First Glance: Northwestern State

Football is back! Buckle up and enjoy the ride this season through the SEC West and facing off against the top 2 pre-season ranked teams in two of the first four games. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We will take this one week at a time, game by game. First up, the Northwestern State Demons come to Kyle Field.

What You Need to Know:

• Northwestern State is a four year university located in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
• The Demons play in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Southland Conference.
• In 2017, The Demons went 4-7, but are on a 1 game win streak after beating rival, Steven F. Austin, and taking home the Chief Caddo trophy. It’s the largest trophy in college football; standing at 7.5 feet tall and weighing 330 pounds.
• Both schools are breaking in a new head coach. Northwestern State hired Brad Laird to the Head Coaching position last November. Laird played quarterback for the Demons from 1991-1995.

Betting Lines:

• Actual Vegas lines have not been released for this FBS vs FCS matchup, but saw one line with Texas A&M as a -44.5 point favorite
• Again, no actual Vegas lines but saw an Over/Under at 63.5 points
• Lines may be issued closer to kickoff
• Northwestern State is 1-21 against the spread in its last 22 games.

Historical Notes:

• This is the first meeting between Northwestern State and Texas A&M.
• This is the Aggies’ first Thursday night home game since 2005 against Texas State.
• Northwestern State’s mascot is known as Vic the Demon; who is best known for the “The Tussle in Turpin” in 1992 when Vic fought Northeastern’s mascot, Chief Brave Spirit. Vic lost his head, but still managed to come back and win the fight. I was only able to find one video of the fight, but it’s been badly dubbed over and has NSFW language. Please post in the comments if you can find a non-dubbed video of the fight.
• Famous Alumni include Coach Ed Orgeron, who transferred into NW State and played for the Demons, the Cajun Cannon, Bobbie Hebert, who played QB for the Demons before playing professionally, and Joe Delaney, who played RB for the Demons before playing two years with the Kansas City Chiefs where he set four franchise rushing records that stood for more than 20 years. Joe’s career was cut short as he died on June 29, 1983 while attempting to rescue three children from drowning in Louisiana. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Citizen’s Medal from U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan. Take a moment and watch this video on the life of Joe Delaney.

Demons to Watch:

Starting Quarterback

A starter has not been named for the Demons. Senior Clay Holgorsen threw for 1,240 yards and 9 touchdowns last year and won the offensive MVP for the NW State spring game. Holgorsen is a pro-style QB from Katy, Texas where he played for Katy High School. The other potential starter is Junior QB, Shelton Eppler, who transfered from Trinity Valley Community College (Athens, Texas). Eppler is from Navasota, Texas.

Offensive Line

First-year head coach Brad Laird wants the Demons to go up-tempo this season. The O-Line starting five has combined for 36 starts and is without Senior linemen Chris Zirkle. How will this unit do getting set under the lights at Kyle Field?

Media Blitz:

• Venue: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
• Game Time: 7:30 pm CT
• Channel: SEC Network

Newsreel:

• Five Aggies named to Preseason Coaches All-SEC Team: Trayveon Williams - 2nd team, Daniel LaCamera - 2nd Team, Landis Durham - 3rd Team, Erik McCoy - 3rd Team, Braden Mann - 3rd Team

Weather:

• The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with the highs reaching 96 degrees, and the lows dipping into the mid 70s.