• The No. 13/11 Nicholls State University football team wraps up its spring road slate with a matchup against rival McNeese at Cowboy Stadium. The Colonels have not won in Lake Charles since 2008 and will be searching for only its eighth road victory in the series. The contest will air on Cox Sports TV, stream online on ESPN+ and can be listened to on ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM.

• Nicholls bounced back from its lone loss of the season in a big way, defeating No. 13 UIW in Thibodaux, 75-45. After a back-and-forth opening period, the Colonels took command of the game and put up 41 straight points to build a 68-24 lead in the third quarter. Even without starting running back Julien Gums, the Red and Gray rushed for 350 yards and racked up a total of 614 yards in the lopsided victory. Quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr. tied the school record with five touchdown passes and added another on the ground, while sophomore running back John Carrington III had a career day with 135 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just 13 carries.  Defensively, Nicholls slowed down the Cardinals' highly-touted offense and forced three turnovers. The Colonel special teams also chipped in as Dontaze Costly returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score. 

• McNeese, along with the Colonels, is one of the only two teams in the Southland this spring to play a nonconference game. The Cowboys started the 2021 football slate with a double overtime win on the road against Tarleton State. McNeese fell in its next three games, including another overtime contest, but bounced back with a 21-7 win at Northwestern State two weeks ago. The fact that McNeese has been able to play any games has been a miracle in itself after Lake Charles was torn apart by hurricanes in August/September. 

• Nicholls and McNeese will be squaring off for the 45th time in the program's histories, dating back to the first matchup in 1972. The Cowboys have a significant lead in the all-time series, 31-13, and is 16-7 in the games played in Lake Charles. Nicholls snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Cowboys with a thrilling 37-35 win in the 2017 season opener and added another win in the last matchup in '19. But the Colonels have not won at Cowboy Stadium in over a decade, lasting leaving Lake Charles with a win in 2008 (38-35). 

• Nicholls climbed back up the top 25 polls after its dominating win over nationally-ranked UIW on Saturday. Following the victory against the Cardinals, the Colonels placed at No. 13 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll and moved up three spots to No. 11 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. The Southland Conference currently has four teams ranked in the polls - No. 5/5 Sam Houston, No. 13/11 Nicholls, No. 20/18 UIW, and No. 25/22 Southeastern Louisiana.

71 - In each of the last two games, WR Dai'Jean Dixon has set new all-time program records for receptions and receiving touchdowns. He will have a chance to set another this week as he needs only 71 receiving yards to pass Mark Carrier (2,709) for first on the Colonels' all-time list. Carrier held the records for receptions (147) and TDs (24) as well. 

75 - Nicholls lit up the scoreboard in its win over UIW with a school Southland record 75 points in the 30-point victory. The Colonels scored eight touchdowns in the first half for a 55-24 lead and went on to score 41 consecutive points. The 75-point mark surpassed the team's 63-point outing against Texas State in 1993.

90 - WR Dontaze Costly returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown in the win over UIW. The return was the first for a TD on a kickoff for the Colonels since 2013 when Carey Fortson had one against Lamar. Costly went on to earn Southland Conference Special Teams Player of the Week.    
 

2008 - Nicholls has not had much luck on the road in the series against McNeese with its last win in Lake Charles coming in the 2008 season. Under Tim Rebowe, the Colonels are 0-2 at Cowboy Stadium with a 38-13 setback in 2016 and a 20-10 loss in '18 in their last trip. 

A WIN OVER MCNEESE  WOULD...

... be the first win in Lake Charles since 2008.
... give the Colonels consecutive wins in the series for the first time since winning four straight from 1985-88.
... secure a winning record in the Southland for the fifth straight season. Nicholls had only two prior to Rebowe's arrival in 2015.
... give Coach Rebowe his 39th career win, which would tie Sonny Jackson's program mark.
... improve Rebowe's record vs. Southland Louisiana schools to 11-6 (5-1 vs. NSU, 2-3 vs. McNeese, 3-2 vs. SLU).
... be the first April win for the Colonels in school history.
 

KEEPING IT 100
Since Tim Rebowe took over the program, the Colonels have enjoyed success when a player has reached the century mark in rushing yards. Nicholls has had a 100-yard rusher in 29 games in Rebowe's five-plus seasons and it has resulted in 25 victories. Included in the stretch are four games with two 100-yard rushers, with the only loss coming in 2015 against Northwestern State. Nicholls has had three 100-yard rushers this season, each paving the way for a victory. 
 

BRINGING THE BACON
True freshman defensive back Pig Cage had an impressive debut for the Colonel defense, racking up 19 total tackles with 9.0 going for loss.
- Cage had four TFLs in his first game against Lincoln.
- He followed with three tackles versus Lamar - with all three being behind the line of scrimmage.
- Six tackles and a sack at NSU.
- Recorded his first career interception, picking off a pass in the third quarter at Sam Houston.
- Had a sack for a 20-yard loss in the win vs. UIW and also stopped the Cardinals on a 4th-and-short attempt.