• The Nicholls State University football team looks to stay atop the Southland Conference standings as the Colonels return to league play to take on No. 20/25 Lamar University. Nicholls claimed a Week 0 win over preseason SLC favorite UIW and is one of three teams with a 1-0 mark. Lamar will be playing its first league game after going 3-1 in the nonconference and climbing into the Top 25 polls. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN+.

• Nicholls wrapped up nonconference slate last Saturday and dropped its fourth straight contest with a 27-7 loss at Eastern Kentucky. A touchdown on the third play of the game, a 60-yard score on a screen pass to Miequle Brock Jr., gave Nicholls the early lead but the Red and Gray would not score the rest of the game. EKU used its own long run to tie the game before halftime, then scored on a pick-6 early in the third quarter. The other Colonels added a touchdown pass and a field goal in the fourth to secure the home win. Despite the loss, Nicholls had a season-high 330 yards of offense 
 
• Lamar started the year unranked and was projected to finish fifth in the SLC, but after a month into the season, the Cardinals find themselves as the lone ranked team in the STATS FCS Poll. Following a shutout loss to FBS North Texas, LU knocked off No. 4 South Dakota before going on to win against Texas Southern and Central Arkansas. Lamar is ranked at No. 20 in this week's poll after sporting a perfect 3-0 mark against the FCS.

• The Nicholls-Lamar series in another close battle in terms of all-time wins and losses as LU holds a slim 8-7 advantage. The Cardinals won six of the first seven meetings before Nicholls reeled off a five-game winning streak which started in 2015 and was capped with a 55-0 victory in the spring season of 2021. The Colonels notched a road win during that stretch in '17 but have suffered defeats in their last two trips to Beaumont. The Cardinals are 6-2 all-time at home against the Colonels.
 

A WIN OVER LAMAR WOULD...

... give head coach Tommy Rybacki his first road victory of his career.
... even up the all-time series against Lamar at 8-8.
... be the first win in Beaumont since 2017, snapping a two-game skid.
... put the Colonels at 2-2 against FCS competition this season.
... give Nicholls a 2-0 start in the Southland for the second time in three years.
... be the second win over a ranked team this season (win over No. 5/4 UIW).

BY THE NUMBERS

9 -- For the second straight year, the Colonels finished in the Top 10 of the FCS in turnovers gained with 29 last season. Nicholls has nine gained this year and ranks 10th in the FCS.

46.5 -- Miequle Brock Jr. averaged an FCS best 50.2 yards per touchdown last season as his five TDs totaled 251 yards. He had rushing TDs of 68, 66, and 33 yards and catches of 80 and 4. This season, Brock scored two at Troy, rushing for a 3-yard TD before a highlight 58-yard catch-and-run. Then at EKU, he scored on a 60-yard screen play for his third touchdown of the season. Now with five touchdowns of at least 50 yards, his average yardage per touchdown is at 46.5.

62.9 -- In his first season at quarterback, Deuce Hogan ranks 38th in the FCS with a 62.9% completion percentage. He also ranks 29th in the nation with 17.6 completions per game. 

65 -- Seeing significant playing time for the second straight game, redshirt freshman Shane Lee finished with a career-high 65 yards rushing on 12 carries at EKU. Lee also had double-digit carries at Texas State and rushed for 48 yards.

132.2 -- The Nicholls defense is allowing 132.2 yards passing per game, which ranks 7th in the FCS. Twice this season, the defense has allowed less than 100 yards passing including 72 last game at EKU.

LAST MEETING
Nov. 16, 2024
@Lamar -- 24
Nicholls -- 7

BEAUMONT, Texas - The Nicholls State University football team suffered its third consecutive loss with a 24-7 setback against Lamar on Saturday at Provost Umphrey Stadium. The loss dropped Nicholls to 4-7 overall and 2-4 in the Southland. (FULL RECAP)

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