With the Kansas football home opener just on the horizon, Phog.net wanted to give fans a look at what to expect from Nicholls State.

In order to add more depth, we spoke with Nicholls State play-by-play announcer Bryant Johnson to get his thoughts on this year's team. Here's is a scouting report of KU football's upcoming opponent.

Overview

The offense:

Coached by Rob Christophel, Nicholls State is a team that is going to run the ball, then run the ball again and then run the ball some more.

Last season, they had about a 62-38 split running to passing and almost surpassed 1,000 yards rushing in the final three games of the season.

Johnson described the offenses mantra as: “Spread the field and see if you can eat up some clock and take advantage of some big plays when they are available.”

While quarterback Chase Fourcade is undoubtedly the face of the offense and the team, running back Dontrell Taylor does most of the heavy lifting for the offensive unit, though there are a slew of backs that will see action Saturday. While Taylor struggled with injuries his sophomore season, he still averaged just over four yards per carry.

Fourcade offers much more than his arm too. The junior had multiple 80+ yard games and even had a 50+ yard run against South Dakota in the FCS playoffs. Even though Fourcade has shown the ability to make plays with his legs, don’t expect as much freedom come Saturday.

“They have not tried to get designed runs for Fourcade after an injury he suffered in early October last year,” Johnson said. “I'd be really surprised if there were any designed runs for Chase.”

With Fourcade, many of his pass attempts, especially on second down and third and short are usually RPOs (run-pass options), where Fourcade has the option of handing it off the Taylor or throwing the ball to a 6-foot-4 Dai’Jean Dixon.

Expect Nicholls State to try and run the ball down the Jayhawks’ throats.

The defense:

Flat out, the Nicholls State defense is nasty. Seemingly every position is filled by upperclassmen. Of the players that started against Georgia two years ago, seven are still starting.

The defense, coached by Tommy Rybacki, deploys an interesting 3-3-5 defensive scheme with a nickel corner in most of the time. The nickel corner is given the freedom of an outside linebacker. On most occasions, Ahmani Martin is that guy. Martin is allowed to go and chase any running back as soon as he touches the ball.

The variations based on personnel will determine the coverages and roles of each position. And there will be a lot of variations come Saturday.

“Their rotations are crazy, it can be a battle broadcasting because you look at that sideline after every play and it's three or four guys in waves,” Johnson said. “It could be that approach where every other play you are seeing a new batch of players come in. They want to rely on their depth, keep them fresh and unload on you late in games.”

The most intriguing aspect of the defense is that they don’t blitz, ever.

“Those guys up front don't want to the linebackers and defensive backs applying pressure and bringing blitzes,” Johnson said, “they want to be the disruptors and they bring all of that energy.”

This also happens to be the same defensive front six that held Nick Chubb to under 100 yards, but more on them in a second.

Team strengths:

Offensive Line

The Nicholls State offensive line is its most consistent unit. There is a reason Tim Rebowe has confidence in running the football. It’s because there are four seniors and a redshirt-sophomore on the line.

The leader of the group is senior center Ryan Hanley. Hanley was named Nicholls State’s offensive player of the year and was named to the All-Southland second team as a junior.

At right tackle, Nicholls State has its second anchor in Chandler Arceneaux. Arceneaux has started 33 games in three seasons and was named to the HERO Sports FCS Sophomore All-American first team as a redshirt-sophomore.

Protecting the blindside is Eddie Houston. Houston started 10 of a possible 11 games last season and the senior JUCO product was an All-Southland honorable mention last season.

With those three staples on the offensive line, it appears the weakness of the group may be its guards.

“Demetrius Gleaton will be the one. This will be his biggest role, the biggest game of his career.” Johnson said when asked if there was a weak link on the offensive line. “He was the 'sixth man' last year and they'll play six or seven offensive linemen but this will be the first time Gleaton is going into a season opener as the starter.”

