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Jeff Driskel hit Kenneth Dixon for a 55 yard touchdown pass to start the game for a Louisiana Tech and the Bulldogs were off to the races. After a Paul Turner punt return for a touchdown made it 14-0 Bulldogs, Jonathan Barnes added a field goal to make it 17-0.
Louisiana Tech never looked back as Driskel left the game in the second quarter and the Bulldogs led 52-8 at halftime. Dixon finished with 9 carries for 109 yards and a score along with 2 catches for 65 yards, including the 55 yard score.
Turner added 76 yards receiving and a touchdown and Trent Taylor had 60 yards and a touchdown grab of his own. Marlon Watts and Marcus Gaines also caught touchdown passes for the Bulldogs.
Driskel was the star of the night as he had 15 yards rushing and a touchdown to bring his touchdown total for the night to 5. Louisiana Tech rolled up 587 yards on offense.
The Bulldogs defense continued where they left off last season, as they held Southern to 300 yards and forced three turnovers. Courtney Wallace recovered a fumble and both Nick Thomason and Xavier Woods had interceptions. Lloyd Grogan led LA Tech with six tackles, while Secdrick Cooper and Michael Mims each had 5. True freshman Cornerback Ephraim Kitxhen had 4 tackles. Senior defensive linemen Vontarrius Dora and Tyler Porter each had a sack.
Skip Holtz was able to get his starters out of the game pretty early as the second team offense came in the middle of the second quarter. Holtz was able to get his young players a ton of reps and at the same time rest his starters for a quick turnaround at Western Kentucky on Thursday.
The night was a success in several facets for Louisiana Tech. The crowd of over 27,900 was the second largest in stadium history and the new Davison Athletic Complex was on full display in the south end zone.
Quarterbacks Ryan Higgins and Price Wilson both got plenty of playing time and backup running backs Jarred Craft, Blake Martin, Jaqwis Dancy, and Boston Scott all had carries on the night. Higgins was 8-11 with a touchdown pass to Marlon Watts after being picked off twice trying to hit Watts in the end zone.
True freshmen Immanuel Turner, Courtney Wallace, and Ephraim Kitchen all played as true freshmen on defense.
With Thursday's game at Western Kentucky less than five days away, the Bulldogs will have to get back up quickly. The Hilltoppers are coming off a win over Vanderbilt and despite not scoring on offense like they wanted, WKU still presents a much greater challenge for the Bulldog's defense.