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FROM LA TECH ATHLETICS: DENTON, Texas (Sept. 11, 2014) – Cody Sokol threw five touchdown passes and Louisiana Tech's offense came alive again as the Bulldogs showed their road grit for the second time in five days by rolling over North Texas, 42-21, in front of 16,998 at Apogee Stadium in Denton Thursday night. Sokol connected with eight different Bulldog receivers to claim the first Conference USA victory of the season as the senior was 20-for-31 on the night with 243 yards and five touchdowns, including two touchdown passes to Paul Turner, as LA Tech (2-1, 1-0 C-USA) never trailed North Texas (1-2, 0-1 C-USA) in the game. Sokol is the first LA Tech quarterback to throw for five touchdowns since Colby Cameron did so on Oct. 13, 2012 versus Texas A&M. “Offensively, we got off to a slow start, but Cody Sokol settled down after he got hit a couple time and came out here and played well,” head coach Skip Holtz said. “There are some guys that are making some plays on the perimeter and obviously there are some things we have to get better at as well, so we are still a work in progress. We have to continue to develop depth because it is a long season.” Turner ended the night with three receptions for 34 yards and two touchdown receptions, while Trent Taylor reeled in five receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown. In Carlos Henderson's first action of the season, the wide receiver caught a team-high six passes for 40 yards. Hunter Lee also reached the end zone with three catches for 52 yards and a score. Kenneth Dixon ran the ball 19 times, good for 75 yards and a touchdown, which helped the tailback move up to ninth place all-time in LA Tech history with 222 career points. Dixon also cracked the top 10 in career rushing yards in school history, ranking 10th with a total of 2,412 career yards. On the defensive side of the ball, Nick Thomason led the Bulldogs with seven total tackles as LA Tech held North Texas to just two total yards of offense in the first quarter. Tech also held North Texas scoreless in the first half for the first time since the 2012 season. “We are pretty physical on defense and we can do a lot of things,” Holtz said of what he learned from his team tonight. “Right now, I think we can do a lot of things. The defense is playing with some energy and some pride. There is a lot that goes into this defense. I have been going up against it for 30 days and I still can't figure it out.” Both teams were held scoreless in the first quarter before the Bulldogs would mount a 10-play, 60-yard drive on their first possession in the second frame as Josh Gaston caught his first collegiate pass – which just happened to be for a touchdown – on a four-yard gain in the red zone as Tech took the 7-0 lead. After holding North Texas to a three-and-out, Louisiana Tech quickly drove back down the field going 67 yards in four plays as Sokol found Hunter Lee for a 28-yard score. After another Mean Green three-and-out, Louisiana Tech went up 21-0 behind a 53-yard drive that ended with Paul Turner's first career touchdown catch on a five-yard reception in the end zone. NT would gain its first non-penalty first down of the half on its last drive of the second quarter, but would still be forced to punt as Tech held an opponent in the first half for the first time since blanking New Mexico State in the first half in 2012. Tech's defense set up Dixon's 37th career touchdown as Terrell Pinson forced and ran back a fumble to the North Texas two-yard line setting up Dixon's run on the first and only play of the drive as the Bulldogs took the 28-0 lead. North Texas struck for the first time on its next drive as Josh Greer scored from five-yards out with 4:15 left in the third quarter, cutting Tech's lead to 28-7. UNT was aided by a big play on Greer's pass to Carlos Harris, accounting for 23 of the 59 yards on the drive. Two big runs for Kenneth Dixon set up Turner's second touchdown catch of the night as he reeled in a 21-yard pass from Sokol to give LA Tech the 35-7 advantage with 1:46 left in the third quarter. Tech recovered what is technically considered a fumble as Gerald Shouse's punt ricocheted off a North Texas player. Beau Fitte recovered the football which set up Cody Sokol's fifth touchdown pass of the game, this time a 12-yard strike to Trent Taylor on the first play of the drive, pushing Tech's lead to 42-7. With under four minutes to go in regulation, North Texas running back Antoinne Jimmerson punched it in for a three-yard rushing touchdown for the Mean Green, which capped off a nine play, 71-yard scoring drive to cut LA Tech's lead to 42-14. North Texas would reach the end zone one final time in the game as Erick Evans capitalized on a five play, 64-yard scoring drive with a nine-yard rushing touchdown with 34 seconds left to give LA Tech a 42-21 victory over the Mean Green. Louisiana Tech returns to action on Sept. 20 as the Bulldogs host Northwestern State in LA Tech's first home game of the season. Kickoff at Joe Aillet Stadium is slated for 6 p.m. CT. For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, please follow @LATechFB on Twitter or visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com. -###- POST-GAME NOTES • LA Tech captains were Houston Bates, Kenneth Dixon, Hunter Lee and Tony Johnson. • Attendance for tonight's game: 16,998. • With the 42-21 victory, LA Tech took the lead in the all-time series against North Texas, 7-6. The Bulldogs are now 4-1 all-time versus the Mean Green in Denton, Texas. • LA Tech had lost four straight on Thursday night games until tonight's win. They are now 2-4 playing on Thursdays. • With the 42-21 victory, it marked the first time since 2009 that LA Tech has won back-to-back games by at least 21 points. • The 42 points scored was the most ever in the series by LA Tech against North Texas. Read more: http://www.ksla.com/story/26513874/la-tech-blasts-north-texas-to-start-c-usa-play This post has been promoted to an article

