• The Nicholls State University football team hosts rival Southeastern for the annual River Bell Classic on Thursday night at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium. Nicholls will look to send out its senior class with a second straight River Bell win while the Lions seek a fourth consecutive victory in Thibodaux. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

• When it comes to rivalry games, it's hard to find one better than the River Bell Classic. With the win by the Colonels in Hammond, Louisiana last season, the all-time series is knotted up at 17-17. What's even more interesting about the River Bell matchup as of late is the domination by the road teams as both have a three-game winning streak on the other's field. The 21-17 win last year in Strawberry Stadium gave Nicholls an outright title while SLU celebrated a championship in 2022 after its win at Guidry Stadium. The last home win for Nicholls was a 44-0 shutout to clinch the 2018 Southland title.

• Nicholls will not only be looking to end its home drought in the series against the Lions, but will be trying to end its current three-game losing streak after a 24-7 road loss at Lamar. The Colonels fell behind early on a short punt return for a touchdown and trailed 10-7 at the break. But the offense could not manufacture any points in the second half as they fell to 0-4 against the Southland Texas teams this season. Terry Matthews led the offense with 85 yards receiving on seven catches while Eli Ennis totaled 11 tackles and his third interception of the season.

• Following a close loss to league champion UIW, Southeastern has won its last two games, taking down Lamar in overtime on the road before blanking Northwestern State on Senior Day. The Lion defense dominated the winless Demons, holding NSU to 140 total yards in th 41-0 win. On offense, Eli Sawyer threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns while Antonio Martin Jr. rushed for 110 yards and a score. Martin is seeking the league's rushing title as he and Lamar's Khalan Griffin are separated by only six rushing yards.
 

A WIN OVER SLU WOULD...

... give Nicholls an 18-17 lead in the all-time series, snapping a three-game drought at home. The last home win over SLU was a 44-0 shutout in 2018.
... give Nicholls a sweep against the Louisiana Southland schools. The Colonels last went 3-0 vs. Southeastern, McNeese and Northwestern State in the championship 2019 season. Nicholls beat SLU and McNeese last year but the win over NSU was via forfeit.
... improve the Colonels' record to 21-11 in November under Coach Rebowe.
... improve Coach Rebowe's record in the SLC to 49-29.

BY THE NUMBERS

6 -- The Colonel defense is tied for first in the FCS with six rushing touchdowns allowed. Nicholls has not allowed a rushing TD in seven games this season.

19 -- Nicholls will honor its 2024 Senior Class on Thursday. The 19 seniors are Jordan Aaron, Jaden Ben, Zack Bernard, Dillion Davis, Markeyvrick Eddie, Jakob Foss, Collin Guggenheim, Nathan Hebb, Reed Lambert, Terry Matthews, Jackson McFarland, Lee Negrotto, Elijah Reames, Evan Roussel, Quinton Sharkey, Kendarius Smith, Seth Trahan, Ray Vallee, and Logan Wilcox.

19 -- With two more interceptions at Lamar, Nicholls ranks second in the FCS with 19 picks. Eli Ennis recorded his third interception while Jamison Lindsey notched his second. The most a defense has had in program history was 24 in 1981.

29 -- The Colonel defense took over the No. 1 spot in the FCS with three more turnovers last game and now have a nation's best 29 turnovers gained. Along with two interceptions, Nicholls got a late turnover at Lamar on a Ty Marsh forced fumble.

78.5 -- The Nicholls defense has been one of the best in the FCS against the rush, averaging 78.5 yards rushing per game despite facing two FBS opponents. The Colonels rank 2nd in the FCS and are also 9th in total defense. The school record for a single season is 92.0 rushing yards allowed set in 1982.

104 -- Eli Ennis surpassed the 100-tackle mark with 11 last game at Lamar, giving him 104 on the season. Ennis ranks 2nd in the SLC in tackles and is 16th in the FCS. He is the first Colonel with 100 tackles in a season since Kevin Moore III had 112 in 2019.

200 -- Collin Guggenheim is second all-time in rushing for the Colonels and is 200 yards from matching the all-time mark of 3,429, held by his former teammate, Julien Gums. Guggenheim also has 33 career rushing TDs with Gums holding that record as well with 36.

STAY SOCIAL
For more information on Colonel Football, follow the team on Twitter (@Nicholls_FB), Instagram (@Nicholls_FB) and like their Facebook page (Nicholls Football).