No. 11 Nicholls Colonels (4-2, 3-1 SLC) vs. Abilene Christian Wildcats (2-4, 1-3 SLC)
Abilene, Texas (Wildcat Stadium)
Saturday, Oct. 13 at 2:30 p.m. CT 
Nicholls Game Notes | Abilene Christian Game Notes
Audio: 100.3 FM KLRZ |   105.9 FM KBZE
Stream: ESPN3 
Live Stats
 

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FIRST FIVE
• The Nicholls State University football team embarks on its longest bus trip of the season as the Colonels head to west Texas for its first road matchup against Abilene Christian. The Oct. 13 contest was selected as the Southland Conference Game of the Week and will stream nationally on ESPN3 at 2:30 p.m. The radio broadcasts include ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM and KBZE 105.9 FM.

• Nicholls won its third consecutive game of the season with a 28-10 victory at Northwestern State last weekend, keeping the N-S-U Trophy in Thibodaux for at least another year. After allowing an early touchdown, the defense surrendered just three points the rest of the way and pitched a shutout in the second half. Nicholls relied on its running game, churning out 299 yards on the ground en route to the 18-point win. Five Colonels had at least 10 carries, headlined by Dontrell Taylor with 103 yards and a 9.4 yards per carry average.

• Abilene Christian nearly picked up a huge win at No. 9 McNeese, falling to the Cowboys in Lake Charles, 24-21. ACU saw itself down 17-14 in the fourth quarter before McNeese returned a punt for a touchdown with less than five minutes remaining. The Wildcats scored on a Luke Anthony touchdown pass with two minutes to go, but after forcing McNeese to punt and getting the ball back with 54 seconds left, ACU saw its comeback bid end with a sack deep in its own territory. 

• The Colonels and Wildcats are facing each other on the gridiron for just the second time. Abilene Christian made the trip to Thibodaux last season for their first meeting, with Nicholls claiming a 29-20 victory. While ACU limited the Colonel offense to just a lone Dontrell Taylor touchdown, Nicholls had a total of 23 points from its special teams. Lorran Fonseca had a record day with five field goals, and the punt team blocked and recovered a kick in the end zone for the Colonels' first touchdown of the game. Fonseca's first field goal gave Nicholls a 10-7 lead and they never trailed the rest of the way.

• The Southland Conference has four teams in the top 20 of both FCS polls - the AFCA Coaches and STATS FCS. McNeese continues to lead the way with a No. 9/9 ranking, with Nicholls ranked at No. 11 in both. Sam Houston State (14/15) jumped ahead of Central Arkansas (16/18) after defeating the Bears two weeks ago. UIW entered the conversation by receiving votes after improving to 3-0 in league play with its win over Southeastern Louisiana last weekend.


BY THE NUMBERS
0 - Nicholls has allowed zero points in the second half in two of its last three games. For the season, the Colonels have surrendered five touchdowns after the intermission, and three were results of turnovers deep in their own territory. The three scoring drives were  10, 18, and 22 yards.  

9th - Nicholls is ranked 9th in the FCS in two different categories - 4th down defense and team sacks. The Colonels have surrendered just one fourth down try on five attempts, and their 21 sacks for the year ranks in the top 10 of the nation.  

21.0 -  The Colonel defense has recorded 21 sacks through six games, ranking ninth in the FCS with 3.5 per game. Evan Veron ranks ninth in the nation with 6.0, and is followed behind by Sully Laiche (4.5) and Kenny Dotson (4.0). Nicholls had 6.0 sacks in the win at Kansas, which were the most for the program in a single game since the 2009 season (9 vs. Duquesne).


SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
• Abilene Christian is 2-4 on the season and 1-3 in league play. ACU defeated Houston Baptist on the road, 38-13, for its lone Southland victory. Their other win was a nonconference 41-24 decision against Angelo State.

• ACU rejoined the Southland Conference in 2014, but did not play the Colonels in football until last season. The Wildcats have a 12-27 in the SLC since their return.

• Abilene Christian is led by second-year head coach Adam Dorrel. Before coming to Abilene, Dorrel built an elite Division II program a Northwest Missouri State where he won three national titles.

