• The Nicholls State University football team puts a bow on its road-heavy start to 2022 with a matchup against the Houston Christian University Huskies. Following a heartbreaking loss at Northwestern State, Nicholls is still searching for Win No. 1 of the season. HCU is one of four teams in the Southland without a loss as they hung on to defeat Lamar last weekend.   The game will air at 6 p.m. on ESPN+ and can be listened to on ESPN Radio New Orleans 100.3 FM.

• The Colonels enter Saturday's contest with an 0-5 overall record and for the third time under Coach Rebowe -- an 0-1 start in conference. Nicholls had a season-high 555  yards of offense and held Northwestern State to three touchdowns through 57 minutes but the Demons pieced together a comeback best described as unfathomable. Although the offense was unable to have a legit shot of taking the lead back, Kohen Granier finished with a career-high 324 yards passing to go along with three total touchdowns -- two passing and one rushing. Julien Gums also capped his day with a 37-yard rushing touchdown, giving him his 12th career 100-yard game. 

• Houston Christian, formally known as Houston Baptist until Sept. 21, went winless in 2021 with an 0-11 mark but ended the drought with an opening 46-34 win at Northern Colorado. Following a 21-20 loss to Lindenwood and a shutout against Texas State, the Huskies notched a league victory against Lamar last weekend to even their record to 2-2. HCU led 37-7 in the third quarter and had to hold off the Cardinals which scored 27 unanswered points in the 37-34 outing. 

• Nicholls holds a 7-1 advantage all-time versus HCU after winning seven straight against the Huskies. HCU won the first-ever meeting in 2014 before Coach Rebowe took over the program and led Nicholls to a wins in the next seven. With the exception of last season's two lopsided victories by the Colonels, the series has featured several thrilling games and memorable moments. HBU's win in 2014 was the program's first Southland victory and in the next meeting, Nicholls won 38-17 for not only Tim Rebowe's first win as a head coach, but it snapped a 23-game losing streak. The next two meetings ended in dramatic fashion with the Colonels winning in double overtime in Houston in '16, then Dai'Jean Dixon caught a 44-yard touchdown pass, his only reception of the game, as time expired for the Colonel victory in '17. Although Nicholls won by 21 in the '19 meeting, Julien Gums broke the single-season record for rushing touchdowns while former quarterback Chase Fourcade set the mark in career rushing scores. In the home victory for the Colonels last season, it was Tim Rebowe's 40th career win which passed Sonny Jackson's program all-time mark of 39. 

BY THE NUMBERS

4 -- The Nicholls defense started four freshmen in the Southland opener against Northwestern State. In his first career start at safety, Ethan Lee had a career-high 10 tackles while redshirt freshman linebacker Kylin White also logged 10 tackles. Linebacker Kaiden Jones added seven stops with 1.5 for loss and Eli Ennis totaled six tackles in his first start. 

35 -- Another record running back Julien Gums is approaching is the career mark for rushing touchdowns (35), which is held by former quarterback Chase Fourcade. Gums found the end zone early in the fourth at South Alabama for his 33rd career rushing TD and added his 34th last weekend against NSU. He is also just one TD from tying the career touchdown scored mark (36) set by receiver Dai'Jean Dixon last season.  

104 -- Running back Julien Gums rushed for 104 yards on 18 carries at Northwestern State, giving the senior his first 100-yard game of the season. Gums set the school record in 100-yard games last season and his total now stands at 12. 

555 -- The Colonel offense had their first 500-yard output of the season, totaling 555 yards of total offense against Northwestern State. The rushing game had its second consecutive 200-yard output while the passing attack had over 300 yards for just the second time since the start of the 2021 Spring season.  Nicholls reached the 500-yard mark six times last season and had a 4-2 record in those games. 

A WIN OVER HCU WOULD...
... be the eighth straight win against the Huskies, improving the all-time record to 8-1.
... prevent a sixth consecutive loss. Nicholls has not lost six in a row under Rebowe.
... improve Rebowe's record to 8-0 all-time against the Huskies. The first meeting was won by HCU in 2014 in the final season of the Charlie Stubbs Era. 
... be the 19th road win under Coach Rebowe. Nicholls is 17-17 in road FCS games in the Rebowe Era and has an FBS victory at Kansas. 
... improve Rebowe's record in October to 15-12. Nicholls has a winning record in October and November (16-6) under Rebowe.
... prevent the first 0-2 start in conference for the Colonels since 2015.
... improve Rebowe's record vs. Texas schools to 26-13.
... give the Colonels a winning record in road games vs. Texas programs (10-10). Losses include two FBS games (Texas A&M and Texas State).

LAST MEETING
Oct. 23, 2022
Nicholls 44, @HCU 14

HOUSTON, Texas  – The second meeting between the Nicholls State University football team and HBU was eerily similar to the first matchup as the Colonels racked up over 300 yards on the ground while the defense stifled the Huskies in a 44-14 victory Saturday night at Husky Field. (FULL RECAP)


TEXAS TIM
Head coach Tim Rebowe, a native of Norco, Louisiana, has enjoyed success in his coaching career against teams from Texas. With half of the SLC programs hailing from the Lone Star State, Rebowe has played 39 games and has a 26-13 record.
- The record is helped by the current seven-game winning streak against Houston Christian and a five-game streak versus Lamar. 

DEJA VU?
Nicholls has not had an 0-5 start to the season since 2015 which was Tim Rebowe's first year at the helm. The Colonels had lost 18 consecutive games heading into the '15 campaign and dropped the first five of '15.
- The starts to 2015 and '22 have several similarities. 
- Nicholls had two not-so-close losses against FBS programs which included ULM in both seasons. Also suffered a setback against a ranked FCS team (McNeese), and not one but two a heartbreaking conference losses (UIW and SFA) on the road. 
- In Game 5 of '15, Nicholls held a 24-14 lead at Stephen F. Austin but was unable to hang on in a 28-24 loss, similar to surrendering a 33-21 lead at NSU last weekend. 
- In both seasons, Game 6 came against Houston Christian. Nicholls snapped the skid at home in '15 and will try to notch its first win of '22 against the Huskies. The only difference will be that the matchup is in Houston.


STAY SOCIAL
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