NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY COLONELS (2-3, 2-1 SLC) at HBU Huskies (2-3, 1-2 SLC)
Houston, Texas (Husky Stadium)
Saturday, Oct. 15 | 7 p.m. CT
Nicholls Game Notes | HBU Game Notes
Video Stream: FOX Sports GO
Audio: 100.3 FM KLRZ
Live Stats

#FIRSTFIVE
• The Nicholls Colonels will be looking for their best start in league play since their championship season in 2005. Sitting at 2-1 in the SLC, the Colonels head to Houston Baptist with hopes of avenging a 31-21 loss in their only trip to Husky Stadium in 2014. The third matchup between the schools will be streamed live on FOX Sports GO, and can be listened to live on ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM.

• Nicholls is coming off a thrilling, 35-28, double overtime victory over Stephen F. Austin. The Colonels fell behind 14-0 early before tying the game before halftime. The squads traded touchdowns in the third before a scoreless fourth led to overtime. SFA struck first with a touchdown, but Damion Jeanpiere scored on a 25-yard catch on the first play to even it up. Nicholls then scored again on a 1-yard dive by QB Chase Fourcade to start the second OT, and Sully Laiche ended the game with a forced fumble. Nicholls had lost the last eight against SFA, last winning in 2007.

• Freshman defensive lineman Sully Laiche has made a name for himself after just five games. Laiche led Nicholls over SFA with a career-high 14 tackles, 2.5 for loss and had one sack. His forced fumbled ended the game in double OT, and he went on to be named STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Week. Against UIW, Laiche had three sacks and earned honorable mention for STATS Freshman of the Week.

• The Colonels continue to receive votes in the FCS STATS Top 25 Poll, marking the first time the team is in the polls since 2013. Nicholls pulled in a total of 38 votes after almost upsetting top 10 Georgia, added seven more following both the win over UIW (45) and loss at South Alabama (52). Nicholls had just 5 votes after the loss to McNeese, but is back up to 13. In 2013, the Colonels received votes after defeating FBS Western Michigan.

• One of the biggest question marks heading into fall camp was the running back position. With the graduation of last season's top two rushers, head coach Tim Rebowe gave CJ Okpalobi the job and he has performed admirably. Okpalobi is averaging over 60 yards rushing and has a total of four touchdowns - 3 rushing and 1 receiving. Freshman Dontrell Taylor has stepped up as well, rushing for 248 yards and 3 scores.


BY THE NUMBERS

5 - Since 2000, there have been only five quarterbacks to throw for 1,000 yards in a single season. With 7 more yards, freshman Chase Fourcade will become the sixth

8 - The Colonels have recorded eight interceptions through the first five games, surpassing their total for last season. The eight picks rank 11th in the FCS

9 - The Colonels lead the Southland in a total of nine categories - 4th down conversion, blocked kicks, blocked punts allowed, fewest penalties/yards total and per game, interceptions, and turnovers gained

11 - Junior Tyler St. Germain punted the ball a career-high 11 times in the win over SFA. Although he had a busy day, he averaged 42.9 yards per punt. He currently ranks 29th in the FCS with a 41.1 average

23 - The Colonels had lost 23 consecutive games before last season's win against HBU.Including that victory, Nicholls has posted a 5-4 record in its last nine conference games

3283 - Before last Saturday's win over SFA, the Colonels had not defeated the Lumberjacks in 3,283 days. Nicholls' last win over SFA was in a 17-16 decision in 2007 in Nacogdoches


ON THIS DATE IN COLONEL HISTORY ...

• Nicholls has a 1-4 record all-time on Oct. 15. The Colonels' lone win came in its championship season in a 37-17 victory over Sam Houston State. Yale Vannoy and Zach Morgan each rushed for over 100 yards and scored a touchdown in the 20-point win

1977 -- Tennessee Martin -- L -- 0-34 -- H
1988 -- Northwestern State -- L -- 12-27 -- A
1994 -- Stephen F. Austin -- L -- 10-24 -- A
2005 -- Sam Houston -- W -- 37-17 -- H
2011    Sam Houston -- L -- 7-47 -- H


SCOUTING THE HUSKIES

• HBU is 1-2 in Southland Conference play, highlighted by its thrilling 27-24 victory over Abilene Christian. The win over ACU marked HBU's second victory since joining the league, with its first coming two years ago against Nicholls.

• HBU is in its its third season of existance. The Huskies had a developmental season in 2013 where all of their players were granted redshirts. HBU's junior class consists of a total of 40 players.

• For the first time in program history, the Huskies took on an FBS opponent. HBU headed to Western Kentucky on Oct. 1 and was defeated, 50-3. They'll play their second one on Nov. 5 at UTEP.

• HBU's defense is led by linebacker Garret Dolan. So far this season, he has put together two phenomenal outings with 18 and 17 tackles. Dolan ranks 4th in the FCS with 12 tackles per game.


ALL-TIME SERIES vs HBU

Series Record: Tied, 1-1
in Houston: HBU leads 1-0
First Meeting: 10/25/14 @ HBU; HBU 31-21
Last Meeting: 10/17/15 @ NICH; NICH 38-17 (RECAP)
Most Points Scored (by both): 55, 2015
Most Points Scored by NICH: 38, 2015
Most Points Scored by HBU: 31, 2014

ALL-TIME RESULTS
10/25/14 -- L --  21-31 -- A
10/17/15 -- W -- 38-17 -- H


LAST OUTING
Oct. 8, 2016
Nicholls 35, SFA 28 (2 OT)

THIBODAUX, La.  – For the second time in three weeks, the Nicholls State University football team needed overtime to determine a winner, but this time, clutch plays by freshmen Chase Fourcade and Sully Laiche lifted the Colonels to a 35-28 double-overtime victory over Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at John L. Guidry Stadium. (RECAP)

NICHOLLS-HBU CONNECTIONS
HBU has three players from Louisiana, all from the Greater New Orleans area. RB BJ Kelly is from New Orleans, S Marlon Wilkins is from across the river in Harvey, and DE Andre Walker hails from Slidell. The Colonels' punt returner Mason Roberts is from the Houston area (Cypress) and defensive lineman Ja'Michael Edwards-Lott is from Richmond.

9000 Strong
The home crowd has been a huge asset for the Colonels this season, as both games have resulted in a reported attendance of at least 8,000 people. In the win over SFA, the home side completely sold out, resulting in the Colonels playing in front of the biggest crowd since 2003. The SFA Homecoming game had 9,002 spectators, while the game in 2003 drew 10,650. The largest crowd ever was in 1981 against Southern (14,125).

DEJA VU???
The Colonels' 2016 campaign has started out a lot like their 2005 championship season. In both cases, Nicholls almost upset a team from a Power 5 conference to start the season (Indiana '05, Georgia '16). They then went on to win the second game, before dropping the next two. In '05, the Colonels won their last five conference games to finish at 5-1 and earn a share of the title.