New Series | This is the first edition of a new series that I’m starting where I will be recapping every Bulldogs’ football season over the last decade, starting with 2013. Each article will be posted every Tuesday and Thursday and will conclude with a ranking of the teams and positions. This series will feature quotes from former players that played an instrumental role in the Louisiana Tech football program. If anyone has any recommendations for future editions, please feel free to comment and let me know. Thank you Bulldog fans!
2013 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Football
Head Coach: Skip Holtz (1st season)
Conference: C-USA (1st season)
Record: (4-8, 3-5)
Points Per Game: 19.2 (112th of 125)
Points Allowed Per Game: 26.2 (61st out of 125)
Strength of Schedule: -9.91 (125th of 125)
Team Leaders:
Ryan Higgins (166/281, 59.1%, 1,715 yards, 6 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 108.1 QBR)
Kenneth Dixon (151/917, 6.1 avg, 917 yards, 4 touchdowns, 14 receptions, 85 yards, 1 touchdown)
Sterling Griffin (33 receptions, 357 yards, 10.8 avg, 2 touchdowns)
IK Enemkpali (5.5 sacks, 11.0 tackles for loss, 47.0 total tackles, 2 interceptions)
Daniel Cobb (82.0 total tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 interception)
Adairius Barnes (4 interceptions, 49.0 total tackles, 1.0 sacks, 7 break ups)
Scores/Schedule:
@ NC State: 40-14 L
Vs Lamar: 27-14 W
Vs Tulane: 24-15 L
@ Kansas: 13-10 L
Vs Army(Cotton Bowl): 35-16
@ UTEP: 38-35 W
Vs North Texas(Homecoming): 28-13 L
@ FIU: 23-7 W
Vs Southern Miss: 36-13 W
@ Rice: 52-14 L
Vs Tulsa: 24-14 L
@ UTSA: 30-10 L
Season Breakdown
Transition
To say that 2013 was a season of transition for Louisiana Tech football would be a massive understatement. To start, Head Coach Sonny Dykes left the program after a successful three-year stint to become the head coach at Cal. Dykes brought offensive coordinator Tony Franklin with him to Cal to assume the same position. Defensive coordinator Tommy Spangler left the program to return to Presbyterian, but this time as the defensive coordinator, not as head coach. The changes would not cease with just the coaching staff, athletic director Bruce Van De Velde stepped down from his position after receiving a wave of backlash for butchering the 2012 Bulldogs’ opportunity to play in a bowl game. The Bulldogs went 9-3 and boasted the #1 scoring offense that season but missed out on the postseason due to Van De Velde declining a bid to play in the Independence Bowl versus ULM, in hopes to receive a bid to a more prestigious bowl game. Due to the drastic mishandling, 31 Bulldog seniors including stars like QB Colby Cameron and WR Quinton Patton did not have the chance to finish their careers with a bowl win. Lastly, Louisiana Tech left the WAC after the 2012 season after conference realignment caused the WAC to not participate in football in 2013. The Bulldogs would join a new-look C-USA, shifting dramatically from playing west coast opponents such as Utah State and San Jose State, to playing teams closer to the east coach such as Florida Atlantic, Florida International, and Marshall.
New Faces
With all the turnover that the Louisiana Tech football program experienced over the 2013 offseason, the Bulldogs had several key positions to replace. Starting with the head coach, the Bulldogs hired Skip Holtz, son of legendary college football coach Lou Holtz. Skip began his head coaching career at Connecticut, where he held a 34-23 overall record, including his final season where he led UCONN to a 10-3 season and an appearance in the Division I-AA(FCS) quarterfinal game. Due to his success, Holtz was hired by East Carolina, where he maintained a 38-27 record, including conference titles in his final two seasons. Holtz’s next stop was at South Florida, where he started off with an 8-5 campaign, but finished his 3rd season with a 16-21 cumulative record, leading to his firing and move to Louisiana Tech. Holtz chose Tony Petersen, the assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator at Marshall to assume the role of offensive coordinator. On the defensive end, Holtz hired Kim Dameron, the defensive coordinator at Cornell, to be his defensive coordinator. After the previous athletic director stepped down due to the bowl-game controversy, Louisiana Tech hired Tommy McCelland, the athletic director at McNeese State, to be their new athletic director. The Bulldogs made this hire with the hope that McCelland would bring stability and a solid culture to the athletic programs.
