• The Nicholls State University football team heads to Troy for its first road game of the season, taking on the Trojans at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30 at Veterans Memorial Stadium. It will be the 28th meeting between the former league rivals but first since 2001. The Colonels already have a game under their belt after a Week 0 win over nationally-ranked and defending Southland champion UIW while Troy is making its 2025 debut.

• Tommy Rybacki could not have asked for a better performance from the Colonels in his head coaching debut. After serving as the Colonels' defensive coordinator for the last 10 years, Rybacki took over the program following Tim Rebowe's retirement, elevated defensive backs coach Darion Monroe to DC and the unit continued to play at a high level. Nicholls had three interceptions, five total turnovers, 11 tackles for loss and four sacks in the 20-6 victory over No. 5/4 UIW. The Colonels were honored as the FCS National Team of the Week.

• Troy has the upper hand in the all-time series, holding a 20-6-1 advantage, but the teams have not played each other since 2001. The Trojans ended the series by winning the last four matchups, capped with a shutout 26-0 win in their first season as an FBS program. Nicholls has secured three wins on the road with the last coming in 1991 when the Colonels claimed a 25-17 victory.

• Nicholls had two players earn preseason accolades and both shined in the win over UIW. Defensive lineman Rasheed Lovelace and linebacker Jake Dalmado were both named to the Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-American Team and Lovelace was also selected to the Buck Buchanan Preseason Watch List. Lovelace finished with five tackles and helped stuff the UIW rushing attack as the running backs combined for 75 yards with a 3.0 ypc. Dalmado finished with a team high 9 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery to seal the victory.

A WIN OVER TROY WOULD...

... give the Colonels its fifth win over an FBS program, snapping an 11-game skid. The last victory was in 2018 at Kansas.
... be the second FBS win over a Sun Belt school. The first FBS win for Nicholls was in 2001 at Arkansas State.
... give the Trojans just their second loss against the FCS in 22 games since moving up to the FBS. Troy fell to Abilene Christian in 2014 but has won the last 10.
... end a four-game winning streak by the Trojans in the all-time series. The last Colonel victory was a 22-20 win in 1997.
... put Nicholls at 2-0 for the first time in a full season since 2007 which also included an FBS win over Rice. The Colonels started 3-0 in the 2021 spring season.
... make Tommy Rybacki the first head coach to start 2-0. Phil Greco won his debut in 1987 but his second game was a 17-17 tie with Troy. 

BY THE NUMBERS

3 - The Colonel defense started the season with three interceptions -- one each by Ty Marsh, Anthony Rogers and Ethan Lee. Nicholls ranked third in the nation last season with 19 interceptions.

4 - Nicholls has four wins over FBS programs since 2000, with the last coming in 2018 with an overtime victory at Kansas. The Colonels had close calls at No. 9 Georgia (26-24), Texas A&M (24-14) and Louisiana (27-24), and also fell in overtime to South Alabama (41-40). The other three victories were against Arkansas State ('01), Rice ('07) and Western Michigan ('13).

6 - Nicholls stifled the UIW offense by allowing just two field goals in the 20-6 win over the Cardinals. It was the first time since 2017 that UIW did not score a touchdown.

11.0 - Nicholls racked up 11 tackles for loss in the win over UIW which included four sacks. Jake Dalmado, Joe Mason and Ethan Lee each had 2.5 TFLs for the game.

18.8% - One of the keys to the defense's success in the opener was holding UIW to 3 of 16 on third downs. UIW was also 2 of 4 on fourth downs and made just two field goals in four trips to the red zone. 

55 - Karaaz Johnson scored the lone offensive touchdown on a 55-yard catch early in the fourth quarter. It was just his second career reception but his first was also a touchdown last season. He added a third career grab later in the quarter.


TEAM OF THE WEEK
With the 20-6 win over preseason favorite and Top 5 ranked UIW, the NCAA named the Colonels the FCS Team of the Week.
- Although its a rare feat for an unranked team to knock off a team in the Top 5 of the polls, it was the second time in the last three years that an unranked Nicholls squad beat UIW when the Cardinals were ranked 5 or higher.

CLOSE CALLS
Nicholls will be looking for its fifth win over an FBS school since 2000 after claiming victories against Arkansas State ('01), Rice ('07), Western Michigan ('13) and Kansas ('18). The win over the Jayhawks came in overtime, 26-23, in the 2018 opener and sparked the first of two consecutive Southland title runs for the Colonels. 
- Before the win at Kansas, Nicholls had a few near upsets against FBS foes. In 2016, the Colonels were 55-point underdog at No. 9 Georgia and despite leading in the third quarter, Nicholls could not hang on in a 26-24 loss. Later that season, the Colonels allowed a game-tying touchdown in the final minute against South Alabama that forced overtime. USA struck first with a TD and Nicholls answered, but went for two for the win and was unsuccessful, falling 41-40. Then in 2017, Nicholls tied Texas A&M in the fourth quarter before dropping the game, 24-14. 
- But since the victory at Kansas, Nicholls has lost nine of the last 11 by at least 20 points with the two exceptions being last season's 25-17 loss at Louisiana Tech and a 27-24 setback at Louisiana in 2021.

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).