• Winners of two straight conference games, the Nicholls State University football team heads to Texas for its final road test of the season as the Colonels take on the Lamar University Cardinals. Nicholls is aiming to stay in the race for the league title while Lamar is looking to end a lengthy losing streak -- in the series and overall. The game will air at 3 p.m. on ESPN+ and can be listened to on ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM.

• The Colonels outlasted McNeese in a 40-35 showing last weekend for their second consecutive Southland victory. Nicholls had a great start in taking a 14-0 lead but McNeese answered with 29 straight points through the opening minutes of the third quarter. The Colonels then countered with three straight touchdowns before the teams traded TDs in the fourth to make the final. The second-half comeback was sparked by an interception returned for a score by James Tobin, and running back Julien Gums capped his historic day with a the game-winning rushing TD in the fourth. Gums racked up 110 yards and became just the 15th back in Southland history to rush for 3,000 yards in a career. 

• Lamar stepped out of league play last weekend and suffered a 54-21 loss at home to Prairie View A&M. The Cardinals churned out 358 rushing yards for the game but an early 27-7 deficit proved too much to overcome. Khalan Griffin eclipsed the 100-yard mark with 114 on seven carries and he was one of three Cardinals to scoring a rushing touchdown. The loss extended their losing skid to 15 games as LU dropped its last eight contests to end 2021. 

• The series between Nicholls and Lamar is deadlocked at 6-6 but the Colonels rapidly made up ground by winning the last five meetings. After playing three times through the mid 80s, the series was revived in 2011 and LU won the first four matchups. But since Tim Rebowe took over the Colonel program, Nicholls is a perfect 5-0 which includes a pair of wins in Beaumont. The Colonels ended a lengthy road conference drought in his first season with a 30-28 triumph against Lamar, but since then, have an average margin of victory of 32 points over the last four. The teams last squared off in the spring of 2021 with Nicholls winning 55-0. 

BY THE NUMBER

2 -- Sophomore safety Tyler Morton recorded his second interception of the season in the win over McNeese and leads the defense in the category for the year. It was part of a two-pick day for the Colonel defense -- the first of the season for the unit. 

5.5 -- True freshman Eli Ennis leads the defense with 5.5 tackles for loss this season, helped by 2.0 last week in the victory against McNeese. Ennis leads the Southland in conference play with 1.5 TFLs per game.

35/36 -- Running back Julien Gums is looking to break two more all-time records -- both involving touchdowns. After finding the endzone for the game-winner against McNeese, Gums is now tied with a pair of former teammates for touchdown records. His 36 overall touchdowns matches receiver Dai'Jean Dixon who set the record last season, and his 35 rushing scores ties quarterback Chase Fourcade's mark set in 2019.  

40 -- Nicholls scored 40 points for the first time this season in the win over McNeese and the output has historically led to a positive result for the Colonels. Under head coach Tim Rebowe, Nicholls is 20-4 when scoring at least 40 points. When scoring 30 or more, the team has a 34-9 record,.   

89 -- One thing lacking from the Colonel offense this season had been explosive plays, but Kohen Granier and Terry Matthews connected on an 89-yard touchdown in the victory against McNeese. With the Colonels trailing by one in the third and deep in their own territory,  Granier hit Matthews on third down who then eluded a pair of defenders and sprinted 70 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. 

300 -- Quarterback Kohen Granier has two starts in conference this season and has threw for over 300 yards in both contests. Granier recorded his first 300-yard showing of his career at Northwestern State with 324 yards in the air. After missing the Houston Christian game with an injury, Granier threw for a new best 339 yards to lead the Colonels to a win over McNeese.

3,000 -- Running back Julien Gums reached another milestone in the win over McNeese, surpassing the 3,000-yard mark for career rushing yards. Gums headed into the game needing just four yards and went on to notch his 13th career 100-yard effort with 110. Gums leads the league in conference play at 99.3 rushing yards per game.

A WIN OVER LAMAR WOULD...

... extend the Colonels' win streak against Lamar to six games and give Nicholls a 7-6 lead in the all-time series.
... keep Tim Rebowe's record against LU perfect at 6-0.
... improve Rebowe's record in October to 17-13. Nicholls has a winning record in October and November (16-6) under Rebowe.
... improve Rebowe's record vs. Texas schools to 27-14
... secure a .500 or better finish in conference for the seventh consecutive campaign. Nicholls had a winning record in '16 (5-4), '17 (7-2), '18 (7-2), and '19 (7-2), and finished 3-3 in the spring 2021 season. 
... be the third straight win in Beaumont for the Colonels. Nicholls was 0-4 in road games in the series prior to the Rebowe Era.

LAST MEETING
Feb. 27, 2021
@Nicholls 55, Lamar 0

THIBODAUX, La. – The No. 9 Nicholls State University football team posted a 600-yard day on offense, while the defense kept Lamar University off of the scoreboard as the Colonels steamrolled past the Cardinals, 55-0, Saturday evening at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium. (FULL RECAP)



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