No. 8/15 Nicholls Colonels vs. Lincoln University of Missouri Blue Tigers
Thibodaux, Louisiana (Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium)
Friday, Feb. 19 at 6:00 p.m. CT
Nicholls Game Notes | Lincoln Preview
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FIRST FIVE
• The 49th season of Nicholls State University football will be like no other in the program's history -- taking place in the spring. With the COVID pandemic in full swing in the fall, the Colonels and nearly 100 other FCS programs decided to play in the spring. Seven out of 11 teams in the Southland Conference are participating in the reduced slate, which features six league matchups and up to two nonconference games. McNeese started things off for the Southland with a win over Tarleton State on Saturday. Along with Nicholls and McNeese, the five other teams playing this spring are Lamar, Northwestern State, Sam Houston, Southeastern Louisiana, and UIW.
• Nicholls will be looking to improve its 22-26 all-time record in season openers after a loss at Kansas State in 2019. The Colonels have faced an FBS school in seven of its last eight openers, picking up a win over the only non FBS team, McNeese, in 2017. Nicholls also knocked off the University of Kansas in 2018, marking their first win over an FBS team since 2013. The last non Division I opener for the Colonels came back in 2011 in a 42-0 win over NAIA Evangel.
• When head coach Tim Rebowe took over the program on Nov. 21, 2014, one thing he talked about was making Guidry Stadium a tough place for opponents to win. In his five seasons at the helm, the Colonels have an impressive 20-7 record in Thibodaux. Following a 1-3 mark at home his first season, Nicholls went 3-2 in 2016, then 5-1, 6-0, and 5-1. The Colonels have lost just one regular season game at Guidry since the start of 2017, and that loss was in overtime.
• Coming off two-straight Southland Conference championships, Nicholls was voted as favorites to repeat as champs in the spring season. Nicholls edged Sam Houston by two points (67) in the poll and had one more first-place vote (7). Southeastern Louisiana comes in at third with 48 points, followed by McNeese (45) and the final first-place vote. The rest of the poll included UIW (32), Northwestern State (20) and Lamar (17).
• With a third straight 7-2 record in the Southland, Nicholls claimed back-to-back conference titles for the first time in school history. Following a three-win season in league play in head coach Tim Rebowe's first season in 2015, the Colonels have had a winning record in their last four Southland campaigns with a combined 26-10 mark. Along with the two league titles, Nicholls represented the Southland Conference in the FCS playoffs for the third consecutive year, and the second straight with the league's automatic berth into the postseason. The Colonels defeated North Dakota in the opening round of 2019 before falling to eventual FCS national champion North Dakota State.
BY THE NUMBERS
0 - Nicholls has not played a non-Division I opponent in the
Tim Rebowe era. The last Division II school to play Nicholls was in 2014 when nationally-ranked Henderson State knocked off the Colonels, 27-10, in their winless campaign.
7 - Nicholls had seven players named to the preseason All-Southland team in the fall. The offense had six honorees, headlined by first-team selections OL P.J. Burkhalter, RB Julien Gums, WR Dai'Jean Dixon, and OL Jair Joseph. Two other offensive lineman were named second team - Jeremiah James and Mikhail Hill. On defense, Kevin Moore III was a first-team selection after recording over 100 tackles in his junior season.
16 - Running back Julien Gums set two single-season rushing records last season -- 1,232 yards rushing and found the end zone 16 times on the ground. Gums had a knack for finishing drives, rushing for two or more touchdowns in five games in his sophomore campaign. He posted two 3-touchdown games, leading the Colonels to wins over Stephen F. Austin and HBU.
102 - The 2021 spring roster consists of 109 players, and 102 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.
1,044 - Wide receiver Dai'Jean Dixon had a remarkable season in 2019, becoming the first Colonel to total over 1,000 yards receiving since 1986. What's even more impressive, Dixon missed five games due to injury and ranked second in the FCS with 116.0 yards per game. The 6-4 New Orleans product had five 100-yard games and racked up eight touchdown catches.
SCOUTING THE BLUE TIGERS
• Like the Colonels, Lincoln will be playing for the first time since late 2019. A Division II HBCU program out of the MIAA, the Blue Tigers are scheduled to play four games this spring.
• Lincoln is coming off a 1-10 campaign in 2019. Points were at a premium for the Blue Tigers as they averaged 10.7 points per game. LU scored 27 points twice in '19 but ended the year with four single-digit games.
• LU is led by running back Hosea Franklin, who posted a record-breaking season in 2019. Franklin set the Blue Tigers' single-season rushing mark with 1,359 yards, averaging 123.6 per game to go along with five touchdowns. He started his huge year with a bang, rushing for 251 yards and 2 TDs on 20 carries at Washburn. Franklin was the lone LU player to earn All-MIAA, garnering first team at running back.
• Linebacker Vontavious Thacker heads the defense after totaling 62 tackles last season, including four for loss. Thacker's best game was a 9-tackle effort against Pittsburg State, where he also had a 12-yard sack and forced a fumble. At Northwest Missouri State, he picked off a pass and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown.
A WIN OVER LINCOLN WOULD...
... improve the Colonels' all-time record in season openers to 23-26.
... put Coach Rebowe's season-opener record to 3-3 (0-47 at ULM in '15, 24-26 at #9 Georgia in '16, 37-35 McNeese in '17, 26-23 at Kansas in '18, 14-49 at Kansas St.)
... be the third opening win in the last four seasons (McNeese - '17, at Kansas '18).
... improve the Colonels' home record under Coach Rebowe to 21-7.
... give Coach Rebowe he's 35th career win, which is four behind Sonny Jackson's program record of 39.
... be the first win for Nicholls without
Chase Fourcade at quarterback since the season finale victory at Southeastern in 2015.
... be the first February win for the Colonels in school history.
TICKETS
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