UTRGV football prepares for matchup with Nicholls in conference opener
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UTRGV football is starting conference play and the Vaqueros open things up on the road against Nicholls this Saturday.
Last year, UTRGV finished tied for third in the Southland. During the inaugural season, the Vaqueros beat Nicholls 28-21 in Edinburg in what was one of the most competitive games of the season.
"Nicholls is just an all-around physical team, we played them last year, it was a pretty good game last year, we have to go in there, play hard, play with a chip on our shoulder knowing that we came from a loss last week, so we just gotta go in there and play hard knowing that they're gonna try to come beat us," UTRGV sophomore wide receiver Corey Holmes said.
"A chance to start out 1-0 in the conference. Win or lose all our goals are still in place this week, but definitely it's better to start at the top and start off there, but again it's just about us and being the best we can be Saturday," UTRGV head coach Travis Bush added.
Nicholls finished 4-8 last season, going 4-4 in conference play. Coming into this season, Nicholls ranked 7th in the SLC preseason poll.
Part of the reason for their rough start to the 2025 season may have been adjusting to a new head coach. Tommy Rybacki is now in his second season leading the program.
"They're a gritty team, tough team, [Coach Rybacki] does a phenomenal job. We knew that coming in. You saw them last year when they played here. We kind of remind us of each other," Bush said. "They're gonna play tough, they're sound, solid, everything they coach, they play hard, they play physical. It'll be a good test to see where we stack up in this conference, how we're gonna play on the road."
To open this season, Nicholls came away with a 44-10 victory over Mississippi Valley State. Last week, they dropped a game to Kansas State 71-3, playing a strong FBS squad just as the Vaqueros did last week against UTSA.
Kickoff for Saturday's game between Nicholls and UTRGV is set for 6:00 p.m. in Louisiana.
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