No. 23/RV Nicholls Colonels (5-2, 4-1 SLC) at UIW Cardinals (1-6, 1-4 SLC)
San Antonio, Texas (Benson Stadium)
Saturday, Oct. 28 | 2 p.m. CT
Nicholls Game Notes | UIW Game Notes
Audio: 100.3 FM KLRZ
Stream: UIW TV
Live Stats
FIRST FIVE
• The Nicholls State University football team returns from a much-needed bye week to begin its final stretch of the season, starting with a road matchup at UIW. The trip to San Antonio will be the first of three road games remaining on the schedule, with the Colonels sporting a 1-2 record away from Guidry Stadium this season. The game can be listened to on the radio on ESPN New Orleans 100.3 FM.
• Nicholls is riding a three-game winning streak following its 29-20 win over Abilene Christian two weeks ago. The three-game streak is the first since 2013 and the longest in head coach
Tim Rebowe's short tenure. The Colonels have not won four straight games since their championship season in 2005 where they reeled off five consecutive wins.
• The win over ACU on Oct. 14 saw the special teams play a significant role. Headlining the specialists was kicker
Lorran Fonseca, who went 5-for-5 in field goals to set a new single-game record. On kickoffs, he had four touchbacks and only one kick was returned past the 20-yard line. Defensive back
Kevin Johnson blocked a punt in the first quarter and it was recovered in the end zone by
Adrian Richardson for a touchdown. Johnson also had a big stop on a punt return for minus 6 yards.
• UIW and Nicholls have only met three times - all in the last three seasons - and this will be the first matchup against the Cardinals as an official member of Division I. UIW was the victors in the first two matchups, winning big in Thibodaux, 38-20, in 2014 before escaping with a 20-10 win a year later. Last season, Nicholls led 28-6 in the fourth quarter before UIW made a comeback, but fell just short at 35-28.
• For the sixth time this season, Nicholls finds itself in the Top 25, coming in at No. 23 in the FCS Coaches Poll. The Colonels made their debut in the polls for the first time in 10 years at No. 23 after their win against Prairie View A&M (Sept. 16). Following a loss to No. 3 Sam Houston, the Colonels fell out but quickly returned the next week at No. 25 with a win at Lamar. Nicholls climbed to as high as No. 20 before dropping back down to No. 23 after the bye week. The Colonels are receiving votes in the FCS STATS Poll as well, but has yet to make the rankings.
BY THE NUMBERS
5 - Junior kicker
Lorran Fonseca set a new single-game program record in the win over Abilene Christian with five made field goals. Fonseca was perfect on the day, connecting on 27-, 43, 40-, 29- and 44-yarders to break Adam Diel's record of four set in 1996.
53.4 - Nicholls leads the Southland and ranks 37th in the FCS with 53.4 penalty yards per game. In the win over Lamar, the Colonels had only four penalties for 30 yards.
95.5 - Nicholls has been nearly flawless in the red zone this season, scoring on 95.5 percent of its attempts to rank 3rd in the FCS. The Colonels have scored on 21-of-22 attempts, with 13 going for touchdowns.
100 - The Colonels are a perfect 4-for-4 on fourth-down conversions this season and are one of just three teams in the FCS to have a 100 percent conversion rate.
2,000 - Quarterback
Tuskani Figaro rushed for 58 yards vs. NSU to become just the 7th player in program history to eclipse 2,000 yards for their career. He also joined Hall of Famer Josh Son as the only players in team history to rush for 2,000 and pass for 2,000.
ON THIS DATE IN COLONEL HISTORY ...
• Nicholls has a 2-4 record all-time on Oct. 28. In the last meeting in 2006, the Colonels shutout Assumption College, 44-0, for their 18th shutout in team history.
| YEAR |
OPPONENT |
W/L |
SCORE |
H/A |
| 1972 |
UT Martin* |
W |
18-15 |
A |
| 1978 |
Northwestern St. |
L |
28-18 |
A |
| 1989 |
Southern |
L |
31-28 |
A |
| 1995 |
Southern |
L |
41-3 |
A |
| 2000 |
Troy* |
L |
41-12 |
A |
| 2006 |
Assumption |
W |
44-0 |
H |
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
• UIW holds a 1-6 overall record and a 1-3 mark in league play. The Cardinals picked up their lone win of the season at home against Lamar, 33-24.
• UIW is led on offense by running back Derrick Mitchell. A graduate transfer from Iowa, Mitchell is averaging 5.1 yards per carry and had a career-high 168 yards on the ground this season against SFA.
• The Cardinals lead the brief series against Nicholls, 2-1. UIW won the first two matchups in '14 and '15 before the Colonels earned their first win with a 35-28 triumph in Thibodaux last season.
• UIW ranks fifth in the Southland in rush defense, allowing 163.6 yards per game. In the 37-31 loss to SFA, UIW held the Lumberjacks to just 66 yards on the ground.
LAST MEETING
Sept. 17, 2016
Nicholls 35, UIW 28
THIBODAUX, La. – Freshman
Chase Fourcade threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns and
C.J. Okpalobi rushed for a career-high 115 yards and two scores as the Nicholls State University football team fended off a late comeback by UIW for a 35-28 victory on Saturday at John L. Guidry Stadium. (
RECAP)
LAST OUTING
Oct. 14, 2017
Nicholls 29, Abilene Christian 20
THIBODAUX, La. –
Lorran Fonseca kicked a single-game program record five field goals,
Dontrell Taylorrushed for 130 yards and the defense came up clutch plays down the stretch, as the No. 23 Nicholls State University football team stayed undefeated at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium with a hard-fought 29-20 victory Saturday in its first-ever meeting with Abilene Christian. (
RECAP)
A WIN OVER UIW WOULD...
... put the Colonels at 6-2, which would be their best start since 2002
... give
Tim Rebowe his 14th career victory
... be the 13th SLC win in the Rebowe era (2015-). Colonels had nine victories in league play in the previous 7 seasons
... improve Rebowe's record vs. Texas schools to 11-6
... even the all-time series against UIW to 2-2 and be the first win on the road
... match the program's most SLC victories of 5, set in the 2005 and '16 seasons
RECORD DAY FOR FONSECA
Junior kicker
Lorran Fonseca broke the program's single-game field goal record as he kicked five in the win over ACU. Fonseca delivered two in the first half and three in the second to surpass Adam Diel's mark of four, set in 1996 vs. NSU. Fonseca's first career field goal with Nicholls was a game-winner as time expired against McNeese.
SACK IT TO ME
The Colonel defense ranks second in the Southland with 21 sacks on the season. Nicholls has five players ranked in the top 20 of the league, led by
Sully Laiche at 5th with 4.5.
Terrell Encalade also ranks in the top 10 at No. 7 with 4.0, while
Kenny Dotson (3.0), and
Marcel Andry and
Tyler Johnson (2.5) round out the leaders.
NICHOLLS FOOTBALL ON TWITTER
For the latest news and in-game updates, be sure to follow the team on Twitter
@Nicholls_FB.
