Colonels have lots of road experiences to draw upon in preparing for playoff opener

Thanks to playing the regular-season finale on a Thursday like Nicholls did in its 21-16 win last week at Southeastern Louisiana, the Colonels have had a few extra days to prepare for their Football Championship Subdivision playoff game.

“I think that’s why I like to do what we do and play a Thursday game. If you’re not in the playoffs, you can probably get the guys to practice, play the game and put some closure to your season. Then if you are playing a (playoff) game, you get a couple extra days to get in there and rest, recuperate, wait to see who you are going to play and get started with them,” Nicholls coach Tim Rebowe said.

Nicholls, champions of the Southland Conference, faces Southern Illinois University at 2 p.m. Saturday in Carbondale, Ill.

The Colonels (6-4) are coming off a physical battle with Southeastern Louisiana.

“We got some guys banged up. Jordan Jackson went down with a little bit of an ankle at some point. Kershawn Fisher was one who had gone down. My hats off. Hayden Shaheen didn’t even play in the game. So we were down some starters in that game, to see what we did with some guys stepping up, holding them to 16 points and 200 yards of offense was that much more impressive what the defense did,” said Rebowe.

The Colonels were without even more defensive starters when linebacker Quinton Sharkey and defensive back Tyler Morton were ejected from the game for targeting. Players ejected for targeting must sit out for one half of a game, according to NCAA rules. Because the targeting incidents took place in the first half, both players sat out the second half and are eligible to start against Southern Illinois.

If any team is prepared to open the playoffs on the road, it’s the 2023 Colonels. Of the 10 games played by Nicholls, six were on the road.

“It’s really impressive if you look at it how we went on the road to Dallas, you know came home against a tough SEMO team – a physical football game – turn right around went to San Antonio and a long bus ride,” Rebowe said. “We won that one, came home in an emotional game against Lamar, and then a short week to travel to Hammond. Three of those last five were on the road. So we’ll draw in those experiences.

“We just try to stress to the guys it’s more about the game. We’ve been there, we got on buses, we got the hotels, we know what to do. It’s more about the game at that point.”

Southern Illinois goes into the game ranked No. 14 in the nation despite a 7-4 record.

That has to do with the fact the Salukis play in the rugged Missouri Valley Conference. All four of SIU losses were to league foes.

The Salukis lost 31-3 to Youngstown State, 17-10 to top-ranked South Dakota State, 17-7 to No. 9 South Dakota, and 34-10 to No. 12 North Dakota State.

“As a team, you can’t look at their record. We’ve done that all year. You look at the opponent, don’t look at the numbers next to it,” said Rebowe. “They play, some argue, in the toughest conference in the country. They win their share of games in there.

“They play a non-conference schedule that’s tough. We know they play good football. We know what they want to do. We’re going to their house. They’re going to have some confidence and they are going to try to get their fans going. We’re just going to have to try to slow the game down a little bit and do what we do.”

The Salukis are led by Nic Baker. The senior quarterback has completed 67 percent of his passes, connecting on 202 of 303 attempts for 2,375 yards, with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions.

“He knows what to do with it. He protects the ball well,” Rebowe said of Baker. “He gets the ball into his playmakers and if it’s not there, he’s not going to put him in a bad situation. That’s a guy that’s a veteran quarterback. He’s competitive, he knows how to win. I think he’s got a lot of moxie about him and how he plays the game.”

Baker’s top target is Izaiah Hartrup. The junior receiver hauled in 48 passes for 689 yards and six touchdowns.

“He’s a big-play guy,” said Rebowe. “He looks like he can get over the top of the defenses. We’re going to have to make sure we have some eyes on him and know where he is because he is their big-play wide receiver. And I mean, they got a couple of other ones that can go do it too.”

One of those other guys is Vinson Davis. The sophomore receiver has 572 yards receiving on 47 catches.

“We’re not going to go out there and change our defenses and change what we do,” Rebowe explained. “We’re just going to have to rely on our front to get some heat and get some pass rush, and hopefully, that will help us cover those receivers a little bit.”

The Salukis have three running backs that have rushed for 300 yards. Bo Elliott has rushed for a team-high 368 yards and seven touchdowns. Lashaun Lester rushed for 304 yards, and Justin Strong 301 yards. Both have scored four rushing touchdowns.

“They want to run the football, too. They’re going to try to do some things. They can try to get us off schedule. They will try get us out of some gaps and see if they can pop a couple of runs,” said Rebowe.

Defensively, safety P.J. Jules leads the Salukis with 100 tackles, including 12 for loss.

“That’s the defense that they play. It’s driven by their linebackers and by the safeties. If you go look, those guys are all over the field. They’re aggressive. I think they’re tough. They don’t make many mistakes. I think they swamp to the football. I love the way they play defense,” Rebowe said.

Tim Varga has 4.5 sacks for SIU while fellow defensive end Devin Cowan has 4.0 sacks. Mark Davis leads the team with three interceptions.

“They are solid on the edges. They know what to do when it gets you in those situations to rush the passer, obviously. But I think those four linebackers and the way they play and spread it out, we will have to get some hats on some guys and make sure that we understand protection-wise what we are doing,” said Rebowe.

The SIU defense, Rebowe said, is aggressive without being a big blitzing team.

“I think they are sound. I think they understand their scheme. They know how to stop the run. They’ve played teams that run the football, so they’re going to be really, really good,” the Nicholls coach said.

Playing on an even keel emotionally for the entire game, Rebowe said, will be a key factor to success for the Colonels against SIU.

“We’ve got to realize that there’s going to be good plays, there’s going to be bad plays. We’ve got to stay the course,” the Nicholls coach said. “Our motto all the time is for us to keep punching and that’s what we’ve got to do, good, bad, and indifferent, we’ve got to keep going. That’s what our guys know, 60 minutes of football. Let’s see if we can come out on top at the end.”