Louisiana Tech: 2025 Independence Bowl Champions

 

A pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns allowed Louisiana Tech to overcome an anemic offense, four turnovers and a slew of penalties Tuesday to win the 49th Independence Bowl, 23-14 in Shreveport.

Louisiana Tech: 2019 Independence Bowl Champions

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs shut out the Miami Hurricanes, 14-0, in the Walk-On's Independence Bowl on Thursday.

The Bulldogs got an 8-yard touchdown run from J'Mar Smith late in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring.

Louisiana Tech had the first score when Smith passed 26 yards to Israel Tucker for a second-quarter touchdown. Bailey Hale's kick gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.

Tech drove 91 yards in 13 plays for the score. The Bulldogs got runs of 13 and 12 yards from Justin Henderson in the drive.

Both teams had opportunities in the first quarter, but were unable to produce any points.

On its first possession, Smith connected with Malik Stanley for a 39-yard gain to the Miami 32-yard line. But two sacks and a 15-yard penalty for a chop block effectively ended the Bulldogs' drive with a punt.

Then, later in the first quarter, Miami's K.J. Osborn returned a punt 33 yards to the Tech 48-yard line. The Hurricanes faced a fourth-and-5 from the Tech 32-yard line. Quarterback Jarren Williams scrambled for what would have been a first down, but a personal foul on the Hurricanes wiped out the first down.

Louisiana Tech: 2018 Hawaii Bowl Champions

HONOLULU -- Skip Holtz felt the need to refocus his players after they spent the better part of a week in paradise.

The sixth-year Louisiana Tech coach dressed down his team one night before the bowl game and it certainly appeared to pay off.

J'Mar Smith threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score in a big third quarter to lead Louisiana Tech to a 31-14 win over Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs (8-5) rallied from a 7-3 halftime deficit to secure their fifth bowl victory in as many seasons, a program first.

"I got a little bit upset (Friday) night, got a little emotional last night because I felt like we were here for vacation and the bowl game, not for the win, and I was wrong. These guys flipped the switch, they went out there and they played their tails off," Holtz said.

Defensive end Jaylon Ferguson, who had 2 1/2 sacks to become the NCAA's career leader, said Holtz's fiery talk ignited the Bulldogs.

"We thought it was just a typical meeting but he turned it up on us. He turned it all the way around on us," Ferguson said. "Being in Hawaii and waking up to the ocean view is relaxing, to be honest, and it felt like everybody was a little too relaxed. But after last night we were all dialed up. Me and my roommate, we stayed up and talked about it all night. We all knew Coach was upset. We know we came here to win. We know he wants to win, and everything that was said wasn't negative at all, it was to encourage us."

Smith threw for 285 yards on 19-of-31 passing with an interception. He tossed a 58-yard touchdown to Jaqwis Dancy and scored on a 4-yard run that was part of a 21-point third quarter.

Louisiana Tech took the lead for good on Israel Tucker's 5-yard TD run with 10:27 left in the third.

"In the first half I thought our defense played their tails off. Our offense had three turnovers, we shot ourselves in the foot, we had a number of foolish penalties, we just kept kind of shooting ourselves in the foot. But we came out in the second half, we kept banging that rock and the defense played 60 minutes. I'm proud of these guys, the way they came in, the way they competed," Holtz said.

Ferguson set the sacks record when he dropped Hawaii quarterback Chevan Cordeiro for a 2-yard loss late in the third quarter.

"The play that it happened on wasn't by me, but created by the effort on the back end," said Ferguson, who finished the season with 17 1/2 sacks.

His 45 career sacks broke the previous mark set by Arizona State's Terrell Suggs.

"Coming into the game, that wasn't my goal. The goal was to win the game in Hawaii. I could have had zero sacks tonight as long as we won the game," said Ferguson, selected MVP of the game along with Hawaii defensive end Kendall Hune.

