By MALCOLM BUTLER, Lincoln Parish Journal
RUSTON – Sophomore Omiri Wiggins rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns and the Bulldog defense recorded its first shutout since the 2019 Independence Bowl as Louisiana Tech wrapped up its season by dumping Kennesaw State 33-0 Saturday at Joe Aillet Stadium.
Tech (5-7 overall, 4-4 in Conference USA) dominated the Owls (2-10, 2-6) in all three phases of the game.
“I am extremely proud for our players,” said head coach Sonny Cumbie. “I am happy with the way they finished. Really proud of our coaching staff, finishing the season in the manner of which we won. It has been a long time since this program had a goose egg up there.
“Offensively, our guys did a great job of controlling the line of scrimmage. I want to use this game as a springboard. Our goal is to win conference championships and bowl games. That is where our focus is always been, we have had a hard time getting to that moment.”
The Bulldogs totaled 28 first downs to Kennesaw State’s eight and outgained the Owls 443-146. It was the first time in the 113-game history of the Owls program that Kennesaw State had been blanked on the scoreboard.
“It is amazing,” said senior defensive lineman Mykol Clark. “This is a together group. The whole unit, the whole team, we wanted to go out there and do it for each other. We fought for each other. It was a great way to go out.”
After Tech’s defense forced a three-and-out in Kennesaw State’s opening possession, Solo Lewis returned the punt 49 yards, giving the Bulldogs the ball on the Owls’ 26-yard line.
Despite struggling this year in redzone opportunities, it took Tech just five plays to find the end zone as Wiggins scored from four yards out to give Tech a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
“Everybody was doing their job,” said Wiggins. “The whole 11 did what we were supposed to do. We wanted to start off fast and we did that.”
Despite playing without leading tackler Kolbe Fields (injury), Tech’s defense forced a three-and-out on Kennesaw State’s first four possessions of the game, and only allowed the Owls to move inside the Bulldogs side of the field three times in the contest.
“Our defense is difficult to play against,” said Cumbie. “The secret and the edge is they believe in one another. Coach (Jeremiah) Johnson and the staff came in here and poured into our players. They built trust. That is why they play as hard as they do. They do it with a tenacity, they fly around and play physical. I am glad they got the shutout.”
Tech upped the advantage to 14-0 on a second-quarter six-yard Wiggins run. The Bulldogs ran for 210 yards and averaged 5.0 yards per carry.
Tech’s Buck Buchanan connected on a 55-yard field goal with less than a minute before halftime to make it 17-0.
Late in the third quarter, after a Patrick Rea punt pinned the Owls on their own 1-yard line, the Bulldog defense tackled Kennesaw State QB Davis Bryson in the end zone for a safety.
After the free kick following the safety, Tech took just four plays to drive 63 yards in less than two minutes as Wiggins exploded for a 35-yard TD.
“I feel like I improved in being patient, letting everything develop in front of me,” said Wiggins.
The only drama remaining in the game was whether the Bulldogs would complete the shutout.
After the Owls recovered a fumble on their own 40, they drove to the Tech 20-yard line and faced a fourth-and-two. Tech’s defense chewed up the Owls with a sack.
“I would be lying if I said we weren’t aware of the shutout,” said Cumbie. “Our guys deserved it after the way they have played this year.”
It was the first shutout recorded by a Tech team in a regular season game since the Bulldogs blanked New Mexico State 44-0 in the regular season finale in 2011.
Contact Malcolm at lpjnewsla@gmail.com