Ferguson and Hale named C-USA Players of the Week

RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech had a pair of football players named the top dogs in Conference USA after Jaylon Ferguson was named the Defensive Player of the Week and Bailey Hale was awarded the Special Teams Player of the Week, it was announced by the league office on Monday afternoon.

Both Ferguson and Hale helped lead Louisiana Tech to an impressive 29-27 road win over North Texas on Saturday night in the C-USA opener at Apogee Stadium in Denton.

Ferguson set a new career high with four sacks in a single game to help lead the Bulldogs to a win over North Texas, the preseason West Division favorite. That mark, as well as four tackles for loss, are both tied for the second-most in program history, while the nation’s active leader in career sacks upped his career sack total to 33.5. Ferguson is only 4.5 sacks away from tying the Louisiana Tech record for career sacks and has now registered at least half a sack in each of the last seven games dating back to last season.

The senior defensive end totaled six tackles overall in the win and had two QB hurries, while he and the Bulldog defense held the Mean Green to a season-low 27 points. North Texas came into the game having scored at least 44 points in each of their four games this season (averaged 48.8 points per game), while they had also scored in all 16 quarters this season prior to Saturday’s game. The Bulldogs shut them out in both the second and fourth quarter.

Louisiana Tech kicker Bailey Hale came into Saturday’s West Division matchup at North Texas having attempted just three field goals on the season. But in LA Tech’s victory over the Mean Green, he attempted five field goals and connected on all five, tying a Louisiana Tech program record for most field goals in a single game. Hale set a new career-long with a 42-yard field goal, which ended up being the game-winner for the Bulldogs in the C-USA opener. His previous career-long as a Bulldog coming into Saturday was 24 yards. Hale was also a perfect 2-for-2 on extra-point attempts in the win as he accounted for 17 of LA Tech’s 29 points on the night.

LA Tech will continue league play this weekend when the Bulldogs host UAB at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6 at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston.

Season and single game tickets are on sale and can be purchased by calling 318-257-3631 or online at LATechSports.com/Tickets. The LA Tech Ticket Office is open Monday through Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and is located on the concourse on the east side of the Thomas Assembly Center.

For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, please follow Louisiana Tech on social media at @LATechFB (Twitter), /LATechFootball (Facebook) and @LATechFB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com.