No. 15/18 Nicholls Colonels (7-3, 6-2 SLC) vs. Southeastern Louisiana (4-6, 4-4 SLC)
Thibodaux, Louisiana (Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium)
Thursday, Nov. 15 at 6:07 p.m. CT
Nicholls Game Notes (PDF) | Southeastern Louisiana Game Notes (PDF)
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FIRST FIVE
• The Nicholls State University football team hosts rival Southeastern Louisiana for the annual River Bell Classic, Thursday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium. With a win, Nicholls would secure a share of the Southland Conference championship and earn its second-straight appearance in the FCS playoffs. The game will be televised on Cox Sports TV, and can be streamed on ESPN3 for viewers outside of the CST region.
• Nicholls stayed hot with its third blowout victory since the bye week, defeating Stephen F. Austin, 47-14, in Thibodaux. The Colonels nearly doubled SFA in total yards, 536-270, fueled by another balanced attack on offense while the defense limited the visitors to 57 yards on the ground. The offense found the end zone three times before the break and the defense pitched a first-half shutout for the second straight week. The win gave Nicholls three straight against SFA, a first in the series history.
• For the second straight season, Southeastern Louisiana will be coming off a bye week heading into the River Bell Classic, and will once again, will be looking to spoil the Colonels' chance at history. Like last year, the Lions are eliminated from contention for the title, but they'll be aiming to keep the Colonels from one like in 2017's 21-17 victory at Strawberry Stadium. Nicholls needed a win to keep pace with Central Arkansas, which ended up winning the following Saturday for an undefeated season, and the Colonels went on to claim an at-large berth in the FCS playoffs at 8-3.
• The all-time series was tied at 13-all last year before the Lions' 4-point victory in Hammond. The River Bell Classic has had some historic moments involving head coach
Tim Rebowe, even the day before he took over the program. The 2014 finale saw the Lions hand Nicholls a 62-3 loss, and the following day, Rebowe was introduced as head coach. In his first season, the Colonels went to Hammond and won 27-24 on a last-second field goal by Francisco Condado.
• Before the River Bell Classic, the Colonels will honor its 2018 Senior Class, which consists of 27 players. While the majority of the class is head coach
Tim Rebowe's first recruits, 10 of the players came to Nicholls in 2014. The seniors are
Corey Abraham,
Darryl Adams Jr.,
Alex Anderson,
Chandler Arceneaux,
Wesley Barnett,
Mason Boudreaux,
Jerrion Burton,
Nick Conley,
Emanuel Dayries,
Kenny Dotson,
Joel Dullary,
Lorran Fonseca,
Gabe Fuselier,
Demetrius Gleaton,
Ryan Hanley,
Miguel Harris,
Eddie Houston,
Damion Jeanpiere Jr.,
Tyler Johnson,
Jonavon Lewis,
Ahmani Martin,
Ronald Ollie,
Moroni Pointer,
Adrian Richardson,
Mason Roberts,
Devin Simoneaux, and
Hezekiah White.
BY THE NUMBERS
No. 2 -- The Nicholls defense enters the final week of the regular season ranked No. 2 in the FCS in sacks (39) and tackles for loss (90). In the win against SFA, the Colonels added another 5.0 sacks and 9.0 TFLs. The defense has totaled at least 10.0 TFLs in three games this season, and has one sack in every game. Over the last three games, the Colonels have 18.0 sacks.
25.5 -- Junior defensive lineman added another sack to his career total in the win over SFA, bringing it to 25.5 in his two-plus seasons. On the sack, Laiche also forced and recovered a fumble, which was one of three turnovers in the game by the defense. Laiche's total puts him third on the active FCS career list, and 6.0 behind leading North Dakota State's Greg Menard (31.5).
67 -- Quarterback
Chase Fourcade continues to rewrite the Colonel record books and set another mark with 67 touchdowns responsible for in his career. After tossing for a career high four touchdowns for the second time in the last three weeks, Fourcade broke Doug Hudson's program record, who had 58 passing and 8 rushing. Fourcade is also approaching Hudson's program records for touchdown passes (50/58) and passing yards (7,117/ 7,670).
