Final Stats | Final Stats (PDF) | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery

RUSTON, La. - Jeff Driskel threw four touchdowns and Kenneth Dixon scored twice to lead Louisiana Tech to a season-opening 62-15 win over Southern before the second largest crowd in Joe Aillet Stadium history Saturday night.

Driskel, the Florida fifth-year transfer, was 12-of-15 for 274 yards and the four scores while playing only a quarter and a half as 27,905 fans witnessed the former Gator signal caller torch the Jaguars defense.

"It was a great atmosphere and I want to praise Southern and their fan base and our fans," said Tech head coach Skip Holtz. "I cannot credit the seniors and leadership on this football team enough. I say this all the time, but I love this team. I love their character and their work habits. I think we have a group of young men who are fun to be around and to coach. I am really proud of them and the way they handled themselves. I thought it was impressive the way they came out.

"It was a game that we are supposed to win. We went out there in the first quarter with our ones and they went in and put their foot down and said this game was about us and the standard that we have. We certainly did not play perfect tonight. I thought there were a lot of bright spots and a lot of positives."

With the Tech offense clicking on all cylinders and the Bulldog first team defense keeping Southern out of the endzone, the Bulldogs built a 52-8 halftime advantage. Even the Tech special teams units got into the scoring action when West Monroe product Paul Turner returned a punt 45 yards for a score midway through the first quarter.

Dixon tied former Wisconsin Badger Ron Dayne for 10th place in NCAA history in touchdowns scored with 63, scoring on a 55-yard pass from Driskel for the games first TD and then racing 65 yards untouched early in the second quarter. Dixon recorded his 18th career 100-yard rushing game, totaling 106 yards on only nine carries.

Driskel also connected on TD passes to Trent Taylor for 22 yards, Marcus Gaines for 27 yards and Paul Turner for 58 yards while also scoring on a six-yard keeper with 6:33 to play in the second quarter, giving Tech the 52-8 advantage. Holtz then pulled the vast majority of his starters as the Tech second and third teamers played the final two and a half quarters.

After the opening kickoff was delayed nine minutes due to a lightning strike that chased both teams into their locker rooms during pregame warmups, the Bulldogs came out and created their own lightning strikes with big play after big play.

Tech (1-0) took a 24-0 lead 14 minutes into the game, which included a 34-yard Jonathan Barnes field goal. Barnes also connected on a 43-yarder late in the fourth quarter for the final points for either team.

Southern's special teams then struck when Willie Quinn returned a kickoff 100-yards, cutting the Tech advantage to 24-8. The Bulldogs then responded by scoring four straight touchdowns within a seven-minute span to put the game out of reach.

The second half saw Southern score first on a 1-yard TD run by Lenard Tillery. Tech added a 22-yard TD pass from Ryan Higgins to Marlon Watts and Barnes' 43-yard FG. Higgins finished 8-of-11 for 76 yards, one score and two interceptions. Red-shirt freshman QB Price Wilson saw his first college action, hitting 1-of-3 passes for 30 yards.

Twelve different Bulldog receivers caught passes, including eight different receivers that had at least one catch of 20 or more yards.

Tech outgained Southern 587-300, including 207 yards rushing and 380 yards passing.

Defensively, Tech was led by Lloyd Grogan (6 tackles), Michael Mims (5 tackles) and Secdrick Cooper (5 tackles) while Xavier Woods and Nick Thomason both registered interceptions. Tyler Porter and Vontarrius Dora each recorded a sack in the game.

The win marked the seventh straight season openers at home, dating back to 1995. The 62 points were the most scored by a Tech team in a season opener since Aug. 26, 2000 when the Bulldogs scored 63 against Mississippi Valley State.

Tech is 5-0 all-time against Southwestern Athletic Conference teams.

The Bulldogs will return to action Thursday night at 7 p.m. when they travel to Bowling Green to face WKU in the Conference USA opener for both teams.