Louisiana Tech Shuts Out Old Dominion 26-0 for First Back-to-Back Shutouts Since 1959

The last time Louisiana Tech pitched shutouts in back-to-back games, Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House and the Bulldogs were making a habit of it. That was 1959. It took 67 years for the encore, and it arrived on homecoming.

A week after blanking ULM 24-0, the Bulldogs did it again. Louisiana Tech shut out Old Dominion 26-0 on Saturday in front of 20,444 at Joe Aillet Stadium, holding the Monarchs to 141 total yards and, somehow, minus-13 yards on the ground. That is not a typo. Old Dominion spent the afternoon running backward.

The win pushes Tech to 5-2 and 3-0 in the Sun Belt, its first 3-0 league start since 2019. It is also the program's first win over Old Dominion, ever, which makes the all-time series 1-2 and gives this team one more line for the record book.

Fifteen plays to set the tone

Tech's opening drive told you how this was going to go. The Bulldogs went 75 yards in 15 plays, converted three third downs and burned 6:19 off the clock before Blake Baker kept it himself for a 4-yard touchdown. Seven minutes in, Old Dominion's defense had already been on the field long enough to need a snack.

After a stop, Tech needed only five plays to go 66 yards the next time. Jalen Mickens caught a 31-yarder, Eli Finley grabbed one for 21, and Trey Kukuk punched it in from 5 yards out. It was 14-0 with 3:27 still left in the first quarter.

Hunter Rioux then drilled a 49-yard field goal early in the second quarter, matching his season long, and that was the halftime score: 17-0. The first-half numbers were brutal for the visitors. Old Dominion had 57 total yards and minus-17 rushing. Tech converted 8 of 11 third downs and held the ball for nearly 21 of the 30 minutes.

The drive that ended the argument

If Old Dominion had any hope of a second-half pulse, the Bulldogs flatlined it in the third quarter. Tech put together an 11-play, 61-yard march, and Finley was the whole show, catching four balls for 47 yards on the possession. Baker finished it with a 2-yard touchdown pass to his tight end, and the lead was 23-0 with 7:56 left in the third.

That was the turning point in the sense that it was the end of any suspense. With the way the Tech defense was playing, 23 points felt like 230.

Kaegan Kent tacked on a 25-yard field goal with 9:03 left in the fourth to finish the scoring. Cumbie, in a generous mood, counted it as Kent's third straight make even though one of them did not officially count. "We will count the first one that he made," he said.

Baker, Finley and a whole lot of trust

Baker was surgical. He completed 28 of 34 passes for 303 yards, a career-best 82.4 percent completion rate, with a touchdown through the air and another on the ground. It was his second 300-yard game in three weeks and the third of his career.

Finley was his favorite target, catching a career-high 10 passes for a season-high 128 yards and the score. Mickens added eight catches for 110 yards, his third 100-yard game of the season, which leads all Sun Belt receivers. Tech has now had two 100-yard receivers in the same game twice this year, and seven individual 100-yard receiving games overall, the most in the conference.

Cumbie loved how Baker kept throwing into windows most quarterbacks would avoid, and he reached deep into Tech history to make the point, saying he "should probably show him some video of Hartwell throwing to Ahmad Hudson." The point was the placement. "Blake trusted the placement of the football and gave Eli an opportunity to make a play," Cumbie said. "Eli went out and executed."

Andrew Burnette did the dirty work on the ground with 63 yards on 20 carries, his fourth straight game over 50 yards. Cumbie also made a point to praise wide receiver Marcus Calwise, who by the coach's count from the sideline iPad had "at least three or four pancake blocks." Love a receiver who blocks. Love a coach who notices.

A defense with a mean streak

The headline belongs to the defense, and it earned every inch of it. Tech piled up 13 tackles for loss, six sacks and an interception. Old Dominion managed only 13 first downs.

Linebacker Zheric Hill led the way with 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, half a sack and two quarterback hurries. Jadon Mayfield had two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. Alonzo Jackson Jr. added 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss, Justice Williams chipped in 1.5 sacks, and Amari Butler picked off his first pass as a Bulldog.

The poor soul on the other side was Jaxon Potter, a Washington State transfer making his first career start. Potter finished 18 of 34 for 154 yards with an interception and was sacked six times for 37 yards, according to The Associated Press. Welcome to the starting lineup.

Hill described the defensive mindset with refreshing bluntness. "We want to make the opposing team not want to play football anymore," he said.

Mission accomplished, at least for one Saturday.

The numbers that matter

Tech outgained Old Dominion 438 to 141, with 302 passing yards and 136 rushing yards, and converted 11 of 19 third downs. But the number that will live in the program notes is that minus-13. It was the first time a Bulldog defense held an opponent to negative rushing yards since Oct. 25, 2014, when Tech held Southern Miss to minus-31 in Hattiesburg.

Old Dominion came into the week ranked last in FBS in total offense at 266.9 yards per game, so some regression toward ugly was expected. This was beyond that. It was the Monarchs' first shutout loss since a 12-0 defeat to Marshall in 2022, per AP. The full drive-by-drive damage is in Tech's official box score (opens in a new tab).

The only real gripe for the home team was a quiet second half on offense, with just one touchdown after the break. Finley owned it. "Unfortunate 2nd half from us on offense, but it is good coming off the field knowing defense has our back," he said.

What it means

Tech has now won four straight overall, its longest streak since 2019, and six straight at home. The defense has not allowed a point in eight consecutive quarters. A 3-0 conference start built on that kind of defense is a real résumé in late October.

Cumbie still gave the Old Dominion defense its due. "You do not go into Boone, North Carolina, and win a football game in those conditions without being a good defensive football team," he said. Fair. But on this afternoon, only one defense looked like a problem.

The schedule stiffened from there. Next for Tech was a Halloween trip to South Alabama, then a visit to Troy on Nov. 7 before home games against Southern Miss and Arkansas State. Old Dominion, 2-6 and 1-4 in the conference after this one, had a home game against Marshall next on the schedule and needed to find an offense fast. The Bulldogs' own game recap (opens in a new tab) has the full notes and quotes.

The last word

Cumbie kept it simple when he summed up the night. "Eight quarters of shutout defense is great," he said. "These victories never get old."

He is right on both counts. The challenge now is the one he named himself: doing it again. The 1959 Bulldogs strung shutouts together three different times. This group has one. Ask them, and they will tell you they are just trying to go 1-0 this week.

Sources: Louisiana Tech Athletics recap, quotes and box score, The Associated Press and WTKR. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: LA Tech Athletics/Josh McDaniel.