McNeese will open the 2025 football season on Saturday night versus Louisiana Christian. Week one’s “Hall of Fame Game” between the Cowboys and Wildcats is scheduled for 6:00 pm inside Navarre Stadium. Here are three storylines for this opening weekend matchup:
FAMILIAR FACE IS BACK IN CHARGE
Coach Matt Viator will begin his second stint as the head man of McNeese on Saturday. His original run spanned from 2006 through the 2015 season, before he spent time with the ULM Warhawks and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. Viator was named McNeese’s 19th head coach back in December and will look to revive the program that has underperformed since his departure.
McNeese has not finished above 3rd place since his departure and has placed 5th or lower in six straight seasons. The Cowboys have also produced just four winning seasons in the last nine years and none since 2019.
Before leaving for the Sun Belt, the 61-year-old put together a 78-33 record, matching legendary head coach Bobby Keasler for the most wins in school history. In the decade he spent as head man, Viator never had a losing season, helping the Pokes win four Southland Conference championships and finish second or higher seven times. In the 110 weeks Viator was in charge, McNeese ranked in the FCS Top 25 national polls for 91 weeks and received votes in all but two. McNeese also ranked in the Top 10 in 42 weeks and the Top 5 a total of 12 weeks, with the highest ranking coming in at No. 2 in the final two weeks of the 2015 season.
Viator had much success in Lake Charles, and his first opportunity to lead this program back to FCS prominence begins on Saturday in Navarre Stadium.
NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN
There’ll be a new signal caller in the week one matchup for McNeese. Coach Viator and his staff named sophomore Jake Strong as the starting quarterback. He beat out junior Alex Flores and redshirt freshman Devin Lippold.
Strong stands at 6’2″, weighs 215 lbs, and will be making his first start with the Cowboys on Saturday. The Justin, Texas native committed to Texas Tech for two seasons after wrapping up his high school career. Strong was a record holder at Northwest High School for passing yards (6,688), passing touchdowns (82), total yards (8,284), and total touchdowns (100).
In his time with the Red Raiders, Strong appeared in three games during his true freshman season and was the starter for one game against BYU. He completed 19 of 37 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown versus the Cougars. For the season, Strong completed 35 of 65 passes for 409 yards and 2 TDs. Last season, he saw less of the field, serving as a scout team quarterback for most of the year.
Strong isn’t the only new guy to see the field on Saturday night. McNeese is expected to have 17 players make their Cowboys debut, and 13 of them look forward to starting in this first game versus Louisiana Christian.
DOMINANT HISTORY
It’s safe to say the Pokes have the edge over the Wildcats. McNeese has managed to accumulate a 17-2 record against Louisiana Christian. In this 19-game series, the Cowboys have got the better of the Wildcats 17 times and are on an 11-game win streak against them. The last time these two programs faced was back on October 29th, 1966, with McNeese taking home the 31-0 victory.
The Cowboys are 25-9 when they open the season at home, in Navarre Stadium, and coach Viator was 4-0 in his first stint at McNeese.
Louisiana Christian is also under a somewhat new regime as head coach Ben McLaughlin heads into his second season with the Wildcats. In 2024, McLaughlin led the program to a 4-7 record, with the team going 3-5 in the Sooner Conference.