Tech can't quite upset NC State

Louisiana Tech looked to be on the verge of the biggest win in the Sonny Cumbie era Saturday on the road at NC State.

Up 17-6 at halftime, holding the explosive Wolfpack offense to just 117 total yards, two field goals, and 2-7 on third down, LA Tech seemed to have all the momentum with a chance to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2020. Jack Turner, returning from a week one injury, was firing deep shots to Tru Edwards and Marlion Jackson, along with a rushing touchdown by Donerio Davneport, to lead big at the break. The Tech defense had an interception and Buck Buchanan nailed a career-long 57-yard field goal.It was happy times inside the Bulldog locker room at the break.

But then, in what’s become an all-familiar theme of poor execution for the Bulldogs over the last three seasons, Tech failed to build off its first-half momentum and gave NC State enough opportunities over the final two quarters to fall 30-20 in a game that was there for the taking.

“I think we really fed off each other from all three sides of the football – offense, defense, and special teams in the second quarter. I think that was a testament to our kids and their resiliency,” Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie said. “We knew that NC State was going to come out in the second half and they did a great job. We did what we couldn’t do on our first drive where we give them six points. Credit to them. They did a great job. They really answered the bell in the second half, and we didn’t execute on either side of the football at the level needed to beat a football team of the caliber of NC State.”

After punting on its opening drive of the second quarter, Tech looked to be on the verge of letting NC State sneak by with a sloppy win after the Wolfpack went up 6-0 on a 35-yard field goal with 5:29 left in the half. But out of nowhere, the Bulldogs took control.

On Tech’s ensuing drive, Jack Turner hit Marlion Jackson for a 16-yard pass and rushed for a 10-yard scramble himself. Two plays later, Turner launched downfield for a great catch for 41 yards to Edwards to set up the Bulldogs inside the 5-yard line. Donerio Davenport cashed in for the score to put Tech in front 7-6 with 2:41 to go in the half.

But Tech was far from done, especially with NC State turning to true freshman quarterback CJ Bailey after starter Grayson McCall left the game with an injury. After the Wolfpack punted once again, LA Tech took one play to go up 14-6 on a 71-yard catch-and-run by Edwards, jumping over defenders and cutting outside for the biggest play of his career.

Bailey showed his freshman inexperience on the following Wolfpack drive, as Tech linebacker Kolbe Fields picked him off – leading to Tech kicker Buck Buchanan making a 57-yard field goal.

Tech was going to come out of halftime up 11 on the road with the ball to start the third. The program’s first win over a Power 4 opponent since 2019 seemed possible.

And then, a second half to forget started.

Three plays into the third, Turner was pressured freely off the edge, forcing him to throw the ball right into the arms of NC State’s DK Kaufman for a 33-yard pick six. It proved to be the turning point of the game and Cumbie acknowledged as much postgame.

“We gotta be able to pick that up and see that,” Cumbie said of the pick six pressure. “We had man coverage with the pressure, and I think we had a chance to throw the football in the flat to Jay or Tru and just weren’t able to get it to him. It was really a critical error that gave their team, the crowd, the life they needed and the life we didn’t need to give it. And we did that.”

NC State kept grinding Tech down with its true freshman quarterback on its second drive of the third quarter to retake a 20-17 lead.

The Bulldogs needed a response and seemed to get it as Turner connected with Jay Wilkerson for two, 30-yard passes to get inside the NC State 3-yard line. But getting the final three years proved to be challenging as Tech settled for a 20-yard field goal to tie the contest at 20-20.

The Bulldogs wouldn’t have another chance to score, while NC State made a 53-yard field goal and got a 1-yard touchdown run from Bailey to get to its final 10-point margin.

After leading 17-6 at halftime, Tech’s offense had a pick six, punted twice, settled for a field goal after getting to the 3-yard line, and turned it over on downs on the NC State 31.

As for the final drive, ending with an incomplete pass by Turner on 4th and 1 with the Bulldogs choosing to have him roll out on a play-action pass, Cumbie said the decision to not run the ball was because of NC State’s dominance up front.

“It was a play-action off our jumbo-set, which going back to last season in terms of self-scout out of that formation we’ve thrown the ball zero times. And so that was the first time that we’ve done it,” Cumbie said. “We did it really off the same play that we ran to Jimmy around the edge, and they did a good job. They stayed disciplined in terms of being in man coverage. We knew we needed two scores, and when you’re in 4th and 1, like I said earlier, I think they made it very difficult in terms of running vertically in short yardage situations. They do a nice job. And so, we were going to try to get Jack out on the edge. They blitzed in his face, and they did a nice job covering it up on both of our receivers.”

Turner finished the game 19-36 for 281 yards, 1 touchdown, and the pick-six. Edwards had 148 receiving yards and a score, while Wilkerson had 4 catches for 85 yards. CJ Harris led Tech with 10 tackles and 3 TFL. Demarcus Griffin-Taylor and Zach Zimos had 9 tackles each.

“You have opportunities in games against any opponent and you gotta maximize them. And there with situations where we didn’t. that was the difference in the football game,” Cumbie said.

The Bulldogs (1-1) return to Joe Aillet Stadium next Saturday to host Tulsa (1-2).