Louisiana Tech rolls to Frisco Bowl win

FRISCO, Texas — J’mar Smith passed for three touchdowns and ran for another and his defensive teammates scored twice as Louisiana Tech routed Southern Methodist 51-10 on Wednesday night in the Frisco Bowl.

Smith completed 15 of 23 passes for 216 yards and Teddy Veal caught four passes for 84 yards for Louisiana Tech (7-6). The Bulldogs led 42-10 at the half.

“It feels great,” Smith said of the win. “Defense put us in some great situations and they scored the ball when they caught interceptions, and we got to go out there with great field positions. It gives our offense a boost of confidence.”

SMU (7-6) fumbled on its first offensive snap, turned it over on its first three drives and six times overall.

It was a disappointing debut for SMU coach Sonny Dykes against his former school. Dykes was 22-15 at Louisiana Tech from 2010 to 2012 before leaving for California in 2013. Dykes was fired by Cal a year ago and spent this season as an offensive analyst at TCU before SMU hired him to replace Chad Morris on Dec. 11.

Smith’s 1-yard sneak with 7:43 remaining in the first quarter gave Louisiana Tech a 7-0 lead. The TD was set up by Secdrick Cooper’s 31-yard interception return to the SMU 30.

Amik Robertson returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown less than a minute later, pushing the lead to 14-0.

SMU settled for a field goal on its next drive. But Jaqwis Dancy ran back the ensuing kickoff 65 yards, setting up a 6-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Veal for a 21-3 lead.

Louisiana Tech’s Darryl Lewis had a 23-yard interception for a TD in the second quarter, pushing the lead to 28-3.

Smith added touchdown passes to Veal and Kam Mcknight, setting a school record for first-half points in a bowl game.