Kicking it Off
Louisiana Tech started the season with a first-year starter at quarterback in redshirt junior Scotty Young, a transfer from Texas Tech. The offense was expected to lean heavily on sophomore running back Kenneth Dixon, who was coming off a freshman campaign with 1,194 rushing yards, and 28 total touchdowns while averaging 6.0 yards per carry. On defense, the Bulldogs were highlighted by senior defensive linemen IK Enemkpali and Justin Ellis. Young and Dixon led the Bulldogs into Raleigh, North Carolina for Tech’s season opener at North Carolina State. The Wolfpack were also introducing a first-year head coach Dave Doeren, who came off an extremely impressive 23-4 stint at Northern Illinois. NC State jumped out to a 14-0 lead within the first 6 minutes of the game on a couple of short touchdown runs. Turnover would plague the Bulldogs’ offense all afternoon, losing four fumbles compared to only one turnover from the Wolfpack. NC State would extend their lead to as much as 24-0 on a 38-year field goal and another short touchdown run before the Bulldogs finally got on the board on a one-yard Tevin King rushing touchdown. Tech was able to cut the lead to 27-14 in the 4th quarter on a 12-yard touchdown run from Kenneth Dixon. This was the last push the Bulldogs would make, as the Wolfpack kicked two more field goals and added an 18-yard touchdown run, resulting in a 40-14 Bulldogs loss to start the season. Scotty Young had a mediocre first start, completing 15 of 27 passes for 178 yards, and throwing no touchdowns or interceptions. Dixon was a bright spot on the ground for Tech, rushing for 118 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. North Carolina State would finish the season with a 3-9 record and did not win a single conference game.
After getting the first game out of the way versus a power-five opponent, the Bulldogs looked to regroup against FCS opponent Lamar in their home opener. Cause for concern for Louisiana Tech truly began in this game, and they were unable to completely pull away until late. The Bulldogs went into halftime with only a 14-7 lead over the Cardinals after a couple of Scotty Young touchdown passes. Leading 17-7 in the 4th, Lamar completed a 62-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 17-14 to seriously scare the Bulldog faithful. The Bulldogs were able to hold off the Cardinals after a clutch 49-yard field goal from Kyle Fischer and a late touchdown from Andrew Guillot to secure a 27-14 win. Young improved in his 2nd start, completing 22 of 32 passes for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns. After Dixon went out of the game early on, Tevin King stepped up in his absence, rushing for 182 yards on 20 carries. Lamar would finish the season with a 5-7 record.
After winning in not the prettiest fashion over Lamar, the Bulldogs would kick off conference play on a Thursday night red-out over in-state foe Tulane. The Green Wave entered the game with a 1-1 record as well and were led at quarterback by Nick Montana, son of hall-of-fame quarterback Joe Montana. Kenneth Dixon was still banged up with a knee injury entering this game and only saw limited action, leading to Tevin King stepping up again and finishing with 128 total yards for the Bulldogs. After a huge King run to get the Bulldogs inside the ten-yard line to open the game, Tech was unable to capitalize and settled on a double-doink field goal from Fischer to take a 3-0 lead. Fischer added another chip shot field goal in the 1st giving LA Tech a 6-0 lead. The Bulldogs would go into halftime with a 9-7 lead, after a 24-yard touchdown pass from Montana and another Fischer field goal. Future NFL starting kicker Cairo Santos would knock down a 51-yard field goal to give the Green Wave a 10-9 lead, followed by a 38-yard rushing touchdown where several Bulldog missed tackles led to the score. Starting quarterback Scotty Young was knocked out of the game, leading to redshirt freshman Ryan Higgins filling in his place. Higgins would get blasted on a drop back, leading to a fumble recovery, giving Tulane the ball inside the five-yard line. Tulane punched it into the endzone to increase the lead to 24-9. The Bulldogs were able to score their only touchdown of the game on a Higgins pass to a 5’8 freshman receiver named Trent Taylor. Tech was unable to convert on the two-point conversion, resulting in a 24-15 loss to open conference play. Before he was knocked out of the game, Young struggled heavily, completing just 9 of 28 passes (32%) for 108 yards. On the defensive end, Enemkpali enjoyed a 2.5 sack day in the losing effort. Tulane would finish their last season with a 7-6 overall record and a 5-3 conference record.