• The Wildcats are led on offense by their quarterback, Luke Anthony. The sophomore slinger ranks second in the Southland in passing yards with 298.3 yards per game, and has 13 touchdowns and only five interceptions. In the three-point loss to McNeese, he recorded his third 300-yard game of the season with 314 and two touchdowns. He ranks eighth in the FCS passing yards per game and is second in completions per game (31.7).

• The ACU defense is headlined Jeremiah Chambers. The middle linebacker is 10th in the nation with 10.5 tackles per outing and has two fumble recoveries on the year.


A WIN OVER ABILENE CHRISTIAN WOULD...
... put coach Tim Rebowe's overall record to over .500 (20-20) for the first time in his career.
... duplicate he Colonels' record from last season through seven games at 5-2.
... be the 10th road win under Coach Rebowe. Nicholls had 10 road wins from 2005-14. 
... give Coach Rebowe his 19th win in conference (18-13).
... improve Rebowe's record vs. Texas schools to 15-6 (currently 1-0 vs. ACU).
... up the Colonels' record in October under Rebowe to 9-6. 
... give Nicholls a 2-0 record all-time vs. the Wildcats, winning 29-20 last season in Thibodaux.



ON THIS DATE IN COLONEL HISTORY ...

• Nicholls has played only four games on Oct. 13, going 1-3. The lone win was in 2007 in a one-point Southland win at Stephen F. Austin. The last matchup came in 2012 against Sam Houston which was the second straight year Nicholls posted an 0-7 mark in conference.
 

YEAR	OPPONENT	W/L	SCORE	H/A
1973	Mississippi College	L	21-7	A
2001	Sam Houston St	L	35-32	H
2007	Stephen F. Austin	W	17-16	A
2012	Sam Houston St.	L	41-0	H

LAST MEETING
Oct. 14, 2017
No. 23 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)


LAST OUTING
Oct. 6, 2018
No. 12 Nicholls 28, Northwestern State 10

NATCHITOCHES, La. – The No. 12 Nicholls State University football team used a familiar formula - running the ball and a stout performance by the defense - to pick up a 28-10 victory over Northwestern State Saturday night at Turpin Stadium. (RECAP)


NOTES FROM LAST GAME
- Only second time in series Nicholls has won three straight meetings;
- Just the sixth win in Natchitoches in the all-time series;
- Nicholls rushed for 299 yards, dipping under 300 after a QB kneel;
- Taylor rushed for 103 yards on 11 carries;
- Fourcade had two touchdowns - a 5-yd pass to Dixon  (1Q) and a 3-yd rush (3Q);
- Veron had a career high 3.5 tackles for loss;
- Defense had two INTs for the third straight game. Was the first time Demons threw a pick this season;
- Jones drilled a 70-yard punt that was downed at 1;
- Dullary opened 2H with a 40-yard kick return;
- Dixon caught third TD pass of the season;


MOUNT RUSHMORE
The Colonels' success this season has been determined by the rushing game. Nicholls is 0-2 this season when being outrushed, seeing a 268-176 disadvantage at Tulane and 146-105 at McNeese. In the three victories against Kansas, Sam Houston State, and Northwestern State, Nicholls combined to outrush the opposition by a combined 734-171. Against Lamar, both teams had success on the ground but Nicholls still had a 314-210 advantage. Under Coach Rebowe, Nicholls is 8-3 when surpassing 200 yards rushing and 13-3 when a player rushes for 100 yards.


PICK'TURESQUE
The Nicholls defense did not have an interception through three games, but has two in each of the last three contests. Against Sam Houston, cornerback Darren Evans used every inch of his 6-3 frame to dive on a slant for an interception. Later in the quarter with the Bearkats at the 2, Ahmani Martin dove in front of the receiver and landed at the 1 to maintain the Colonels' 13-7 lead. Against Lamar, Austin Dickerson caught a tipped pass and returned it 26 yards for a 7-0 lead. Evans then ended the half with his third career INT. Dickerson struck again in the first quarter at Northwestern State with a pick in the end zone, and Kevin Johnson closed out the game with his first career interception.