KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - The Bulldogs used 21 answered third quarter points to put away Wayne State (Mich.) and secure head coach Kellen Nesbitt's first career win Saturday at Stokes Stadium.

Truman State trailed 10-3 at half but chewed up 64 yards and nearly five minutes off the clock across nine plays to open the third frame. The drive, which resulted in a Denim Cook 8-yard touchdown rush, featured two third down conversations including a Joseph Spaulding 15-yard reception to cross midfield on a third and eight and Cook reeling in an 18-yard pass on third and seven.

The Bulldogs emphasized better success on third downs at halftime and were 3-3 in the quarter to 1-3 converting third down by the Warriors.

"They were extending their drives and we couldn't extend ours so that was a big emphasis at half time figuring out what we could do to get them off and keep ourselves on," Nesbitt said. "I think we did a good job getting a couple three and outs, and I thought they wore down a little bit and we kind of leaned on them until they broke. Right there we did a much better job on third down in the third quarter"

The Warriors completed two passes on their next possession but could not move the chains to give the ball back to the Bulldogs with 8:12 left in the third. A Jack Butchko 16-yard rush gave Truman State a first down at the Wayne State 17. Cook found the endzone for the second time scoring on an 11-yard pass from Dylan Hair.

Working with the lead for the first time this season allowed the Bulldogs to open up their running game and take pressure off Hair in his first go around as signal caller for the 'Dogs.

"We're making our first-year starter drop back forty plus times every week so we wanted to let him run and let the game come to him and do a little bit more so it was nice to play with the lead," said Nesbitt about the 195 yards Truman State accumulated on the ground. "it was nice to play with the lead to pick and choose when we wanted to throw instead of feeling like we were forced to."

The Warriors mustered their lone first down of the quarter on their ensuing drive but were forced to punt from their own 39, which Jake Closser took and raced down the sidline in front of the Truman State bench paydirt to make things 24-10 Bulldogs at the start of the fourth. Hair tacked on a 2-yard rush to finish off a 10-play, 75 yard affair consuming six minutes of time before a Wayne State touchdown pass right before the two minute time out finished scoring.

The win ends a three-game losing streak to start the season with the 'Dogs falling to Findlay, UIndy, and Saginaw Valley St. in the first three contests.

"If feels pretty good, guys were pretty excited we've been working our tails off it just hasn't worked out so far this season," Nesbitt said of the win and Bulldog tenacity in the face of dropping three in a row. "We've had unbelievable resolve and resiliency, and I thought we had the best week of practice all season so [the win] was pretty cool just from a leadership standpoint."

Cook gained 91 yards on 18 carries with two receptions for a score. Hair, seven carries for 56 yards and a touchdown, went 16-23 and 138 yards through the air. The Bulldogs racked up 333 yards total offense in the win. 

The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) schedule opens next weekend with Truman State on the road against Upper Iowa University at 6 p.m Saturday, Oct. 5, in Fayette. The Peacocks, 3-2 overall, own a 2-0 GLVC record after a win at Quincy (Ill.) University, 29-27, Saturday.