Louisiana Tech is at the halfway point of the 2014 football season with a 3-3 overall record and 2-0 in C-USA after destroying UTEP 55-3 last weekend at Joe Aillet Stadium. With a bye week coming up, this seems like a great time to look at some of the greatest plays of the 2014 football season so far. (Credit to Louisiana Tech Athletics, CBS Sports Network, Fox College Sports, and Fox Sports Oklahoma)
10. 8/30/2014: Kenneth Dixon 6-yard TD catch at Oklahoma
The top ten starts off in Norman, Oklahoma, where Louisiana Tech opened the 2014 campaign against the University of Oklahoma Sooners. Louisiana Tech has the ball 3rd and goal at the OU 6-yard line with 14:54 left in the game. Cody Sokol throws the ball to Kenneth Dixon who avoids two OU defenders and dives into the end zone to give Cody Sokol his first passing touchdown as a Bulldog and to notch Louisiana Tech’s first touchdown of the season.
9. 9/11/2014: (2-for-1 special) Beau Fitte punt recovery followed by Trent Taylor 12-yard TD catch on next play at North Texas
Louisiana Tech football and Coach Skip Holtz have received some criticism over special teams play this season. This play is one of the best plays by the Bulldogs’ special teams this year but not the best one… More on that later.
Louisiana Tech is punting the ball away to North Texas with 13:16 left in the game. At first, it looks like a very nice punt that will be downed by Tech inside the North Texas 10-yard line. It was but not before the ball touches a North Texas player. The ball hits inside the North Texas 10, bounces around, and hits the right calf of North Texas blocker #34 Kishawn McClain. Beau Fitte falls on the football to give Tech the ball with a short field.
On the next play, Cody Sokol throws down the middle and hits Trent Taylor for a 12-yard touchdown to give Louisiana Tech a 42-7 lead against C-USA foe North Texas.
8. 8/30/2014: Trent Taylor 22-yard TD catch at Oklahoma
Cody Sokol throws a 22-yard touchdown pass down the middle to Trent Taylor with about 40 seconds left in the game to make the score 48-16, Oklahoma. This gave Cody Sokol and Tech their second touchdown of the game. This touchdown made some people very happy and others very sad depending on their betting patterns for this game.
7. 9/11/2014: Cody Sokol 28-yard TD pass to Hunter Lee at North Texas
Louisiana Tech has the ball 2nd and 14 on the North Texas 28-yard line with 7:52 left in the second quarter. Cody Sokol drops back and fires the ball to a wide-open Hunter Lee who scores the touchdown for the Bulldogs. Louisiana Tech would take a 14-0 lead to begin the rout over North Texas.
6. 9/6/2014: 78-yard TD pass from Cody Sokol to Sterling Griffin at UL-Lafayette
Louisiana Tech holds a 17-7 lead over the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with 14:25 left in the third quarter. It’s a decent lead against an opponent favored to beat Tech by about 16 points, but the game at this point is far from over.
On 2nd and 9, Tech has the ball on their own 22-yard line. Cody Sokol fakes the handoff to the running back and throws the ball to Sterling Griffin at the UL-L 40-yard line. Griffin then runs for a 78-yard touchdown completion, giving Tech a 24-7 lead. What you don’t see in the video is the UL-L defender who is covering Sterling Griffin (I think it’s #7 Corey Trim) falls down and leaves Griffin wide open down the field.
This touchdown starts the rout of the Ragin’ Cajuns and the mass exodus of their fans from Cajun Field.
5. 10/4/2014: Carlos Henderson TD catch vs. UTEP
Louisiana Tech is hosting UTEP in the second home game of the season. Tech has a 14-0 lead over UTEP with 9:47 left in the second quarter. The Bullodgs have the ball at their own 30-yard line, 2nd and 8.
Cody Sokol throws a deep pass to Carlos Henderson. Henderson makes the catch on the UTEP 40-yard line and runs for daylight after the defender falls down while attempting to tackle Henderson. By the time the defender got back on his feet, Henderson was already twenty yards down the field from him, and the fans in the stands were celebrating another Louisiana Tech touchdown.
