2008 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team

The 2008 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team represented Louisiana Tech University as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by second-year head coach Derek Dooley, the Bulldogs played their home games at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Louisiana. Dooley's Bulldogs entered the season after finishing 5–7 (4–4 WAC) in 2007. Louisiana Tech kicked off the season with a victory over Mississippi State, finished tied for second place in the WAC, and capped off the year with an Independence Bowl victory over Northern Illinois.

2008 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football
Independence Bowl champion
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record8–5 (5–3 WAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorFrank Scelfo (2nd season)
Offensive schemeMultiple pro-style
Defensive coordinatorTommy Spangler (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
CaptainWeldon Brown, Quin Harris, Daniel Porter
Home stadiumJoe Aillet Stadium
Seasons
← 2007
2009 →
2008 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 11 Boise State $   8 0     12 1  
Louisiana Tech   5 3     8 5  
Nevada   5 3     7 6  
Hawaii   5 3     7 7  
Fresno State   4 4     7 6  
San Jose State   4 4     6 6  
Utah State   3 5     3 9  
New Mexico State   1 7     3 9  
Idaho   1 7     2 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Before the season

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Recruiting

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US college sports recruiting information for 2008 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40 Commit date
Taylor Bennett
QB
St. Louis, MO Georgia Tech 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 4.75 Transfer 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Colby Cameron
QB
Newbury Park, CA Newbury Park 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 167 lb (76 kg) - Mar 27, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Richie Casey
WR
Homer, LA Homer 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 4.60 Dec 17, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 40
Adrien Cole
LB
Mobile, AL McGill-Toolen 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 4.50 Jan 4, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 40
Jimmie Crawford
DB
Harvey, LA West Jefferson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 4.63 Feb 20, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 40
Eric Fiege
WR
Santee, CA West Hills 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 4.49 Feb 15, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Scott Gonzalez
OL
Katy, TX Mayde Creek 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 311 lb (141 kg) - Jun 30, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Eric Harper
DE
Marrero, LA John Ehret 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 223 lb (101 kg) 4.65 Jan 30, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 77
Kwame Jordan
DE
Fort Scott, KS Fort Scott 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 233 lb (106 kg) 4.77 Dec 19, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Christian Lacey
DE
Harvey, LA Shaw 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 230 lb (100 kg) 4.70 Dec 16, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 73
Michael Lacy
OL
Gulfport, MS Gulfport 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 315 lb (143 kg) 5.40 Jan 12, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 77
Phillip Longino
DT
Missouri City, TX Marshall 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 274 lb (124 kg) 5.30 Jan 2, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 40
Josh Parrish
OL
Klein, TX Klein Collins 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 4.90 Jan 31, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 40
Solomon Randle
LB
Mobile, AL LeFlore 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 217 lb (98 kg) 4.70 Jan 29, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 40
Kevin Saia
OL
Geismar, LA Dutchtown 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 296 lb (134 kg) 5.25 Sep 27, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 74
Chandler Spence
TE
Arlington, TX Lamar 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 233 lb (106 kg) 4.77 Dec 18, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 77
Todd Spence
DB
Lewisville, TX Lewisville 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 163 lb (74 kg) 4.50 Dec 12, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 40
Ketaraus Stanton
RB
Diboll, TX Diboll 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 4.53 Jan 20, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 40
R.P. Stuart
WR
Austin, TX Anderson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 4.56 Dec 22, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 40
Zack Summage
DB
Shreveport, LA Evangel 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 4.65 Feb 15, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Darrius Terry
DB
Lufkin, TX Lufkin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) - Jan 19, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 45
Houston Tuminello
WR
Gilmer, TX Gilmer 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 4.63 Aug 11, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 74
Cruz Williams
WR
Little Rock, AR Pulaski 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 4.45 Jun 11, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 79
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 96   Rivals: 74
  • ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 11, 2009.

