A loss to the University of Hawaii football team was a turning point in a Western Athletic Conference championship season for Louisiana Tech, Bulldogs head coach Sonny Dykes said today.

“I think it was, in some ways,” Dykes said on the WAC coaches’ teleconference.

After a 44-26 loss to the Warriors Oct. 1 in Ruston, La., the Bulldogs won seven games in a row, five of them on the road, to finish 8-4 (6-1 WAC) and earn a berth in the Poinsettia Bowl.

“That was the one game I think we could look back on and say, ‘you know what, we didn’t put our best foot forward in that game..'” Dykes said.

“In the Hawaii game, I thought, we didn’t play with much discipline,” Dykes said. “It gave us a chance to tighten things up a little bit. To our players’ credit, they just did a great job of hanging in there and believing and focus on the little details and working hard.”

UH coach Greg McMackin said, “I’m really happy for La Tech and Sonny Dykes. They’ve just done a great job this year.”