4. 10/4/2014: Blocked FG return for TD vs. UTEP
The special teams delivered big time in the second quarter of the UTEP game. Louisiana Tech has a 21-0 lead over UTEP with 5:24 left in the second half. UTEP has the ball on the Tech 10 and is attempting a 28-yard field goal.
The field goal attempt is blocked by Lloyd Grogan and recovered by Adairius Barnes on the Tech 31. As Barnes is being tackled to the ground, Barnes laterals to Le’Vander Liggins at the Tech 46-yard line. Liggins runs the ball 54 yards for a Bulldog touchdown extending Tech’s lead to 28-0.
Here is a quote from Skip Holtz regarding the blocked field goal during the post-game press conference, via latechsports.com (http://www.latechsports.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/100414aaf.html):
“Manny Diaz met with me this morning and told me that he thought we could block a field goal. We sat down and he showed me where he thought the weakness was and what we were going to do. He said we were not going to waste it on an extra point, we were going to wait for a field goal. When they kicked that first field goal, I was all eyes. I was excited to watch it and it happened just like he drew it up. Xavier jumped in through the middle and did a great job. Defensively, great effort. Offensively, I am proud of the way they competed. This was far and away our best game on special teams. We had put a lot of starters back on special teams to try and make it a real emphasis.”
3. 10/4/2014: Marcus Gaines one-handed TD catch vs. UTEP
Louisiana Tech has a 41-3 lead over UTEP with 1:35 left in the third quarter. Tech has the ball on the UTEP 18 and is driving for another touchdown.
Sokol throws the ball toward Marcus Gaines in the endzone while Sokol is about to get drilled by a UTEP defender. Marcus Gaines goes up, and… You gotta watch this catch. I have no words that can adequately describe the sheer awesomeness of the touchdown catch by Gaines.
2. 9/6/2014: Kenneth Dixon’s record-setting 99-yard TD run at UL-Lafayette
Louisiana Tech starts a one-play, 99-yard drive on their own 1-yard line after a UL-Lafayette punt. The game is still tied 0-0 with 4:39 left in the first quarter. The Ragin’ Cajun fans are still very much into the game. They think they have Tech set up for a safety, but this play would show everybody in attendance that the Beast is back.
Kenneth Dixon nursed injuries most of last year, and Tech fans wished to see what Dixon could do when he was fully healthy this season. Dixon showed everyone what he’s capable of in one play, one record-setting play.
Cody Sokol hands the ball to Kenneth Dixon, and Dixon shoots up the middle running for daylight. Dixon runs 99 yards to give Louisiana Tech a 7-0 lead over UL-Lafayette! Dixon’s 99-yard touchdown run set records for the longest play in Cajun Field, Louisiana Tech, and Conference USA history, and led him to be named the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week.
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1. 9/6/2014: Xavier Woods INT return for TD at UL-Lafayette
Louisiana Tech Athletics did not pick a record-setting 99-yard touchdown run by Kenneth Dixon as the play of the week for the UL-L game. However, it is understandable since the Xavier Woods interception return for a touchdown play also occurred during the UL-L game.
UL-Lafayette has the ball on their own 31-yard line with 4:06 left in the third quarter. Terrence Broadway throws the ball down the middle of the field for one of his receivers. Tony Johnson tips the ball up in the air, and Xavier Woods gets the interception on the UL-L 45-yard line. What follows that is a run that would make Bo Jackson from the old-school Nintendo video game Tecmo Bowl jealous.
Long story short, Xavier Woods runs the interception back for a touchdown and extends Louisiana Tech’s lead over that school from Lafayette to 31-7 as the Ragin’ Cajun fans who stayed after the Sterling Griffin touchdown completion earlier in the quarter started to abandon Cajun Field by the thousands.
As an extra bonus, the Louisiana Tech Athletics video features Dave Nitz and Teddy Allen calling the interception return for a touchdown.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
