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Football fans in Texas know their football teams, from the Cowboys to the small 1A high school team in BFE, Texas. Most CFB programs are known as well. However, North Texas plays a team in Nicholls State that not many people know about, being that the program hasn't been relevant since...... forever.
Here's a little primer on the Nicholls State Colonels.
School: Nicholls State University, a small school with just about 8,000 undergrads located in Thibodaux, Louisiana.
Mascot: Colonel Thllou, a mascot who wears a bright red uniform with a contemporary style officer's military cap.
Football Team: Currently sitting at 0-3, the Colonel program is in disarray following the resignation of Coach Charlie Stubbs, who resigned following a 27-10 loss to Division II Henderson State (but due to health issues. Steven Axman, whose coached at Washington, Arizona and Stanford among other programs is the interim coach for the time being. Nicholls State hasn't had a winning season since 2007, when they went 6-5 (with a win over Rice!), and has been to the FCS playoffs only three times since the program's inception in 1972.
Did They Actually Contact Ed Orgeron About The Head Coaching Vacancy? Yes.
Impact Players: Kalen Henderson is the key to the Nicholls State offense, throwing for 388 yards and a touchdown this season. One wonders if Josh Greer would've gotten to 388 yards for the season.
Famous Colonel Alumni: Chuck Taylor (yes, that Chuck Taylor) seems to be the only one who the average American might know.
Last Win For the Colonels: October 12, 2013- a 33-21 win over Northwestern State
Last Time The Two Teams Played: September 7, 2002- The Mean Green shut out the Colonels, 23-0, after getting shut out by Texas the week before. The Mean Green has won all five games played between the teams.
So Why Is North Texas Playing This Game? The Mean Green had only four Conference USA home games this year, and SMU, so a sixth home game was needed. They did something similar with Idaho last year and Texas Southern the year before, paying something in the range of $300,000 to get the teams down to Apogee Stadium in September.
With games on the road at SMU, Tennessee and Iowa in 2015, expect a team of a similar magnitude as Nicholls State to come to Apogee next season.
Ok, So This Game is Going to be Over by the First Quarter. Why Should I Stay? To watch the first start of Dajon Williams's career, and whether the zone read at North Texas is here to stay.
Prediction: North Texas 52, Nicholls State 10