After the tough loss to Tulane, the Bulldogs regrouped at hit the road to take on the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence. Kansas was 1-1 entering the matchup and was ready to take on the Bulldogs in the 11 am kickoff. After Young was ruled out due to an injury, Higgins was named the starter for the game. Higgins started off well with a touchdown pass in the right corner of the endzone to Hunter Lee, giving Tech a 7-0 lead after the 1st quarter. Kansas cut the lead to 7-3 going into the half, in another low-scoring affair for the Bulldogs. Fischer would add a field goal in the 3rd to extend the lead for the Bulldogs on the road. In the 4th, Kansas was able to tie the game on a 22-yard touchdown pass and had the ball with time close to expiring in regulation. With time for one last play, Jayhawks’ kicker Matthew Wyman knocked down a 52-yard field goal to stun the Bulldogs and send them back to Ruston with a 1-3 record. Despite outgaining Kansas 443-396, the Bulldogs were only able to score 10 points due to 3 costly turnovers. Higgins threw the ball a staggering 55 times in the contest, completing 35 of those passes for 289 yards, as well as a touchdown and an interception. Dixon returned to the starring role for the Bulldogs, rushing 18 times for 129 yards. D.J. Banks was Tech’s leading receiver on the day, finishing with 13 receptions for 82 yards. Kansas finished the season with a 3-9 record, including a 1-8 record in the Big 12.
Mid-Season Improvement
After the first four games of the 2013 season, it was apparent that the team, and specifically the offense had taken a major step back from the previous season. The Bulldogs led the nation in points by game but were only averaging 16.5 points per game through the first four games of the new season. It was around this point in the seasons that fans began to realize that this was going to be more of a rebuilding season than they had previously thought. Even if the season was a major step backwards, developing younger players with promise such as Xavier Woods, Vernon Butler, Adairius Barnes, and others could be key contributors to future teams. At 1-3, the Bulldogs’ next stop was in Dallas at the old Cotton Bowl Stadium to take on Army, who was also entering the contest 1-3. It was a rainy afternoon in the Lone Star State, and the Bulldogs were donning their American flag helmets to honor their opponent. The Black Knight’s option offense was extremely difficult for the Bulldogs’ offense to stop, as Army racked up 414 rushing yards and 5 rushing touchdowns with no turnovers against Tech’s defense. The Black Knights only attempted three passes and completed one yet had no problem moving the ball up and down the grass field. Army took a 14-0 lead after the 1st on a couple of rushing touchdowns before Andrew Guillot made an excellent contest catch to cut the deficit to 14-6. The Bulldogs trailed 21-9 at the half after Army rushed another touchdown in and Fischer knocked down a short field goal as time expired. The Black Knights punched it in for another rushing touchdown before Dixon was able to score from 7 yards out to make it interesting. After getting the ball back, Higgins was sacked for big losses consecutively, leading to a punt and Army officially putting the game away on a touchdown to make the final score 35-16. Higgins completed 20 of 36 passes, threw for 320 yards, and threw one touchdown and a pick in the losing effort. The Knights bottled up Dixon, holding the star to just 77 yards on 19 rushing attempts and a touchdown. Guillot had an excellent day, catching 5 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. Army would finish the season 3-9.
Despite being 1-4, Louisiana Tech had most of their conference schedule ahead of them starting with a road game at UTEP. For the first time all season, the Bulldogs finally saw the offensive explosion that they had been desperate for. The Bulldogs gashed the Miners for 353 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns, led by 200 yards and a touchdown from Kenneth Dixon, 88 yards and a touchdown from Blake Martin, 37 yards on two carries from Tevin King, and 31 yards and two touchdowns from Ryan Higgins. After UTEP would strike first, the Bulldogs would score 24 unanswered points on 3 rushing touchdowns and a 24-yard field goal from Fischer. Trailing 24-7, the Miners would not concede, scoring on a passing touchdown and a scoop-and-score to cut the lead to 24-21 in the 3rd quarter. The Bulldogs held a 31-28 lead going into the 4th quarter after Higgins ran in a touchdown, but the Bulldogs promptly allowed a 65-yard passing touchdown to draw within three again. Dixon extended the lead to 10 once again on a 9-yard rushing touchdown, and the Tech defense was able to prevent UTEP from scoring until a minute was left in the game, resulting in a thrilling 38-35 C-USA victory. Miners’ running back and future Packers’ star Aaron Jones rushed for 121 yards, but the Bulldogs’ defense was able to keep Jones out of the endzone. Higgins only threw the ball 18 times, completing 10 passes for 110 yards before being injured. Scotty Young came in and threw two incompletions in limited action after Higgins’ injury. UTEP finished the season with a 2-10 overall record, and a 1-7 record in C-USA play.
