No. 13/14 Nicholls Colonels (9-3) vs. No. 3/4 Eastern Washington (9-2)
Cheney, Washington (Roos Field)
Saturday, Dec. 1 at 4:04 p.m. CT / 2:04 PT
Nicholls Game Notes (PDF) | Eastern Washington Notes
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FIRST FIVE
• The Nicholls State University football team advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs and will take on No. 3 seed Eastern Washington on the road on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 4 p.m. central. Both teams are red hot, with Nicholls winning its fifth-straight game to open the postseason while the Eagles earned a bye after claiming four consecutive wins, including one over No. 6 seed UC Davis. The game will be streamed nationwide on ESPN3.
• Nicholls hosted No. 18/19 San Diego in the first round last weekend and picked up the program's first postseason win in 32 years with a 49-30 victory over the Toreros. The Colonels continued their fast-start approach, scoring on the opening drive on just two plays. Nicholls led 42-10 early in the third quarter before the Toreros scored the next three touchdowns. But
Chase Fourcade, who threw for 337 yards and two touchdowns, put the game away in the fourth with his second rushing touchdown of the night. Nicholls racked up over 600 yards of offense for the third time this season, and held San Diego to nine yards rushing.
• Eastern Washington is one of three Big Sky teams to earn a national seed after they shared the regular season title with UC Davis and Weber State. With a 9-2 overall record, the Eagles finished the regular season in the top 5 in both national polls. EWU, which features one the nation's best offenses that ranks second in total offense (553.2 ypg) and fourth in points (45.2), has averaged an astounding 54.8 points during its four-game winning streak. The Eagles closed out the regular season with a 74-point outing against Portland State.
• Nicholls and Eastern Washington have only met up once before, back on Sept. 2, 2004 in Thibodaux. On a typical hot and soggy Louisiana late-summer day, Nicholls shutout the Eagles in the first half for a 30-point lead, and went on to win, 37-14. The Colonels intercepted three passes in the win and rushed for 246 yards and three scores, while passing only six times with four completions and two touchdowns. Nicholls finished 5-5 that season, but went on to win the Southland Conference the next season for the program's first SLC title.
• Although the Colonels-Eagles history is brief, Nicholls has played a total of seven games against teams currently in the Big Sky Conference, posting a 4-3 record. In addition to the 1-0 mark against Eastern Washington, the Colonels are 2-0 against Weber State, 1-1 vs. Northern Arizona, and 0-1 against Portland State and Montana. The most recent matchup was the 2004 game against EWU, and the only game in the postseason came in 1996 at Montana where the Grizzles blew out the Colonels, 48-3.
BY THE NUMBERS
9 -- For the second time this season, Nicholls allowed less than 10 yards rushing as San Diego totaled only nine in the playoff game last Saturday. The defense has been stout against the run all season, allowing only only one 100-yard rusher and has held teams to 62 yards or less in seven games. Against HBU, Nicholls limited the Huskies to -21 yards on 21 carries.
89 -- Junior quarterback
Chase Fourcade continues to break record after record, and is just 89 yards away from moving to No. 1 on the program's all-time passing list. In the win over San Diego, he recorded his fourth career 300-yard game to close within 100 yards of Doug Hudson's 7,670 set in 1986. Fourcade also has 53 touchdown passes, with Hudson's 58 heading the all-time list.
130 -- Nicholls has raced out to fast starts during its current five-game winning streak, outscoring the opposition by 130 points before the half (147-17). UIW scored a touchdown but trailed 38-7, and after three straight first-half shutouts, San Diego broke the streak with 10 points in the opening half, but Nicholls led 35-10.
1,981 --The Colonels' success this season has been determined by the ground game as they have a plus-1,981 yard advantage in rushing in their nine victories. All three losses on the road this season saw Tulane, McNeese and Abilene Christian outrush the Colonels. In the nine wins, Nicholls combined to outrush the opposition by a combined 2,563 yards to 582, which averages out to 220.1 yards per game. Under Coach Rebowe, Nicholls is 13-3 when surpassing 200 yards rushing and 17-3 when a player rushes for 100 yards.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
• Eastern Washington has developed into a power in the FCS, making the playoffs seven times since the 2008 season and captured a national championship in 2010. The Eagles are aiming for their sixth season of double-digit wins in the last nine years.
