RUSTON – Louisiana Tech started its "new" season off with a victory on Saturday night as the Bulldogs claimed their Conference USA opener by way of a 41-31 win over the UTEP Miners inside Joe Aillet Stadium.
It was all LA Tech (2-3, 1-0 C-USA) in the first half, building a 30-10 advantage midway through the game. However, UTEP (3-4, 1-1 C-USA) chipped away with a pair of touchdowns to make it a one-possession game at 30-24.
The Bulldog offense had lost all of its rhythm in the second half, going 3-and-out on their first three offensive drives. It was close to being four straight with about nine minutes left in the game as they were facing a 3rd-and-2 on their own 21-yard line.
Arguably the play of the game happened on the next possession as
Parker McNeil and
Tre Harris hooked up for a 64-yard reception. Then on the very next play, McNeil found
Smoke Harris all alone in the end zone for a 15-yard score to put the game out of reach.
LA Tech was cruising early, scoring on four of its first five drives of the game.
Tahj Magee was the recipient of an 8-yard touchdown reception to open the contest. That was followed by a 38-yard touchdown by
Tre Harris to put the 'Dogs on top, 14-0, just five minutes into the contest.
Smoke Harris caught his first receiving TD of the afternoon with two seconds left in the first quarter to make it 20-3. In the second quarter, UTEP got a 5-yard rushing score from Deion Hankins while LA Tech got a 44-yard pick six by
Myles Brooks and a 28-yard field goal from
Jacob Barnes to make a 30-10 lead.
The Bulldog defense continued to keep the Miners at bay, recovering a fumble in the end zone and then stopping the visitors on back-to-back 4th-down plays. However, UTEP punched through a pair of touchdowns in the span of three minutes to make it 30-24 with 10:18 still to go.
Then came the 4-play, 87-yard touchdown drive for the Bulldogs, which included the long reception to
Tre Harris, to push the lead out to 38-24 after a converted 2-point conversion.
QUOTABLES
Head coach Sonny Cumbie
"We had a focus about us and I am proud of our response from last week. We made a conscience effort this week to take care of the football. Our offense was able to make plays. Our wide receivers showed up big tonight. We got knocked around a little bit in the third quarter. We gave up some plays over the middle and gave up some third-and-longs, but we tightened up. We were able to have a lead that forced UTEP to go for it in some situations. We made stops when we needed them and got takeaways."
NOTABLES
- LA Tech now leads the all-time series over UTEP, 15-3-1.The Bulldogs are 8-1 against the Miners in Ruston.
- LA Tech has now won six straight conference openers, the longest active streak in the league.
- Parker McNeil threw a season-high four touchdowns, giving him 12 on the season.
- Tre Harris registered a career-high 126 receiving yards, his second career 100-yard performance.
- Smoke Harris tallied two touchdown receptions, giving him a team-high four on the season and 18 for his career (one shy of cracking into the top 10 in program history).
- Smoke Harris ran his streak of games with at least one reception to 25.
- Griffin Hebert has registered at least one reception of 20+ yards in all five games this season (had a 28-yard reception against the Miners).
- LA Tech has had five plays go for 60+ yards this season (Tre Harris had a 64-yard reception against the Miners).
- Jaiden Cole had a career-high and game-high 11 tackles.
- Tyler Grubbs registered double-digit tackles for the third time this season, recording 10 against UTEP.
- For the second straight game, Willie Roberts recorded an interception.
- Myles Brooks notched a pick six, returning an interception 44 yards.It was the first pick six by a Bulldog since BeeJay Williamson against Southeastern in 2021.
- Buck Buchanan drilled a 52-yard field goal, tied for the 10th longest in program history (was the 30th career made field goal by a Bulldog of 50+ yards).
UP NEXT
LA Tech faces off against North Texas in Denton on Saturday, Oct. 15. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
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