Nicholls football split the first two games of their conference schedule, beating Northwestern State University, 33-21, and losing to Stephen F. Austin University, 55-41.
The Colonels (4-3, 1-1) improved their record to 4-2 on the season with their win over Northwestern State before this past Saturday’s loss to Stephen F. Austin (3-4, 1-1), who came into the game with one of the best offenses in the NCAA’s Division I-Football Championship Subdivision.
Head Coach Charlie Stubbs believes that the team draws on experiences from last season in finishing games and getting wins.
“They don’t think about it that much, but it is important, don’t get me wrong. Kids are more resilient than you think. The biggest thing is that last year, we were in some games in the fourth quarter, and you know, just didn’t get the job done,” Stubbs said. “I think that we’ve learned a lot over that experience. It was big to win one here at home, especially the home opener in conference play. So, I think they’ll draw some confidence from it.”
Sophomore quarterback Tuskani Figaro continued to play well for the Colonels, gaining a career-high 245 yards with two touchdowns through the air against Northwestern State. He followed that performance by throwing for 223 yards and rushing for 145 yards with three touchdowns in the loss against Stephen F. Austin.
“It brings a-whole-nother level of confidence rather than when I was coming in week two and three. My role was a little different and now I’m starting. Teammates give me a lot of confidence on the field. Coaches have a lot of confidence in me, calling the plays and just letting us go out there and make that play and win games,” Figaro said.
The Colonels continue to deal with injuries to key players, as senior running back Marcus Washington was lost for the year with a knee injury. Washington, selected to the 2011 All-Southland Conference team, finishes his career ranked eighth on the Colonels’ all-time rushing list with 1,827 yards.
Nicholls’ defensive problems also continued in Saturday’s game against Stephen F. Austin. The Colonels gave up 687 yards to the Lumberjacks.
“Well, the biggest thing that is going to help our defense is our offense doing what we did [against Northwestern State]. We were out there for 42 minutes of the game, and they had the ball for 18. So, if we’re out there and they’re standing on the sideline, that’d be the best thing. We’re getting a bit better each day on defense, so the biggest thing is our offense has to match them,” Stubbs said.  “If they score, our offense has to match them. If they do score, we have to execute and take care of the ball. There’ll be some opportunities even though they are a high-powered offense, sometimes they do have turnovers.”
Unfortunately for the Colonels, they were not able to protect the ball. Figaro threw a career-high three interceptions and lost a fumble in the loss.
Nicholls continues Southland Conference play next Saturday against McNeese State University on Oct. 26 at John L. Guidry Stadium in Thibodaux.

Quarterback Tuskani Figaro, #8, a sophomore from Lafayette, La, passes the ball to a teammate during practice.

Quarterback Tuskani Figaro, #8, a sophomore from Lafayette, La, passes the ball to a teammate during practice.

Quarterback Tuskani Figaro, #8, a sophomore from Lafayette, La, passes the ball to a teammate during practice.