Football Returns To Thibodaux to open Week 0

Bobby Autin • August 27, 2026

FOOTBALL IS BACK IN THIBODAUX

THIBODAUX, La. — There is something different about the first game of a college football season.


For months, everything is hypothetical. Depth charts are discussed, newcomers are evaluated, expectations are set, and predictions are made. Then the lights come on, the ball is kicked off, and we finally get some answers.


For Nicholls, that happens tonight.


The Colonels open the 2026 season at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium against Mississippi Valley State, beginning the second season under head coach Tommy Rybacki and a year in which Nicholls hopes to take a significant step forward.


On paper, this is a game the Colonels should win. Nicholls has never lost to Mississippi Valley State, and the last meeting between the programs wasn't particularly competitive. But tonight is less about what Nicholls has done against Valley and more about what this game can tell us about where the Colonels are headed.


HISTORY

Nicholls and Mississippi Valley State have met only twice, with a 26-year gap separating those games. The first came on Sept. 12, 1998, in New Orleans, where the Colonels earned a 41-26 victory.


The Delta Devils wouldn't appear on the Nicholls schedule again until 2024, and their first trip to Thibodaux turned into a historic night for the Colonels.


Nicholls scored 21 points in the opening quarter, added 24 more in the second and cruised to a 66-0 victory. The Colonels rushed for 455 yards, while the defense intercepted six passes to tie a school record.


That leaves Nicholls 2-0 all-time in the series while outscoring Valley 107-26.


None of those points carry over to tonight.


Mississippi Valley State returns to Thibodaux with a program now in its second season under Terrell Buckley, and the Delta Devils have had an entire offseason to remember what happened the last time they walked onto Manning Field.


WHAT THIS GAME MEANS

Nicholls, meanwhile, has much bigger concerns than trying to duplicate a 66-point victory.

The Colonels are trying to find out exactly what they have.

Rybacki's first season ended with Nicholls at 4-8 overall and 4-4 in Southland Conference play. There were enough moments throughout the year to show the potential of the program, but not enough consistency to turn those moments into a winning season.

That makes tonight important.

Not because beating Mississippi Valley State would suddenly make Nicholls a Southland championship contender, but because of what is waiting on the other side of it.

Next week, the Colonels travel to Manhattan to face Kansas State. Southland play begins shortly after that against UTRGV, and another FBS matchup against Sam Houston follows.

The difficulty level is about to increase quickly.

Tonight is Nicholls' opportunity to work out some of the issues before it does.


WHERE IT STARTS

It begins at quarterback with Thibodaux native Ean Rodrigue.


Rodrigue showed efficiency last season, completing 65.6 percent of his passes while throwing six touchdowns against only one interception. He also added another dimension with his legs, rushing for 252 yards and two touchdowns.


The question entering 2026 isn't necessarily whether Rodrigue can put up huge passing numbers. It's whether he can take command of the offense.


Nicholls has traditionally been at its best when it can establish the running game, control the clock and make opposing defenses pay when they begin creeping toward the line of scrimmage. Rodrigue doesn't have to abandon that identity. He has to make it work.


Having Shane Lee behind him certainly helps.


Lee quietly became one of the most productive pieces of the Nicholls offense last season, rushing for 636 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 5.9 yards per carry. More importantly, he seemed to get better as the season progressed, scoring six rushing touchdowns over the final three games.


At 225 pounds, Lee can provide the physical running style Nicholls has leaned on for years. If the Colonels are able to control the line of scrimmage tonight, expect him to be heavily involved.


The passing game has some familiar pieces as well. Karaaz Johnson returns after catching 21 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns, while 6-foot-4 Jackson Dufrene gives Rodrigue a bigger target who averaged 17.6 yards per reception last season.


But the offense isn't necessarily the biggest question entering tonight.


A NEW LOOK DEFENSE

That may belong to the defense.

Nicholls lost a significant amount of experience from last year's roster and brought in a large group of newcomers to help replace it. Familiar names such as Alex Villavaso and Joey Lightfoot return up front, but several transfers could have an immediate impact, including Jhamal Shelby Jr. from Louisiana Tech, Kennon Loftin from Western Kentucky, Lynard Harris from ULM and Zavian Dilworth from Eastern Michigan.


How quickly that group comes together could tell us much more about the Colonels than the final score.


That's really what tonight is about.


Nicholls should beat Mississippi Valley State. There's no reason to dance around that.


But there is a difference between winning an opener and using an opener to prepare yourself for what is coming.


Can Nicholls control the line of scrimmage? Can Rodrigue command the offense? Can Lee establish himself as the centerpiece of the running game? Can the new pieces on defense communicate and play together? Can the Colonels avoid turnovers and penalties? And if Nicholls builds an early lead, can the coaching staff get younger players meaningful snaps that may become valuable later this season?


Those are the questions worth watching.


