Louisiana Tech falls short at Southern Miss

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – On a day that saw Jaylon Ferguson record two more sacks moving closer to the NCAA career record, Louisiana Tech's offensive struggles in the red zone proved costly Saturday as Southern Miss defeated the Bulldogs 21-20 at M.M. Roberts Stadium.

Tech (7-4, 5-2) seemed to be in control of the game all day, but miscues in all three phases of the game allowed the Golden Eagles (5-5, 4-3) to stay within striking distance. It ultimately cost the Bulldogs.

"We moved the ball against a team that is one of better defenses in the league," said LA Tech head coach Skip Holtz. "I thought the passing game did some good things. The negative was the lack of a big play. We had a number of opportunities down the field and couldn't' take advantage of them.

"Our defense competed hard. Our offense competed hard. The special teams competed hard. It's unfortunate we came up a point short. We lost this game in double overtime a year ago. We had some calls that went against us tonight. It's hard to lose. It's hard to lose when your team competes as hard as we did. Unfortunately, we didn't get it done tonight."

The highlight of the game turned out to be Ferguson, who sacked USM quarterback Jack Smith twice to move his career total to 42 – just two shy of the NCAA record of 44 by Terrell Suggs. Ferguson's season total is 14.5, tying his own LA Tech single season record set in 2016.

After scoring touchdowns in its first two trips inside the USM 20-yard line in the first half – a 5-yard TD pass from J'Mar Smith to Adrian Hardy and a 6-yard run by Kam McKnight – the Bulldogs moved inside the Golden Eagles 10-yard line three more times in the game. But Tech only came away with two fields (and a missed 29-yard FG).

The two teams were tied 14-14 late in the second half when the Bulldogs drove down to the USM six-yard line. But on first and goal from the six, three straight incomplete passes forced a Bailey Hale FG on the final play of the second quarter, giving Tech a 17-14 halftime advantage.

The Bulldogs had an opportunity to add to its lead in the third quarter. After forcing USM to punt on its first possession of the second half, Tech used a 16-play drive that took 8:44 off the clock before stalling once again inside the USM red zone. Hale's 29-yard field goal attempt was pushed wide right, allowing USM to keep the deficit at three points. Tech completed just 1-of-7 passes in the game inside the USM 15-yard line.