THIBODUAX – The Nicholls State University football team will continue its non-conference slate on Saturday, traveling to Division I-FBS foe Western Michigan. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CST in Waldo Stadium.

The Colonels (0-1) opened the 2010 campaign with a loss to San Diego State, while the Broncos (0-1) suffered a similar fate at Michigan State. This will mark the first-ever meeting between Nicholls and Western Michigan on the gridiron.

“We played a veteran team last week with a lot of speed, and this week will be no different. Western Michigan is a very hard-nosed, very sound team with a lot of experience. The biggest thing I want to see us accomplish is improvement from last week,” said head coach Charlie Stubbs.

“Last week we had 63 offensive snaps, and I believe that they [SDSU] blitzed on 60 of them, and I can expect to see the same from Western Michigan. We went against some very good all-around talent last week, and there will be no drop off in ability there this week.”

Nicholls ran a total of 59 offensive plays before having a turnover – a fumble late in the fourth quarter on the second-to-last offensive series of the game for the Colonels.

In the game, sophomore quarterback LaQuintin Caston led the offense, calling 55 plays for the Colonels and being turnover-free. Caston was 12-of-25 passing for 83 yards and also carried the ball 17 times for 49 yards to lead the Colonels in rushing.

The Baton Rouge, La. native also completed passes to five different receivers, targeting a total of eight in the game.

Leading the Colonels on defense was senior free safety Tarbarris Hicks with eight total tackles (six solo). Of the 11 starters on defense, six were not on last season's roster or played a down for the Colonels in 2009.

Team captains for this game will be senior linebacker Ed James, senior defensive back Tarbbaris Hicks, sophomore running back Jesse Turner and long snapper Nolan Dumas.

Notes of Interest:

Cubit and Nicholls...
Western Michigan head coach Bill Cubit has some history against the Colonels, serving on the staff at Central Florida in 1983 when Nicholls defeated the Knights 37-14 in Orlando, Fla. Some of the Colonel greats on that team were quarterbacks Keith Menard and Doug Hudson, center Jay Pennison, linebacker Johnny Meads, defensive back Greg Greely and running back Lionel Vital to name a few.

Playing On Sundays
Nicholls currently has two former greats on NFL rosters with Kareem Moore playing for the Washington Redskins, and Lardarius Webb suiting up for the Baltimore Ravens. Moore is entering his third year with the Redskins, and was slated to start this season at free safety before suffering a setback in preseason that will sideline him until Week Two, while Webb made his 2010 debut last week in preseason. As a rookie, Webb ranked ninth in the NFL on kickoff returns, averaging 26.2 yards and running one back for a 95-yard touchdown. Both Webb and Moore played on the same team at Nicholls in 2007, leading the team to a 6-5 overall record and to the school's highest ranking ever at No. 13 in the Sports Network Poll on Oct. 14, 2007. The duo also led Nicholls to a 16-14 upset of Rice to start the 2007 campaign with Webb coming up with a school-tying three interceptions. Truth be told, he dropped a sure-fire fourth interception in the third quarter that bounced in and out of his grip.

Young Enough?
In last week's season opener, Nicholls traveled over 30 freshmen, and at several points in the game, had at least five freshmen on the field at once. Nicholls started three freshmen: wide receiver Tyrie Allen, tight end Josh Dudley and safety Jordan Hanberry. Due to depth at many positions, more freshmen will see the field this season than originally anticipated.

Following the Colonels:

Game Notes: Nicholls vs. Western Michigan Release
Colonels on Television: None
Colonels Radio Network: KLRZ 100.3 FM in Larose, 100,000 watts (Flagship), KBZE 105.9 FM in Morgan City, 5,000 watts, KFRA 1390 AM in Franklin, 500 watts, KLEB 1600 AM in Galliano, 500 watts
Broadcast team: Brennan Matherne (play-by-play) and Seth Thomas (analyst)
Colonels on the internet: www.klrzfm.com, www.kbze.com
Live Statistics: www.WMUBroncos.com