Louisiana Tech Beats Hawaii 31-14 to Win 2018 Hawaii Bowl

Louisiana Tech closed out its season on a high note with a 31-14 win over Hawaii in Saturday's Hawaii Bowl.

Quarterback J'Mar Smith scored one passing and one rushing touchdown in what was effectively a road game for the Bulldogs, helping the team finish 8-5 on the season.

Louisiana Tech also now has bowl wins in five straight seasons, the longest active streak in college football, per Kevin McGuire of NBC Sports. Head coach Skip Holtz is now 7-3 in his bowl career.

Chevan Cordeiro and Cole McDonald each spent time at quarterback for Hawaii (8-6), but neither was able to find much success in the loss.

The Louisiana Tech defense was impressive throughout the day, holding a quality offense to just 226 yards from scrimmage. The team forced nine punts and three turnovers, including a game-changing interception in the third quarter while down 7-3:

Jaylon Ferguson was a key part of the success, as he passed Terrell Suggs as the all-time NCAA sack leader with 2.5 sacks Saturday, giving him 45 for his career.

Willie Baker also had a huge game on the defensive line with four of the team's nine sacks.

The offense failed to hold up its end of the bargain with three first-half turnovers, but the unit woke up in the third quarter thanks to several big plays:

The Bulldogs scored 21 straight points in the second half to pull away against their Mountain West opponent.

Kam McKnight then helped seal the victory with a 39-yard touchdown run with under four minutes remaining.

Hawaii not only struggled to keep up on the scoreboard, but the squad also couldn't even decide what to do at quarterback. McDonald entered the game as the starter for Hawaii but didn't last long before the coaching staff made a change:

The Warriors punted in each of their first three drives with McDonald under center, only managing a single first down. 

Cordeiro found more success when he got a chance in the second quarter, leading a seven-play, 71-yard drive ending in a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jason-Matthew Sharsh. This was enough to go into halftime with a 7-3 lead.

Unfortunately, neither quarterback did much on the field outside of that drive.

Cordeiro finished with 83 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception, while McDonald ended his night with 85 yards, one touchdown and two picks.

Both quarterbacks should return next season with high expectations as head coach Nick Rolovich has the program heading in the right direction, but this game will not be in too many offensive highlight reels.

Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech will hope it can find similar success in 2019 despite losing key players like Ferguson and Teddy Veal to graduation.