Hawaii played without wide receiver John Ursua, who leads the nation with 16 touchdown catches. Ursua, sidelined with an undisclosed injury, was ruled out just minutes before the start of the game.

The Bulldogs had a Hawaii Bowl-record nine sacks, four by Willie Baker. Amik Robertson had two of their three interceptions.

It was the most sacks allowed in a game by Hawaii.

"They're really good," Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich said of Louisiana Tech's defensive line. "I think that's the best defensive front we've seen. They can get home with three (pass rushers), they can get home with four, they're an extremely talented group and I think they were motivated today."

The Rainbow Warriors (8-6) were just 2 of 14 on third down and got penalized 12 times for 140 yards.

Hawaii is 6-6 in bowl games and 4-4 in the Hawaii Bowl. The Rainbow Warriors lead the series against Louisiana Tech 8-3.

THE TAKEAWAY

Louisiana Tech: The Bulldogs entered with the 28th-best pass defense in the country, allowing just 193.6 yards per game. They held Hawaii's ninth-ranked passing offense to 168 yards, well below its average of 321.2 yards. Three of four starters in the secondary will be back for Louisiana Tech next season.

Hawaii: While the Rainbow Warriors were denied their second Hawaii Bowl victory in three seasons, they still improved by five wins from last year's 3-9 record and finished with the program's first winning season since 2010. All but three of 22 starters are expected to return next year.

"I think eight wins is a very encouraging step for this program, but we don't feel very good right now," Rolovich said. "When you take a step back and think about what this team has done, I think that there's a lot of positives."

A HAPPY RETURN

While it was the Bulldogs' first appearance in the Hawaii Bowl, it was Holtz's second win in two trips to the postseason game. He previously coached East Carolina to a 41-38 victory over Boise State in the 2007 Hawaii Bowl.

"I had the opportunity to bring one other team out here and I said to these players that this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip and we have the opportunity to make this trip and it will be a lifetime of memories," Holtz said.

UP NEXT

Louisiana Tech, which will have to replace three of its four starting defensive linemen and five of its 11 defensive starters next year, kicks off at Texas on Aug. 31.

Hawaii opens against Arizona on Aug. 24, its first of three consecutive Pac-12 opponents to begin the 2019 season. It will host Oregon State the following week before visiting Washington.

Louisiana Tech: 2017 Frisco Bowl Champions

FRISCO, Texas -- A fumble by SMU on the first snap of the game set the tone for Louisiana Tech in a 51-10 victory in the Frisco Bowl on Wednesday night.

"Oh yeah, it had us pumped," freshman Amik Johnson said. "I was so pumped I was about to run to the end zone, but Coach reminded me I had to celebrate with my team. At the end of the day that was kind of a big boost for us."

J'mar Smith threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score, Louisiana Tech's defense scored twice and the Bulldogs ended their fourth straight season with a bowl victory.

"It feels great," Smith said. "Defense put us in some great situations and they scored the ball when they caught interceptions, and we got to go out there with great field positions. It gives our offense a boost of confidence."

Smith completed 15 of 23 passes for 216 yards, and Teddy Veal caught four passes for 84 yards for Louisiana Tech (7-6). The Bulldogs led 42-10 at the half.

SMU (7-6) fumbled on its first offensive snap and turned it over on its first three drives and six times overall.

It was a disappointing debut for SMU coach Sonny Dykes against his former school. Dykes was 22-15 at Louisiana Tech from 2010 to 2012 before leaving for California in 2013. Dykes was fired by Cal a year ago, and spent this season as an offensive analyst at TCU before SMU hired him to replace Chad Morris on Dec. 11.

With most of the staff joining Morris at Arkansas, Dykes elected to coach the bowl game and installed graduate assistant G.J. Kinne as offensive coordinator for the bowl game.

It didn't have the desired effect.

"Clearly we didn't put our best foot forward," Dykes said. "We've got to give Louisiana Tech a lot of credit. They were ready to play, you could see they were a team that's been to bowl games and had a formula to get their team ready to play."