1,469 -- The Colonels' success this season has been determined by the ground game as they have a plus-1,469 yard advantage in rushing in their seven victories. All three losses on the road this season saw Tulane, McNeese and Abilene Christian outrush the Colonels. In the seven victories, Nicholls combined to outrush the opposition by a combined 1,936 yards to 467, which averages out to 209.9 yards per game. Under Coach Rebowe, Nicholls is 11-3 when surpassing 200 yards rushing and 15-3 when a player rushes for 100 yards.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
• Southeastern Louisiana heads to Thibodaux for the River Bell Classic following its bye week. SLU snapped a two-game skid with a 23-6 win over McNeese on Nov. 3, improving its conference record to 4-4 on the year. The Lions' other wins were against Lamar, Northwestern State and HBU.
• SLU is led on offense by quarterback Chason Virgil, who ranks third in the Southland with 284.1 yards passing per game. Virgil made a splash in his debut at ULM, throwing for 358 yards and four touchdowns in the Lions' heartbreaking loss. On the year, he has tossed 17 touchdowns with 12 interceptions
• The Lion defense is headed by linebacker Tamarcus Russell. In 10 games this season, Russell has 102 tackles to rank second in the SLC with 10.2 per game. Russell has six games with double figures in tackles, including a SLC season best 20 in the opener at ULM.
• Frank Scelfo is in his first year as head coach of the Lions. He came to Hammond after spending two seasons at UTSA as the offensive coordinator. A native of Abbeville, Scelfo also had stints at Arizona, LA Tech and Tulane. He earned his first career win as a head coach in the Lions' 30-24 win over Lamar on Sept. 22.
A WIN OVER SLU WOULD...
... give Nicholls a share of the Southland title -- only its second in program history (2005).
... put Nicholls in the FCS playoffs as the SLC's automatic qualifier, giving the Colonels back-to-back appearances for the first time in program history.
... snap a two-game skid in the series against the Lions and even the all-time record to 14-14.
... give Coach Rebowe his 22nd win in conference (21-14).
... make Nicholls 14-6 at home in Rebowe's tenure, including back-to-back undefeated regular seasons at home for the first time in school history.
... put coach
Tim Rebowe's overall record to 24-21 in his three-plus seasons.
... give Nicholls its 10th consecutive regular season home win.
... be the Colonels' sixth season all-time with 8 or more wins.
... increase the Colonels' winning streak to four games.
ON THIS DATE IN COLONEL HISTORY ...
• Nicholls is 1-6 on Nov. 15, but the one victory was against rival Southeastern Louisiana. The two squared off in the Superdome in 1975 with Nicholls edging the Lions, 14-6.
| YEAR |
OPPONENT |
W/L |
SCORE |
H/A |
| 1975 |
Southeastern La. |
W |
14-6 |
N |
| 1980 |
Southeastern La. |
L |
21-20 |
H |
| 1997 |
Stephen F. Austin |
L |
39-7 |
A |
| 2003 |
Stephen F. Austin |
L |
28-16 |
A |
| 2008 |
Texas State |
L |
34-10 |
A |
| 2012 |
Southeastern La. |
L |
35-16 |
H |
| 2014 |
Northwestern St. |
L |
48-21 |
A |
LAST MEETING
Nov. 16, 2017
Southeastern Louisiana 21, No. 17 Nicholls 17
HAMMOND, La. — For the third straight year, the River Bell Classic came down to the final play, but like last year, the No. 17/25 Nicholls State University football team was on the short end as the Colonels dropped a 21-17 decision Thursday night at Strawberry Stadium. (
RECAP)
LAST OUTING
Nov. 10, 2018
No. 16/17 Nicholls 47, SFA 14
THIBODAUX, La. - Needing a win to stay in the hunt for the Southland Conference championship, the No. 16/17 Nicholls State University football team continued to dominate the opposition at home with a 47-14 victory over Stephen F. Austin Saturday night at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium. (
RECAP)
HEAUXME SWEET HEAUXME
The Colonels finished the regular season last year with a perfect 5-0 record at home and are 4-0 this season. In the four games, the Colonels have outscored the opposition, 172-69. Nicholls is averaging an astounding 540 yards a game while surrendering just 350 at Guidry Stadium.