Daniel Wise will be a crucial piece if the Kansas defense wants to disrupt Nicholls State run game. Going up against either Gleaton or left guard P.J. Burkhalter, Wise should be able to get in the backfield on multiple occasions.

Defensive line

Much like their counterparts on the offensive line, the defensive line is a nasty unit. They have Power 5 size on the line and it shows.

“[The defense] allows the defensive front to do all the talking and Sully Laiche, Kenny Dotson and Ronald Ollie, those are some mean dudes that are bayou built,” Johnson said of the defensive line.

The Nicholls State defensive line consists of Laiche at defensive tackle, Brandon Fontenot or Ollie (yes, the same one from “Last Chance U”) at nose tackle and Kenny Dotson at defensive end.

Combined, those four have 89 combined games played for Nicholls State and multiple all-conference selections.

The D-line eats up any run on the inside. In its game against Georgia, Nicholls State held second round pick Nick Chubb to 80 yards, emphatically stopping runs up the middle like this.

via GIPHY

Going up against a KU offensive line that has a lot of question marks, the battle in the trenches will be the matchup that decides KU’s fate.

If the Jayhawks can’t stop the Nicholls State D-line, it could be a longer night than expected.

Team weaknesses

Defending outside runs

It's all about give and take: Nicholls State takes away the inside run with its massive defensive line and experienced linebackers. What they give is the outside run.

In games against both Georgia and Texas A&M, different outside run plays worked against the Nicholls State defense. Take these two plays for example, one traditional look and one exotic one.

via GIPHY

via GIPHY

Because of the formation Nicholls State uses, there is always a nickel corner on the field. If you run the ball to the outside away from the nickel corner, like in the first play, there will be an opportunity to get out in space. In addition, having basically three tackles on the defensive line severely limits the defense's mobility against runs to the outside.

Pooka Williams will be an intriguing guy to watch Saturday. Williams’ skillset is made for exploiting teams in space. If he can get the ball out in space, he could make people miss for a big play.

Coverage

Busted coverages killed Nicholls State against Texas A&M and Georgia. Nicholls State gave up chunks of yards through the air because of sub-par coverage.

Against Georgia, they gave up five plays of 15 or more yards, the biggest coming on this 66-yard touchdown pass.

via GIPHY

I don’t have to tell you this play was entirely avoidable.

Because of two missed tackles and a well timed block (not shown), a pass that should’ve been stopped inside Georgia’s half ended up being six points.

The same thing happened against Texas A&M. That time it was a miscommunication that led to six points.

via GIPHY

This is all to say that if the Nicholls State defensive line does slow down Kansas’ ground game, fans shouldn’t be overly worried. Steven Sims Jr. is a crafty player with the ball and smart enough to find soft spots in a zone or make the right moves in man coverage.

Player to watch

Sully Laiche | Junior | Defensive Tackle | #55

I want to start this with something that Johnson told me about Laiche.

"Sully Laiche could play in the SEC," Johnson said. "There is just no doubt about that when you watch a 6-foot-2 270 interior lineman come up with 22 tackles for loss in his first two years in college football."

As a true freshman, Laiche went into Athens, Georgia and played incredibly well against Georgia, getting four stops with one for a loss in his first official game. That season, Laiche racked up several accolades, being named to the All-Southland First Team, HERO Sports FCS All-American First Team and All-Louisiana First Team, all while finishing eighth in voting for STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award (Freshman of the Year).

As a sophomore, Laiche started 11 games. He recorded 26 tackles and 16 solo. He ranked fifth in the Southland with 7.5 sacks and 15th in tackles for loss with 9.5. He was named to the All-Southland second team.

Laiche has a great combination of size and speed. Going against a KU offensive line that could be prone to mistakes, Laiche will have a solid opportunity to get after Peyton Bender or the Kansas running backs. He isn't going to win the game by himself, but for Nicholls State to upset Kansas, everything will start with him.