THIBODAUX, La. – For the second straight week, the Nicholls State University football team will face a Top 25 team as the Colonels host ninth-ranked and Southland Conference defending champion Sam Houston State on Saturday at John L. Guidry Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

The 28th meeting against the Bearkats will serve as the Colonels' homecoming game. Nicholls is 2-3 in its last five homecoming contests, winning in 2008 and 2010. The matchup will be broadcast live on the Colonel Sports Radio Network, and a live video stream will be available on ThibodauxOnline.com.

In only its second home game of the 2012 slate, Nicholls (1-3, 0-1) hopes for a similar performance from its last outing in front of the home crowd which saw the Colonels score the second-highest point total in program history in their 73-17 win over Evangel. However, Sam Houston (3-2, 1-1) has dominated the all-time series of late, winning the last six matchups to take a 16-10-1 advantage. The series is even in Thibodaux, with each team winning seven times with one tie.

Last weekend at Central Arkansas, which moved up three spots in the polls to No. 21, Nicholls led at the half, 14-13, but were held scoreless in the final two quarters en route to a 34-14 loss in its conference opener. The Colonels posted nearly 300 yards of offense before the break, however; UCA limited Nicholls to just 70 yards in the final 30 minutes.

Nicholls will need another strong performance from junior quarterback Landry Klann, who passed for 269 yards and a touchdown against UCA. Klann's performance last week gave Nicholls 250-plus yards passing in back-to-back games for the first time in 14 years. Klann has also completed five passes for over 50 yards this season, in contrast to last year where the Colonels' longest passing play went for 47 yards.

The Colonels come in with the Southland's third best rushing offense (183 ypg), but Sam Houston counters with the nation's sixth toughest rush defense, allowing only 70.4 yards per game. In the Bearkats' 51-43 shootout victory against Stephen F. Austin last week, the defense gave up only 21 yards on the ground, but the secondary was torched for 545 yards in the air.

Sam Houston, last season's national runners-up, features several threats on offense, led by its all-American running back Tim Flanders. Flanders heads the Southland's top rushing attack (259.6 ypg), leading the league with 100 yards per game. Last season, the Colonels held Flanders to a 3.3 yard per carry average on 15 rushes, but the first-team All-Southland back scored two touchdowns in the 40-point victory.

Nicholls will have to find a way to slow down Sam Houston, which leads the Southland in scoring with 39.6 points per game. For the Colonel defense, senior linebacker Jordan Piper earned some well-deserved recognition this week after his record day of 23 tackles last Saturday. Piper currently leads the Southland in tackles, ranking fourth in the FCS with 12.25 per game.

Although Nicholls ended its double-digit losing streak with its home-opening victory, the loss at UCA extended its conference drought to eight games, dating back to the end of the 2010 season.

Following Saturday's game, the Colonel hit the road for their next two contests, taking on Stephen F. Austin (Oct. 20) and Northwestern State (Oct. 27).

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GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Nicholls vs. No. 9 Sam Houston Notes
Radio Coverage: 100.3 FM KLRZ (Larose, La.); 1600 AM KLEB (Golden Meadow, La.); 106.3 FM KXOR (Houma, La.)
Broadcast Team: Mike Wagenheim (play-by-play), Seth Thomas (color)
Colonels on the Internet: www.klrzfm.com, www.la1063.com
Live Stats: www.geauxcolonels.com
Live Video: ThibodauxOnline.com