Nicholls Heads to Manhattan for Major Week 1 Test Against Kansas State

Nicholls could not have asked for a much better start to the 2026 season.

Now the difficulty level changes dramatically.

After rolling past Mississippi Valley State 44-10 in Week 0, the Colonels head to Manhattan, Kansas, Saturday night for a Week 1 matchup against Kansas State and the beginning of the Collin Klein era for the Wildcats.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at Bill Snyder Family Stadium and will be streamed on ESPN+. It will be just the second meeting between the two programs, with Kansas State winning the first matchup 49-14 in 2019.

For Nicholls, this game is not necessarily about proving everything in one night. It is about finding out how much of what worked against Mississippi Valley State can translate against a bigger, faster and deeper Big 12 opponent.

And there was plenty to like in Week 0.

Nicholls Showed Exactly What It Wanted in the Opener

The Colonels jumped on Mississippi Valley State early and essentially put the game away before halftime.

Nicholls led 37-0 at the break and eventually pushed the advantage to 44-0 before most of the starters were pulled in the third quarter. The Colonels finished with 515 yards of offense while limiting the Delta Devils to 228.

Quarterback Ean Rodrigue overcame an interception on his first pass of the season and settled in quickly, completing 16 of 25 attempts for 264 yards and three touchdowns.

More importantly, Nicholls showed an ability to create explosive plays.

Jordan Smith turned a short crossing route into a 59-yard touchdown before adding a 21-yard scoring reception later in the half. Greg Donaldson provided another huge play with a 74-yard touchdown and finished with 100 receiving yards on only three catches.

That explosiveness becomes even more important this week.

Nicholls probably will not be able to string together long drives consistently against Kansas State the way it did against Mississippi Valley State. The Colonels will need to manufacture possessions and find a few plays that flip the field.

A 60-yard touchdown suddenly becomes much more valuable when possessions are limited.

The Running Game Will Be Tested

Nicholls also quietly had a productive night on the ground.

The Colonels rushed for 168 yards on 41 attempts, led by Tamaj Hoffman's 53 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries. Damondrick Blackburn added another rushing score while Nicholls averaged just over four yards per carry.

Against Kansas State, those numbers will be much harder to come by.

Nicholls does not necessarily need to run for 200 yards to stay in the game, but it cannot become completely one-dimensional. Rodrigue is going to need enough support from the running game to keep Kansas State from simply attacking the quarterback on obvious passing downs.

Third-and-4 is manageable.

Third-and-9 in Manhattan is an entirely different situation.

That makes first-down efficiency one of the biggest things to watch Saturday night.

Turnovers Could Be the Colonels' Best Friend

Perhaps the most encouraging part of Nicholls' Week 0 win came from the defense.

Mississippi Valley State moved deep into Nicholls territory early, but Gavin Duplechin forced a fumble near the goal line that went through the end zone for a touchback.

From there, the Colonels took control.

Nicholls forced multiple turnovers, stopped Mississippi Valley State on fourth down and did not allow an offensive touchdown all night. The Delta Devils' only touchdown came on a 95-yard interception return in the fourth quarter after the game had already been decided.

That formula—takeaways, short fields and making an opponent earn everything—is probably Nicholls' clearest path toward making Saturday interesting.

The problem?

Kansas State has built an identity around doing the exact same thing.

The Wildcats finished seventh nationally last season with 26 takeaways, including 13 fumble recoveries. Since 2022, Kansas State has forced 88 turnovers, including 52 interceptions.

Nicholls cannot give Kansas State extra possessions.

The Colonels survived interceptions against Mississippi Valley State. Against a Big 12 roster, those mistakes can turn into 14 points very quickly.

The Collin Klein Era Begins

There will be plenty of attention surrounding Kansas State for reasons beyond the opponent.

Saturday marks the first game for Collin Klein as Kansas State's head coach.

Klein is hardly a stranger to Manhattan. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist and quarterbacked Kansas State's 2012 Big 12 championship team before eventually returning as an assistant and offensive coordinator.

After spending the last two seasons coordinating Texas A&M's offense, Klein is now back at his alma mater to run the entire program.

His offensive track record is impressive.

Across four seasons as an offensive coordinator at Kansas State and Texas A&M, Klein's offenses averaged 33.4 points and 428.5 yards per game. His teams also produced an average of 4.8 plays of at least 20 yards per game.

That makes Saturday an interesting defensive challenge for Nicholls.

The Colonels were aggressive and disruptive in Week 0. Now they will face an offense designed to create stress with tempo, quarterback movement, the running game and explosive plays.

Avery Johnson Gives K-State Experience at the Most Important Position

While Kansas State has undergone significant roster turnover, quarterback is not one of its question marks.

Avery Johnson enters his senior season preparing to make his 27th career start. He already has 5,576 passing yards and 1,378 rushing yards and is one of only three quarterbacks in Kansas State history to eclipse both 5,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing.

Johnson also enters Saturday tied for the Kansas State career record with 48 touchdown passes.

His next touchdown pass will put him alone atop the school's career list.

For Nicholls, containing Johnson is not simply about getting pressure.

The Colonels have to maintain rush lanes.

Allowing Johnson to escape the pocket and turn a broken passing play into a 20-yard run is exactly how an underdog finds itself chasing the game.

