No. 25/RV Nicholls Colonels (3-2, 2-1 SLC) vs Northwestern State Demons (1-3, 1-1 SLC)
Thibodaux, La. (John L. Guidry Stadium)
Saturday, Oct. 7 | 11 a.m. CT
Nicholls Game Notes | Northwestern State Game Notes
Tickets: NichollsTickets.com
Audio: 100.3 FM KLRZ
Live Stats
FIRST FIVE
• The Nicholls State University football team returns to Thibodaux after two weeks on the road to host rival Northwestern State for "The Real N-S-U Challenge". The 45th meeting between the programs is set for 11 a.m. with the radio broadcast available on ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM and KBZE 105.9 FM.
• Nicholls is looking to piece together is first winning streak of the season after last week's convincing 41-14 victory at Lamar. The Colonels rushed for a season-high 354 yards against the Cardinals as they cruised to their first road win of the year. Sophomores
Kyran Irvin and
Jeremy Rounds each rushed for over 100 yards and combined for three rushing touchdowns.
• The Demons of NSU have a 28-16 advantage in the all-time series after the Colonels picked up a rare win in Natchitoches last season, 31-14. With the victory, Nicholls brought back the "N-S-U Trophy" for just the second time since 2011. In Thibodaux, the series is even at 11 wins apiece with Northwestern State winning in 2015, 37-21.
• The Colonels will be facing former head coach Jay Thomas, who directed the program from 2004-09. Thomas compiled a 24-27 mark at Nicholls and a 17-20 record in Southland play during his six-year tenure. Thomas' most notable accomplishment was the program's only Southland Conference championship which he led the Colonels to the title in 2005. Thomas, who is 2-2 against his former team, is in his fifth season as head coach at Northwestern State. Another Demon coach, Jake Olsen, was a member of the Colonels' staff in 2014.
• Nicholls cracked the Coaches Top 25 Poll two weeks ago for the first time in 10 years, dropped out last week and now return this week at No. 25. The 30 votes in the poll was just enough to put them back in the rankings, while the 50 votes in the FCS STATS Poll places the Colonels at No. 34. Nicholls has been receiving votes in the Top 25 Polls all season, including both preseason polls.
BY THE NUMBERS
0 - After leading 27-7 at the half at Lamar, Nicholls attempted zero passes in the second half. For the final two quarters, the Colonels racked up 173 yards rushing on 35 carries.
2 - With their season-high 354 yards rushing at Lamar, the Colonels had two 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time since their last trip to LU in 2015.
Kyran Irvin (152 yds) and
Jeremy Rounds (103) torched the Cardinal D this year, while Tobias Lofton (154) and Michael Henry (100) completed the feat two years ago.
12 - With his touchdown pass to
Christian Booker in the opening drive at Lamar, sophomore
Chase Fourcade has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 12 consecutive games. Last season at McNeese was the lone time he did not have a TD pass in his 16 career games.
100% - The Colonels are a perfect 4-for-4 on fourth-down conversions this season and are one of just six teams in the FCS to have a 100 percent conversion rate.
1,951 - Quarterback
Tuskani Figaro has rushed for 1,951 yards in his career and is looking to become just the seventh player in team history to reach 2,000 yards. In his sixth season, missing 2014 and '16, Figaro is averaging 6.1 yards per carry and has 16 rushing touchdowns.
ON THIS DATE IN COLONEL HISTORY ...
• Nicholls has a 2-4 record on Oct. 7, including a 20-point loss at Northwestern State in 1995.
| YEAR |
OPPONENT |
W/L |
SCORE |
H/A |
| 1972 |
ULM |
L |
27-7 |
H |
| 1978 |
McNeese |
L |
35-10 |
A |
| 1989 |
Sam Houston St. |
W |
28-14 |
A |
| 1995 |
Northwestern St. |
L |
34-14 |
A |
| 2000 |
Texas State* |
L |
25-0 |
A |
| 2006 |
Southeastern La. |
W |
14-10 |
H |
SCOUTING THE DEMONS
• Northwestern State brings a 1-3 overall record to Thibodaux and a 1-1 mark in league play. The Demons are coming off a 49-20 loss at home to Southeastern Louisiana.
