No. 13/14 Nicholls Colonels (8-3, 7-2 SLC) vs. No. 19 San Diego (9-2, 8-0 PFL)
Thibodaux, Louisiana (Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium)
Saturday, Nov. 24 at 3:04 p.m. CT
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Playoff Gameday Info
FIRST FIVE
• The Nicholls State University football team will host an FCS playoff game for the second straight season, taking on the Pioneer Football League champion San Diego. The Colonels are riding a four-game winning streak, while the Toreros have won eight straight. Kickoff on Saturday, Nov. 24 at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium is scheduled for 3 p.m. The game will be streamed nationwide on ESPN3.
• Nicholls earned its fifth all-time appearance in the playoffs after claiming the Southland Conference's automatic bid. The Colonels finished the regular season 8-3 and 7-2 in the SLC for the second straight campaign, and took the SLC's bid via a head-to-head tiebreaker with co-champion UIW. The Red and Gray secured a share of the title with a 44-0 victory over rival Southeastern Louisiana Thursday in the River Bell Classic, helped by a season-high 358 yards rushing.
• San Diego, ranked No. 19 in the final regular season polls, enters the playoffs as the PFL's automatic qualifier following its 29th-straight conference victory. The Toreros have made the postseason the previous two seasons, and won their opening round games against Big Sky's Cal Poly , 35-21 in 2016, and Northern Arizona, 41-10 last season. USD's win in '16 was the PFL's first postseason victory. The Toreros feature one of the nation's elite quarterbacks, Andrew Lawrence, who is first in the FCS in passing touchdowns (35) and second in yards (3,785).
• Nicholls and San Diego have never played in football, but did meet up in men's basketball recently with the Toreros winning at home, 81-72, on Nov. 20, 2016. The Colonels have played two California programs all-time, defeating Azusa Pacific, 30-28, in 2007 at home. In 2010, Nicholls opened the season at San Diego State and fell 47-0. USD has never played a school from Louisiana, or against any of the current Southland Conference members.
• The Southland revealed its all-conference teams Tuesday, and Nicholls led the way with 15 selections, highlighted by Player of the Year
Chase Fourcade. The Colonel quarterback is the program's first POY since joining the league in 1991, and he is one of six first-team selections - the team's second most (7 in 2005). First-team honorees were offensive linemen
Chandler Arceneaux 3 and
Ryan Hanley 2, DL
Sully Laiche 3, LB
Evan Veron, and K
Lorran Fonseca 2. Nicholls had nine of second-team, with RB
Dontrell Taylor, WR
Dai'Jean Dixon, OL
Eddie Houston, and P
Winston Jones representing the offense. Rounding out the honorees were LB
Allen Pittman 3, CB
Darren Evans, DB
Ahmani Martin 2, S
Khristian Mims, and punt returner Damion Jeanpiere, Jr. Honorable mention were WR Jeanpiere, OL
P.J. Burkhalter, and DLs
Ronald Ollie and
Brandon Fontenot.
Two-time selection
2 Three-time selection
3
BY THE NUMBERS
0 -- With the Colonels winning the River Bell Classic, 44-0, it marked the first shutout of a Southland Conference opponent for Nicholls since 2007. The Colonels had just three shutouts in the SLC before Thursday's victory, with the last coming in the program's largest margin of victory in league play in a 58-0 win over Northwestern State. The shutout dropped the defense's points allowed to 19.3 ppg, ranking ninth in the FCS.
5 -- Nicholls will be making its fifth all-time appearance in the FCS playoffs, but this marks the first time the Colonels made it in two straight years. Nicholls won its first playoff game against Appalachian State, 28-26, in 1986, but lost the next four.
444 -- The Colonel defense has been outstanding this season, and even including two FBS games, they rank in the top 10 in the FCS in rushing defense (102.2/9th), scoring defense (19.3/9th), sacks (40/3rd) and tackles for loss (94/3rd). With the sacks and TFLs, the defense has accounted for 444 yards lost, which is the second-most in the FCS.
SCOUTING THE TOREROS
• San Diego is making its third consecutive appearance in the FCS playoffs, and has won its last two opening-round games. The Toreros took out Big Sky opponents Cal Poly and Northern Arizona, but had to face North Dakota State in the next round in both playoff appearances. The Bison made the semifinals in 2016 and won the title last season.
• The Toreros have dominated the Pioneer Football League, winning 29 consecutive games with their last loss coming in 13-12 decision against Dayton in 2016. The PFL, which features teams all across the country, is the nation's only non-scholarship, football-only NCAA FCS conference.
• San Diego features three-time Walter Payton Award Watch List nominee, quarterback Andrew Lawrence. A native of the San Diego area, Lawrence ranks second in the FCS with 344.1 yards passing and leads with 35 touchdowns passes while tossing only seven interceptions. In the regular season finale, Lawrence moved into 11th place on the FCS all-time passing list with 12,306 yards.