T-Day spring game

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1 2 3 4 Total
White 0 0 0 14 14
Blue 0 6 7 0 13

On April 12, 2008, the White Team came from behind to beat the Blue Team 14–13 at Joe Aillet Stadium. Defense dominated the first half as neither team's offense could muster a score. With nine seconds remaining in the second quarter, the Blue Team's Jay Dudley blocked a Brad Oestricher field goal attempt, and Brian White recovered the ball and ran 71 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was missed, and the Blue Team went into the locker room with a 6–0 halftime lead. In the third quarter, the Blue Team extended their lead to 13–0 on a trick play as TE Dennis Morris tossed a touchdown pass to WR Philip Beck. Just seconds into the fourth quarter, RB William Griffin rushed for a three-yard touchdown for the White Team's first score of the game. Later in the fourth quarter, QB Ross Jenkins connected on a thirty-yard touchdown pass to WR Phillip Livas to complete the White Team's 14–13 comeback win. LB Quin Harris led the White Team with four tackles including a sack. Josh Victorian had 3.5 tackles and pulled in an interception. The Blue Team's D'Anthony Smith had four tackles on the day with two sacks. Shawn Simmons led the Blue Team with 8.5 tackles. LB Jay Dudley had 5.5 tackles with a sack. Brian White added an interception to go with his return for a touchdown, and safety Deon Young added another interception.[1]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 305:45 p.m.Mississippi State*ESPN2W 22–1425,224
September 66:10 p.m.at No. 14 Kansas*FSNL 0–2948,621
September 206:00 p.m.Southeastern Louisiana*
  • Joe Aillet Stadium
  • Ruston, LA
W 41–2617,623
October 17:00 p.m.at No. 17 Boise StateESPNL 3–3832,071
October 1111:05 p.m.at HawaiiKFVEL 14–2440,246
October 186:00 p.m.Idaho
  • Joe Aillet Stadium
  • Ruston, LA
W 46–1412,400
October 2512:00 p.m.at Army*ESPN360L 7–1427,383
November 11:30 p.m.Fresno State 
  • Joe Aillet Stadium
  • Ruston, LA
KFRE-TVW 38–3520,300
November 87:00 p.m.at San Jose StateW 21–016,170
November 151:30 p.m.Utah State
  • Joe Aillet Stadium
  • Ruston, LA
W 45–3815,320
November 223:00 p.m.at New Mexico StateW 35–3117,426
November 291:30 p.m.Nevada
  • Joe Aillet Stadium
  • Ruston, LA
L 31–3517,254
December 287:15 p.m.vs. Northern IllinoisESPNW 17–1041,567
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Coaching staff

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Position Name Year at Tech Alma mater
Head football coach / athletics director Derek Dooley 2nd Virginia '90
Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks Frank Scelfo 2nd Louisiana-Monroe '81
Defensive coordinator Tommy Spangler 2nd Georgia '84
Defensive line Jimmy Brumbaugh 1st Auburn '03
Linebackers Stan Eggen 1st Moorhead State '77
Running backs Chino Fontenette 2nd Tulane '03
Wide receivers Conroy Hines 15th Louisiana Tech '89
Defensive backs / recruiting coordinator Terry Joseph 2nd Northwestern State '96
Offensive line (interim) Art Kehoe 1st Miami '82
Special teams / tight ends Eric Russell 2nd Idaho '91
Head strength and conditioning coach Damon Harrington 5th Louisiana Tech '00
Character education coordinator /
Assistant strength and conditioning coach
Ed Jackson 16th Louisiana Tech '83
Graduate assistant Ben Larson 2nd Susquehanna '05
Graduate assistant (defense) Ryan Fournier 1st Southeastern Louisiana '06
Graduate assistant Aaron Lips 1st Louisiana Tech '05
Videoo operations David Snyder 1st Clemson '05

Game summaries

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Mississippi State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Miss. St. 7 7 0 0 14
LA Tech 3 6 10 3 22

Kansas

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1 2 3 4 Total
LA Tech 0 0 0 0 0
Kansas 3 10 16 0 29

Southeastern Louisiana

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1 2 3 4 Total
SELU 10 13 0 3 26
LA Tech 14 14 10 3 41

Boise State

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1 2 3 4 Total
LA Tech 0 3 0 0 3
Boise St. 7 14 10 7 38

Hawaii

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1 2 3 4 Total
LA Tech 0 7 0 7 14
Hawaii 7 14 3 0 24

Idaho

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1 2 3 4 Total
Idaho 7 7 0 0 14
LA Tech 9 24 10 3 46

Army

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1 2 3 4 Total
LA Tech 0 0 7 0 7
Army 7 0 0 7 14

Fresno State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Fresno St. 7 14 7 7 35
LA Tech 7 7 10 14 38