RIVER BELL CLASSICS
The last three River Bell matchups have been instant classics, and the all-time series is separated by just one game with SLU leading 14-13. In
Tim Rebowe's first season as head coach, the Lions tied the game up at 24-all with a minute to go, but Nicholls drove the field for a game-winning field goal as time expired. In 2016, the Colonels rallied from a 16-point deficit with 5 minutes remaining and had a chance to tie the game, but a 2-point conversion was unsuccessful with 4 seconds remaining. Nicholls then recovered its second straight onside kick, and a Hail Mary fell incomplete for a 44-42 SLU victory in Thibodaux. Last season in Hammond, Nicholls led 17-7 in the second half before SLU scored two touchdowns to take the lead. The Colonels had three turnovers in the fourth quarter, including an interception in the end zone on another Hail Mary as time expired.
FAST START
HC
Tim Rebowe emphasized during the bye week the importance of starting fast and the Colonels have did just that in the last three games.
Dontrell Taylor ran 66 yards for a score on the first play against UIW, and the Colonels recovered fumbles on the Cardinals' first two drives and turned them into touchdowns. Nicholls led 21-0 in the first quarter, 38-7 at the break, and 45-7 in the third. Against HBU, Nicholls held a 10-0 lead after the first, 27-0 at the intermission and a 34-0 lead in the third. The Colonels scored on the opening drive against SFA and led 24-0 at the half. Under Rebowe, Nicholls is 14-4 when scoring first and 14-4 when leading at the half.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
The Colonels racked up an impressive 616 yards of total offense in their win at HBU. While the Colonels have reached 500 yards four times this season, it was the highest output since the school record was set with 751 yards against NAIA Evangel in 2012. The 616 yards was also the most against a Division I opponent since a 579-yard effort at Portland State in 2003. The Colonels have had two 600-yard games this season, finishing with 613 against Lamar.
SOUTHLAND IN THE RANKINGS
Nicholls is the highest ranked team in the AFCA and STATS FCS Top 25 Polls. Three straight blowout wins put Nicholls at No. 15/18, with McNeese trailing at 21/22. UIW, which claimed a share of the Southland Conference title with a 6-2 record, climbed into the STATS poll at No. 24, giving UIW its first ranking ever. Also receiving votes in the Southland are Lamar, Abilene Christian, Sam Houston and Central Arkansas. Nicholls has been ranked in every poll this season.
SULLY'DIFYING THE PASS RUSH
Junior defensive lineman
Sully Laiche continues to be quarterbacks' nightmare as he has 8.5 sacks on the year. He was 3-for-3 this year before defenses began to key on him, recording 2 sacks at Kansas, 0.5 at Tulane, and 1 at McNeese. In the fourth quarter at NSU, Laiche got to the quarterback, slung him around and popped the ball loose for a 14-yard loss and a turnover. Laiche matched his career best with 3.0 sacks at HBU and then had a strip/sack/recovery in the win over SFA. In just 32 career games, Laiche has 25.5 sacks with seven games of two or more. In the win against Kansas, his 4.0 TFLs set a new career high for the Lutcher graduate.
NICHOLLS FOOTBALL ON TWITTER
For the latest news and in-game updates, be sure to follow the team on Twitter
@Nicholls_FB.
PROMOTIONS
• Before the game, Nicholls will honor the 27 seniors of the 2018 class.
• Wear red. Be loud.
• With a championship on the line, Nicholls Director of Athletics
Matt Roan is encouraging fans to fill up the stadium and continue to play a role in the Colonels' success at home.