North Texas was supposed to be pretty good. The Mean Green went 9-4 in 2013 and were the favorites to win the Conference USA West this season. Louisiana Tech was supposed to be pretty bad. The Bulldogs went 4-8 and were favored to do nothing in particular. The score is, 21-0, LA Tech, obviously. Entering Thursday, North Texas ranked No. 124 in the country in offensive yardage, but that was only after facing a mediocre Texas team that got blasted again by BYU and a runaway mine cart of an SMU program that has already lost its head coach. That was before squaring off with the gang from Ruston, which is apparently capable of ruining even the worst of stats. Read more: http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/9/11/6138519/north-texas-on-quest-for-single-digit-yardage-vs-louisiana-tech

In this edition of the Barbershop Podcast (#133) Evan and Harry revisit a lopsided 43-6 victory over crosstown rival SMU. Special guest UNT Athletic Director Rick Villarreal joins the conversation and provides his unique insight on the program. As usual, we ask questions from the fans and look forward to the big upcoming game against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. http://www.gomeangreen.com/forums/podcast/gmgpod133.mp3 Click here for direct audio link to podcast #133 This post has been promoted to an article

The North Texas Mean Green would love nothing more than to build on last weeks win over SMU with a win here. Its been a struggle for the Mean Green offensively, a team that relies heavily on running back Reggie Pegram, who has 36 carries in the first two games. Quarterbacks Josh Greer and Andrew McNulty are completing a combined 44.1 percent of their passes for zero touchdowns and four interceptions. The Mean Green have to figure something out offensively if theyre going to be remotely competitive this season in the C-USA. Defense has been a different story for the North Texas Mean Green, as theyve forced seven turnovers and have six sacks already. Kenny Buyers leads North Texas with 12 tackles, while Dutton Watson and Chad Polk each have 1.5 sacks. The Bulldogs are 16-6 ATS in their last 22 road games and 6-13 ATS in their last 19 games overall. The Mean Green are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 home games and 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games overall. Read more: http://sportschatplace.com/cfb-picks/2014/09/11/louisiana-tech-bulldogs-at-north-texas-mean-green-cfb-pick-odds-prediction

North Texas opens Conference USA play against Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. at Apogee Stadium. Here’s a quick scouting report of the Bulldogs: Record: 1-1 (beat Louisiana-Lafayette 40-28 on Saturday) Key number: 13-5 (UNT’s record at Apogee Stadium under Dan McCarney) 1. This isn’t the same Louisiana Tech team UNT head coach Dan McCarney pointed out in his press conference this week that this isn’t the same Louisiana Tech team UNT beat 28-13 in Ruston a year ago. The Bulldogs are in their second season under Skip Holtz and seem to have turned a corner. Louisiana Tech looked capable in a season-opening loss to Oklahoma and turned around and hammered Louisiana-Lafayette, one of the best teams in the Sun Belt, in its second game of the year. Posting another win over Louisiana Tech will be a challenge. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2014/09/five-things-unt-fans-should-know-about-louisiana-tech.html/