San Jose State

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1 2 3 4 Total
LA Tech 0 14 0 7 21
SJSU 0 0 0 0 0

Utah State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Utah St. 10 7 13 8 38
LA Tech 7 21 7 10 45

New Mexico State

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1 2 3 4 Total
LA Tech 7 21 0 7 35
NM State 0 17 7 7 31

Nevada

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1 2 3 4 Total
Nevada 0 7 14 14 35
LA Tech 7 10 14 0 31

Northern Illinois

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1 2 3 4 Total
NIU 7 0 3 0 10
LA Tech 7 7 3 0 17

Statistics

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Team

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Tech Opp
Scoring 320 308
  Points per Game 24.6 23.7
First Downs 234 255
  Rushing 138 71
  Passing 78 166
  Penalty 18 18
Total Offense 4460 4895
  Avg per Play 5.2 5.4
  Avg per Game 343.1 376.5
Fumbles-Lost 23-10 20-12
Penalties-Yards 79-683 77-651
  Avg per Game 52.5 50.1
Tech Opp
Punts-Yards 72-2915 75-2772
  Avg per Punt 40.5 37.0
Time of Possession/Game 28:46 31:14
3rd Down Conversions 62/189 73/193
4th Down Conversions 6/19 10/21
Touchdowns Scored 40 39
Field Goals-Attempts-Long 14-28-50 12-14-49
PAT-Attempts 38-40 36-37
Attendance 108,121 181,917
  Games/Avg per Game 6/18,020 7/31,926

Scores by quarter

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1 2 3 4 Total
Opponents 72 110 73 53 308
LA Tech 61 134 71 54 320

Offense

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Rushing

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Name GP-GS Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G
Daniel Porter 13 222 1262 98 1164 5.2 9 43 89.5
Patrick Jackson 13 143 676 23 653 4.6 8 24 50.2
Phillip Livas 13 30 342 5 337 11.2 2 78 25.9
R.P. Stuart 13 9 87 8 79 8.8 2 21 5.6
Myke Compton 12 21 96 22 74 3.5 1 20 6.2
Ross Jenkins 11 61 196 140 56 0.9 1 19 5.1
Taylor Bennett 7 20 82 27 55 2.8 0 20 7.9
Allen Gilbert 2 3 17 0 17 5.7 0 7 8.5
Quin Harris 10 1 6 0 6 6.0 0 6 0.6
Chris Keagle 13 1 4 0 4 4.0 0 4 0.3
Shane Womack 10 1 0 2 -2 -2.0 0 0 -0.2
Team 8 11 0 11 -11 -1.0 0 0 -1.4
Total 13 523 2768 336 2432 4.7 23 78 187.1

Passing

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Name GP-GS Effic Att-Cmp-Int Pct Yds TD Lng Avg/G
Ross Jenkins 11 118.46 174-92-3 52.9 1155 7 68 105.0
Taylor Bennett 7 80.20 167-66-6 39.5 873 2 57 124.7
Team 8 0.00 1-0-0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0
Patrick Jackson 13 -200.00 1-0-1 0.0 0 0 0 0.0
Total 13 98.56 343-158-10 46.1 2028 9 68 156.0

Receiving

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Name GP-GS No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/G
Phillip Livas 13 43 607 14.1 2 68 46.7
Philip Beck 13 25 268 10.7 0 53 20.6
Patrick Jackson 13 16 196 12.2 3 34 15.1
Daniel Porter 13 12 181 15.1 1 44 13.9
Houston Tuminello 11 12 117 9.8 0 16 10.6
Anthony Harrison 13 9 101 11.2 0 32 7.8
Shane Womack 10 8 109 13.6 1 26 10.9
Dennis Morris 12 7 158 22.6 1 60 13.2
Dustin Mitchell 13 7 112 16.0 1 35 8.6
R.P. Stuart 13 7 58 8.3 0 14 4.1
Josh Wheeler 2 4 63 15.8 0 39 31.5
Myke Compton 12 3 6 2.0 0 4 0.5
Adrian Linwood 4 2 48 24.0 0 34 12.0
Eric Fiege 4 2 12 6.0 0 8 3.0
Ross Jenkins 11 1 -8 -8.0 0 0 -0.7
Total 13 158 2028 12.8 9 68 156.0

