La. Tech downs Arkansas State in New Orleans Bowl

NEW ORLEANS – Jeff Driskel is no stranger to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
As a sophomore quarterback, Driskel led the Florida Gators to the 2013 Sugar Bowl against the Louisville Cardinals.
Driskel ended that game with a disappointing 175 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions as the Cardinals pulled off an upset with a 33-23 win.
After an injury-laden junior season and a senior season in which he was benched, the former Gatorade Player of the Year transferred from Florida to Louisiana Tech in January.
Driskel ended his college career by returning to the Superdome for the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Saturday night.
Driskel’s numbers in the first half were much better than his numbers in the entire game against Louisville. Driskel threw for 249 yards with two touchdowns and more importantly zero interceptions. He finished his final collegiate game by completing 26-of-38 passes for 458 yards and three touchdowns and led his team to a 47-28 win over the Arkansas State Red Wolves.
“Well this one was a lot better looking,” said Driskel comparing his two games in the Superdome. “I’m looking at the stat sheet here, and it’s a pretty good night. Tonight was just a total win, and I’m happy I got to run out there one more time with this group of guys.”
With the win, Louisiana Tech (9-4) won bowl games in back-to-back seasons.
“This was a team that we had high hopes, high expectations, high goals, and lofty standards coming into the season,” La. Tech coach Skip Holtz said. “Unfortunately whether it be through turnovers or injuries or our play we weren’t able to get everything done on the field we wanted to get done, but through some adversity, especially seven turnovers in our last game, I think was one of the driving forces behind this football team being motivated to play this game because of the way that we finished the regular season was not very characteristic of us as a football team on either side of the ball.
“It means a lot to get back-to-back bowl wins,” senior running back Kenneth Dixon said. “That’s the first time it’s ever happened for the university, so we always have that forever.”
Driskel’s night was slightly overshadowed by the record-breaking performance of Dixon, who broke the NCAA overall touchdown record. Dixon rushed for of 102 yards with two touchdowns and amassed 113 receiving yards on six receptions with two touchdowns.
When asked about the record, Dixon humbly answered in terms of “we” and gave credit to his team and especially his offensive line. “It’s very rewarding,” he said. “You find some teammates who care about you and want to see you be successful and see you do a lot of great things, and that’s what we have in our locker room. We got a lot of unselfish people in our locker room. It makes you just wanna say ‘we doing it for us.’”
Arkansas State (9-4) came into the night having gone undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play and was looking for its first bowl win since defeating Ball State 23-20 in the GoDaddy Bowl in 2013.
“It wasn’t the way we wanted to finish (the season) obviously, but I’m proud of the guys,” Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson said. “We thought we’d play a little bit better than we did. We just didn’t execute tonight like we’re capable of. I think penalties and turnovers were two things that really stood out.”
Louisiana Tech received the opening kick and scored a touchdown on its opening drive to go up 7-0. Arkansas State responded on its opening drive with a field goal to cut the lead to four points.
Louisiana Tech’s Jonathan Barnes tied a bowl record with a 50-yard field goal to put the Bulldogs up 10-3 with 1:55 remaining in the first quarter.
After the two teams traded touchdown drives, the Red Wolves tied it up at 17 on a quarterback keeper from Fredi Knighten with 18-seconds on the clock before the half.
Arkansas State punted on its opening drive of the second half and Anderson called that moment a momentum shift.
“We didn’t want to go three-and-out, and I felt we had a tremendous amount of momentum going into halftime the way we clawed back in after the start,” Anderson said. “We miscued and we put ourselves back in a hole never really regained that momentum.”
The two teams would trade field goals but the Bulldogs reclaimed the lead for good with 5:04 remaining in the third. Driskel connected on a 59-yard pass touchdown to Dixon giving Tech a 27-20 lead. With the touchdown reception, Dixon tied the NCAA record for overall touchdowns. He broke the record on the next series with a rushing touchdown from eight-yards out as Tech went up 34-20.
With 1:31 left on the game clock, Arkansas State had cut the lead to 47-28 and was threatening to score but Adairius Barnes picked off Knighten’s pass at the goal line, which sealed the win for La. Tech.
As for as the overall touchdown record set by Dixon, Navy’s senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds has an opportunity to retake it in the Military Bowl. Dixon said, “If he gets the record, it’s good. I mean just to have two people chasing that record at the same time is remarkable. I mean everybody will talk about it forever. If he wins it, I’ll feel great for him. If I keep it, it’s even greater.”
Driskel added, “Yea he seems like a great guy, but I’m rooting against him.”