Returning home with a 1-1 record in the conference was not the worst situation to be in. The Bulldogs would be welcoming 3-3 North Texas to Ruston for the annual Homecoming game. A win over the Mean Green would be huge for gaining momentum and potentially turning the season around. Tech got off to an impressive start, taking a 10-0 lead after a Higgins rushing touchdown and a 40-yard field goal from Fischer. Unfortunately, this lead would quickly evaporate, as UNT answered on a 61-yard touchdown pass, followed by a 56-yard pick-six of Ryan Higgins to take a 14-10 lead. North Texas would assert their dominance in the 3rd quarter, scoring two rushing touchdowns inside the five to take a 28-10 lead. The Bulldogs’ offense was unable to gain any consistent success throughout the game, only coming up with a 35-yard field goal in the 4th to fall 28-13 to North Texas. The story of the game for Tech was their inability to run the ball against the Mean Green defense. Dixon had by far his worst full-game stat line of the year, rushing 12 times for just 25 yards in the afternoon. Higgins was forced to throw a staggering 54 times in the outing, completing 36 passes, but throwing no touchdowns and two interceptions. Defensive lineman IK Enemkpali forced the only turnover for the defense, coming up with his second interception of the season. North Texas would finish the season with a 9-4 overall record, and a 6-2 C-USA record.
Following the deflating homecoming loss, Tech got on the road once again, this time to Miami to take on the 1-5 Florida International Golden Panthers. FIU had suffered some excruciatingly bad losses entering this game, including a 34-13 loss to FCS opponent Bethune-Cookman, and a 72-0 drubbing from Louisville. The Bulldogs needed to take advantage of this matchup and even their conference record at 2-2. Louisiana Tech was able to move the ball down the field early on in the contest but repeatedly settled for field goals instead of touchdowns, leading to a 9-0 score at the half. FIU finally put a mark on the scoreboard in the 3rd, on a 38-yard touchdown reception from future NFL starting tight end Jonnu Smith to make it a 9-7 game. Tech once again drove down the field but was forced to kick a short field goal once again to extend their lead to 12-7. The Bulldogs were finally able to get in the endzone in the 4th when Higgins hit Dixon for a 39-yard touchdown pass while also securing the two-point conversion. The last score in the game came on another short Fischer field goal to result in a 23-7 win for the Bulldogs. Dixon had an excellent bounce-back game, rushing for 119 yards on 23 carries, and catching 3 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. While a win is always positive, the Bulldogs were forced to settle for 26, 33, 30, and two 35-yard field goals and Higgins threw 3 interceptions in the game. A good sign was the defense holding FIU to just 197 total yards and forcing 3 turnovers. FIU would finish the season with a 1-11 record and a 1-7 C-USA record.
The Final Stretch
Despite being 3-5, Louisiana Tech had an opportunity to win at least 3 out of their last 4 games and qualify for a bowl game. The first step towards that goal would start with a home game against an old foe in Southern Miss to renew the “Rivalry in Dixie.” The Golden Eagles were 0-8 heading into this game after going 0-12 in 2012 and 12-2 in 2011. Scotty Young received the start for the Bulldogs, completing 22 out of 37 passes for 158 yards and 2 touchdowns. Kenneth Dixon ran wild against the Golden Eagles’ defense rushing 25 times for 207 yards and a touchdown. Freshman receiver Trent Taylor led all receivers with 6 receptions for 51 yards and the first touchdown of the game. Tech’s defense had a stellar performance versus USM, forcing a safety in the 1st, and four total turnovers, including two interceptions from Adairius Barnes. The Bulldogs led 16-6 at the half after the safety and two touchdown passes from Young. Tech would never look back, scoring 20 unanswered points on two Fischer field goals and two rushing touchdowns. USM would score late in the game, but the Bulldogs would dominate with a big 36-13 victory. Southern Miss would finish the season with a 1-11 record and a 1-7 C-USA record.
