Looking ahead to Saturday

A while back, I took a First Look at Nicholls State... with that game fast approaching, here is a refresher course.

The Colonels of Nicholls State, a squad that hails from Thibodaux, Louisiana, come off of their second consecutive 1-10 season. The only win for the Colonels last season was against NAIA foe Evangel.

There were few real positives from the season as most games were not even competitive. In their 10 losses, the Colonels managed just 122 total points while surrendering nearly 41 points per game.

At the time I reached out to Teddy Renois, from the Daily Comet and Houma Courier for some insight into the Colonels football team. As the new beat writer for Nicholls Athletics, Renois had extensive coverage of the team during Spring camp.
Renois was kind enough to answer a few questions about the his take on a few topics related to this game.

Q: What is your take on the excitement level of the fans for this game considering their last game of 2012 was a 77-3 loss to Oregon State?

A: The fans are not excited for this game. They understand it is a money game and needed for the budget, but they are not excited about the prospects of another 70-point loss. I covered the final two conference games on last year's schedule and the little fan base this program has, dwindled considerably towards the end of last season.

Q: What are the expectations for Nicholls State in 2013?

A: Again, 2-20 over the last two years doesn't inspire much especially with several blowout losses in the mix. My hope is this team can win four games. They have two scheduled wins, but the program needs to win a couple of conference games to show improvement. Just being competitive would be good, but a win over a quality opponent would stir the interests of the fans again. Coach Stubbs may be off the hook for this season as the president is retiring on Aug. 1 and a new one is slated to be hired in October. That change in presidents may give him another year if his team can only beat the Division II and NAIA schools on his schedule.


Q: What do you see as the biggest losses for Nicholls State entering 2013?

A: Well, Klann had the most experience at quarterback so he is the biggest loss on offense. He threw for over 2,000 yards and gave them some consistency on that side of the ball while being under a heavy rush constantly. Also QB/RB/WR LaQuintin Caston missed most of last season with a collarbone injury, but he was their only true offensive weapon, and ended his career with 2,800 yards passing and 1,700 yards rushing. He started out as a triple option QB before Stubbs was hired, but Stubbs used him as the Wildcat QB the last two years.