Louisiana Tech Struggles Early, Often In Loss vs. Oklahoma

Oklahoma jumped out to a 21 point lead in the first quarter, with Louisiana Tech offering little resistance. The Bulldogs did force a 4th down, but the Sooners easily converted.

As much as the LA Tech defense struggled in the first quarter, their offense looked disjointed. After two consecutive three and outs, Tech used a 22 yard run by Kenneth Dixon and a 15 yard penalty on Oklahoma to get down the field. After a snap hit Hunter Lee in the leg for a loss, Tech ended up settling for a long field goal that was blocked.

Tech's fortunes didn't improve early in the 2nd quarter as Cody Sokol threw an interception right off the bat. The Sooners immediately took the ball to the red zone where they settled for a 39 yard field goal to move the lead 24-0.

Tech would later recover a Trevor Knight fumble with just over 9 minutes left in the half. Again, the Bulldogs went three and out as Sokol struggled with accuracy.

Oklahoma took the ball and marched right back down the field to go up 31-0. Tech finally converted on 3rd down with under a minute in the half. Sokol stood tall and took a big hit as he hit Trent Taylor for a nice gain. Sokol would connect on four passes in a row on the drive, and after an incompletion, he hit Taylor again with 19 seconds to get down to the 13 yard line. After a sack pushed Tech back to the 20, the Bulldogs opted for a field goal to get on the board.

Down 31-3 at the half, Tech went to the locker room knowing they would see a steady dose of the Sooners rushing attack. Oklahoma's offensive line had already started wearing down the Bulldog's defense as they ran the ball effectively on their last drive of the first half.

In true Bob Stoops fashion, Oklahoma came out passing and used six plays to score a touchdown and make the score 38-3 with only a 1:29 off the clock. If the Sooners were going to run the clock down in the second half, it would have to wait at least one possession.

The Sooners didn't have to wait long as Tech one again went three and out. The Bulldogs appeared to get a three and out, but after a 5 yard illegal substition penalty made it 4th and 3, Oklahoma successfully went for the first down. An offensive holding call would help Tech force a 37 yard field goal attempt. It was good and Oklahoma went up 41-3 with just under 10 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Louisiana Tech would move the ball late in the 3rd quarter and they finally broke through when Kenneth Dixon scored to start the 4th. Any celebration was short lived as Oklahoma scored before Tech fans could get back from the bathroom. Tech was down 48-10 with 14 minutes still to go.

Oklahoma looked poised to score again with 7 minutes to play, but Houston Bates intercepted the ball and returned it to the Tech 34. Tech would March down the field and score a touchdown to get it to 48-16. It was a score in garbage time and they got the extra point blocked, but Tech played OU to a 28-16 margin over the last 3 quarters.

There were enough positives to build on. Louisiana Tech will have to turn around and be ready quickly, as thy travel to ULL in a week and to North Texas five days later. The new guys will have to learn to swim fast or the team may drown under a 1-4 start.