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September 9, 2014
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September 9, 2014
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Nicholls State knew what it was getting into going into Saturday’s game against the Arkansas Razorbacks, the school’s first-ever meeting with a member of the Southeastern Conference.
After seeing how the game unfolded, particularly the first half, it might be a while before the Colonels schedule another game against a school from that conference.
Clearly overmatched all along, Nicholls (0-2) never stood a chance of even making the final score look respectable, not after giving up 35 first-quarter points that included three Arkansas (1-1) touchdowns within its first five plays on offense en route to a 73-7 loss at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
No one had expected Nicholls to pull off a victory Saturday or to really be within striking distance of one – not even with the Razorbacks having lost their last 10 games, a streak that dated back nearly a full year. But that does not excuse just how poorly the team played, particularly to start the game.
Nicholls had no less than three glaring dropped passes on plays in the first half that would have at least given the team some much-needed confidence, if not some first downs.
The Razorbacks, meanwhile, scored two touchdowns on their first two offensive plays from scrimmage.
The Colonels trailed 56-0 at halftime after giving up one big play after another. The Razorbacks’ Keon Hatcher took the first snap of the game and went 82 yards on an end-around for a touchdown that put Arkansas ahead 7-0, and things would only get worse from there – a lot worse.
The Razorbacks made more big-yardage plays in Saturday’s first half, including a 33-yard Alex Collins touchdown run that made it 14-0 just over four minutes into the game, then later in the half a 50-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brandon Allen to Hatcher in the second quarter (42-0), and a 90-yard touchdown run from Arkansas tailback Jonathan Williams (49-0).
By halftime, things were so lopsided that game officials asked Nicholls coach Charlie Stubbs if he wanted to reduce the game – likely by implementing some form of a running clock or abbreviated periods.
Stubbs refused.
“I said, ‘No, we’re going to play this whole football game,” the coach said. “It was nothing demeaning (on the official’s part), but they asked and I said, ‘No, sir, we want to play this whole football game.’ Any time I can get an extra snap, I just feel like it’s an opportunity for us to get better.”
Nicholls did get better in the second half – insofar as they were able to slow down the hemorrhaging and even make a few positive plays.
Arkansas would score three times in the second half, including two touchdowns, but had little of the back-breaking plays they amassed at will in the first half, even with the Razorbacks leaving many of their first-string players on the field during the third quarter.
Nicholls, meanwhile, found the end-zone early in the second half as senior quarterback Kalen Henderson found senior receiver and Colorado transfer Keenan Canty in the end-zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 9:15 to play in the third quarter. That capped a 9-play, 75-yard drive that took 4:53 off the clock and gave the Colonels their first reason to celebrate all day.
Nicholls made some other nice plays in the half as well.
With Arkansas facing 2nd-and-goal from the 4-yard-line on the Razorbacks’ ensuing drive following Canty’s touchdown catch, Nicholls defensive lineman John Williamson collapsed the pocket on a blitz and made an unexpected grab of an Austin Allen pass for an interception and a rumbling return of 50 yards to the Arkansas 45-yard line. A facemask penalty tacked on 15 more yards to move the ball to the 30, and suddenly the Colonels looked as if they were poised to score again.
Instead, on the first play of the drive, Arkansas defensive back D.J. Dean made a terrific play to wrestle the ball away from Nicholls receiver Xavier Marcus for an interception.
The Colonels had two more scoring chances after that but couldn’t convert. Francisco Condado hooked a chip-shot 31-yard field goal wide right early in the fourth quarter after back-up quarterback Beaux Hebert had come into the game, and on Nicholls’ final drive the Colonels reached the Arkansas 22-yard line before time expired.
It was the second week in a row that Hebert, also a senior, came off the bench in the fourth quarter and put together an impressive drive to spark the Colonels’ offense. He finished 9-of-13 for 103 yards; Henderson was 12-of-30 for 105 yards, with one touchdown and an interception.
Despite the final score, Stubbs said he left the field Saturday with a better feeling after the game than he had at halftime.
“I told them at halftime, ‘Don’t play the scoreboard, play one play at a time,’” he said. “I thought that we did some things in the second half. We stopped them a few times on defense, we got the nice interception when they were in the red zone, and we came back and drove it down the field against the (defensive starters) on their team. We made some good drives that we just didn’t finish.
“We looked more like a football team in the second half.”
Arkansas finished the day with 684 total yards – a whopping 495 on the ground – to Nicholls’ 242. The Razorbacks made 26 first downs to the Colonels’ 17, and the Arkansas offense made it to third down only six times in the game, including just once in the first half.
“They’re a very good team,” Stubbs said of Arkansas. “They were hungry for a win, so it was like a lot of things boiling up in their program, and we just happened to be the victim of it. There were so many mismatches out there unfortunately, and we had no answer for some of the physical talent and the discrepancy.”
The Colonels return to Thibodaux this week for their home opener Saturday against Division II opponent Henderson State. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at John L. Guidry Stadium.
For their participation in last Saturday’s game, Nicholls was paid $450,000 by the University of Arkansas.
Nicholls halfback Michael Henry bursts through the line of scrimmage and heads down the field in the Colonels’ game against Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. Nicholls fell 73-7 in the game, which marked Nicholls’ first-ever tilt with an SEC foe.