Smith gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard sneak with 7:43 remaining in the first quarter. Louisiana Tech had a short field to work with after Secdrick Cooper returned an interception 31 yards to the SMU 30.

Amik Robertson returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown less than a minute later, pushing the lead to 14-0.

"At the end of the day we knew (their quarterback) was going to make mistakes," Robertson said. "We just had to stay focussed dialed in and we knew eventually those plays would come."

SMU held onto the ball on its fourth drive, but couldn't reach the end zone and settled for a field goal after stalling at the 8.

On the ensuing kickoff, Jaqwis Dancy had a 65-yard return, setting up a 6-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Veal for a 21-3 lead.

Louisiana Tech returned another interception for a touchdown early in the second quarter. This time, Darryl Lewis had a 23-yard return down the sideline for a 28-3 lead.

"Once things spiraled out of control we tried to tell each other to stack up good plays on top of each other," SMU quarterback Ben Hicks said. "But that didn't really work."

Smith added touchdown passes to Veal and Kam McKnight, helping Louisiana set a school record for first-half points in a bowl game.

Trey Quinn scored SMU's touchdown on a 9-yard pass late in the second quarter. Hicks completed 19 of 33 passes for 127 yards.

THE TAKEAWAY

Louisiana Tech: The Bulldogs have won four straight bowl games. Three of those four bowl victories have come in the state of Texas.

SMU: SMU fell to 7-8-2 in bowl games and had its worst bowl loss since it lost the the 1983 Sun Bowl to Alabama 28-7.

Louisiana Tech: 2016 Armed Forces Bowl Champions

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Louisiana Tech senior quarterback Ryan Higgins was bawling like a baby even before Jonathan Barnes' game-ending kick went through the uprights to win the Armed Forces Bowl.

"As soon as (the holder) put the ball down, I felt like the kick was money," Higgins said. "Each person that I hugged after that, it was just getting worse and worse. .... I just couldn't be happier to send my class and this team out on a high note."

Higgins threw for 409 yards and four touchdowns, two each to Trent Taylor and Carlos Henderson, and Barnes' 32-yard field goal broke the game's fourth tie as the Bulldogs beat Navy 48-45 on Friday.

"Excellent win would be an understatement," coach Skip Holtz said.

"If you want to be a kicker, you live for that," Barnes said. "I'm lucky to be able to share it with a bunch of guys that are like my brothers."

The Bulldogs (9-5) drove for the winning score after Navy freshman quarterback Malcolm Perry ran 30 yards for a touchdown on his only play. Higgins was then 4 -for 4 for 58 yards on the final drive.

Navy (9-5), which was trying for its first consecutive 10-win seasons, instead ended with its third straight loss. The Midshipmen lost the American Athletic Conference title game before its first loss to Army since 2001.

"They made a few more plays than we did," coach Ken Niumatalolo said.

Taylor, the 5-foot-8 senior, set an Armed Forces Bowl record with his 12 catches for 233 yards, including a 51-yard TD just before halftime for a 31-24 lead, and joined Troy Edwards as the only Bulldogs with more than 4,000 career receiving yards. Henderson, a junior had 10 catches for 129 yards and finished this season with 19 TDs.

Perry, whose TD with 3:46 left tied the game at 45-45, came in after Zach Abey took a shot to the ribs on a play that led to a targeting ejection by Tech defensive tackle Jordan Bradford.

Abey, who made only his second start, ran for 114 yards and two scores and threw for 159 yards and another touchdown.

TAKEAWAY

Louisiana Tech: The Conference USA runner-up Bulldogs won their third straight bowl and reached nine wins for the third consecutive season, the first time as a Division I team to do that. After falling behind 21-17 early in the second quarter, the Bulldogs regained the lead on Henderson's 3-yard TD and never trailed again.