RUSTON The words "Louisiana Tech," "offense" and "big play" never belonged in the same sentence last season. Unless, of course, when Tech coach Skip Holtz would offer his almost weekly disdain of the Bulldogs' lack of explosive plays. Following a dreaded offensive season that produced hardly any fireworks, the Bulldogs provided tangible evidence in Saturday's 48-20 blowout win over the University of Louisiana at Lafayette that their offense is far superior than the 2013 product that made Tech fans cringe. Tech had five 'big plays' for 287 yards, including three that went for more than 50 yards only two away from the five total that the Bulldogs recorded in 2013. The three included a 99-yard record-breaking run by Kenneth Dixon, a 78-yard touchdown catch by Sterling Griffin and a 55-yard catch and run by Paul Turner. "It's something we have talked about, it's something we've worked on, something we've coached and really focused on having the ability to make more big plays," Holtz said. "A year ago, we really struggled in the big-play department." Read more: http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/sports/college/louisiana-tech/2014/09/08/techs-offense-comes-life-puts-yards-vs-cajuns/15312247/

Opening Comments: “Wrapping up our win last week against Louisiana-Lafayette, I was really proud of our team. We talked all week and one of the challenges that we had, was to play that game with confidence. It is very difficult sometimes, when you have not won a lot of games, to have confidence. We asked, do you win and gain confidence, or do you gain confidence and win. For this football team right now, I think that confidence has been built over the last eight months which I think is a testament to Kurt Hester and these layers with how good they want to be and how hard they have worked. I think the confidence they played with Saturday, which I thought was one of the keys to the game, has been built over the past year. I think that is a testament to these players and their leadership.” On looking forward to the North Texas game: “We do not look in asking ‘What if we are 2-1 or what if we are 1-2.’ We do not look forward as much as we put our nose to the grind and stone and say ‘What do we have to do to get ready for this game.’ As a head coach you can look forward and say that 2-1 would be nice but we have to make sure that we stay humble and hungry with our battle cry. Then we have to come in here and play a rivalry game with Northwestern State where there is a lot of history with that game. They are going to come in here with their hair on fire, ready to play that game. Then we have to go to Auburn. We play a UTEP team that is strong and playing really well right now. We said we were going to try and get through those first six games, and then we have an open date. At that point we can take a deep breath, look at where we are and look at what kind of football team we can have. If we can find a way to start 2-1, that can show very positive signs of marked improvement.” On the balance of North Texas: “I think everyone wants to have balance. When you look at what they do, that is what they do well and that is what they are going to make you stop. They are still going to get in some other formations and spread the quarterback out. Whoever has the chalk last, normally can win, when you start drawing x’s and o’s on the board. They do enough to keep you off balance so you cannot say ‘We just have to stop this play.’ They are going to give you a load of formations. They are huge upfront. They have 360 pounds at guard, 330 pounds at tackle. They are big and physical. They come off the ball. You watch them against Texas and their running back runs it in there, falls forward and it is second and five. They have three running backs, one is a transfer from Purdue. That is against a Texas team that is very talented and has that same type of size and girth. They are going to make us play in a phone booth. That is the type of game that they want. They want to make it a physical game and they do it very well. That is why they are having the success that they are having. They have done a great job with that program and I have great respect for Coach McCarney.” On keeping up with the physicality of North Texas: “It is still going to be a 60 minute game and I think that would help, but I do not think it is going to change their identity. As this season goes on, they are learning what they can do and they are highlighting those things. I think if you can find a way to get a lead and make them play a little more with the passing game, it certainly would be better than those guys running down hill and coming at you.” Read more: http://www.latechsports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090814aac.html

Opened at 4. This could be a close game! http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/odds/las-vegas/

They have a couple but this is the one. Dwayne from Minden runs it and he's a good dude. This is going to be a tough one -- they beat ULL at home and that is no easy task.. http://www.latechbbb.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?25-Football-The-Blond-Bomber-Board