SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 12, 2011

Louisiana Tech used a strong defensive effort to pull away and become bowl-eligible with a 27-7 victory at Mississippi on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (6-4) have won five consecutive games for the first time since 1999. The win was Louisiana Tech's second against Ole Miss (2-8) and its first since 1946.

Louisiana Tech continued its opportunistic play on defense, breaking it open with a pair of defensive scores in the second half. Chad Boyd scooped up a Randall Mackey fumble and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown to make it 20-7 with 3:49 left in the third quarter and Javontay Crowe returned a Zack Stoudt interception 26 yards for a score with 11:08 remaining.

The Bulldogs have 16 interceptions and have returned four for touchdowns.

Louisiana Tech had a 100-yard rusher for the second consecutive week. Lennon Creer hit the mark against Fresno State last week, and freshman Hunter Lee led the offense with 127 yards on 24 carries against the Rebels for his second 100-yard game.

Ole Miss kicker Bryson Rose missed a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter to snap his streak of 17 consecutive made field goals dating to last season. Rose had the longest active streak in the nation and was one shy of the SEC record set by Tennessee's Fuad Reveiz in 1984. Rose also missed a 52-yard attempt in the third quarter.

Rebels coach Houston Nutt, who will step down at the end of the season, dropped to 24-24 in four seasons at Ole Miss.