Louisiana Tech comeback falls short in loss to WKU

RUSTON – Down by as much as 28 points, Louisiana Tech made a furious rally in the second half but fell short with a 35-28 loss to Conference USA preseason favorite WKU on Thursday night at Joe Aillet Stadium.

WKU (4-2, 2-0 CUSA) dominated the first half, outscoring LA Tech by a score of 35-7 which included 35 unanswered points. LA Tech (3-4, 2-1 CUSA) ended up shutting out the potent offense of the Hilltoppers in the second half though and chipped away offensively.

After scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter and another in the fourth, the Bulldogs had the ball with less than two minutes to go to drive down to tie or win the game. However, Jack Turner, who made his third straight start in place of the injured Hank Bachmeier, was picked off ending LA Tech’s hopes of a dramatic comeback.

The ‘Dogs grabbed the momentum early, intercepting Austin Reed on the second play of the game. It was Cedric Woods who came up with the INT and then it was Tyre Shelton who turned that turnover into points with a 25-yard touchdown run up the middle.

It was all WKU the rest of the half though, scoring on five straight offensive possessions. Three of those was Reed finding Malachi Corley for receiving touchdowns (70 yards, 48 yards, and 29 yards). The others were a 56-yard touchdown up the gut by Markese Stepp for 56 yards and a run punched in from the 1-yard line by Davion Ervin-Poindexter.

The Hilltoppers never scored again. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs were creeping back into the game, starting with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Turner to Kyle Maxwell on fourth down. After the defense got a fourth down stop, Turner sliced the deficit in half with a 1-yard rushing TD to the right with 3:13 remaining in the third quarter.

Missed opportunities ensued on the next two offensive drives – a bad snap plus a sack forced a punt on one and came up empty on the sixth attempt on fourth down on the other, this one inside WKU’s 10-yard line.

However, LA Tech still had life after forcing yet another three-and-out, but this time going six plays, 47 yards with Shelton scoring from one yard out to make it 35-28 with 3:09 still to play.

The Hilltoppers thought they had finally picked up a first down (only had two the entire second half), but instant replay ruled that Reed’s knee hit the ground prior to reaching the first-down marker. WKU was set to go for it on 4th-and-1, but a false start forced them to punt the ball back to the Bulldogs.

With two minutes still remaining, Turner connected with Smoke Harris for an 11th time for no gain (had a team-high 117 receiving yards for the game), but his next pass was intercepted to seal it for WKU.

Turner finished 21-of-41 for 259 passing yards and one touchdown to go along with one rushing touchdown. On the ground, Shelton notched his third straight 100-yard rushing game with 118 yards and two scores.

QUOTABLES

Head Coach Sonny Cumbie

“I told our players at the end of the game for as bad as our first half was it was probably one of the worst halves of football that we have ever been a part of. I was so proud of how we finished and responded in the second half. To hold an offense like that to zero points in the second half and score 21. We did not score enough and did not hold them to one less. That was our objective. I am very proud of our fight and second half and how our kids came out and responded. I love coaching this team. They are a great group. We have to start faster. You guys have asked me that and it has been obvious for as poor as the first half was it was a great effort in the second half. I am really proud of our team and how we responded. It is time for our mindset to shift around here from the standpoint of playing games like this against a WKU team that is very well coached. They are big, fast and they have an explosive offense. We do too and it is time for our guys to start believing that as they carry themselves in practice. It is time for them to start believing in starting games with the thought process to play well and win football games in these type of environments because we can Belief goes a long ways. We have a strong belief in our team and strong belief in how we finish football games. First half we did not execute we have to catch the ball better. We did not tackle well. We did not defend well. What they were doing in the first half was not anything that we weren’t ready for… In the second half we did all of those things and that is what I told them. We are capable of it and do not let it get to a point where we are behind or digging a hole. Let’s find a way to start football games like we did in the second half.”

Smoke Harris

On the slow starts to the game costing them games..
“It’s really not, not the defense or anyone else doing, it is all us. We just have executed one on one and everyone has to do their job 1-11. Everyone has to tone in and execute, make sure they are at the right spot at the right time, and technique etc. We just have to make plays, we have to catch the ball better, and just win versus your man.”

On the drop passes in the game…
“We have to watch the ball all the way in. We were trying to make plays and trying to catch up. We were pressing too much and we needed to relax to make the play you can. You can’t make a 28 point play every time. You just have to make one play at a time and we’ll be alright.”

On the second half comebacks and having to be frustrated starting out slow…
“I wouldn’t say it is frustrating, I would say we just need to start fast. Everyone knows what we are capable of it’s just all out there for us. We just have to make plays. We will do what we have to do to start fast from here on out.”

On the turnaround for Tuesday’s game…
“We just move forward taking it one game at a time. We have to go 1-0 each game. It’s a quick turnaround but we are built for it.”

Roderick Roberson

On second half adjustments…
“I feel like we played more with a purpose in that second half and executed more. We really did start off slow, just weren’t winning our one on ones, and weren’t executing our calls but in the second half we started playing with a purpose.”

NOTABLES
With the 35-28 loss, LA Tech and WKU are now tied in the series, 5-5. This marked just the second time in six games the Bulldogs lost to the Hilltoppers in Ruston.
Jack Turner threw for a touchdown for the fourth straight game. It was also the second game this season he has both thrown for and rushed for a touchdown.
Tyre Shelton rushed for a game-high 118 yards, his third straight game over 100 (first Bulldog to do so since Boston Scott in 2017). He has registered at least one rushing touchdown in all four games he has played in this season.
Smoke Harris tied his career high with 11 receptions. It marked the third time this season and the fourth time in his career with 10+ catches in a single game.
Smoke Harris registered his fourth career 100-yard receiving game with 118 yards.
Smoke Harris now has 273 career receptions (3rd most all-time) and 2,598 career receiving yards (9th most all-time). He became the 11th Bulldog in program history to eclipse 2,500 career receiving yards.
Smoke Harris extended his streak of catching at least one pass to 39 straight games. The last Bulldog to catch at least one pass in 40 consecutive games was Trent Taylor (2014-16).
Roderick Roberson recorded a game-high and career-high 10 tackles.
Cedric Woods registered his second interception of the season and fourth of his career.
Smoke Harris had 70 punt return yards, his second straight game with at least 70 (fourth time in his career with at least 70 in a single game). He ended up totaling 208 all-purpose yards.
QUOTABLES

UP NEXT
LA Tech will have a short turnaround as the Bulldogs travel to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to face Middle Tennessee on Tuesday, Oct. 10. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.

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