NORTHWESTERN STATE DEMONS 2013 Football Northwestern State (2-0) GAME 3: 8/29 at Missouri State W 23-17 9/7 Southern W 55-14 NORTHWESTERN STATE DEMONS (2-0) 9/14 at Cincinnati (ESPN3) 7:00 EST 9/21 at Alabama-Birmingham 2:00 vs. 9/28 Langston 6:00 Cincinnati Bearcats (1-1) 10/12 * at Nicholls State (SLCTV) 3:00 10/19 * Southeastern Louisiana 6:00 10/26 * at Sam Houston State 2:00 September 14, 2013 • 7:00 p.m. (EST) 11/2 * Central Arkansas (ESPN3) 7:00 Nippert Stadium (35,000) • Cincinnati, Ohio 11/9 * Lamar (SLCTV) 3:00 11/16 * at McNeese State (ESPN3) 7:00 11/23 * Stephen F. Austin 3:00 Radio: The Demon Sports Network *denotes Southland Conference game • All games CST except at UC (Patrick Netherton, Play-by-Play • Tony Taglavore, Analyst/Sideline) Cincinnati (1-1) TV/Internet: ESPN3 8/31 Purdue W 42-7 (Dave Weekley, Play-by-Play • Rocky Boiman, Color Analyst • Rontina McCann, Sideline) 9/7 at Illinois L 45-17 9/14 Northwestern State 7:00 Video Stream: Bearcats TV (GoBearcats.com/allaccess) 9/21 at Miami (Ohio) TBA Pay Per View $9.95 monthly, $79.95 yearly 10/5 * at USF TBA 10/11 * Temple 8:30 Demons rising together, now stepping up into college football’s top level 10/19 * Connecticut TBA Northwestern State has dispatched a pair of non-conference FCS foes, and now 11/30 * at Memphis 8:00 steps into the FBS ranks for its next two weeks, beginning with a tradition-rich 11/9 * at SMU TBA Cincinnati program that was competing a year after the formation of Louisiana 11/16 * at Rutgers TBA Normal School (now NSU) in 1884. 11/23 * at Houston TBA The Demons’ football theme in 2013 is Rise Together, and with their fast start, 12/5 * Louisville 7:30 that’s underway. Now the schedule presents its most challenging contest. *denotes American Athletic Conference game • All Times EST NSU Quick Facts Putting together wins to open the season is noteworthy Location.........................Natchitoches, Louisiana Last week’s 55-17 victory over Southern gave Demons their first 2-0 start to a Founded ............................................... 1884 season since 2007, and made Jay Thomas only the third coach in school history to win Athletic Affiliation .............. NCAA Division I FCS his first two games, joining Scott Stoker (2002) and Glenn Gossett (1967). Enrollment ........................................... 9,447 NSU’s last 3-0 start: 2002, with wins over Delta State (home), Southern (neutral Colors .................... Purple & White, orange trim site) and at Delaware State before a 45-7 loss at No. 4-ranked Georgia. That team All-Time Record .................... 509-429-22 (.542) finished 9-4 with an FCS playoff appearance. 2012 Record ............................... 4-7 (2-5 SLC) Starters Returning/Lost .......................... 16/11 Halting a wicked road skid was a fine way to start Letterwinners Returning/Lost .................. 53/26 The Demons’ 23-17 triumph over Missouri State in steamy Springfield, Mo. – Southland Conference Championships/last . 4, 2004 temperature on the field pregame was 107 – ended a 17-game skid by NSU in out-of- NCAA D I Playoff Appearances/last ......... 4, 2004 conference road games (14 against FBS foes). A 27-23 victory at Louisiana-Monroe Offensive Scheme ............................... Multiple Defensive Scheme ....................... 3-4-4/Multiple starting the 2005 season was the last OOC road win, and the last season-opening road Head Coach ................................... Jay Thomas win, for the Demons until they survived in Springfield. Record at NSU ......................................... 2-0 It also halted a seven-game losing string away from home, which began after a 23- Record Overall .................. 29-35 (.453, 7 years) 10 victory on Oct. 29, 2011, at then-Southland foe Texas State. NSU Sports Information Aiming to end another long unsuccessful string Director ...................................... Doug Ireland NSU has dropped its last 14 games against FBS opponents since a 27-23 win at Phone ....................................... 318-357-6467 Louisiana-Monroe to open the 2005 season. The Demons are 10-30 overall against Cell ......................................... 318-471-2086 FBS foes since 1977, when the subdivision system was born in Division I football. Email ................................. [email protected] The 14-game FBS losing skid includes defeats at LSU, SMU, Air Force, Kansas, Turpin Stadium Press Box .............. 318-357-4529 Baylor three times, Ole Miss twice, Texas Tech twice, Louisiana-Lafayette, Nevada Website ............................... NSUDemons.com and Houston. The closest call in that skid: 38-31 at Ole Miss in 2007. NSU Twitter ............................ @NSUDemons FB Twitter ............................ @NSUDemonsFB Demons have plenty of FBS surprises in their past Hashtag.............................. #RiseTogetherNSU Facebook ............................... /ForkemDemons NSU’s top FBS wins have come over bowl bound teams from TCU (27-24, OT, Game Three • Northwestern State at Cincinnati • Saturday, September 14, 2013 • 7:00 p.m. EST JAY THOMAS 2001) and Southern Mississippi (22-0, 1984), along with Boise State (22-17, Head Coach 1996). Also included are victories over Louisiana-Monroe (three times), Louisiana-Lafayette (twice) and Arkansas State (twice) – all, of course, on the Southern Miss., 1988 road. 2-0 overall at NSU Trivia note - the Demons are the only team to have won in their last three 29-35 career in 7 years visits to Boise State – 1996 (Broncs’ first year in I-A/now FBS), 1995 (both Jay Thomas, a finalist for national were FCS members) and 1988 (FCS playoff game). coach of the year honors in a 2005 Northwestern has played at least one FBS team each of the last 20 seasons. playoff season, is in his first season as The Demons have played two FBS foes in the same season 11 times previously, head football coach at Northwestern and played three in 2006 (Kansas, Baylor and Ole Miss). State. He’s only the third coach in school history, joining Scott Stoker (2002) and Glenn Gossett, to Déjà vu for many Demons who faced Tuberville, Kaufman in 2012 start his NSU tenure 2-0. The Demons faced a Tommy Tuberville-coached team last year in a season- Thomas, 52, had been defensive coordinator and opening 44-6 loss at Texas Tech. At the beginning of his coaching career, when assistant head coach for the past year at Division II Missouri Arkansas assistant and former Arkansas HS coaching giant Sam Goodwin was Southern in Joplin, following two seasons as the Demons’ building his first NSU staff in December 1982, Tuberville inquired about defensive line coach and assistant head coach in 2010 and interviewing for a position but ultimately did not pursue it. 2011. Bearcats defensive coordinator Art Kaufman, who had the same position Previously, Thomas spent 14 seasons at Nicholls State, under Tuberville last season at Texas Tech, is a former Demon assistant coach the last six (2004-2009) as head coach. Despite hurricanes and coordinator. Kaufman got his first full-time college coaching post with the that interrupted preseason or the regular season in three years, he had an overall 27-35 record that included Nicholls’ De­mons as linebackers coach in 1985. He was part of Sam Goodwin’s original only Southland Conference championship (2005 co- NSU coaching staff in 1983 as a graduate assistant, and became defensive championship) and wins over four nationally-ranked teams coordinator in 1987, his last year on staff. The Dermott, Ark., native was a two and FBS foe Rice. His Colonels finished the 2005 season -time All-America linebacker at Arkansas-Monticello. His Red Raider defense ranked 17th in the Sports Network’s FCS Top 25, and allowed only 84 yards and six first downs to last year’s NSU team. reached a school-record high ranking of 13th in 2007. During his tenure as head coach, Thomas instituted NSU moving the chains at a frantic pace academic emphasis which resulted in the Nicholls team’s The Demons have 55 first downs in two games, second only to Eastern Academic Progress Rate improving from 746 to 930 over his Washington (60) in NCAA FCS rankings. They’ve run 159 plays total plays (84 five seasons. rush, 75 pass) and moved the chains, or scored in goal-to-goal situations (5 Thomas guided Nicholls to a pair of winning seasons TDs), on 38% (60-159) of them. and a .500 record in a third season in a program that had only one season of .500 or better in the previous seven Seven top 20 NCAA FCS statistical rankings for NSU campaigns. His three .500 or better seasons gave Nicholls Northwestern State is 12th in total offense (479.5 ypg), 13th in passing three of only four at that level in the past 13 years. offense (297.5 ypg), 14th in total defense (280 ypg allowed), 14th in sacks (6, 3 Nicholls defeated non-conference foes such as Eastern pg) 15th in 3rd down conversions (.500, 16-32), 17th in sacks allowed (1 pg), Washington and Florida A&M while posting a 4-2 record and 18th in 3rd down defense (.290, 9-31). against the Demons amid a 17-21 league record under Thomas. He was the 2005 Southland Conference coach of Demons have forced plenty, endured few 3-and-outs the year and a finalist for the Sports Network’s Eddie They’re a primary goal for a defense and the bane of any offensive game Robinson Coach of the Year Award. Among players he recruited and developed at Nicholls plan. So far Northwestern State has a lopsided advantage in 3-and-out series. is star cornerback and kick returner Lardarius Webb of the The Demon offense has gone 3-and-out twice, once in each game, on 25 series. Baltimore Ravens and three other NFL Draft picks, Kareem NSU’s Purple Swarm defense has stacked up 11 3-and-outs on 25 series.