• The Eagles have one of the top offenses in the country, ranking 2nd in the FCS in total offense, 4th in scoring, and ninth in rushing offense. Led by quarterback Eric Barriere, the Eagles also feature a 1000-yard rusher, Sam McPherson, and a 1000-yard receiver, Nsimba Webster.
• Eastern Washington is a perfect 5-0 at home this season, which includes its most significant win of the year - a 59-20 win over No. 6 seed UC Davis. The Eagles slipped up at home twice last season, but won their first seven home games in 2016 before falling to Youngstown State in the semifinals.
• The Eagle defense is headlined by lineman Jay-Tee Tiuli, who was named 2018 Big Sky Defensive MVP. Tiuli anchored the Eagles with 29 tackles, 6.5 TFL and 4.0 sacks. In all, Eastern Washington had two players named first-team defense, three on second team and one on third team.
A WIN OVER EASTERN WASHINGTON WOULD...
... give the Colonels 10 wins, tying the single season record of the 1986 team.
... put Nicholls into the quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
... be the third postseason victory since joining Division I (App State '86, San Diego '18)
... improve the Colonels' road record to 4-3, giving the team four road wins for the first time since 2002.
... put coach
Tim Rebowe's overall record to 26-21 in his three-plus seasons.
... give the Colonels a winning road record against FCS teams under Rebowe (10-9).
... increase the Colonels' winning streak to six games.
... give the Southland Conference its 45th playoff victory by a team currently in the league. Teams have a combined 44-51 record (.463).
ON THIS DATE IN COLONEL HISTORY ...
• Nicholls has only played one game on Dec. 1, which was a makeup contest at Oregon State. The Colonels were set to open at OSU in 2012, but Hurricane Isaac postponed the game to the end of the season. Nicholls has also only played twice in December, including its 1986 playoff loss to Georgia Southern.
2012 Oregon State L 3-77 A
LAST OUTING
Nov. 24, 2018
No. 13/14 Nicholls 49, No. 18/19 San Diego 30
THIBODAUX, La. - The No. 13/14 Nicholls State University football team raced out to a 32-point lead over No. 18/19 San Diego early in the third quarter and held off a late rally to win its first playoff game in 32 years, defeating the Toreros, 49-30, Saturday evening at Manning Field in John L. Guidry Stadium. (
RECAP)
MOVING ON
The Colonels defeated No. 18 San Diego, 49-30, in the opening round for their second all-time win in the playoffs and first since 1986. This season marks the fifth all-time appearance and is the first time Nicholls has made it in consecutive seasons. The Colonels lost their only second-round game in '86, 55-31, to Georgia Southern.
FAST START
HC
Tim Rebowe emphasized during the bye week the importance of starting fast and the Colonels have did just that during its current five-game winning streak.
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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.
- At HBU, Nicholls held a 10-0 lead after the first and 27-0 advantage at the intermission
- Scored on the opening drive against SFA and led 24-0 at the half.
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Ahmani Martin forced a fumble on the second play against SLU, and after
Darren Evans returned in 51 yards, Taylor scored on a 14-yd carry on the first play of the drive.
- Nicholls needed just two plays in each of its first two drives to score touchdowns, with Taylor finding the end zone on 27- and 49-yard rushes. San Diego scored on its second drive, but
Evan Veron forced a fumble on the third and Nicholls scored on the ensuing possession for a 21-7 lead. Nicholls led 35-10 at halftime.
-Under Rebowe, Nicholls is 16-4 when scoring first, and when leading at the half.
TAYLOR MADE
Junior
Dontrell Taylor has put together an all-league performance this season in the backfield, ranking second in the Southland with 79.8 yards per game and an impressive 7.5 yards per carry. Taylor can run for the tough yards, but he's been a home-run hitter this season. He started the season with a 19-yard touchdown run against Kansas and had a 34-yarder for a score against Tulane. In the win at Northwestern State, he needed only 11 carries for 103 yards and against UIW, rushed for a 66-yard score to begin the game and finished with 117 on just six carries. Taylor had only nine carries at HBU, good enough for 104 yards. On the first two drives against San Diego, his two carries turned into touchdowns from 27 and 49 yards. Taylor is also strong in the classroom, being named CoSIDA Academic All-District with a 3.75 GPA in petroleum technology.
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