by Malcolm Butler
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 defeated Kennesaw State 33-0 Saturday at Joe Aillet Stadium.
Tech (5-7, 4-4) 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.
“We were able to finish this conference season 4-4 but that is not what we are after. We have to turn our mindset to finishing the football games.”
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 shutout 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 endzone as Wiggins took a pitch from Evan Bullock and score 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 50 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 tonight.”‘
Tech added a second touchdown early in the second quarter as Wiggins took a handoff, ran behind the left side of the Bulldogs offensive line, and scored from six yards out to up the advantage to 14-0. The Bulldogs ran for 210 yards on the night and averaged 5.0 yards per carry.
“I think you saw Omiri Wiggins grow in his confidence,” said Cumie. “Both [Wiggins and Amani Givens] came from junior college and the more they played, the more confident they got. I love the way they run. They broke tackles. Your offensive line controls the line of scrimmage. I am excited about those guys.”
Tech’s special teams struck again late in the second quarter as Buck Buchanan connected on a 55-yard field goal with less than a minute to play to make it 17-0.
The score remained 17-0 until 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 endzone for a safety.
“We were all on the same page,” said Clark. “This was our last time together. We had an emotional week. We all put it together.”
After the free kick following the safety, Tech took just four plays to drive 63 yards in less than two minutes as Wiggins took a hand off, patiently followed his O-line, and then exploded through a hole for a 35-yard TD. Buchanan’s extra point made it 26-0.
“I feel like I improved in being patient, letting everything develop in front of me,” said Wiggins.
Tech added its final score in the fourth quarter as Givens scored from two yards out with 10:50 to play to make it 33-0.
The only drama remaining in the game was whether the Bulldogs would pitch the shutout.
After the Owls recovered a fumble on their own 40, they drove down to the Tech 20-yard line and faced a fourth down and two. However, Bryson was sacked for a seven yard loss, turning the football back over to the Bulldogs.
“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.”
Tech recorded one first down and then knelt on the football in victory formation.
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.
Bullock completed 23-of-30 passes for 233 yards. Tru Edwards caught 10 balls for 78 yards and Jimmy Holiday added seven receptions for 103 yards.
Tech allowed the Owls just 58 yards rushing on 29 carries while Kennesaw State QB Davis Bryson completed just 10-of-26 passes for 88 yards.
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