Defense

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Name GP Tackles Sacks Pass Defense Interceptions Fumbles Blkd
Kick
Solo Ast Total TFL-Yds No-Yds BrUp QBH No.-Yds Avg TD Long Rcv-Yds FF
Antonio Baker 13 63 52 115 4.5-16 4 3-9 3.0 0 3 2-0 3 1
Weldon Brown 13 49 26 75 1.5-5 0.5-3 6 2 5-10 2.0 0 8 1-0 2
D'Anthony Smith 13 27 38 65 8.0-45 5.0-41 3 3
Brannon Jackson 13 29 35 64 3.5-12 2.5-11 1 2 2
Stevon Howze 13 37 24 61 1.0-1 10 1-19 19.0 0 19
Deon Young 13 33 26 59 7 3-42 14.0 0 42
Tarence Calais 13 28 22 50 3.0-3 1.0-1 1
Quin Harris 10 19 30 49 1.0-4 0.5-3 1 2 1-0 0.0 0 0 1-0
Dominique Faust 12 18 24 42 4.5-38 3.0-36 2 1 1-60 60.0 1 60
Mason Hitt 13 8 26 34 4.5-14 2.5-9 1 1
Jared Barron 13 13 20 33 7.0-20 2.5-11 1 1-0
Kiamni Washington 13 15 16 31 1.0-1 2 1 1 1
Adrien Cole 10 14 16 30 1.0-3
Terry Carter 13 16 12 28 2 2-50 25.0 1 50 1-6 1
Matt Broha 13 12 15 27 3.5-7 1.5-5 3 1 1-40 40.0 1 40
Brian White 5 7 12 19 2.0-7 0.5-5 1 1
Kwame Jordan 8 5 11 16 6.0-27 3.5-16 1
Adrian Logan 10 10 5 15 2.5-4
Myke Compton 12 6 9 15
Nolan Darby 6 1 12 13 2.0-3 0.5-1
Christian Lacey 8 6 6 12 5.0-26 4.0-24 1
Josh Victorian 9 7 4 11 3
Randy Grigsby 9 6 5 11 1.5-7 0.5-4
Breon Jackson 8 3 8 11 1.0-1
Dusty Rust 9 3 6 9
Keith Brown 11 5 3 8 1-0 1
Alex Anderson 11 5 2 7 1
Jay Dudley 4 2 4 6
Eric Harper 6 2 3 5 1.0-2
Dustin Mitchell 13 3 2 5
Anthony Harrison 13 4 4 2-0
Darrius Terry 8 2 1 3 2 1-0 1
Philip Longino 5 3 3 1-0
Thomas Graham 10 1 1 2
R.P. Stuart 13 1 1 2
Daniel Porter 13 1 1 2
Shawn Simmons 5 2 2
Phillip Livas 13 1 1
Brad Oestriecher 13 1 1
Taylor Bennett 7 1 1
Drexel Perkins 3 1 1
Roosevelt Falls 3 1-0
Allen Gilbert 2 1
Total 13 465 483 948 65-246 27-168 48 17 17-230 13.5 3 60 12-6 11 5

Special teams

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Name Punting Kickoffs
No. Yds Avg Long TB FC I20 Blkd No. Yds Avg TB OB
Chris Keagle 72 2915 40.5 59 7 15 27 0
Brad Oestriecher 66 4051 61.4 5 2
Total 72 2915 40.5 59 7 15 27 0 66 4051 61.4 5 2
Name Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Yds Avg TD Long No. Yds Avg TD Long
Phillip Livas 16 245 15.3 2 81 32 826 25.8 1 97
Philip Beck 12 127 10.6 0 28 13 324 24.9 0 40
Keith Brown 1 23 23.0 0 0
Antonio Baker 1 5 5.0 0 0
Stevon Howze 1 0 0.0 0 0
Alex Anderson 0 2 0.0 1 2
Dennis Morris 2 14 7.0 0 9
Weldon Brown 1 24 24.0 0 24
Patrick Jackson 1 24 24.0 0 24
Dustin Mitchell 1 6 6.0 0 6
R.P. Stuart 1 0 0.0 0 0
Total 31 402 13.0 3 81 51 1218 23.9 1 97

References

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  1. ^ "Late Rally Lifts White Team to Top". Louisiana Tech University. Retrieved April 12, 2008.