FARGO, N.D. – The No. 19 Nicholls State University football team saw its season come to a close in the second round of the FCS playoffs as the Colonels fell to No. 1 North Dakota State, 37-13, Saturday afternoon in front of 15,690 fans in the Fargodome.
With the loss, Nicholls finishes with a 9-5 overall record following consecutive trips to the second round. The Colonels were 4-4 before going on to win five straight games, including the opening-round win last week. The top-seeded Bison improved to 13-0 overall and extend their winning streak to 34 games.
"I feel like we've been in the playoffs for the past six weeks," Nicholls head coach
Tim Rebowe said. "These guys got together right here and decided we needed a chemistry change. We went on a four-game run to win the conference, get the automatic seed and pick up a good win last week. We just ran out of gas tonight. I think the momentum swings were hard to stop."
The Colonels battled the two-time defending champions for most of the day before NDSU reeled off 23 unanswered points in the second half. A
Gavin Lasseigne field goal early in the third quarter were the final points for the Red and Gray.
Nicholls had a solid performance on the ground against the nation's top defense, rushing for 171 yards.
Julien Gums rushed for 77 on 15 carries and
Dontrell Taylor added 67 on 11.
The Colonels' lone touchdown of the game was a 25-yard catch by
Dai'Jean Dixon, who also became the first Nicholls player to record 1,000 yards receiving in a single season since 1986. Dixon totaled 66 yards on four receptions, with three of the catches coming before the half.
Senior quarterback
Chase Fourcade was 11 of 15 for 94 yards and a touchdown but had two interceptions in the third quarter that led to 10 points for the Bison. After Lasseigne's field goal made it 14-13, North Dakota State extended its lead following the turnovers with a field goal and a Trey Lance touchdown pass.
Lance added a rushing score in the fourth quarter, and Dimitri Williams ran for another to make the final.
Lance threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns while adding 88 yards and a rushing TD. He paced the Bison offense which finished with 434 yards, compared to just 265 for the Colonels.
Laryon James led the Colonel defense with nine tackles and
Sully Laiche added six. Laiche had a sack to up his total to 12 on the year and 37.5 for his career, which is just a half-sack from tying the Southland Conference record.
The Bison started the game with a 36-yard pass, but Nicholls forced a punt after
Darren Evans broke up a pass in the end zone. On their next drive, NDSU moved to the Colonel 10 for a first-and-goal and missed a 25-yard field goal.
Nicholls took the early lead when
Dai'Jean Dixon had two receptions, including one for 23 yards, to set up a 35-yard field goal by Lasseigne. However, the Bison answered with a 55-yard touchdown on a reverse by Phoenix Sproles to end the quarter.
In the second, the Colonels orchestrate a 12-play, 82-yard drive capping it on an outstanding 25-yard catch Dixon. The extra point was good for a 10-7 Nicholls advantage.
But the lead was short-lived after Lance tossed a 43-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Kepouros. NDSU went into the locker room with a slim 14-10 lead.
Nicholls started the third quarter with a field goal by Lasseigne. The Colonels lined up to go for it on fourth down inside the NDSU 10, but following a timeout, settled for the 23-yard field goal.
For the rest of the way, it was all NDSU. The Colonel defense kept the Bison out of the end zone following Fourcade's first interception, but they were able to convert on their first field goal out of three tries. The Bison then followed with a Lance TD pass in the third before adding two more scores in the fourth.
The senior class finishes with the most wins in program history at 31, along with three trips to the playoffs and back-to-back Southland Conference championships.
"If you know anything about where we live and the culture they have changed, [this senior class] has made a tremendous impact on the school and the community," Rebowe said. "There used to be times when we would walk in with Nicholls on the shirt, and it would be tough to go out and recruit. Now we can go anywhere. They know
Sully Laiche. They know
Chase Fourcade."
STAYING SOCIAL
Follow the Colonels all season long on Twitter (
@Nicholls_FB) and Instagram (
@Nicholls_FB).