• NSU is led by head coach Jay Thomas, who is in his fifth year at the helm. Thomas was the head coach at Nicholls for six seasons and led the Colonels to their lone Southland title in 2005.
• The Demons and Colonels have one common opponent so far, the Lamar Cardinals. NSU hosted the Cardinals and came away with a 35-28 victory on Sept. 16. The Demons jumped out to a 21-7 lead before LU tied it up early in the third quarter. Jared West rushed for his third TD to break the tie and NSU went on to hang on for the seven-point victory.
• The Demon offense is led by quarterback J.D. Almond. In four games, Almond is averaging 213.5 yards passing and has five touchdown passes. He main target has been Bobby Chan-Chan (17 rec., 260 yds, 1 TD), who had a 56-yard touchdown in last year's meeting.
LAST MEETING
Oct. 29, 2016
Nicholls 31, Northwestern State 14
NATCHITOCHES, La. – Senior wide receiver
C.J. Bates finished with 179 yards receiving and tied the program single-game record with three touchdown receptions as the Nicholls State University football team scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to defeat rival Northwestern State, 31-14, Saturday night at Turpin Stadium. (
RECAP)
LAST OUTING
Sept. 30, 2017
Nicholls 41, Lamar 14
BEAUMONT, Texas — The Nicholls State University football team received a pair of 100-yard rushing performances from sophomores
Kyran Irvin and
Jeremy Rounds and the defense shutdown Lamar as the Colonels claimed their first road win with a 41-14 victory Saturday night at Provost Umphrey Stadium. (
RECAP)
A WIN OVER NORTHWESTERN STATE...
... put the Colonels at 4-2, matching their start from 2013
... give
Tim Rebowe his 12th career victory
... put Rebowe at 2-1 all-time vs. Northwestern State
... be the 11th SLC win in the Rebowe era (2015-). Colonels had nine victories in league play in the previous 7 seasons
... improve Rebowe's record vs. Louisiana schools to 4-5
... improve Nicholls' home record to 3-0 for the first time since 2013
... keep the Colonels' chances of being undefeated at home for only the third time in program history ('75 -- 5-0, '05 -- 4-0)
PICK 6
The Colonels have four interceptions on the season, and two have been returned for touchdowns.
Jonavon Lewis had a 67-yd return in the win over McNeese, while
Allen Pittman took one back 54 yards at Lamar.
Darryl Adams Jr. also had a 52-yard interception return at Lamar but was tackled at the 2. Last season, the defense led the Southland with 15 interceptions. Nicholls had an INT in all but one game (Central Arkansas) and totaled four at South Alabama and three at Northwestern State.
GEAUX FOR IT
Nicholls finished 2016 as the No. 1 team in the FCS in fourth-down conversions. The Colonels went for it on fourth down 14 times and converted 12 (85.7%). The percentage was the highest in the FCS since the '06 season (Youngstown St. - 90.9% - 10/11). So far this season, Nicholls is 4-for-4.
LOUISIANA'S OWN
Tim Rebowe vowed to build a winning program with local talent and this year's roster sports 97 Louisiana natives - the most of any Division I school in the state. In addition, most of the players come from within a 100-mile radius of Thibodaux with several hailing from the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas. LSU has the second-most players with 71 and McNeese has 68.
I GOT, I GOT, LOYALTY
All nine members of Coach
Tim Rebowe's coaching staff return from last season. Of the nine, seven have been on the staff since Rebowe took over in '15.
GAMEDAY/STADIUM ANNOUNCEMENTS
Nicholls Athletics announced several
new improvements for the 2017 season, including the
clear bag policy. Please click on the provided links for details.
NICHOLLS FOOTBALL ON TWITTER
For the latest news and in-game updates, be sure to follow the team on Twitter
@Nicholls_FB.