Navy: After being held to 270 yards rushing in the previous two losses, this was more like the Midshipmen triple-option offense. They had 459 total yards, 300 on the ground. Even so, it was a bitter end for Navy, which had won three straight bowl games -- a streak that started with an Armed Forces Bowl victory three years ago.

PENALIZED NAVY

The Midshipmen's 70 yards on penalties (seven) were their most under Niumatalolo. "We've been coaching nine years and we led the country in the least amount of penalties. I told those (officials) after this game we would be leading the country," he said. "I thought there were a lot of bad calls." Jarid Ryan had an apparent third-down interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter that was instead called pass interference.

HENDERSON HIGHLIGHTS

Both of Henderson's TDs were short (3 and 4 yards) and impressive. On his 3-yarder in the first half, he made a two-handed grab over the defender and got both feet in bounds. With just over 4 minutes left in the game, he had a leaping 4-yard catch when he reached around with his right hand for the catch in the back corner of the end zone.

HIGH MARKS

The 93 combined points made for the highest-scoring Armed Forces Bowl, surpassing California's 55-36 win over Air Force last year. ... Navy's Chris High twice had tying TD runs (24 yards and 9 yards ) on long Navy drives in the second half.

UP NEXT


Louisiana Tech: After Higgins became the third senior Bulldogs QB in as many seasons to throw for more than 3,000 yards, sophomore J'Mar Smith could be starting when the Bulldogs open next season against Northwestern State. WR Taylor will be gone, but Henderson has another season of eligibility and could be a prime target.

Navy: The Midshipmen go into the offseason with their first losing streak since they had a three-game slide in the 2014 season. They have a long wait before their first chance to snap that streak, in the 2017 opener at Florida Atlantic on Sept. 2.

Louisiana Tech: 2015 New Orleans Bowl Champions

It was quite the career capper for Louisiana Tech's seniors, as the Bulldogs rode a huge second half to a 47-28 New Orleans Bowl win over Arkansas State.

Louisiana Tech jumped out to a big 17-3 lead behind the arm of former Florida Gators quarterback Jeff Driskel and the legs of NCAA record-setting running back Kenneth Dixon. However, Arkansas State came back and tied the game up at 17 by halftime, and the Red Wolves answered the Bulldogs' first touchdown of the second half, as well.

But after that, Louisiana Tech pulled away, thanks in large part to Driskel. He threw for three touchdowns and over 450 yards in a dominating performance, as the Arkansas State secondary had no answer for the Bulldogs' passing attack.

It was a tough ending of the year for the Red Wolves, who went undefeated in Sun Belt play, including an impressive 40-27 win over Appalachian State. Quarterback Fredi Knighton rushed for 40 yards and a touchdown, but he struggled as a passer, completing just half of his passes. The defense just couldn't keep up with that kind of production.

Here are three things we learned from the game.

1. Jeff Driskel got his redemption

Driskel really struggled while at Florida under Will Muschamp, and he ended up transferring to Louisiana Tech. Driskel's decline with the Gators really began in the 2013 Sugar Bowl, when his team lost to Louisville, 33-23, despite coming in heavily favored. This New Orleans Bowl, also at the Superdome, gave him a chance at redemption.

"It's amazing how life works, I get another chance at making a memory at the Sugar Bowl," Driskel said, according to the announcers.

He certainly delivered, with three touchdowns and over 400 yards passing. It was a nice career capper, even if it was unexpected.

2. NCAA record for Kenneth Dixon

Dixon had himself a day, setting the career NCAA rushing and receiving touchdowns record with 87. He also set a New Orleans Bowl record with four touchdowns, and he did it while running out of his jersey number.

Dixon might lose the record to Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who plays Pitt in the Military Bowl, but this was Dixon's day to cherish.

