RUSTON – Louisiana Tech opened Conference USA play with authority Saturday night, running past New Mexico State 49–14 at Origin Bank Field at Joe Aillet Stadium.
 
LA Tech (2-1, 1-0 CUSA) controlled the line of scrimmage from start to finish, piling up 353 rushing yards on 65 carries.  Quarterback Blake Baker, making his first start of the season, led the effort with 103 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while also throwing for 182 yards and a score.  Running backs Omiri Wiggins (68 yards, TD) and Andrew Burnette (41 yards, TD) added to the Bulldogs' depth in the backfield, with Clay Thevenin chipping in 68 yards of his own.
 
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10–0 first-quarter lead behind a booming 55-yard field goal from John Hoyet Chance and a 40-yard touchdown strike from Baker to Jalen Mickens.  Burnette's 11-yard touchdown run and a 42-yard pass from Trey Kukuk to Marlion Jackson stretched the lead to 24–0 early in the second quarter.
 
NM State (2-1, 0-1 CUSA) briefly clawed back into the game with two quick scores – Logan Fife connecting on long touchdown passes to Brodrick Malone (41 yards) and P.J. Johnson III (38 yards) – cutting the deficit to 24–14.  But LA Tech steadied itself before halftime, adding a short field goal by Drew Henderson to take a 27–14 lead into the break.
 
The third quarter was a punt fest with both teams combining for seven punts and zero points.  However, the fourth quarter was all Bulldogs.  The defense forced three total turnovers, including a pivotal play early in the fourth when Jacob Bradford scooped up a fumble and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown.
 
From there, the rout was on: Baker scored on a one-yard keeper and Wiggins broke free for a 17-yard score as LA Tech piled up 22 points in the final period.
 
While the offense wore down the Aggies with its rushing attack, the Bulldog defense clamped down.  LA Tech limited NM State to just 27 yards on the ground and shut them out over the final 30 minutes.  Kam Franklin and Jakari Foster each grabbed interceptions, while Kolbe Fields led the team with 10 tackles.
 
In all, LA Tech outgained New Mexico State 574–308, dominated time of possession by more than 11 minutes, and converted 11-of-19 third downs.
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Sonny Cumbie
 
"I thought, obviously, our kids played hard. They executed well today. I think these games like this in our conference are an anomaly. We'll take them every week, but we know, in Conference USA play, typically games are going to come down to a one-possession game. But nights like these, we'll take any chance we can get. It was a lot of fun to see our players break through, offensively in particular. I think Blake [Baker] started the game with a lot of confidence throwing the football. I thought he was not hesitant; I thought that he made plays with his feet. I think our offensive line took another step, and I think the unit that really took a big step besides our production in play of quarterbacks was our running backs. I thought they really played well, and a lot of the things they did well was blocking for the quarterback, whether it was in pass protection or the run game. So, I'm just excited for how they produce this week and how much better they got. You saw receivers make plays; different guys stepped up. Devin Gandy, Jalen Mickens, you saw Marquese Singleton Jr. make a critical third-down conversion on a screen on our sideline. A lot of it came down to those guys going out and executing the calls and playing with confidence, so I was proud of how we played in the first half. I think our team got hit in the mouth and I think we were a little wobbly at halftime, and we got our legs back under us in the second half on defense. Those guys flew around to the football, created takeaways, scored again. I think on special teams without watching it, I think it was a hit-or-miss performance. I think we did some really nice things in punt return. We made some penalties that we must eliminate, all the way around really. But any time that you can do it, and you win in the fashion that we won—and now the maturity of our team will be tested from the standpoint of how we handle this week. We'll enjoy tonight and get ourselves ready tomorrow and Monday for a good Southern Miss team at our place again. It's important we start the season off playing at home well, and we were able to do that."
 
Quarterback Blake Baker
 
On the shift on offense going into this week…
"This week of prep we just took it personally. We did the little things right, and when you do the little things right you often have good outcomes, so that was our mindset coming into this game."
 
On Coach Franklin's and Coach Cumbie's confidence in him…
"Coach Franklin told me Thursday that I would be starting off this game and just have to be blessed with the opportunity and go through it and go shine, the opportunity is yours."
 
On the jolt the defense gave the offense in the second half after three takeaways…
"You see them just competing every play and not giving up an inch, and that just motivates the offense. Things start going, plays are made. It was a lot of fun."
 
Defensive back Jakari Foster
 
On the "take it" mentality from the summer up to this point for the defense…
"It's really nice. We take it every day throughout the week, from Sunday to Friday. Everything is 'take it, take it, take it,' and then when we come out here on Saturdays it's what we do."
 
On the best part on winning over New Mexico State after falling to the Aggies in 2024…
"A conference win is a conference win, you know what I mean? Most important week is the next week. Glad we got the win, but we move on."
 
On if the Aggies scoring their second touchdown made it a different game…
"I wouldn't say a different ball game. I feel like, defensive-wise—there were rules that we have in certain coverages that we should've kept going into whenever they kept hitting those big, explosive plays. We had to figure out a way to overcome that, so we came in at halftime and talked about it for a while and after that we showed them."
 
NOTABLES

• With the win, LA Tech now leads the all-time series versus New Mexico State, 9-6.  The Bulldogs have now won five straight home-opening CUSA games.
• The Bulldogs improved to 9-4 in CUSA openers.
• LA Tech rushed the ball 65 times, the fifth most in a single game in program history.  It is the most ever by the Bulldogs in a CUSA game and the most since 2011.
• The Bulldogs rushed for 353 yards, tied for the 10th most in a single game in program history.  It is the most in a single game since 2013.  
• LA Tech's 49 points are the ninth most the Bulldogs have ever scored in a CUSA game (most since 2019).
• The Bulldog defense scored two touchdowns.  It marked the first time since 2016 that LA Tech has scored multiple defensive touchdowns in the same season.
• LA Tech registered two interceptions, bringing its season total to five (matching all last season).  This is the first time since 2013 that the Bulldogs have registered at least one INT in each of the first three games of the season).
• The Bulldog defense allowed just 27 yards on the ground, the fewest in a single game since 2014 at Southern Miss.
• Blake Baker rushed for a game-high 103 yards, becoming just the second quarterback in program history to rush for 100+ yards in a single game.
• John Hoyet Chance made a 55-yard field goal, tied for the third longest in program history.
• Kolbe Fields led the Bulldogs in tackles with 10.  It marked the fifth time in his Bulldog career he has recorded double-digit tackles in a single game.

UP NEXT
LA Tech will renew a rivalry on Saturday, Sept. 20 when the Bulldogs host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.  Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT at Origin Bank Field at Joe Aillet Stadium on ESPN+.
 
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