BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University enters week five in the unenviable task of having to put two heartbreaking losses behind them and focus on a very tough Nicholls squad. The Cardinals (1-3/0-2 Southland) could very easily be staring an undefeated conference mark in the face this week but each of the past two games have gone against them. LU had chances to win both games and rallied from a 28-0 deficit in the Southland opener to tie the game, only to come up just short in the end. All of that must now be forced aside as the Cardinals will travel to Nicholls Saturday for an afternoon contest.
 
Despite being shorthanded to start conference play, the Cardinals have put up a fight in each of their first two games and had chances to win both. LU will need that same fight as it prepares to face a nationally ranked Colonels (2-2/1-1 SLC) squad. The 15^th-ranked (STATS FCS Top 25 poll) Colonels have been on what can only be described as a roller coaster of ride less than halfway through the 2018 season.
 
After opening the year with one of the biggest upsets at the FCS level – an overtime win at Kansas – the Colonels dropped road games at Tulane and McNeese, before returning to Thibodaux to thump top-10 Sam Houston State, 27-7. Nicholls racked up nearly 450 yards of total offense against Sam Houston, while holding the Bearkats to less than 320.
 
Led by one of the league's top quarterbacks – Chase Fourcade – the Colonels enter Saturday's contest averaging nearly 390 yards of total offense, ranked just behind LU (407.0 ypg). The Cardinals have had their best production by keeping the ball on the ground leading the Southland averaging 230 rushing yards per game, while Nicholls is fourth in the league in rush offense (179 ypg).  
 
Both offenses have had their struggles moving the football through the air in 2018. The Colonels are 10^th in the league averaging 208.8 yards per game, and LU is averaging 177 per game. In addition to the Colonels struggles to move the ball consistently through the air, the Cardinals have done a great job in 2018 of hurting opposing offenses when they try to throw against them. The Cardinals lead the league with six interceptions through the first four games of the season.
 
In addition to facing a very tough Nicholls squad, the Cardinals will be playing in a venue that has not been kind to opposing teams in the past three years. Nicholls is a healthy 9-3 in Guidry Stadium since the 2016 season.
 
The Cardinals are two games over .500 all-time against Nicholls sporting a 6-4 (.600) record, but the Colonels have closed the gap in the past few seasons. Nicholls has won the past three games in the series, including a 41-14 decision last season in Beaumont. The Cardinals head to Thibodaux looking for their first road victory in the series since the 2014 season.
 
Saturday's game has been moved from its originally listed start time and will now kick off at 2:30 p.m. from Guidry Stadium. The can be heard live on Newstalk 560 KLVI. It will also be televised by Eleven Sports, which can be viewed by DirecTV customers on Ch. 623.
 
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