There is also the simple reality that Nicholls needs to begin stacking wins again.


The Colonels aren't far removed from winning back-to-back Southland Conference championships in 2022 and 2023. The standard around the program changed during that stretch. Four wins isn't where Nicholls wants to be, and everyone inside the program knows it.


Getting back into the Southland championship conversation isn't going to happen tonight.


But the road back can start tonight.


That's what makes a season opener interesting. We know what happened last year. We know what's on the schedule. We know the names we're supposed to watch.


What we don't know yet is what the 2026 Nicholls Colonels will look like when the football actually matters.


Tonight, we finally get to find out.


Photo courtesy of Nicholls Athletics.

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Saints Postgame: Saints Woes Continue Against The Vikings

By Kaden Arkeder • October 11, 2026
Well another home game and another loss for the Saints. Where once again it was the same old stories being played out. Offense struggled mightily throughout the game and were fortunate the Saints defense was able to force the turnovers they did otherwise the score would have been even more lopsided. Minus those turnovers all three phases struggled in this game. The offense couldn’t move the ball all game long as they could not figure out the Vikings defense. The defense got some pressure on Kyler but otherwise he had his way with the Saints defense as they moved the ball with relative ease. Special teams struggled in return coverage today and missed an extra point. Just all around not good enough for the Saints yet again. Offensively the Saints have been dealing with the main issues of starting off slow in games, a struggling run game, questionable play calling, penalties, and too much pressure on the quarterback. Some are worse than others depending on the week but at this point they all show up week after week. Kellen Moore notices it and says they will adjust but it has yet to be seen. At least he takes accountability for the offensive issues thus far. The problem is Kellen Moore just does not have the answers to these problems. A good head coach sees a problem and then does everything he can to fix it right then and there. Something Kellen Moore has not been able to do yet this season. We’ll see how much time Kellen gets to right the ship but at this moment it appears the ship is already sinking and taking on more water with every passing week. Defensively the Saints actually had a bounce back game if you are going by how poorly the Falcons game went. They managed to hold the Vikings to 23 points which was fortunate on their part due to the defense forcing some timely turnovers. If they didn’t force those turnovers this game would have been even more lopsided. The defensive line was able to get pressure at times on Kyler Murray which was encouraging to see. However the Saints issues with mobile quarterbacks reared its ugly head yet again as Kyler Murray was able to extend and create plays all game long. Just another example of the Saints coaching staff just not putting the players in position to succeed. On Special Teams the coverage unit struggled to contain the Vikings returners. The returns allowed the Vikings to start drives in advantageous field position throughout the game. There were also a fair amount of penalties on special teams today to go along with the missed extra point by Daniel Carlson. Unfortunately the Saints could not hang their hat on any of the three phases of the game today. It was only a couple weeks ago where the Saints were coming off an impressive comeback win against the Ravens. Might as well be a lifetime ago based on how everything was trending then compared to now. Very little for the Saints to hang their hat on right now. Kellen Moore and his staff but ultimately the Saints organization as a whole have not shown to be capable of getting the team back to the days of winning the division, advancing in the playoffs and vying for SuperBowls. The Saints have let fan apathy reach dangerous levels where opposing teams and their fans can come into the Dome and completely take over. If this continues the way it has been Gayle Benson should be making some serious changes no later than the end of the season.

