I'm proud to be a Bulldog!

In the famous words of Dave Nitz, "Ya gotta love it!"

Nitz, the legendary voice of the Bulldogs, has called Louisiana Tech football games for 34 years. He's been at the mic for many of Tech's biggest games ever. I don't know for sure where Saturday's game fits in historically, but man what a big win!

My Bulldogs, for the first time in school history, welcomed an SEC team into Ruston. And for the first time since knocking off SEC champion Alabama in 1999, Tech came away the victor.

There have been a few big games in Ruston over the years -- namely welcoming defending national champion Miami in 2003, as well as upsetting Oklahoma State the year before, and playing Tech's first ever WAC game against SMU in 2001. In recent years, all of Tech's biggest home games have taken place at Independence Stadium, about an hour west of campus.

But not this one. This game took place in Ruston. At Joe Aillet Stadium. On that beautiful new turf.

I can't harp too much on the crowd, which was a disappointing 25,000+. Hey, I wasn't there, so who am I to complain that others didn't show up? I certainly am sorry I missed out on one of the biggest wins in school history. And I'm saddened we couldn't get the first sellout in Aillet Stadium history.

But right now, all that matters is Louisiana Tech is 1-0, boasting a victory over an SEC school. And an SEC school that was supposed to be up-and-coming, after making a bowl game last season.

It wasn't the greatest debut for Taylor Bennett, who was sluggish early and often. Bennett, a transfer from Georgia Tech, did enough to get the win, helping the Bulldogs rally from a 14-3 deficit late in the first half and to a 22-14 win. That's the most surprising thing to me in the upset. Tech outscored Miss. State 19-0 over the final 33 minutes of the game. Pitched a shutout in the second half. Amazing.

Great job Bulldogs. I am so proud of you guys and happy to be a Tech alum right now. We all wanted to believe that Derek Dooley was doing things the right way and taking this program in the right direction. This is proof that our faith in the man isn't without merit.

Now all we need is an encore. Next up for the Bulldogs is a trip to nationally-ranked Kansas in two weeks. A win there really would serve notice to the nation that this group of Tech Bulldogs is here to play!