders to whichever receiver he wanted to. Several of these passes were soaring bullets that could not have been thrown in a straighter line than they were. The passing prowess of Baker in this game could not be understated and it was a reminder of his abilities amidst the return to the starting role.

What a day for our pass-catchers this was. Talyn Shettron was targeted early and often in this game to propel him to being a clear third option for whatever signal caller is looking downfield. He racked up eight catches for 102 yards in this game with many being extremely athletic, handsy grabs that have begun to give Shettron a reputation for having an extremely reliable catch radius. Jalen Mickens was of course another heavily involved target for Blake Baker, seeing the ball nine times for 92 yards and an insane 50/50 touchdown grab towards the sideline early. He was also given the ball to score on a jet sweep-type play, barreling through defenders and continuing to show his relentless fight for this team. Eli Finley makes headlines again in this game, receiving lots of recognition across the internet for his performance in this game. Finley had nine catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns. His first score came on an incredible hurdle over defenders to put the dogs on the board and his second, the game winning touchdown late in the fourth. Another outstanding game for those that are getting the ball thrown to them and I’m increasingly excited for their contributions down the Sun Belt stretch.

Tech and ULL both had 34 attempts to run the ball in this bout and while the Cajuns did edge out the Bulldogs in rushing yardage, both teams were not as successful on the ground as they would have liked. Louisiana Tech lost star freshman rusher Dylone Brooks in the first quarter of this game, leaving a lot of the ball carrying workload in the hands of Andrew Burnette. Against a talented run-stopping squad, Burnette managed 6.1 yards per carry on 14 rushes and had a handful of important, momentum-starting breakout runs. He is a hard-nosed, powerful player who is impressing in his final year of college ball when given limited breaks in the run game. 

The Ball Hawks are BACK

Well the defense we saw in the first two weeks of college football has appeared to return to our presence now after much anticipation. Luke Olson’s famous “takeaway” scheme had its success against ULL this past weekend. After kickstarting the return of the interception last week, Jordan McCrae had another moment in this game to snag a ball thrown his way, as did Kameron Karter earlier in the night. The Bulldogs kept Lunch Winfield from establishing a rhythm as he was limited to a 58% completion rate on 24 total attempts. Tech does need to continue improving their prevention of explosive plays though, as they allowed several against a team that had little explosive potential heading into this matchup. Two 40+ yard passes allowed to two separate receivers is what allowed the Cajuns to jump ahead in the second half, as well as the long runs across several different backs. There are corrections to be made but the Bulldogs have returned to what we saw earlier in the year and are beginning to prevent opposing players from establishing momentum early. While Tech did give up an occasional explosive on the ground too, I liked what I saw from our tackles and linebackers again. Great pursuit and tackling, as there was last week against Army. The team managed to hold ULL to 160 rushing yards when they had previously been able to rack up over 200 on multiple of their opponents so far! I think the team knows how to get better over time, which is something that they have struggled to do in years past under Sonny Cumbie’s leadership. I’m confident now in the progression of this defense and really do believe that it is only up from here.

Conclusions

This was absolutely one of the most important wins in Joe Aillet stadium in recent history. Not only did this win extend the 30-year win streak against the Ragin’ Cajuns, this win marked the beginning of a new era in Ruston. An era defined by renewed rivalries and a return to an involved community that cares about the results of these football games. Having attended this game, I had never before seen so many students in attendance and it seems to be growing every week, as has the total attendance. Tech is beginning to invite the attention of those who had lost interest from years of struggle and play in foreign conferences. The current success of Tech’s team, as well as the matchups against teams that people genuinely care about beating have manufactured a new sentiment that has not been seen in years. I am here for the new era and after waiting so long for this day, I am going to savor the hell out of every week of this season. GO DOGS!!!