Boxscore

RUSTON - As Louisiana Tech head coach Jack Bicknell waited to talk to reporters following his team's win over SMU Saturday, he sat on the floor outside the hallway of the Bulldog locker-room, exhausted, running his hands through his hair but with a smile on his face.

"We haven't had one like this in a while," Bicknell said, referring to his team's relatively easy 41-10 win over the Mustangs at Gerald J. Ford Stadium before 13,117.

Bicknell's bunch jumped on SMU early and often and built a 38-10 halftime lead before coasting to its third straight Western Athletic Conference contest.

"When you play a good football team it is important to jump out early," Bicknell said. "That early run was huge and it is so important to get the lead and keep playing. This was an important game for us to get some momentum going. We have a big game next week (against UTEP), to it was nice to come here and get this win."

The Bulldogs accomplished the win over SMU with a dominating defensive performance that included forcing five turnovers, including four interceptions, and a balanced offensive attack led by the legs of Ryan Moats and the arm of Matt Kubik.

Moats rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns - 164 and all three scores coming in the first half - while Kubik set career highs with 303 yards passing and two scores, including a 93-yard bomb to Tramissian Davis to open the scoring in the first quarter.

"Plays like that are big time in any game," Kubik said. "To get points early kind of takes the wind out of the other team early and that is important."

On the fifth SMU play following the Kubik to Davis hookup, Jeremy Hamilton forced a fumble and safety Michael Johnson recovered on the SMU 42 yard-line. Two plays later, Moats took a handoff and bounced outside to score from nine yards out, giving Tech a 14-0 lead.

SMU quickly answered by scoring its only touchdown of the game, on a 23-yard pass from quarterback Tony Eckert to Reynaldo Pellerin with 5:23 remaining in the first quarter.

However, Moats - who was not only playing in his hometown of Dallas, Texas, but also in the stadium that bares the statue of former SMU running back Doak Walker, who is the namesake to the most coveted running back award in college football - dampened any hopes the Mustangs had of tying the game.

On the fourth play following the SMU score, Moats took a handoff and once again bounced outside and down the sideline for a 72-yard touchdown as the first quarter ended 21-7.

"It was exciting to come back (to Dallas) and do good," Moats said. "I was a little nervous to begin with because they made a big deal about me coming back. On the (72-yard touchdown run) I saw the corner and took it. The play was not supposed to go that way, but it just happened."

Following a Danny Horwedel 25-yard field goal to start the second quarter, Moats scored his third and final touchdown of the game on a 20-yard burst up the middle on a fourth down and one play.

Erick Franklin's 14-yard touchdown reception with 0:15 remaining in the second quarter closed out the scoring for Tech as the Bulldogs entered the halftime locker room leading 38-10.

The only scoring of the second half was a 37-yard field goal by Horwedel early in the third quarter.

Tech ended the game with 590 yards of offense, a season high, including 277 yards rushing and 313 yards passing.

Defensively, Tech was led by Corey Brazil who ended the night with a team-high eight tackles, including two tackles for loss, his first career sack and his seventh career interception.

Jerron Wishom, Dez Abrams and Hamilton each registered an interception on the evening while Lee Johnson recorded three pass break ups. As a team, Tech registered nine pass breakups and seven tackles for loss.

"I thought defensively, we were great," Bicknell said. "Anytime you forced five turnovers in a game, you know you are playing well on the defensive side of the football. I was proud of the effort of those guys. They set the tone for this game."

Tech returns to action Saturday when it hosts UTEP for homecoming. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.



Louisiana Tech vs. SMU Game Notes
Oct. 16, 2004 Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, Texas

Oh Captain, My Captain
Today's game captains for Louisiana Tech are defensive lineman Travon Brown, defensive lineman Chris Van Hoy, defensive lineman Jemelle Cage and tight end Aaron Capps.

www.ryanmoats.com
That's right! Louisiana Tech junior running back Ryan Moats now has his own website promoting him for the Doak Walker Award as well as All-American honors. The website which was unveiled by the Louisiana Tech Media Relations Office Friday contains biographical info, pictures, up to date stats, stories and a 10-minute video featuring Moats.

