Nicholls Colonels at Northwestern State Demons
Natchitoches, La. (Turpin Stadium)
Saturday, Oct. 24 -- 2 p.m. CT 
ESPN+: LINK 
Live Stats: Link

• The Nicholls State University football team will hit the road for consecutive weeks for the first and only time this season, starting with a matchup against rival Northwestern State on Saturday, Oct. 24 at Turpin Stadium. Nicholls will be looking for its first road win in two years while the Demons are searching for their first win this season and first conference victory since 2022. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN+.


• Nicholls saw its losing streak extend to four games after a 56-0 loss to No. 3 Stephen F. Austin on its home turf last weekend. The Colonels took the ball into the red zone on the opening drive of the game but were held without points after coming up short on a fourth-down conversion. SFA answered with a 93-yard touchdown drive and never slowed down, going on to claim a shutout victory. The Colonels were kept out of the end zone for the fourth time this season which includes all three road games. 


• Northwestern State is winless on the season and has lost its last 18 games but had a chance to end the drought with a late rally against McNeese last weekend. Trailing 24-7 in the fourth, the Demons scored two unanswered touchdowns with the last coming with 17 seconds remaining. However, McNeese recovered the onside kick and held on for the win. The Demons' last Southland victory was a 41-14 win at East Texas A&M on Nov. 5, 2022. 


• The Colonels have had the upper hand against the Demons over the last decade but still trail 29-23 in the all-time series. Nicholls has won eight of the last nine matchups including a thrilling 26-21 win on Senior Day last year. Shane Lee had a career day with 134 yards rushing and three touchdowns, with his last being the game-winner with seven minutes to go. The lone loss during that span came in the Colonels' last trip to Natchitoches as the Demons pulled off an improbable comeback victory in 2022. A late touchdown gave Nicholls a 33-21 lead with three minutes remaining but the Demons scored a touchdown, recovered an onside kick, converted a desperation heave on fourth down, and scored the winning touchdown with nine seconds remaining to win 36-33. 

 

A WIN OVER NORTHWESTERN STATE WOULD...

... be the ninth win over the Demons in the last 10 matchups.
... improve the Colonels' all-time record to 24-29 in the series vs. NSU.
... be the first road victory for Nicholls since 2024, snapping a 13-game drought.
... give the Colonels their first SLC victory on the road since the River Bell Classic in 2023.
... be the first road win for second-year head coach Tommy Rybacki.

BY THE NUMBERS

2 -- The Nicholls defense forced a pair of fumbles against SFA. Jhamal Shelby Jr. punched out the football on a carry and it was recovered by Kasai Jones for the first one, while freshman linebacker Charlie Diedrich forced and recovered the second. Nicholls ranks 7th in the FCS in fumbles recovered.

8 -- Nicholls will be looking to end an eight-game losing streak in road conference games, with the last victory coming in the 2023 River Bell Classic at Southeastern.

9 -- Freshman linebacker Kevin Martin Jr. led the Colonel defense with a career-high nine tackles against SFA. Martin was inserted into the starting lineup early in the season and ranks third on the team with 37 tackles.

13 -- The Colonels have created 13 turnovers this season, ranking 19th in the FCS. Nicholls had six turnovers against MVSU -- three picks, two fumbles and a botched kick return, a fumble recovery at Kansas State, and two interceptions and another fumble against UTRGV. Skylar Husband notched his second interception of the season against Lamar and in the last home game, Nicholls recovered two fumbles. In 2025, Nicholls finished 17th in the FCS with 21 turnovers gained.

LAST MEETING
Nov. 15, 2025
Nicholls -- 26
Northwestern State -- 21

THIBODAUX, La. - Redshirt freshman running back Shane Lee carried the offense with a career-high 134 yards and three touchdowns but it was a senior duo that came up with the game-winning stop as the Nicholls State University football team defeated rival Northwestern State, 26-21, on Senior Day at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium. (FULL RECAP)

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