Lamar Scores 28 in the First Quarter and Rolls Past Nicholls 49-18
Lamar scored 28 points in the first quarter and then spent three more quarters deciding what to do with the lead. The Cardinals beat Nicholls 49-18, never trailed, and are 3-0.
The first quarter was a pile of long plays. Aiden McCown hit Blake Thomas from 41 yards at 13:44 and Davin Driskell from 49 yards at 9:55. Nicholls got one back on a 3-yard pass from Ean Rodrigue to Ellis Stewart, and eleven seconds later Caleb Holmes returned the kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. McCown found Cam Patterson from 11 yards with 2:59 left in the quarter and it was 28-7. That is four Lamar touchdowns in one quarter, and none of them was a run.
Parker Jenkins (1 yard) and LaDamion McDowell (11 yards) added rushing scores in the second quarter for 42-7, and Kingston Phan's 43-yard field goal as the half ended made it 42-10. Nobody scored in the third. Nicholls got a 29-yard Rodrigue touchdown pass to Jordan Smith early in the fourth, plus a two-point conversion to Stewart, to make it 42-18. McCown answered 2 minutes and 20 seconds later with a 56-yard touchdown run of his own, and that was the last score.
The Cardinals outgained Nicholls 441 yards to 329 and threw one interception to none for the Colonels, which tells you the lead was built on explosive plays and not on grinding. Nicholls drops to 2-1.
For fantasy, McCown was the day's top scorer at 41.3, Rodrigue was second at 24.2 even in a loss, and Driskell had 110 receiving yards on four catches. A 31-point win and a 3-0 start.