• Lawrence's primary target in the FCS leader in receiving yards, Michael Bandy. A junior from Los Angeles, Bandy has 79 receptions for 1,554 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has been held to less than 100 yards only twice, and has a pair of 200-yard games and a career-high 324-yard outing. Bandy's season average of 141.3 yards currently ranks 10th on the all-time best single-season list.
• Cornerback David Tolbert has been one of the nation's best in coverage, breaking up 14 passes while recording one interception. He's had a season-high 3 in two different games, and ranks sixth in the FCS with a 1.4 per game average.
A WIN OVER SAN DIEGO WOULD...
... give the Colonels 9 wins, second-most for a single-season in team history (10 - 1986)
... be the second postseason victory since joining Division I (Won vs. App State in '86)
... be the most wins for Nicholls since the 1996 campaign (8-4)
... put Nicholls 6-0 at home, which would be the best home record in program history
... make Nicholls 15-6 at home in Rebowe's tenure, highlighted by back-to-back undefeated regular seasons at Guidry Stadium for the first time in school history.
... put coach
Tim Rebowe's overall record to 25-21 in his three-plus seasons.
... increase the Colonels' winning streak to five games.
... give the Southland Conference its 44th playoff victory by a team currently in the league. Teams have a combined 43-49 record (.467).
... send the Colonels to the next round to play at No. 3 Eastern Washington.
ON THIS DATE IN COLONEL HISTORY ...
• Nicholls has never played a game on November 24.
LAST OUTING
Nov. 15, 2018
No. 14/18 Nicholls 44, Southeastern Louisiana 0
THIBODAUX, La. - For the second time in program history, the Nicholls State University football team is Southland Conference champions. The No. 15/18 Colonels continued their dominant play in every facet of the game and shut out rival Southeastern Louisiana, 44-0, Thursday night at Manning Field in John L. Guidry Stadium in the annual River Bell Classic. (
RECAP)
HEAUXME SWEET HEAUXME
The Colonels finished the regular season last year with a perfect 5-0 record at home and are 5-0 again this season. In the five games, the Colonels have outscored the opposition, 216-69. Nicholls is averaging an astounding 530 yards a game at Guidry Stadium while surrendering just 340.
#SOUTHLANDSTRONG
Nicholls is one of three teams from the Southland Conference to make the 2018 edition of the FCS playoffs. The Colonels earned the league's autobid by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker with co-champ UIW, which ended up receiving an at-large berth. Lamar, which won six straight after losing to the Colonels in late September, also earned an at-large to give the Southland three participants for the second-straight season. Both teams are making their first ever appearance in the postseason.
ELITE DEFENSE
The Colonel defense has been one of the best in the FCS, ranking first in the Southland in points (19.3), total yards allowed (327.0) and rushing defense (102.2), and second in passing yards allowed (224.8). Nicholls is third in the FCS in tackles for loss with 8.6 per game and is second in sacks (3.64). Even including the two FBS games, the Colonels are 9th in the nation in rush defense and scoring defense.
TOTAL ECLIPSE
The Colonels have had one of the most impressive turnarounds in the FCS over the last few years. From 2011-14, Nicholls won six games, with four being non-Division I, and a 0-12 season in '14 capped the tenure.
Tim Rebowe was introduced as head coach a day after the '14 finale, which was the program's largest margin of defeat in Southland play (59-point deficit) in team history. The loss also extended the Colonels' losing streak to 18 games, but Rebowe led his squad to a win over Houston Baptist in Year 1 to end the streak at 23. After guiding the Colonels to a winning conference record in 2016 at 5-4, the first since 2005, Nicholls earned an at-large berth in the 2017 FCS playoffs with an 8-3 campaign. The Colonels finished the regular season with another 8-3 record, which included a win over Power 5 Kansas and the program's second SLC title.
BIG WINS
The Colonels not only have being winning conference games over the last two seasons, but they've been doing so in convincing fashion. This season, Nicholls recorded three of the program's five largest margins of victory in Southland competition, including the second biggest - the 44-0 win over Southeastern Louisiana. In 2017, the team's 41-14 win at Lamar also ranks in the top 5.
FOURCADE NAMED PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Three-year starting quarterback
Chase Fourcade made history Tuesday by being the first Colonel named Southland Conference Player of the Year. A junior from Metairie, Fourcade has started every game since arriving on campus, with the exception of one last season due to injury, and has elevated his play to a new level this season. A dual-threat, Fourcade has thrown for over 2,400 yards with 19 touchdown passes and only six interceptions, and has 488 yards on the ground with a team-high nine rushing TDs. A first-team selection, Fourcade ranks among the nation's best in efficiency with a 148.5 rating and is 13th in the FCS in points responsible for. He recently broke the program's previous career record of 67 touchdowns accounted for, set by Doug Hudson in 1986.
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@Nicholls_FB.