At 4-5, the Bulldogs just needed to win 2 out of their next 3 games to reach that 6-win threshold for postseason eligibility. The next game was not going to be a cakewalk of any sort, as Tech had to travel to Houston to face a 6-3 Rice team that was 4-1 in conference play. For lack of better words, this game was ugly. The Owls scored a 41-yard touchdown pass less than a minute and a half into the game and had the Bulldogs in a chokehold from that point on. Rice took a 31-0 lead in the third after a pair of short rushing touchdowns and a field goal from future Steelers’ kicker Chris Boswell. Tech, at last, got on the scoreboard in the 3rd when Higgins found Sterling Griffin for a 74-yard touchdown. Rice would put more salt in the wound in the 4th, scoring 3 more short rushing touchdowns before Marlon Seets scored a rushing touchdown with under two minutes to go, ending in a 52-14 loss for the Bulldogs. To start, Tech allowed Rice running back Charles Ross to rush for 215 yards and 5 touchdowns, a major part of the 415 yards that the Owls ran for. The Bulldogs played both Young and Higgins, but neither quarterback saw much success. Dixon was battling injuries once again and only rushed 2 times for 12 times, and the Bulldogs’ offense turned the ball over 4 times in the contest. Rice would finish the season 10-4 and win the C-USA Championship Game.
With the loss, this next game was a must-win for Louisiana Tech, and the Bulldogs were facing a 2-8 Tulsa team at home for Senior Day. The hope was that Tech would respond to the humiliating loss with a with at home to keep their season on life-support. Throughout the first two quarters, the game was very competitive with the Golden Hurricane leading 10-7. Blake Martin’s 10-yard rushing touchdown was the only score the Bulldogs were able to muster in the first half. The game was turnover filled to the highest extent, with 8 total turnovers being committed, including 4 interceptions from Higgins. Higgins received all of the snaps at quarterback this Saturday, completing just 22 of 43 passes and one touchdown. Tulsa rushed in for another touchdown in the 3rd, but Tech stayed in striking distance after Higgins found Jon Greenwalt for a touchdown. In the 4th, Tulsa scored the last points of the game with 10 minutes left, on another rushing touchdown. The Tech offense was unable to avoid turnovers and lost their last chance of a bowl game in a 24-14 Senior Day loss. Tulsa finished the season with a 3-9 record and a 2-6 C-USA record.
With the Bulldogs being 4-7 and eliminated from bowl-game contention, they looked to finish off the season on a high note at UTSA. The Roadrunners entered the game with a 6-5 record and an impressive four-game winning streak. Dixon was out again for the 2nd straight game, giving Tevin King the lead-back role again. King rushed 11 times for 39 yards in the final game of the season. The Bulldogs reverted to playing both quarterbacks, Young completing 13 of 24 passes for 80 yards and an interception, and Higgins completing 7 of 13 passes for 71 yards. UTSA scored within the first minute and a half of the game on a 31-yard touchdown pass. Tech drove down the field but was forced to kick a 24-yard field goal after stalling in the red zone. The Roadrunners stretched their lead to 17-3 before Adairius Barnes came up huge with a 26-yard pick-six to make it a 17-10 game heading into the half. Unfortunately, that would be the final score of the season for Louisiana Tech, and UTSA would score a short rushing touchdown and a couple of field goals to end the Bulldog season with a 4-8 record and 3-5 C-USA record. UTSA would finish the season with a 7-5 record and a 6-2 C-USA record.
Conclusion
From a fan perspective, this was my first year being fully in-tune to Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football. Regardless of the team’s final record, I still received a high enjoyment level from watching the Bulldogs compete week in and week out. From a larger scope, my first reaction is that I would probably have to rank this time last out of all the Tech teams over the past decade due to playing an extremely soft schedule, yet only capturing four wins. I’d say the highlight of the season would be the blowout win over old rival in Southern Miss, while the lowest moment being the Senior Day loss to a struggling Tulsa team. Heading into 2014, it was clear that the Bulldogs needed stability at the quarterback position. There were rumors that Tech had mutual interest with a former Iowa quarterback in the transform portal. After battling injuries and a makeshift offense, would Kenneth Dixon be able to get closer to achieving the 27-touchdown season that he had his freshman year? After struggling in his last two years at South Florida and his first season at Tech, was Skip Holtz still the answer for the Bulldogs? 2014 was going to be the season for all those questions and uncertainties to be answered.
