SHREVEPORT, La. — With law degree in hand, Derek Dooley had his life mapped out. Then he had a change of heart and decided he'd rather follow his first love — football.

Good choice, coach.

Dooley led a revitalized Louisiana Tech to a 17-10 win over Northern Illinois in the Independence Bowl on Sunday night, validating his decision and showing he may have the magic touch of his father, iconic former Georgia coach Vince Dooley, and his mentor Nick Saban.

"You look at a two-year body of work, and we're proud," Dooley said. "But it's not time to pat ourselves on the back. We've got to come back and do it again next year."

Like his father, who won 201 games and appeared in 20 bowl games, Dooley is a head coach and athletic director who won in his first postseason appearance. And just like ol' dad, he used special teams, defense and the running game to prevail.

Phillip Livas returned a kickoff 97 yards, Daniel Porter rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown, and Weldon Brown finished with 14 tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and too many big plays to list.

It was the first postseason win for the Bulldogs (8-5) since the 1977 Independence Bowl, and they did it with their seventh come-from-behind win of the season. The Bulldogs haven't won eight games since 1999.

The victory over Northern Illinois completed a quick turnaround under Dooley. Two seasons ago such a scenario would be hard to imagine. The Bulldogs won three games, then five last year. But Louisiana Tech kicked off 2008 with an upset of Mississippi State and earned its first postseason trip since the 2001 Humanitarian Bowl by winning four of its last five regular-season games.

"They went out as champions," Dooley said. "That was our goal, to go out as champions."

Dooley practiced law in a private firm in Atlanta for two years before turning back to football. He was a volunteer assistant at Georgia and recruiting coordinator at SMU before joining the LSU staff.