THIBODAUX - The Nicholls State University football team will make the short trip to Louisiana-Lafayette to square off against the Ragin' Cajuns, a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), on Saturday night at Cajun Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:08 p.m.

Nicholls (1-1) is coming off a 38-7 loss at Western Michigan, also of the FBS, last Saturday and will be looking to pick up its first win in program history against ULL (1-1). The Ragin' Cajuns hold a 2-0 all-time record against the Colonels, including a 20-0 victory in their last meeting on Sept. 1, 2001. However, since 2000, ULL has three losses versus Southland Conference opponents, most recently against McNeese State in 2007.

After exploding for 42 points in the 2011 season opener, the Colonel offense was shutout at WMU as Nicholls scored its only touchdown on an interception return. Although Nicholls was held under 100 yards passing for the second time, the rushing game continued to have success by accumulating 125 yards on the ground. The Colonels head into the matchup against ULL ranked 12th in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) with 225.5 rushing yards per game.

Leading the rushing attack is junior quarterback LaQuintin Caston (170 yards) and sophomore running back Marcus Washington (100 yards). The duo has accounted for three of the four rushing scores, with sophomore Tyrie Allen adding a touchdown and 46 yards on the year.

On defense, senior cornerback Chika Madu highlighted a plethora of individual career-best performances, scoring his first career touchdown on a 36-yard interception return. Madu was named Southland Conference Player of the Week for defense, finishing with four tackles and a forced fumble. Junior middle linebacker Jordan Piper had a career day as well, recording 13 tackles in the loss.

Louisiana-Lafayette, out of the Sun Belt Conference, is coming off a 20-12 win at Kent State. The Ragin' Cajun defense paved the way for ULL, holding the Golden Flashes to 186 yards on offense. ULL forced four turnovers in the game, leading to 17 points that included its third interception returned for a touchdown this season.

Leaders on offense for ULL include quarterback Blaine Gautier (134 yds. passing), running back Qyenda Griffin (88 yds. rushing) and wide receiver Javone Lawson (6 rec., 101 yds.). Linebacker Lance Kelley heads the defense with 17 tackles on the year.

Nicholls and Louisiana-Lafayette will kickoff at Cajun Field at 6:08 p.m. Mike Wagenheim and Seth Thomas will cover all the action live on The Colonel Radio Network on 100.3 FM KLRZ, 105.9 FM KBZE and 1600 AM KLEB. The game will also be broadcast on the Ragin' Cajun Network on Cox Channel 4. 

Nicholls vs. ULL Game Notes
TV Coverage: Ragin' Cajun TV - Cox Channel 4
Radio Coverage: 100.3 FM KLRZ (Larose, La.); 1600 AM KLEB (Golden Meadow, La.); 105.9 FM KBZE (Morgan City, La.)
Broadcast Team: Mike Wagenheim (play-by-play) and Seth Thomas (color analyst)
Colonels on the internet: www.klrzfm.com; www.kbze.com
Live Stats: www.geauxcolonels.com