Playoff-type clash will take place when Nicholls, UIW meet in battle of SLC unbeatens

The Nicholls football team finds itself, in essence, playing a month’s worth of playoff football games before the playoffs even begin.

A 35-31 home loss last Saturday to Southeast Missouri State, a playoff team a year ago and contender to finish atop the Ohio Valley Conference once again, left the Colonels 3-4 on the season and little to no margin for error through the rest of the 2023 season.

“You had a chance at the end of the game to win the game,” Nicholls coach Tim Rebowe said of the SEMO game. “We didn’t win the game against a good football team. I thought it was kind of a playoff-type game, maybe not the whole atmosphere, but the game, the opponent, a good opponent who is probably going to win their conference again.

“Yeah, that one hurt, but you have to learn from it. You definitely have to move on because of what is coming up. Hopefully, we can learn some things about ourselves and educate a little bit, and hopefully help us down the road.”

Immediately down the road is a game at p.m. Saturday in San Antonio against the University of Incarnate Word.

Both teams are 4-0 in Southland Conference play but looking at different scenarios as far as the NCAA playoffs are concerned.

UIW is ranked No. 4 in the nation at 7-1 overall and riding a seven-game winning streak. A loss to Nicholls may cost the Cardinals a shot at the SLC title, but barring a complete collapse, UIW likely will receive an at-large bid.

A Southland ruling moved the Colonels’ conference mark to 4-0. That came after Northwestern State cancelled the remainder of its season in the aftermath of the death of a Demons player.

The NCAA, however, considers the game a no-contest. So, the Colonels got credit for a win in the conference but not by the NCAA, meaning Nicholls officially sits 3-4 overall. Even if Nicholls were to win its final two games of the season, a loss to UIW would mean the Colonels could finish with no better than a 6-4 overall mark.

All of which has led to a head-scratcher for Rebowe and the rest of the Nicholls athletic community.

“I really don’t understand it,” Rebowe said. “I don’t see how we can be 4-0 in the conference, yet we are only 3-4 overall. I understand that maybe the NCAA is not going to recognize it if it’s a deciding spot to get into the playoffs. To me, if a forfeit is a win, it’s got to be a win in the eyes of college football.

“With the ruling of the NCAA, I doubt (an at-large bid) with four losses. They will say we are only 6-4. I don’t know how the media is going to look at that.”

There is one obvious remedy.

“We just have to go and take care of business on the field and then we will figure that stuff out later,” said Rebowe.

Business starts against UIW.

“We have to go to San Antonio. It’s a place we have played well before, so we can go on the road and win. It’s a good football team that’s a Top 5 team,” Rebowe said.

Offensively for UIW, Richard Torres has proven to be a more than capable replacement for starting quarterback Zach Calzada. Calzada, a one-time Texas A&M quarterback, was fourth in the nation in total offense, averaging 310.2 yards per game and third in passing at 299.5 per outing before suffering an injury.

Since then, Torres has thrown for 468 yards and five touchdowns, as the Cardinals have won their last seven games.

The UIW offense, Rebowe said, has not changed since Torres has taken over.

“They are pretty much the same. They like to spread the ball around to a bunch of different receivers. They play up-tempo and try to catch you off-balance a little bit, yet they know how to run the football,” said Rebowe.

Among the bevy of targets, none has proven to be more productive than Brandon Porter. The UIW receiver has hauled in 48 passes for 832 yards and six touchdowns through eight games.

“I thought he was really good last year,” Rebowe said of Porter. “He’s emerged as one of the top receivers in the country. It seems like every time you look, he’s been named Player of the Week. He knows how to get open. They find him and he knows what to do after he catches the ball.

“I think they do a good job in the quick game and then they lull you to sleep a little bit and hit you with the deep ball. Those guys block well on the perimeter for each other in the screen game. We will really, really have to rally to the football.”

Two runners have gotten the bulk of the carries for UIW. Timothy Carter has 377 yards rushing on 57 carries, while Jarrell Wiley has amassed 306 yards on 63 attempts.

“Carter is their main guy. Wiley gives them a little bit of speed. It’s not like one gets in the game and they run a completely different type of offense. They run some zone. They run some counter stuff. We will have to be ready for it,” Rebowe explained.

Like Porter on offense, UIW has a defender whose numbers also jump out at you.

Linebacker Steven Parker has recorded 14.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks.

“You put the film on, and you see No. 0, and you will know where he is,” Rebowe said of Parker. “He can really rush the passer. He really knows how to get after you. We will have to be aware of where he is at all times. He can cause you a little havoc back there.

“As always, we have to be able to protect our quarterback. He (Pat McQuaide) did a good job last week of scrambling and getting out of situations, but we have to be able to protect the quarterback a little better.”

It will take a little bit of everything, Rebowe said, to handle a defensive talent like Parker.

“You try to run away from him. You try to run right at him. You try to slow him down a bit. Just know where he is and try to put a couple of guys – maybe slide to him, maybe chip him a little bit. Maybe double-team him. We will have a couple of plans in action,” the Nicholls coach said.

Tylan Foster is UIW’s leading tackler by far with 69. Next closest is Mason Chambers with 46,

“They are very active,” Rebowe said. “They have some very good defensive ends and linebackers. They force you into doing a couple of different things, so we have to protect the football.

“I think we will be able to control their front a little bit. Those linebackers are a good crew back there, also.”

Ronald Wilson leads the Cardinals with three interceptions

“They play some zone coverage and every now and then they will jump in some man coverage. We just have to make sure and protect the football,” said Rebowe.

If Nicholls does defeat UIW, it won’t be merely because of what the Colonels did leading up to the game, according to offensive lineman Reed Lambert.

“It’s not just what we did this week. It’s what we did whenever we showed up in January and in the spring, and in the summer and fall camp. It’s not just this week that beats Incarnate Word. It’s what you do throughout the whole offseason that beats them, too,” Lambert said.