RUSTON – Louisiana Tech rode a dominant first half and a game-changing defensive score to knock off rival Southern Miss, 30-20, Saturday night inside Origin Bank Field at Joe Aillet Stadium.
 
LA Tech (3-1) posted all 30 of its points in the first half, building a 20-point lead at the midway point.  That was all the scoring the Bulldogs needed as the defense limited USM (2-2) to just two scores in the second stanza to win the renewed rivalry that dates to 1935.
 
The 'Dogs came out firing in the opening quarter.  Following a 3-and-out by the defense, LA Tech marched 74 yards in just two plays to grab the early lead on a one-yard keeper by quarterback Blake Baker.  Setting up the easy score was a 73-yard catch-and-run by tight end Eli Finley who was wide open over the middle.   
 
After the Golden Eagles quickly answered, kicker Drew Henderson booted a 24-yard field goal and Omiri Wiggins added a three-yard touchdown run to send the Bulldogs in front, 17-10, after one.
 
The second quarter proved decisive.  Linebacker Kolbe Fields jumped a route and returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown to give LA Tech a two-score cushion.  Just before halftime, Clay Thevenin powered in from a yard out to cap a 14-play, 80-yard drive, sending the Bulldogs into the locker room with a commanding 30-10 lead.
 
USM controlled much of the second half statistically – finishing with 514 total yards compared to LA Tech's 340 – but the Bulldogs' defense bent without breaking.  The Golden Eagles were stuffed on a goal-line stand in the third quarter and managed just a field goal and a late touchdown, never fully erasing the early deficit.
 
Baker finished an efficient 15-of-21 through the air for 239 yards and 29 yards on the ground.  Finley led all receivers with six catches for a career-high 155 yards.  Wiggins paced the ground attack with 49 rushing yards.
 
Defensively, Fields anchored the effort with nine tackles and the pick-six, while Mekhi Mason and Sifa Leota each added seven tackles.  The linebacker trio also combined for two tackles-for-loss, three pass breakups, and two quarterback hurries.
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Sonny Cumbie
 
"I'm excited for us to be 3-1 to start the season. I'm excited to win two games in a row for the first time in a long time. I think our players did a great job of starting this game fast, and I think being able to stack consistent performances—we've been able to do that since week one, two three and four. There's been some glaring improvements, but there's also some glaring things we must clean up. But I was just proud of our football team. I think it was a complete win, and when I say that — the offense, defense and special teams all took turns making plays. Really making plays together at times in the first half where we played well on all three sides of the ball. And I think in other parts of the second half our guys, whether it was the defense picking up the offense."
 
"The special teams — I thought John Hoyet Chance really had an effective game punting the ball. So, there's some moments on that where we make some bonehead errors that we've got to clean up. To win football games is important [and] we're excited to do that. Southern Miss is a good football team. I think the 20 players that came with them from Marshall — they won the Sun Belt last year — are all guys that are on their two-deep or guys that are playing a significant role in their football team, so I'm proud of our team from that standpoint."
 
"I think the All-Quarter Century team being here — really for our players, on Friday night had a chance to go through the list of those guys and talk about the accomplishments that those guys have had here, and in their career NFL-wise, but primarily here. The respect and appreciation that us coaches and our current players have, we are trying to create that because you have guys that are here for a year or two years and you want to let them know the rich history of this place, and we were able to do that last night. The way we wanted to show our thanks to those guys on the All-Quarter Century Team was we wanted to play really well and show them a sign of respect in terms of how hard we played and winning this football game in front of those guys that were here. We were able to do that, and excited for our football team as we get to 3-1 and looking forward to getting back into CUSA play next week at UTEP."
 
Tight end Eli Finley
Finley on the team's mentality to get the win:
"First off, I want to give all the glory to God. But there's always a lot at stake every week. No one week is more important than the other, so we had that mindset coming into the week, attacking every practice. Every time we get on that field there's one outcome that we want, and that's to win. So, that's how we attack every week."
 
Finley on his outstanding performance tonight after last week:
"It felt good, but at the end of the day I have to do my job. If my role that night is zero catches, then that's my role or I can play the role I played tonight. I'm willing to do whatever job, as long as we get the win."
 
Linebacker Kolbe Fields
Fields on the defense's performance this season having allowed just six touchdowns through four games:
"It's just a mindset. Every week we go in we expect to not let anybody score, and when people do score, we get surprised. Like I said, it's just a mindset. We go in thinking nobody is going to score on us, and we just go out there and play with everything we got."
 
Fields on what he saw on his pick six:
"All throughout the week we go to film study, and you usually get the same things from offenses week to week because they are who they are. Our safeties coach, Coach [Sam] Carter, he said anytime the back motions away they'll screen on the back side, so I just trusted it. They ran it on the second play of the game, and I tackled it, but you can't ever be satisfied with a tackle when you can go make a bigger play."
 
NOTABLES

• With the win, LA Tech now trails in the all-time series with Southern Miss, 18-36.  The Bulldogs have won three of the last four meetings.
• LA Tech picked up its 650th win in program history.
• The Bulldogs have won four straight at home (averaging 34.0 points per game) and have outscored their opponents 136-34 in those games.
• LA Tech improved to 8-0 all-time when scoring 30+ points against USM.  Each of the last six victories by the Bulldogs has coincided with scoring at least 30 points.
• The Bulldogs scored all 30 points in the first half, the most this season in the stanza.
• Three different Bulldogs rushed for a touchdown for the second straight game – Omiri Wiggins, Blake Baker, and Clay Thevenin.
• The Bulldog defense scored a touchdown for the third time this season (most since 2015). 
• Eli Finley registered a game-high and career-high 155 receiving yards.  It marked the first time since Dennis Morris (2009) that a Bulldog tight end registered 100+ receiving yards.
• Kolbe Fields posted his second career interception (first pick six).  It is the first pick six by a Bulldog linebacker since Trey Baldwin in 2021.
• Opponents are now 0-for-4 on fourth downs against the Bulldogs.  Southern Miss failed on two attempts.

UP NEXT
LA Tech will make its first trip out of state on Saturday, Sept. 27 when the Bulldogs travel to El Paso, Texas to take on UTEP.  Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
 
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