Nicholls beats UIW, remains unbeaten in Southland
Running backs Collin Guggenheim and Jaylon Spears combined for 313 yards rushing and the Colonel defense came away with three turnovers to lift the Nicholls State University football team to a 45-32 victory at No. 8/4 UIW Saturday at Benson Stadium.
With the win, Nicholls (4-4) is the lone unbeaten team in the Southland Conference standings and sets up a big Senior Day matchup next Saturday at home against one-loss Lamar. A win by Nicholls would clinch at least a share of the regular season title and secure the Southland's auto bid for the FCS playoffs.
UIW (7-2) suffered its first league loss and saw its 15-game home winning streak come to an end. The victory for the Colonels was also the first top-five win since 2005 against Texas State.
Guggenheim and Spears carried the ball 23 times each as Nicholls dominated the time of possession with 37-plus minutes. Spears rushed for a career-high 160 yards, his second 100-yard game of the season, while Guggenheim found the end zone four times en route to 153 yards.
Guggenheim's final rushing score gave Nicholls a commanding 45-19 lead early in the fourth quarter before UIW scored two unanswered touchdowns. The Cardinals threatened to make it a one-possession game in the final minutes, but safety Devonte' Mathews picked off a Zach Calzada pass to seal the victory.
Mathews had two of the defense's three turnovers, scoring on a fumble early in the third quarter. With Nicholls up 24-13 at the break, Mathews scooped up the fumble and raced 58 yards for the Colonels' second defensive touchdown of the season.
Quinton Sharkey, who had the previous pick-6 against McNeese, notched the other turnover with an interception in the second quarter that sparked three consecutive touchdowns by the offense. Nicholls fell behind 10-3 before Sharkey's third pick of the season, making way for a 19-yard strike from Pat McQuaide to tight end Lee Negrotto to even the score at 10-all.
The Colonels then took the lead after running the ball eight times out of 10 plays, scoring on a Guggenheim 5-yard rush. Following UIW's second straight punt, David Robinson Jr. made another highlight catch for 34 yards, and Guggenheim finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown rush. UIW kicked a field goal to make the halftime score, 24-13.
The scoop-and-score gave Nicholls a 31-13 advantage and Guggenheim followed with a 43-yard touchdown rush up the middle for a 38-13 Colonel lead. UIW answered with a TD pass to Caleb Champman to close out the scoring in the period.
Facing a 3rd-and-14 to start the fourth, Nicholls handed the ball off to Spears and he ran for 19 yards. Two plays later, Guggenheim barreled in from three yards out for his second four touchdown game of the season.
UIW made it interesting with two touchdown passes in the span of two minutes, taking advantage of a Guggenheim fumble. But a five-minute drive, helped by another long run on third down by Spears, kept UIW's offense off the field until Nicholls punted with four minutes remaining.
Sharkey led the defense with nine tackles to go along with his interception, and Ethan Lee added eight stops. Jacob Parker had the lone sack for the unit.
For the specialists, Gavin Lasseigne booted a 23-yard field goal and converted all six PATs. Kylan Dupre punted four times with three inside the 20.
Nicholls wraps up its regular season home slate with Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 11 against Lamar. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. and tickets can be purchased at NichollsTickets.com.