MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama will play a Division I-AA (FCS) opponent for the first time Saturday when Nicholls State visits Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
The game will also be the first time the Jaguars, in their second season of play, face a team with the same number of scholarships. South Alabama opened its season with a win over Pikeville on Sept. 4.
Colonels Tested by FBS Opponents
Nicholls State is winless, but both of its losses have come against Division I-A opponents, San Diego State and Western Michigan.
“Anytime you play a Division I-A school, they’re going to have more scholarships than an FCS school so the scores sound pretty bad,” South Alabama head coach Joey Jones said. “But they played both teams tough early, and just wore out. The bottom line is I think those teams just had a lot more depth, and so toward the end of those games they got a little tired.”
“They are a very good football team and we’ll find out what we’re about after this week and see where we are as a football program,” Jones said.
Starting quarterback Myles Gibbon noted that the Colonels’ loss to Western Michigan came against a strong opponent. The Jaguars have spent the past two weeks studying Nicholls State on film.
Stubbs Brings Offensive Pedigree
Nicholls State is led by first-year head coach Charlie Stubbs, who has more than 31 years of coaching experience, 22 of them in college. He came to Thibodaux, La., from Central Missouri, where he was offensive coordinator, and has spent more than 14 years as an offensive coordinator, six of them also as assistant head coach.
Stubbs began his coaching career at his alma mater, BYU, in 1983 and was on LaVell Edwards’ staff for the Cougars’ 1984 national championship. His coaching stops include:
- Oregon State, offensive coordinator, 1985-90
- Memphis, 1994
- Tennessee-Martin, 1995
- UNLV, 1996-97
- Alabama, 1998-2000
- Tulsa, 2002-06
- Louisville, 2007
- Central Missouri, 2008-09
His Oregon State offenses ranked among the top three in the Pac-10. At UNLV, his 1996 offense finished ninth nationally in passing, and his 1997 offense led the Western Athletic Conference and ranked 12th nationally.
At Alabama, Stubbs was quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. The Crimson Tide played in the 1998 Music City Bowl and, after winning the 1999 SEC championship, the Orange Bowl. He was named the 1999 SEC Offensive Coordinator of the Year.
Nicholls State’s defensive coordinator previously coached at Thibodaux High School after serving as the Colonels’ defensive ends coach.
Spread Offense Awaits
The Colonels run a spread offense led by an athletic quarterback, presenting a test for the South Alabama secondary and defense.
Kickoff is Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
