Thibodaux, La. Mississippi Valley State’s 2026 season got off to a rough start Thursday night, as Nicholls State piled up 515 yards of total offense and jumped out to a 37-0 lead before the Delta Devils got on the board, cruising to a 44-10 win at John L. Guidry – Manning Field.

How it happened

Nicholls needed just two possessions to find the end zone twice. Quarterback Ean Rodrigue connected with J. Smith on a 59-yard strike on the game’s opening scoring drive, then found Gerald Donaldson for a 74-yard touchdown on the very next Nicholls possession, and the rout was on before the first quarter even ended.

The onslaught continued in the second quarter. Kicker K. Phan opened the scoring with a 42-yard field goal, and Nicholls’ ground game took over from there. Tyree Hoffman scored on runs of 13 and 7 yards on back-to-back possessions, before Rodrigue capped the half with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Smith with 30 seconds left, pushing the margin to 37-0 at the break. Nicholls tacked on one more score in the third quarter on a 2-yard Deuce Blackburn touchdown run to make it 44-0.

Mississippi Valley’s only points came in garbage time. Cornerback Trey Johnson provided the highlight of the night for the Delta Devils, returning an interception 95 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and kicker L. Sari added a 34-yard field goal with just over eight minutes to play to set the final margin.

By the numbers

Nicholls controlled the game from start to finish statistically, out-gaining MVSU 515 yards to 228 and piling up 25 first downs to the Delta Devils’ 9. Rodrigue was efficient and explosive in the passing game, going 16-of-25 for 264 yards and 3 touchdowns with just one interception, while the Nicholls rushing attack added 168 yards and 3 more scores on the ground, led by Hoffman’s 53 yards and two touchdowns on just 7 carries.

Mississippi Valley’s offense never found a rhythm. Starting quarterback Josh Brown finished 11-of-19 for only 44 yards with three interceptions, and the Delta Devils managed just 79 net passing yards as a team on 12-of-22 throwing. The running game had some bright spots. Jaylin Brown led all rushers with 62 yards on 8 carries (7.8 per attempt), but MVSU’s 30 rushing attempts produced zero touchdowns, and three lost fumbles compounded the turnover trouble. In all, the Delta Devils turned the ball over six times (3 fumbles lost, 3 interceptions thrown), and Nicholls converted those miscues into 23 points.

Field position and possession told the same story: Nicholls held the ball for nearly 34 minutes to MVSU’s 26, and converted 7-of-16 third downs and 3-of-4 fourth downs compared to MVSU’s 3-of-12 and 0-of-1.

Defensive standouts

Despite the lopsided score, a few Delta Devils defenders had strong individual nights. Linebacker J. Queisser led the team with 9 total tackles, and Jaylen Stevens was disruptive up front with 2 sacks for 10 yards and 3.5 tackles for loss overall. Johnson’s pick-six was Mississippi Valley’s signature defensive play, one of two interceptions the Delta Devils’ defense forced on the night.

Up next

Mississippi Valley State will look to regroup after a turnover-plagued opener against FBS Sacramento State.