Week 6 Preview: LSU vs Kentucky

By David Billiot Jr • October 10, 2026
LSU heads on the road for their second SEC game of the season. Their first trip ended in a 32-24 loss in Oxford to Ole Miss, but this game against Kentucky has significantly less big game connections. While there is a lot of influence involving a lot of former LSU influence, it’s certainly not the grand affair that we saw in week 3. The Tigers come in as the #10 team in both the AP and Coaches polls with their record of 4-1 (1-1 SEC). They jumped back in to the top-10 following Florida’s blowout loss at Missouri, which plummeted the Gators in the polls. Kentucky also comes in at 4-1 (2-1 SEC) having beat Texas A&M and South Carolina for their two conference wins. They’re ranked #24 in the Coaches Poll, but dropped two spots from #24 to unranked in the AP, despite their road overtime win over the Gamecocks. LSU offense vs. Kentucky defense Both sides of the ball are fairly large mismatches for the Tigers, at least on paper. LSU comes in with the 3rd ranked total offense in the entire country, averaging 547.8 yards per game. That’s #1 in the SEC. Their 43.6 points per game ranks 9th in the country, 4th in the SEC. It’s been a struggle-fest at times for the Wildcat defense. Jay Bateman is in his first season as Kentucky defensive coordinator after coming over from Mike Elko’s staff in College Station. They are allowing 376.6 yards per game, which ranks 92nd in the country and 13th in the SEC. They’ve given up a lot of points at 26.8 per game, which is 101st in the country and 13th in the conference. Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr’s offense has moved the ball both through the air and on the ground. They average 310.2 yards per game passing and a whopping 237.6 yards rushing per game, which is music to LSU fans’ ears after the struggles to run the ball under Brian Kelly and former OC, Joe Sloan. Both of those numbers are top-15 in the entire country and rank 2nd and 3rd in the conference, respectively. Bateman’s 4-2-5 defense are ranked 13th against both the pass and run, allowing 232.4 yards per game through the air and 144.2 yards on the ground. They also allow 20.8 first downs per game, which is 105th in the entire country and that makes them vulnerable against a Kiffin team that is picking up 28.2 per game, 2nd most in the country. The biggest advantage that LSU’s offense will have is their 3rd down offense against Kentucky’s 3rd down defense. The Tigers are #2 in the SEC, converting 3rd downs at a 51.9% rate. On the other side, the Wildcats are near the very bottom in all of Division 1, allowing a 45.9% rate for opposing offenses on 3rd down. They’re ranked 122nd out of 138 teams, which is last in the SEC, clearly. Not being able to get off of the field against a Kiffin/Weis offense is probably a death sentence. Offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis Jr, is a mastermind at designing plays and calling them at the right time. He helps guide LSU to enough success as it is, so squaring off against a defense that’s so susceptible is great for the purple and gold. Look for less big shots down the field early and for LSU to attack the Kentucky defense with short, quick pass plays to mix in with the run. The goal could be to get to 3rd and short, knowing you’re better at converting those opportunities. I would expect a lot of Dilin Jones and even Harlem Berry after his performance the last two weeks. The main thing that the offense has to do is protect the ball. The Wildcats best advantage is how often they turn opposing offenses over, averaging 2.0 per game, which is 15th in the country. We’ve seen Sam Leavitt’s struggles with protecting the ball at times, so this will have to be his cleanest game in that area to secure the first LSU road SEC win of the season. LSU defense vs. Kentucky offense Blake Baker and his unit have been masterful. There’s no other way to put it. They rank 2nd in the country and 1st in the SEC, allowing just 220.6 yards per game. Their 15.2 points allowed per game is 15th overall and 3rd in the conference.They’re at the top in 1st downs given up with just 11.6 per game and are 2nd in the country with their 22 sacks. Kentucky’s offense has been improving fairly rapidly, especially from what we saw in years past under Mark Stoops. Former Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein is in his first year as head coach for the Wildcats and has them ranked 54th in the country and 9th in the SEC with 416.8 yards per game. Their 34.6 points per game is 49th overall, 10th in the SEC. The aforementioned Joe Sloan is now in Lexington as the offensive coordinator, but it’s Stein’s offense and he’s calling the plays. Baker’s unit ranks 2nd in the SEC against both the pass and the run. LSU allows 162.2 yards through the air and just 58.4 on the ground per game, which are both absurd numbers. Especially the opposing rushing numbers. Princewill Umanmielen leads the country with his 8 sacks with freshman Deuce Geralds not far behind at 5 and quickly chasing down Harold Perkins Jr’s freshman record. While improved, neither of Kentucky’s attacks on offense jump off of the page. They’re picking up 229.6 yards per game through the air and 187.2 yards on the ground, which are 11th and 6th in the conference, respectively. Their rushing offense is definitely their best, having multiple running backs with over 300 yard rushing through 5 games. CJ Baxter is their go-to with 5.3 yards per carry, but they also love Jason Patterson who has a whopping 7.9 ypc. The other names to remember with the LSU connections is Kenny Darby and Nic Anderson. Darby is a true freshman, who was a long-time commit to the Tigers with Brian Kelly. When Kiffin took over, Corey Barber Jr flipped from Ole Miss to LSU and that seemingly took Darby’s spot, forcing him to follow Sloan to Kentucky. He leads the team with 25 receptions for 322 yards and 3 touchdowns. Anderson was a Tiger last year and while he has a modest 9 receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown, he’ll certainly be motivated. The other two guys to watch in Stein’s offense are tight ends Willie Rodriguez and Henry Boyer. They have a combined 30 receptions for 310 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Wildcats love to use both. Final prediction While Kentucky has played well, pulling the massive road upset at Texas A&M as 17-point underdogs, I still have a hard time seeing them matchup against this LSU team. The Tigers offense is starting to hum, especially on the ground, which is what Kiffin loves to do. I believe that the 3rd down matchup on that side of the ball will tell the tale of this game. If the conversion rates look similar to what they do heading in to the game, the Tigers could run away with it. On the other side, quarterback Kenny Minchey has looked solid. His 11/1 touchdown to interception ratio is really good, but he’s been sacked 11 times. Against the 2nd best pass rush in the country, that could spell doom for the Wildcat offense, making it hard for them to hold on to the ball as their defense struggles to get off of the field. LSU - 31 Kentucky - 13
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