Road Woes End
With the win today, Louisiana snapped a string of five straight road losses dating back to last season. Prior to today's win the Bulldogs last road victory came in a 42-34 win over Nevada in Reno on Oct. 25, 2003.

Bombs Away
Matt Kubik's 93 yard touchdown pass to Tramissian Davis was the third longest pass play and third longest play from scrimmage (includes rushing plays) in school history and personal bests for both players. The Louisiana Tech record for longest pass play and longest play from scrimmage is 94 yards (Tim Rattay to Troy Edwards vs. Nebraska, Aug. 29, 1998; Denny Duron to Mike Barber vs. UL-Lafayette, Sept. 21, 1973).

Offensive Explosion
The 38-points scored by Louisiana Tech in the first half were the most scored by a Bulldog team since scoring 40 in the first half of a 53-9 win over Tulsa on Sept. 14, 2002. The 428-total offensive yards in the first half were more than Tech has recorded in any of its last four games (183 vs. Miami, 330 vs. Tennessee, 402 vs. Fresno State and 222 vs. Auburn).

Defense! Defense!
Louisiana Tech's defense intercepted four SMU passes on the evening, marking the first time a Bulldog squad had registered four or more in a game since picking off four against Timmy Chang and Hawaii in a 44-41 loss to the Warriors on Oct. 18, 2003. Tech entered today's game with only five interceptions on the season.

Kudos to Kubik
Louisiana Tech junior quarterback Matt Kubik set a career-high with 303 yards passing tonight, surpassing his previous career high of 254 yards vs. Tennessee earlier this year. His two passing touchdowns were also a career high.

Doak Walker, Anyone?
A) With his 72-yard touchdown run at the 4:03 mark of the first quarter, junior running back Ryan Moats eclipse the 1,000 yard mark for the season. He becomes the first Louisiana Tech player in modern day history (since 1968) to record two 1,000-plus rushing seasons. The run was also the second longest of his career and the ninth longest in Tech history. Moats finished the night with 186 yards rushing and three touchdowns to give him 1,114 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.
B) Ryan Moats' 20-yard touchdown run at the 8:49 mark of the second quarter (Moats third on the day) was the 22nd of his career, moving him into a tie for 8th place in the Louisiana Tech record books (Derrick Douglas, 1986-89; George Yates, 1977-80).
C) The 20-yard touchdown run was also Moats' 12th on the season, moving him into 8th place in a single season.
D) With his 9-yard run late in the first quarter, Doak Walker candidate Ryan Moats moved past Bobby Ray Tell (2,360 from 1996-99) and into seventh place in the Tech record books for career rushing yards.
E) The same 9-yard run also put Moats over 100 yards for the game for the 10th time in his career, which ties for the third most 100-yard games in Tech history.
F) A six-yard run on the first play of the third quarter moved Ryan Moats past Derrick Douglas (2,434 yards, 1986-89) into sixth place in the Tech record books. Moats finished the night with 2,454 career rushing yards.


Bulldog Bytes
A) The 93 yard touchdown reception by Tramissian Davis was his first of the season and the fourth of his career.
B) Jeremy Hamilton forced his first fumble of the season (first of his career) midway through the first quarter.
C) Safety Michael Johnson registered his first recovery of a fumble on the season (fourth of his career) on the same play.
D) Jerron Wishom's interception of a Tony Eckert pass at the 11:59 mark of the second quarter was his first of the season and the third of his career. It was also Wishom's second against SMU as he returned one 33 yards for a touchdown last year against the Mustangs.
E) Jeremy Hamilton's interception of a Tony Eckert pass at the 10:18 mark of the second quarter was the first of the season and of his career.
F) Erick Franklin's 14-yard touchdown reception with 0:15 remaining in the second quarter was his second of the season and the seventh of his career.
G) Corey Brazil's interception with 11:37 remaining in the third quarter was his second of the season and the fifth of his career.
H) Corey Brazil recorded his first sack of the season midway through the third quarter. It was also the first sack of his career.
I) Dez Abrams registered his first career interception late in the fourth quarter.