Then There Is Joe Jackson

Kansas State also has a running back capable of taking over a game.

Joe Jackson finished the 2025 season on a ridiculous two-game stretch, rushing for 435 yards and six touchdowns. That included a school-record 293 rushing yards against No. 13 Utah, breaking Darren Sproles' previous Kansas State single-game record of 292.

Jackson gives Klein the type of physical runner who can become a serious problem if Kansas State controls the line of scrimmage.

This might be the matchup that tells the story Saturday.

Nicholls has to make Kansas State work for its rushing yards and force the Wildcats into third-down situations.

If Kansas State is regularly facing second-and-4, the entire Klein playbook remains available.

Kansas State Has Talent — But Also Plenty of New Faces

There is one area where Nicholls may have an opportunity to create some early uncertainty.

Kansas State has experienced significant roster turnover.

The Wildcats enter 2026 with 58 newcomers, meaning more than half of their 111-player roster was not on the team last season. Twenty-six are Division I or Division II transfers, and Kansas State's opening defensive depth chart features 13 newcomers. At least eight defensive players could make their first Kansas State start Saturday.

That does not mean the Wildcats lack talent.

Quite the opposite.

Many of those transfers have significant college experience.

But playing together for the first time is different than practicing together.

Nicholls already has a game under its belt.

Kansas State does not.

For the Colonels, the best-case scenario is taking advantage of that early.

Maybe it is a defensive bust.

Maybe it is a communication issue.

Maybe it is a special teams mistake.

Maybe it is simply Nicholls playing faster during the first quarter because the Colonels have already experienced game speed.

Whatever the opportunity is, Nicholls needs to capitalize when it appears.

Avoid the Avalanche

These games can get away from FCS teams quickly.

A turnover becomes seven points.

A three-and-out becomes another short field.

A busted coverage becomes another touchdown.

Suddenly a competitive 7-3 game becomes 24-3 before halftime.

Nicholls avoided that scenario completely against Mississippi Valley State because the Colonels were the team creating the avalanche.

Saturday, their job will be stopping one.

Kansas State has won 11 consecutive games against FCS opponents and is 85-10 at home in regular-season non-conference games since 1990. The Wildcats have also scored at least 30 points in seven consecutive home openers.

Those numbers explain the challenge.

But they also simplify the formula for Nicholls.

Stay clean.

Make Kansas State earn its points.

Don't give away possessions.

Create a turnover or two.

Hit an explosive play.

And most importantly, stay within striking distance.

What Would a Win Look Like for Nicholls?

Obviously, Nicholls travels to Manhattan wanting to win the football game.

But there are also things Saturday can tell us about the Colonels even beyond the final score.

Can Rodrigue make throws when the pocket gets tighter?

Can Nicholls run the football against a Power Four defensive front?

Can the Colonels' defense create pressure without committing extra defenders?

Can the secondary hold up against more athletic receivers?

Can Nicholls play four quarters without letting one bad stretch completely change the game?

Those are the questions that matter as the Colonels prepare for the rest of their schedule.

Week 0 showed that Nicholls can dominate a team it should beat.

Week 1 will show how the Colonels respond when they are the team walking into the stadium as a significant underdog.

Players to Watch

Ean Rodrigue, QB, Nicholls

Rodrigue showed exactly why Nicholls believes in him after shaking off the first-play interception against Mississippi Valley State. His ability to push the football downfield gives the Colonels a legitimate chance to create explosive plays, but ball security becomes critical against a Kansas State defense with a history of generating turnovers.

Jordan Smith, WR, Nicholls

Smith touched the football only twice in Week 0 and both receptions went for touchdowns. His speed after the catch could be one of Nicholls' biggest weapons Saturday.

Greg Donaldson, WR, Nicholls

Donaldson's three receptions produced 100 yards against MVSU, including the 74-yard touchdown. If Kansas State loads the box or becomes aggressive defensively, Nicholls needs Donaldson to win opportunities downfield.

Avery Johnson, QB, Kansas State

He is the engine of the Kansas State offense and the player Nicholls must account for on every snap. Johnson can hurt a defense with his arm or legs, and his experience makes him especially dangerous against pressure.

Joe Jackson, RB, Kansas State

After ending last season with 435 rushing yards over his final two games, Jackson enters 2026 as one of the biggest challenges for the Nicholls front seven.

The Bottom Line

Nicholls accomplished what it needed to accomplish in Week 0.

The Colonels were explosive offensively, created turnovers defensively and had the game under control early enough to get their starters off the field.

Saturday is different.

Kansas State has superior depth, Power Four size and an experienced quarterback playing in an offensive system that has consistently produced points.

Nicholls does not need to pretend otherwise.

But the Colonels also enter Manhattan with something Kansas State does not have yet: a game already played.

If Nicholls can weather the opening emotion surrounding Klein's first game, protect the football and find some of the explosive plays that showed up against Mississippi Valley State, there is an opportunity to make Kansas State uncomfortable.

And for an FCS team walking into a 50,000-seat Big 12 stadium, uncomfortable is exactly where you want the favorite.

Game Information

Nicholls (1-0) at Kansas State (0-0)
Saturday, September 5, 2026
6 p.m. CT
Bill Snyder Family Stadium — Manhattan, Kansas
TV: ESPN+