The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs defeated the Southern Miss Golden Eagles to take sole possession of first place in Conference USA West Saturday evening. Just repeat that a few times in your head before reading any further….Still here? I can hardly believe it either. But pinch yourselves Bulldog fans because your team has a little grit, a lot of heart and some real ball players. Let’s focus on those three things as we react.

I came into this game like the rest of you, with one eye peeking through shaking fingers. I could not bear to watch this team flush another promising season at the hands of the Golden Eagles. I was cautiously optimistic for the first 10 seconds until I watched De’Michael Harris take the opening kickoff all the way to the North endzone. Here we go again.

Just as quickly as Harris made it 7-0, the Bulldog offense was forced to punt it right back to the Golden Eagles. Over the next six minutes, Jack Abraham and co. put together a 95 yard drive and capped it off with a 15-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 USM.

So yeah, let’s recap. Halfway through the first quarter the Bulldogs’ special teams surrendered a touchdown, the offense ran six fairly lifeless plays and the defense also gave up a score. I know it’s Halloween season, but that is more disastrous of a start than the darkest part of Skip Holtz’ subconscious could have conjured. It was a death sentence. Against Bowling Green in September, you can come back from that, but not this game, not against this team.

Miraculously, the Bulldogs awoke from their nightmare with a little bit of grit. No one hung their heads, no one thought it was over, no one got frustrated. The offense went out and put together a seven minute drive capped off by a Stanley 5-yard TD catch to finish the quarter and make it 14-7. This was so important. The team’s throat was ready to be stepped on before the game had even begun and this drive stabilized morale and sent a message to a familiar rival that this time was different. Then, lightning struck.

On the first play of the 2nd quarter, Amik Robertson intercepted Jack Abraham on a ball-hawking personification of will and grit. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Skip Hotlz brought Smoke Harris in motion and gave Justin Henderson all the room he needed to go 30 yards for the tying score. 14-14.

From there, grit turned into heart. On the Eagles next possession, the defense held all the momentum and looked to force a three-and-out. However, on third down they were flagged for taunting after a big hit from Amik Robertson. The flag was questionable and gave Southern Miss the chance to score a go-ahead touchdown. This was a bad break, one that could have folded the tent in the past; but in life and in football, it’s how you respond to bad breaks that reveals the heart.

Respond they did. Bailey Hale nailed a career-long 50 yarder that continued his meteoric rise into a legitimate scoring threat; and after a fumble gave Jack Abraham the ball in dangerous territory, the defense dug deep and held the Eagles to a field goal. These are the moments that get forgotten in the chaos of a big win, but it’s these that exemplify the heart of a team that is being lead courageously on and off the field.

If the first half was using grit and heart to survive the storm, the second half was all about possessing better ball players. J’Mar Smith was better than Jack Abraham, who threw 4 interceptions. Skip Holtz was better than Jay Hopson, who had no answer for the Bulldog defense. The Bulldog playmakers shined brighter. Griffin Hebert and Cee Jay Powell were steady. Malik Stanley broke out with 8 catches for 212 yards and a touchdown. Amik Robertson set the tone on defense and intercepted Abraham 3 times. Justin Henderson and the offensive line poured the foundation with 111 yards and 2 touchdowns of their own.

However, the biggest play on a day filled with them came from Ezekiel Barnett. With the Eagles driving to tie the game, demons of seasons past made one last swing at the Bulldog defense and Barnett exorcised them for good. He intercepted Abraham on a prudent read and returned it all the way to the same North end zone that three hours earlier made us all go “here we go again.” This time it was “here we are now.”

So yes Tech fans, you can remove the fingers from in front of your eyes because your team has arrived this season. The torch of hope is burning brighter than ever and it is fueled by grit, heart and talented ball players. Your team has them all.