No. 11/12 Nicholls Colonels (0-1) vs. Prairie View A&M (1-1)
Prairie View, Texas (PVAMU Football Stadium)
Saturday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. CT
Nicholls Game Notes | Prairie View A&M Game Notes
Audio: ESPN Radio New Orleans Tunein | 100.3 FM KLRZ | 105.9 FM KBZE
Stream: PVpanthers.com
Live Stats
FIRST FIVE
• Following an extremely early bye week, the Nicholls State University football team will begin its three-game swing in Texas with a rematch from 2017 with the Prairie View A&M Panthers. Kickoff at PVAMU Football Stadium on Sept. 14 is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday's matchup will be the first nonconference road game against an FCS opponent in the regular season since 2008 when Nicholls fell at 10th-ranked Northern Iowa in 2008.
• The Colonels have played a total of 31 games against team currently in the SWAC and have a 21-10 record. The majority of the contests were against Southern with Nicholls posting a 13-6 mark. The second-most played opponent is Texas Southern and the Colonels won all five meetings, but the 2003 victory was erased due to an ineligible player. The last meeting against the conference was the Colonels' lone matchup against Prairie View as Nicholls won at home, 44-13 in 2017. The Red and Gray's record against the rest of the SWAC are Alcorn (1-0), Grambling (0-2), Jackson State (1-1), and Mississippi Valley (1-0).
• Despite falling in the opener, Nicholls moved up to No. 10 in both the AFCA Coaches Top 25 and STATS FCS polls before the bye week. But following the week off, the Colonels moved back to 11 and 12, respectively, which were their preseason rankings. Nicholls was ranked in each poll last season and reached as high as No. 10. Before the 2017 season, the Colonels had not been nationally ranked since 2007.
• Saturday's matchup with the Panthers will be only the second meeting all-time, but second since 2017. The Colonels hosted Prairie View A&M in the '17 season and came away with a 44-13 victory. Nicholls jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the opening quarter and went into the break with a 34-3 advantage. As a sophomore,
Chase Fourcade threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns - both to current Colonels
Mason Roberts and
Dai'Jean Dixon. The defense held the Panthers to 3.2 yards per carry and did not surrender a touchdown until the final minute of the game.
• Nicholls hits the road seven times for the 2019 season, and will play as many games in Texas as it will at home. Starting with Saturday's game at Prairie View, the Colonels are slated for five contests in the Lone Star State, and will look to improve Coach Rebowe's 17-7 record against Texas schools. Six of the wins have come on the road including one last year at HBU.
BY THE NUMBERS
2 - The Colonel roster features two players from the state of Texas - graduate wide receiver
Mason Roberts and true freshman running back
John Carrington III. A native of the Cypress, Roberts received a sixth year after missing 2018 with an injury. He has had several highlights against Texas schools including a 62-yard touchdown catch against Prairie View, the game-tying 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter at Texas A&M, and a career-high 106 yards with a TD on three receptions at UIW. Carrington hails from San Antonio and did not see the field in the opener.
8 - Senior linebacker
Allen Pittman has over 200 career tackles and after his 11-tackle effort at K-State, now has eight double-digit tackle games. His career high came in 2016 where he racked up 19 tackles in the last matchup with Central Arkansas.
21 - The Colonels had a total of 21 players make their first appearance for the Red and Gray in the opener at Kansas State. The newcomers were mostly on the defensive side as DL
Perry Ganci, LB
Giovanni LaFrance, DB
Kevin Moore III and CB
Jarius Monroe all made starts for the unit. Not included was redshirt freshman
Jeremiah James, who made his first career start at offensive guard after playing in one game in 2018.
111 - The 2019 roster consists of 117 players, and 111 are Louisiana natives. When
Tim Rebowe was hired after the 2014 season, he wanted to put an emphasis on recruiting locally. Not only are the student-athletes from the Pelican State, but the majority are from a 50-mile radius which includes New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and the River Parishes. The Colonels have had the most Louisianans in Division I football by a wide margin over the past few seasons.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
• Prairie View A&M brings a 1-1 record into its matchup with the Colonels. The Panthers won at Texas Southern in their opener before falling on the road at Houston.
• PVAMU is led by head coach Eric Dooley who is in his second season at the helm. Dooley came from Grambling where he was the offensive coordinator and last season, the Panthers led the SWAC with an impressive 33.5 points per game.
• The Panthers garnered both offensive and defensive players of the week in the SWAC in the opening weekend following their 44-23 win over TSU. Dawonya Tucker rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries, while Tre'Shaud Smith totaled 12 tackles with two for loss and a sack.
• Dating back to 2013, Prairie View A&M is 1-5 against current members of the Southland Conference. The lone victory was in 2013 in a 56-48 win on the road at Stephen F. Austin. The Panthers also played Abilene Christian that season, which was competing as an FCS independent, falling to the Wildcats, 65-45.
A WIN OVER PRAIRIE VIEW A&M WOULD...
... improve head coach
Tim Rebowe's record vs. Texas schools to 18-7.
... prevent the Colonels' first 0-2 start since Rebowe's first season (2015).
... be the 11th road win in Rebowe's tenure. Colonels had 10 from 2005-14.
... keep the Colonels undefeated against Prairie View all-time at 2-0.
... be the first road nonconference FCS win since 2004 at Florida A&M (42-25).
... improve the Colonels' record to 5-1 all-time on Sept. 14.
LAST MEETING VS. PVAMU
Sept. 16, 2017
Nicholls 44, Prairie View A&M 13
THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University football team put up a stellar performance in the first half, racing out to a 34-0 lead and went on to defeat Prairie View A&M, 44-13, Saturday night at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium. (
RECAP)
ON THIS DATE IN COLONEL HISTORY ...
• Nicholls has a 4-1 record on Sept.14, winning its first four matchups on the date. The last nonconference FCS contest was a 28-point win at Samford in 2002.
| YEAR |
OPPONENT |
W/L |
SCORE |
H/A |
| 1974 |
UT Martin |
W |
16-14 |
A |
| 1985 |
Troy |
W |
40-22 |
H |
| 1996 |
Jacksonville State |
W |
21-8 |
H |
| 2002 |
Samford |
W |
45-17 |
A |
| 2013 |
UL Lafayette |
L |
7-70 |
A |
LAST GAME
Aug. 31, 2019
Kansas State 49, Nicholls 14
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Nicholls State University football team fell behind early in the first half at Kansas State before going on to drop the season opener, 49-14, Saturday night in front of 51,189 fans at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. (
RECAP)
UP NEXT
Nicholls will head back to Texas to begin its Southland Conference title defense with a matchup at Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 21. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN+.
HOME OPENER
Following their first four games on the road, the Colonels return to Louisiana for their home opener against Central Arkansas on Oct. 5. Nicholls has won 11 of its last 12 home games, including all six last season. Fans can order tickets by contacting the Nicholls Athletics Ticket Office at 985-448-4790 or on
NichollsTickets.com.
NICHOLLS FOOTBALL ON TWITTER
For the latest news and in-game updates, be sure to follow the team on Twitter
@Nicholls_FB.
