• The No. 18/17 Nicholls State University football team ends the regular season with a Saturday edition of the annual River Bell Classic against rival Southeastern Louisiana. The Colonels will be aiming for their third consecutive victory versus SLU after defeating the Lions in 2018 and '19 -- both wins resulting in Southland Conference championships. 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 is coming off a disappointing loss at McNeese last Saturday, falling to the unranked Cowboys, 43-31. The Colonels outgained McNeese in total yards, 562-541, but could not overcome three consecutive touchdowns by the Cowboys in the second quarter. Nicholls received a solid day from quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr., who tossed three touchdowns passes, threw for 289 yards and rushed for a career-high 137 yards. Julien Gums also rushed for over 100 yards as he finished with 121 after missing the UIW game. The loss essentially eliminated the Colonels from the Southland title contention and was the sixth consecutive setback on the road in the series against McNeese. 

• Southeastern Louisiana improved to 3-2 on the season after a dominating 45-12 win over Lamar at home last weekend. The score was close after 20 minutes with SLU leading 14-12, but the Lions scored 28 unanswered to maintain their perfect record at Strawberry Stadium. Quarterback Cole Kelley had another stellar performance, throwing for over 300 yards for the fifth time this season while connecting on three touchdown passes. The Lion defense limited Lamar to 296 yards and came up with two interceptions.  

• Saturday's meeting between Nicholls and Southeastern will be the 30th all-time with the Colonels holding a slim 15-14 advantage. Nicholls has a two-game lead over the Lions in Thibodaux, 7-5, including the 44-0 win in 2018. The win in '18 clinched the Southland Conference championship and was just the third shutout for the Colonels in the series. Last season, both teams were ranked heading into the River Bell Classic and the matchup served as the championship game as the winner earned the league's automatic berth into the FCS playoffs. The Colonels escaped with a 28-27 win, but both teams went on to earn a first-round victory in the playoffs. 

• Nicholls is 3-2 against Southeastern since head coach Tim Rebowe took over the program to start the 2015 season. Not including the 44-0 win by the Colonels in 2018, the other four games have been decided by a combined 10 points. Nicholls took the first meeting under Rebowe in '15 on a last second field goal, winning 27-24, before Southeastern won the next two, 44-42 and 21-17. Last season's matchup turned out to be arguably the best of the series with Nicholls taking a 28-27 lead after a 57-yard touchdown catch by Dai'Jean Dixon with 1:30 remaining in the game. The Lions rallied and drove all the way to the Colonel 2 before fumbling at the goal line in the final seconds.

2 - So far this spring season, 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 2 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. 

81 - QB Lindsey Scott Jr. was a busy guy last week at McNeese as he set a program single-game record for a total plays with 81 against the Cowboys. Scott threw the ball 53 times for 289 yards and racked up 28 rushes for 137. Scott has matched the team record for touchdowns responsible for twice (6) this season and also tied the single-game mark with five TD passes in the win against UIW. The previous record for total plays was 62, held by LaQuintin Caston (2011). The 81 plays is the fifth most in league history.

127.0 - RB Julien Gums has played in two games against Southeastern Louisiana and is averaging 127.0 yards rushing against the Lions. In his freshman season, Gums carried the ball 14 times for 121 yards and two touchdowns in the 44-0 win in 2018. Last season, Gum had 133 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Along with his three total TDs, he is averaging 7.9 yards in the series.     

98 - The 2021 spring roster consists of 105 players, and 98 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.

271.3 - Nicholls has featured one of the FCS' top rushing offenses over the last few years and this spring has been no different. In the six games, the Colonels are averaging 271.3 yards per game which ranks third in the FCS. Julien Gums leads the way with 80.0 yards on the ground per game (29th in FCS), and is closely followed by quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr. at 77.8 ypg (34th). With Gums out of the lineup against UIW, John Carrington III chipped in with 135 yards on just 13 carries. 

... give the Colonels three consecutive wins in the series for the first time since 2008-10.
... give Nicholls its sixth winning streak of three games or longer against league foes. Colonels have won last five vs. HBU, Lamar, UIW, and Northwestern State, and four against SFA. 
... improve Nicholls' record in the all-time series to 16-14.
... 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 11-7 (5-1 vs. NSU, 2-4 vs. McNeese, 3-2 vs. SLU).
... be the first April win for the Colonels in school history.

LAST MEETING
Nov. 21, 2019
No. 23/23 Nicholls 28, No. 22/21 Southeastern Louisiana 21

HAMMOND, La.  - The No. 23/23 Nicholls State University football team won its second consecutive Southland Conference championship after a chaotic, thrilling 28-27 victory over No. 22/21 Southeastern Louisiana in the River Bell Classic Thursday night in front of 10,071 fans at Strawberry Stadium. (RECAP)
 

Thanks to @thibodauxreg, we're giving away 3,000 commemorative 2019 Football Conference Champions pennants at the game this weekend! See y'all Saturday at Guidry Stadium⚔️🏈 #geauxcolonels #GAme_oN pic.twitter.com/vo9ghyQ5be

— Nicholls Colonels (@GeauxColonels) April 6, 2021