Coming off a 37-7 loss to Sam Houston St. last week, the Colonels return home to face Northwestern in the NSU Challenge, a game the Colonels have won for the past three years. The loss at Sam Houston put Nicholls at 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the Southland Conference, while Sam Houston improved to 4-2 and 2-0 in conference.

Bearkat running back D. D. Terry was most of the Sam Houston offensive onslaught as he ran the ball 30 times for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Terry’s 178 yards were the most yards by a Sam Houston running back since 1993.

The Colonels ground game continued to rack up the yards as Nicholls out-rushed Sam Houston 253 to 186 with Colonel quarterbacks Vincent Montgomery and Chris Bunch having most of the carries with a combined 30.

Sam Houston quarterback Brett Hicks completed 13 of 21 passes for 148 yards in the game with a touchdown and an interception.

Nicholls quarterbacks attempted seven passes and completed one for nine yards.

The six turnovers spelled the Colonels doom as Montgomery and Bunch had three turnovers each. Montgomery had three fumbles, while Bunch had two fumbles and an interception.

The defense did what it could to keep Nicholls in the game, getting a Cory Vavala fumble recovery and a Kareem Moore interception, but it wasn’t enough.

Now the Colonels will host Northwestern, who is traveling for the second week in a row. After having the lead twice, the Demons dropped an overtime thriller to Southeastern 31-24 Saturday in Hammond.

Northwestern dominated the Lions in all of the offensive stats, totaling 419 yards of total offense with 253 yards in the air and 156 yards on the ground.

Head Coach Jay Thomas said the team has been working on improving ball handling skills. Thomas wants the fans to know the players are making an effort and giving their all in practice to get better.

“One thing that we want everybody to know is that the guys aren’t trying to lose the ball,” Thomas said. “You have to give credit to Sam Houston for making some plays, but there were some we lost, and we’re working on correcting those things.”

With Northwestern gaining over 500 and 400 yards of total offense in its past two games, Thomas said the defense is working on containing Northwestern’s offense.

“Although the team lost its starting quarterback Ricky Meeks, Roch Charpentier and the rest of the Demon offense will be a handful, and we have to get our defense ready for that,” he said.

Northwestern is not only looking to bounce back from an 0-2 hole in conference but also wants to break a three-game losing streak to the Colonels in the NSU Challenge. Thomas said he expects his players to start out strong and pull out the victory.

“I’m expecting our players to come out and play with pride on their home field,” he said. “Although we got knocked down, we’re not knocked out, and we still have a shot to win this conference.