Boxscore

RUSTON - On a night when the Louisiana Tech offense failed to potentially put the contest away in the first half, it was the Bulldog defense that made the play that won the game.

With UL-Lafayette driving deep in Tech territory in the final minute of play, junior linebacker Barry Robertson tackled wide receiver Dwight Linden on the Bulldog seven yard line as time ran out on the timeout-less Ragin' Cajuns, giving Tech a 24-20 win before 22,467 fans at Joe Aillet Stadium.

"I have never been through a game like that and I don't want to go through a game like that again," said Tech head coach Jack Bicknell, who saw his team improve to 2-0 on the year. "It seems like every big play we had there was a flag. It was a tough nasty game but we came out of it with a win."

Robertson's tackle ended a UL-Lafayette drive that started with 4:18 to play on its own 11-yard line. However, 18 plays and 82 yards later, it was the Tech defense that made a name for itself for the second straight weekend.

The Bulldogs looked dominant early on. Tech recorded 145 offensive yards in the opening 15 minutes of play but failed to score on three straight possessions inside UL-Lafayette territory.

On the first possession, the Ragin' Cajuns recovered a Tech fumble on their own three yard line. On its next possession, Tech quarterback Donald Allen made his one poor pass of the night which was intercepted by Ricky Thomas on the UL-Lafayette seven yard line.

Tech's third offensive possession ended with a Ryan Moats fumble on the Ragin' Cajuns seven-yard line.

"When you have three turnovers in the red zone in the first quarter, it's a nightmare," Bicknell said. "You almost figure that it is just not your day. We obviously have to get a lot better. But we are 2-0 trying to get better and that is a good feeling."

For the second straight game, Moats stole the show offensively, rushing 34 times for 257 yards and one score. It was the second straight game of 257 yards and Moats' fourth of over 200 yards in his career, setting a new Bulldog record for 200-yard games.

"It feels good to get the win," Moats said. "Those were the type of games last year we did not win. That was a fun win."

Tech jumped out to a 17-0 lead late in the second quarter thanks to a Brad Oestriecher 30-yard field goal, an Erick Franklin 19-yard touchdown pass from Allen and a Moats 13-yard run.

However, UL-Lafayette closed the game to 17-7 late in the half on a Jerry Babb one-yard run, giving the Cajuns the momentum. Thirteen straight Cajun points in the third quarter gave UL-Lafayette a 20-17 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs responded, marching 86 yards in 13 plays to regain the lead on an Allen three-yard touchdown run with 10:49 to play. Making his first career start for Tech, Allen finished the game completing 17 of 28 passes for 193 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The Bulldogs travel to Miami to face the Hurricanes at noon on Saturday.