Louisiana Tech Beats Western Kentucky On The Road

It wasn't a sure thing, but Louisiana Tech went into their game against Western Kentucky on a mission. The Hilltoppers hadn't lost at home in 13 games, but Louisiana Tech knows their path to the Conference USA Championship runs through Bowling Green. So when kicker Jonathan Barnes put the game winning kick through the uprights, the Bulldogs proved they're the team to beat.

Last night's final score was 23-22, but honestly the game was more impressive for La Tech than that. Tech was down 22-13 going into the 4th, but were able to shutdown Western Kentucky, and were able to hang enough on the board to pull out the victory.

With the team pushing hard late, QB J'Mar Smith threw, what could have been, a game-ending interception. But the Bulldogs defense showed up strong, and got their offense the ball back. Then La Tech was able to grind the clock down to allow Barnes a shot at the kick.

It's impressive, because too often in the early season, you have either blowout wins or blowout losses as a Conference USA school. Much like Tech's early goings with Northwestern State and Mississippi State (one blowout for, one against). So it's not until you get into this kind of game you know what your team is made of. With his team getting punched in the mouth, and being able to punch back, should tell Bulldogs Coach Skip Holtz that he's got another good one on his hands.