3. Bad experience for the Sun Belt

The Sun Belt got a nice win from Appalachian State over Ohio, but the league had a chance to show that its champion could hang with a simply above average Conference USA team. Instead, Arkansas State, which laid an egg in the New Orleans Bowl after going through the Sun Belt slate unscathed. Bowl games really shouldn't determine how we think of conferences, but they do, and this isn't great for the Sun Belt.

Louisiana Tech: 2014 Heart Of Dallas Bowl Champions

DALLAS -- Louisiana Tech's Houston Bates had a career day against his former team -- his 4 1/2 sacks in the Heart of Dallas Bowl matched the number he had in three seasons at Illinois.

Bates, who graduated and transferred to finish his eligibility closer to home, was chosen MVP of the game after the Bulldogs beat the Illini 35-18 on Friday.

"It wasn't Houston Bates vs. Illinois. It was Louisiana Tech vs. Illinois," Bates said.

Kenneth Dixon scored one of his two touchdowns on an 80-yard reception and Xavier Woods scored on a 69-yard interception. The Bulldogs (9-5) also got touchdown runs of 16 yards from Jarred Craftand 28 yards from Blake Martin on a dark, overcast day at the Cotton Bowl stadium.

Illinois (6-7) struggled early with penalties and missed field goals, but got within three points onDavid Reisner's 43-yard field goal early in the fourth quarters. But Dixon scored his second TD from one yard out with six minutes left to make it 28-18 and the Illini couldn't answer.

Illinois appeared to have gotten a break when LaKeith Walls sacked Cody Sokol, causing him to fumble. Jihad Ward returned it 19 yards before Dixon forced a fumble and Sokol recovered. That drive was capped by Dixon's TD.

"The way the guys played, Kenneth and Cody and throughout the whole season, it's truly outstanding," Bates said. "It's something I'm going to live for the rest of my life. And if I die tomorrow, my life would be complete."

Tech coach Skip Holtz then asked Bates to skip the humble answer and say what it really meant to him to win.

"Unbelievable," Bates added with a huge smile.

"I know it's been an emotional week for him," Holtz said, "and I know it's been an emotional week to see him go out and do the things that he did."

Bates had an additional sack in the closing minutes negated when a teammate couldn't get off the field in time and the Bulldogs were penalized for having 12 players on the field.

Dixon became Louisiana Tech's career leader in yards rushing, finishing with 63 for a total of 3,410 in three seasons.

He is also the only FBS player with both a run and a reception of at least 80 yards this season.

Louisiana Tech went into the game tied for first place among FBS schools with 25 interceptions and first with 40 total turnovers forced. With Monday's two Illini turnovers, Tech converted turnovers into 198 points this season.

"I was just not giving up on the play," Dixon said. "I mean, he got the ball. He was running. I got behind him and just tried to do my best to get the ball back."

"I saw Kenneth coming and, what went through my head?" Holtz said. "`Get `im, Kenneth! Get `im! Get `im! Get `im!' And he got there. Great strip on the ball."

"That's the game of football to me," Illinois coach Tim Beckman said of the turnovers. "I think they've been very opportunistic in what they've done this year. We need to become that better, our defense. No question those were big, huge plays."

Tech led 21-9 lead at halftime after Reilly O'Toole's pass was returned for a touchdown by Woods midway through the second, but Illinois responded with a 3-yard scoring run by Donovonn Young. The 2-point conversion failed, though, but Reisner banked in a field goal to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 3.

O'Toole threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jon Davis early in the second quarter. He was 24 of 39 for a season-high 295 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Taylor Zalewski kicked a 27-yard FG in the first quarter for Illinois, which committed eight first-half penalties for 53 yards and missed two field goals attempts and an extra point.

Sokol, who began his collegiate career in the Big Ten at Iowa, completed 14 of 28 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown.

On Woods' interception, the pass was thrown ahead of Dudek, whose uniform appeared to be held by Tech's Bryson Abraham just before Woods made the grab.

"Reilly threw the ball where I was supposed to be," Dudek said. "Which I probably would have been had I not been held, but the ref didn't call it."