RUSTON, La. - Daniel Porter ran for 160 yards and two touchdowns and Louisiana Tech snapped Hawaii's touchdown streak at 62 games with a 27-6 win Wednesday night.
Porter jumped from 10th to eighth on the Louisiana Tech (2-2, 1-0 WAC) career rushing list and kept Hawaii (2-2, 0-1) on the chase the entire game. The senior surpassed his season total of 145 yards rushing, as did the team with 352.
The Bulldogs entered the game ranked 103rd of 120 FBS teams with 97.3 yards rushing per game. Porter nearly reached that number in the first half and continued to make big runs as Louisiana Tech pulled away in the second half for its ninth win in its last 10 home games.
The Louisiana Tech defense held the No. 7 offense to 301 yards, well below its average of 515.3. The Bulldogs sacked quarterback Greg Alexander five times before knocking him from the game late in the third, and finished with seven.
The Warriors, playing their third consecutive road game, had allowed just 126.7 yards rushing per game. The Bulldogs saw something they could exploit, though, and went after the heart of Hawaii's defense from the start.
Porter scored his first touchdown late in the first quarter from 3 yards out, helping the Bulldogs to a 10-6 halftime lead. The Bulldogs rushed nine times on the 11-play drive for 71 yards. Porter had 47 of his 95 first-half yards on the drive.
Adrian Logan tipped Alexander's first pass of the second half at the line of scrimmage and fellow defensive lineman Kwame Jordan intercepted the pass. The Bulldogs moved down to the 7 and Porter scored from a yard out after three consecutive carries to make it 17-6.
Myke Compton's 6-yard run with 2:22 remaining in the third quarter put the Bulldogs up 24-6 and the game out of reach after Alexander injured his knee or ankle on a hard hit by Adrien Cole.
Porter finished shy of his career high of 189 yards, set last season against Fresno State. It was still a great day for the senior. Along with moving up on the career rushing list (he has 2,514 yards), he moved into ninth on the career carries list (468) and needs one more rushing touchdown (21) to enter the top 10 in that category.
Tyrone Duplessis added 75 yards rushing and Phillip Livas had 52 in Bulldogs coach Derek Dooley's first win against Hawaii.
The defense was just as impressive as the rushing game, mostly keeping the Warriors' run-and-shoot offense in the middle of the field. Hawaii's best chance to score a touchdown came with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter on a 40-yard pass to Salas. But Salas fumbled into the end zone from the 1 and Louisiana Tech recovered.