On paper, it had all the makings for a game to be decided once the home team arrived safely at the stadium.
Nicholls, however, had other plans.
The Colonels, who entered the game as 47-point underdogs by oddsmakers, kept pace with LSU into the third quarter before the Tigers pulled away for a 44-21 win, earning their first win of 2024.
LSU got on the scoreboard first by scoring a safety when punter Kylan Supre kicked the ball out of the end zone after the fourth down snap went over his head.
Trailing 16-7, the Colonels went into their bag of tricks, with Lee Negrotto catching an 18-yard touchdown pass from fellow receiver Quincy Brown on a flea-flicker.
“When I got back to the sideline, Coach (Tim) Rebowe asked me if I wanted to do the play, and I was ready to go,” said Brown after the game. “However, in practice, that throw was not working out in my favor; but tonight, it was just what I needed to finish a drive for our team.”
LSU regrouped and got those seven points right back with a four-yard touchdown pass from Garrett Nussmeier to Ju’juan Johnson with 1:53 left in the first half.
That was one of six touchdown passes for Nussmeier, tied with Jaylen Daniels for the second must number of touchdown passes in a game, one behind the seven that Joe Burrow threw against Oklahoma in 2019.
Nicholls pulled to within two just 1:08 into the third quarter on a 67-yard touchdown run by Colin Guggenheim, sending most of the crowd of 100,242 at Tiger Stadium into a slight panic.
But the Tigers regrouped and scored 21 unanswered points to put the game away.
LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly gave Nicholls all the credit in the world after the game.
“I thought they played their tails off,” said Coach Kelly. “They were physical. You could tell how much it meant to those young men to play here in Tiger Stadium and have a chance to play LSU.”
Kelly says even though his team came out in the win column, there are several flaws that need to be worked out.
“I am happy we won the football game,” said Kelly, “but certainly there are a lot of areas I am looking at in terms of things we have to do better.”
Kelly noted that given the fact that their previous game against USC fell on a Sunday, they had a short week of practice — and it showed on the field.
“Certainly, that was a team that was tired, a team that did not play its very best, and, you know, we had a long week,” Kelly noted. “It was a short week. We had to go back to practice on Tuesday, and it showed.”
Linebacker Greg Penn III echoed those sentiments.
“The guys are definitely tired,” Penn said, “still catching up on sleep and things like that, but it’s not an excuse. The first game in Tiger Stadium everyone should be ready to go.”
Guggenheim rushed for 147 yards for Nicholls and scored two touchdowns, including his 67-yard score early in the third quarter.
“Any kid from Louisiana dreams of playing in Tiger Stadium and having the success I had early,” Guggenheim said after the game. “I tried to step back and soak in the environment as a whole. Things like hearing the crowd chants or the crowd singing songs. It was a great atmosphere and tonight was a game I will remember for the rest of my life.”
LSU improves to 1-1 on the season and go to South Carolina to face the Gamecocks next Saturday.
Nicholls falls to 0-2, losing their opener to Louisiana Tech; they’ll try to get into the win column next Saturday night against Sacramento State.
Comments