I'm going to keep this short. I'll have a full recap tomorrow, with full quotes and stuff, but for now I need to let this digest.
WMU lost to Nicholls 27-23
For more information, check out the rest of Hustle Belt............
I kid.
Congrats to the Colonels, who used their 4th string QB to come-from-behind and defeat Western Michigan in the 4th quarter. That's right. After losing their starter in the off-season, their 2nd-stringer at Oregon due to a concussion (the Duck player was called for targeting and ejected), and their 3rd-stringer, Kalen Henderson, tonight in the 2nd quarter, Nicholls head coach Charlie Stubbs burned the redshirt on Tuskani Figaro and put the sophomore quarterback into the fire against the Broncos.
Figaro came out slow, but finished strong.
With 72 yards on 15 carries, and a key 55 yard pass to Demon Bolt to set the Colonels up for their final field goal (and thus killing more clock), Figaro should've won game-ball, despite the strong play of the man he replaced. Henderson had 87 yards rushing on just 6 carries with a TD, and was 8-for-11 for 159 yards passing (albeit with an interception) before going down with what Stubbs said appeared to be a fractured fibula.
And the Nicholls defense played well enough to win. Despite giving up 231 yards on the ground and another 254 through the air, the Colonels forced two Tyler Van Tubbergen interceptions, including Josh Dewey's clincher at the goal-line. They also stopped the Broncos twice on 4th down. The "bend-but-don't-break"-ness was good enough tonight to power Nicholls to their first non-conference win over a team NOT from the NAIA since Stubbs took over in 2010.
I'm going to spare WMU for now.
They had their first pair of running backs go for 100 yards since 2010 when Brian Fields and the now suspended Tevin Drake went for 100+ each against Kent State. Tonight, Fields finished with 103 yards and 3 TDs while Dareyon Chance finished with 123 yards on 21 carries. Freshman Corey Davis had another good game, catching 8 passes for 116 yards. That's his first 100 yard game. TVT went 24-for-43 for 254 yards, but did have the 2 INTs.
In all, WMU now looks VERY vulnerable. With Northwestern, Iowa, Ball State, Buffalo, Kent State, and Toledo (in no particular order) all up on the schedule before a trip to UMass, P.J. Fleck and his Broncos could be looking at an 0-8 start, and a game against the Minutemen to avoid an 0-12 season.