#FIRSTFIVE
- The Nicholls State University Colonels (0-1, 0-0 SLC) will open its 25th season in the Southland Conference with a road game at Incarnate Word (1-1, 0-1 SLC). After falling in their season opener, Nicholls will look to rebound against UIW, which posted a 2-9 record last season. The Cardinals spoiled Nicholls' Homecoming last season by defeating the Colonels, 38-20, in Thibodaux.
- The Colonels are 7-17 in their Southland openers and only 1-10 when they open on the road. Last season, Nicholls lost its SLC opener at Central Arkansas, 52-18. Nicholls will be aiming to put an end to its conference road losing skid as well, currently standing at 15 games. The last road Southland win came at Northwestern State (37-7, 11/13/10).
- Nicholls began a new era under Tim Rebowe, who is the Colonels' 10th head coach in program history, with a 47-0 loss to FBS Louisiana-Monroe. The game was competitive through the first quarter as ULM led 10-0, but 30 points by the Warhawks in the second put any hopes of an upset to rest. The Colonels' best chance to prevent the shutout came on a long drive in the third quarter, but after being stopped three times inside the 10, a 21-yard field goal attempt sailed wide to keep Nicholls scoreless.
- The Colonels are coming off their third winless campaign in program history. The team went 0-11 in 1995, but put together one of the best turnarounds in FCS history, going 8-4 in the next season which included an appearance in the FCS Playoffs. Coincidentally, Coach Rebowe was part of the staff in '96 that led the Colonels to the remarkable improvement after going winless in the prior season.
PUTTING THE 'N' IN LOUISIANA
- With 111 players listed on the 2015 roster, 95 are from Louisiana.
- All 10 coaches have ties to Louisiana. Six are from Louisiana and graduated college from the Pelican State. The other four all coached at a Louisiana university, with one graduating from within the boarders.
- All 26 players who Tim Rebowe signed in his first recruiting class are from Louisiana. BY THE NUMBERS
2 - Since joining the Southland Conference in 1991, only two Nicholls head coachs - Phil Greco and Daryl Daye - have started their Southland career with a victory
5 - For the fifth time in his career, junior DB B.T. Sanders recorded double figures in tackles after getting 12 stops at ULM. That matched his season-high of last season
10 - Combined number of 100-yard games between Tuskani Figaro (5), Michael Henry (4) and Tobias Lofton (1)
16 - There are a total of 16 freshmen listed on the depth chart. Six redshirt freshmen made their first start at ULM, with four on defense
19 - Nicholls will be looking to put an end to its current losing streak, which sits at a program-worst 19 games
30 - Before playing ULM, Nicholls had not been shutout in 30 consecutive games, dating back to 2012 against Sam Houston State (41-0)
503 - Michael Henry needs 503 yards to crack the Colonels' all-time rushing list. He sits outside the top 10 with 1,243 yards
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS - UIW, located in San Antonio, is in its second season in the Southland Conference. The Cardinals won two games in their inaugural campaign, defeating Nicholls and Houston Baptist.
- The Cardinals are 1-1 this season. UIW won it's opener against Texas A&M-Kingsville, 18-16, with the help of a rare scoring opportunity. After scoring a touchdown that tied the game at 16 with 5 minutes remaining, UIW had its extra point blocked, but the ball was caught by the kicker who then ran it in for a two-point conversion.
- UIW lost its conference opener at McNeese State last weekend, 43-6. The Cowboy defense held the Cardinals to just 12 yards rushing, helped by six sacks.
- UIW is led on offense by the duo of WR Jordan Hicks and TE Cole Wick. Hicks had a 56-yd kick return against Nicholls last season while Wick put together a career night, hauling in four catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. In two games, Wick has 10 catches for 135 yards, followed by Hicks with seven grabs for 95 yards.
SERIES HISTORY VS UIW
UIW leads 1-0
Colonels' Record in San Antonio : First Meeting
First Meeting: 11/1/14 @ NICH; UIW won 38-20
Most Points Scored (by both): 58, 2014
Most Points Scored by NICH: 20, 2014
Most Points Scored by UIW: 38, 2014
LAGNIAPPESDIAMOND TO THE GRIDIRON (Video)Starting cornerback
Darius Knight joined the football team over the summer after playing two seasons with the Colonel baseball team. A junior college transfer, Knight logged 64 starts in his two seasons with the Nicholls baseball team, helping lead the Colonels to back-to-back top three finishes in the Southland. He was third on the team in batting average in 2015, hitting .275 with 12 RBIs, 25 runs scored and led the conference with 12 sacrifice bunts.
ON THE AIRWAVES (Story)ESPN Radio New Orleans, KLRZ 100.3 FM will be the home for Colonel football for all 11 games. KLRZ is an 89,000 watt FM station devoting 27 hours a week to live, local programming. In addition to live coverage of each game, ESPN Radio New Orleans will conduct interviews with Colonel coaches and players throughout the season.
Bryant Johnson will cover play-by-play and will be joined by Seth Thomas (color) and Kyle Carrier (sideline).
THE TIM REBOWE SHOW (Story)After the ULM game, the
Tim Rebowe Radio Show debuted Tuesday night on ESPN New Orleans 100.3 FM. The two-hour show, hosted by Ken Frielander and Voice of the Colonels,
Bryant Johnson, will take place at Walk-On's in Houma every Tuesday night from 6-8 p.m. Rebowe will be featured in the weekly show from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
CLASS ACTRedshirt sophomore
Geoffrey Hebert is one player who defines student-athlete. Last season, Hebert recorded 30 tackles as he played in all 12 games. He is also one of the brightest players in the classroom, posting a 4.0 GPA as a double major in accounting and finance.
SOUTHLAND WEEKLY COACHES' CALL (REBOWE'S CALL STARTS AT THE 4:00 MINUTE MARK) HOME TICKET INFORMATION
Season and single-game tickets for the Colonels' four home games in 2015 are available by calling the Nicholls State University Athletics ticket office at 985-448-4790 or by visiting geauxcolonels.com.
