Colonels play opportunistic football on both sides of the ball in 38-7 Southland win over HCU

Many of the characteristics that were missing during a 0-3 start against one of the toughest schedules in the FCS were in full display now that Nicholls is in Southland Conference play.

Latest case in point was the Colonels’ homecoming game Saturday afternoon at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium in Thibodaux against Houston Christian University.

An early interception by Nicholls defensive back Tyler Morton set up a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Patrick McQuaide to David Robinson go give the Colonels a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game to kick-start a 38-7 win over the Huskies.

“I think it was good for us to get on top at home,” Nicholls coach Tim Rebowe said. “It was a hard-fought first half. I thought we could have had some more points on the board. We should have. We left a few out there.”

The win improved Nicholls to 2-0 in the Southland and 2-3 overall. HCU fell to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

For the second week in a row, the Colonels played opportunistic football on both sides of the ball. Morton’s interception was the first of two the defensive back had on the day, and one of three by Nicholls in the game.

First against McNeese State a week ago and again on Saturday versus HCU, the Nicholls defense allowed no more than 10 points in a game in Southland play. The Colonels held the Huskies to 220 yards total offense, including only 46 rushing.

Meanwhile, Nicholls running back Collin Guggenheim tied the school record for rushing touchdowns in a single game and Jaylon Spears ran for 113 yards.

Also, the Colonels turned the ball over only once on a first-quarter interception by McQuaide to avoid putting the Nicholls defense in disadvantageous situations like in the opening three weeks of the season.

“The defense has been great all year. I think we (the offense) put them in some bad spots in the season against TCU, Tulane, and even Sacramento State. We put that on us because we put them in some bad spots. I felt like we have one of the best defenses in the league.”

The first Nicholls touchdown was set up by a tip-drill interception by Morton. Morton has three interceptions in the last two games, after being the team leader a year ago with only two.

“We were actually working the tip drill right before the game. It just translates into the game, just treating practice reps like game reps. We work on that in practice all the time. It just came into play on the field,” Morton said.

Nicholls capitalized on the early turnover when Robinson beat tight coverage in the end zone for a 7-0 Colonels lead.

“I just made a play on the ball and tried to fight through it. I put my hands up and found a way to bring it down,” Robinson said.

After the early Nicholls touchdown, the Huskies responded with their only sustained drive of the opening half, scoring on a 2-yard pass from Colby Suits to Darryl Evans to tie the game 7-7 at the 5:17 mark of the first quarter.

“In that second quarter, it was kind of back and forth. We had a couple of three-and-outs. We were getting stops and they really weren’t threatening us,” Rebowe said.

The game remained tied until Nicholls came up with a two-minute drill late in the first half. Taking possession at their own 25-yard line with 1:55 remaining, the Colonels, behind four-straight completions to open the drive by McQuaide, set up the first of Guggenheim’s four touchdowns on a 4-yard run to give Nicholls a 14-7 halftime lead.

“I thought we worked it really, really well,” Rebowe said of the two-minute drill. “It is good to know you had two timeouts. We were moving fast, but not at a super-fast pace because we had the timeouts. Guys made a couple of big plays, converted some first downs, and it was really, really big to get the touchdown.”

Nicholls put the game away early in the second half.

A 63-yard reception by Robinson on the opening play of the third quarter down to the HCU 12-yard line set up a 4-yard run by Guggenheim for a 21-6 Nicholls lead less than two minutes into the second half.

“It was something that they were kind of giving us in the first half and we didn’t take advantage of it. We talked about it at halftime, and we knew what we wanted to do the first play. I thought Pat read it really well. David came up with the catch and a good move.

“It was big. You know, we left three points on the board at the end of the first half (when the Colonels missed a field goal) where it could have been 17, so it was big to come get that touchdown and make it 21-7 to start that third quarter.”

“Pat made a good pass. Coach believed it in, (I was) just too slow and got caught,” said Robinson, who finished with seven catches for 127 yards.

It was time for the Nicholls special teams to be opportunistic when a punt hit the back of a would-be Huskies punter returner, with the Colonels recovering at the HCU 7-yard line. Two plays later, Guggenheim had his third touchdown on a 2-yard run and Nicholls had a 28-7 advantage.

A Jordan Jackson interception helped to set up a 28-yard Gavin Lasseigne field goal, and Guggenheim scored his final touchdown on a 1-yard run as Nicholls took a 38-7 lead with 52 seconds still remaining in the third quarter.

“Honestly, I just got lucky tonight. That’s just how the dice went my way a little bit. I tell you what, without them big guys up front, I’m not who I am,” said Guggenheim. 

Nicholls finished with 441 yards of total offense, 237 rushing and 204 passing. McQuaide finished 15 of 25 passing for 204 yards and a touchdown.

Suits finished 17 of 38 passing for 170 yards and one touchdown and three interceptions. He ended up being the top ground gainer for the Huskies with 18 yards on six carries.