Boxscore

Louisiana Tech continued its dominance at home with a 31-14 victory over the San Jose State Spartans infront of 12,758 fans at Joe Aillet Stadium tonight.

The Bulldogs are now 4-0 at home this season and are looking for their first undefeated home record since their 2001 Western Athletic Conference championship season. The only obstacle remaining in the road is the Boise State Broncos on Nov. 26, who demolished Nevada 49-14 in Boise, Idaho tonight.

Tech (4-3, 3-1 WAC) moved into a third-place tie with Nevada in the WAC standings with the win, and Tech head coach Jack Bicknell knew it was a big win for his team to have a chance in the conference title race.

?That?s a big win for us against a very good team,? Bicknell said. ?We did what we had to do and made some plays. They have speed and talent, and after the first quarter, we really decided to play.?

The Spartans (1-7, 0-5 WAC) put a scare in the Bulldogs until the second half.
Tech sophomore running back Mark Dillard opened the first quarter scoring fest with a one-yard power run into the endzone only four minutes and thirty seconds into the game.

Then, San Jose State answered with an 80-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Adam Tafralis to Chester Coleman to tie the score at seven. It tied with a 80-yard touchdown pass at Florida for the longest play Tech has given up this season.

The Bulldogs continued to move the ball at ease on the Spartans? defense on their second drive, as they marched 68 yards on seven plays and finished the drive with an 18-yard touchdown reception by tight end Anthony James and went up 14-7.

But San Jose State showed the same offensive poise, tying the score at 14 with a one-yard run by James Callier.

Neither team scored in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs scored 17 unanswered points in the second half, highlighted by another Dillard touchdown scamper and a 55-yard touchdown completion from Kubik to senior wide receiver Eric Newman.

?I told them we were going against a good football team and we had to keep making plays,? Bicknell said. ?I also told them I can?t guarantee wins and losses, but if they play hard for 60 minutes, they?d have no regrets."

Kubik finished the night with a career high 329 yards passing, as he completed 18 of 33 passes with two touchdowns and only one interception. He entered the contest with only one interception in his last 126 attempts in Tech?s last four games.

Dillard ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, and senior wide receiver Seneca Chambers led Tech with six receptions and 78 yards.

Boise State and Fresno State both won tonight and are tied for first in the WAC at 4-0, while Tech and Nevada both stand at 3-1. The Bulldogs will continue their hunt for first place with a match-up at Utah State next Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be aired on ESPN Gameplan and picked up by Cox Communications for local viewers.