McNeese’s 42-14 win last week over Alcorn State put the Cowboys’ record above .500 for the first time since the Spring 2020 season. The next part of the Pokes’ schedule has them going on a four-game road stretch and will start the road trip by going to Utah to take on Weber State.
The Wildcats are 2-2 this season, beating Northwestern State 39-0 last week and previously losing to Lamar 17-16.
Kickoff inside Stweart Stadium is set for 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 28th. The game will be televised on ESPN+.
LONG ROAD TRIP
It’s no secret that this will be a tough stretch for the Cowboys over the coming weeks. Last week’s win versus Alcorn State was at home and that was the last time they’ll have a home game until November 2nd when they host Texas A&M-Commerce.
For the next four games, McNeese will be on the road. This week, they’ll head up to Utah to play Weber State. The next two contests will be in Texas as they’ll take on Houston Christian to begin conference play and Incarnate Word two weeks later. Then, the Pokes will wrap up in Thibodaux as they’ll play the Nicholls Colonels.
This next month will not only be a test for coach Gary Goff’s group on the gridiron, taking on conference foes but will be a test on the team’s mental. It’ll be over a month between home games and all the traveling will give us a great idea of what this year’s team is made of.
DEVELOPMENT OF MCDOWELL
McNeese quarterback Clifton McDowell has made significant progress through the early part of the season.
Back in the first couple of weeks, McDowell was still trying to get used to his new teammates as he’s spent time with five college programs since 2019. Despite the turnovers in week one, a temporary benching the following week, and missing the next game against Texas A&M, McNeese’s starting quarterback has shown improvement.
Over these last two games, McDowell has completed 33 of 50 pass attempts for 542 yards and four touchdowns. The senior signal-caller has also carried the ball 21 times for 111 yards and three more scores on the ground as the Cowboys defeated Stephen F. Austin 28-24 and Alcorn State 42-14.
Coach Goff also brought up in this week’s press conference how impressed he’s been with McDowell lately, having a better understanding of the system McNeese runs and going through his reads faster than before.
FCS POLLS
The latest performances of the Pokes have gotten the attention of the national polls.
In this week’s polls, McNeese received 23 votes in the AFCA coaches poll, five more than last week’s 18 votes. The program also got 18 points in the STATS media performance poll, up from three they had before. This is the first time the Cowboys earned votes in either poll since the 2019 season.
Weber State is ranked 25th in the STATS poll and earned 28 points in the coaches poll.
SERIES RECORD: McNeese leads 3-1
Last Four Meetings:
2013: MCNEESE 43 – WEBER ST 6
2012: MCNEESE 35 – WEBER ST 21
1992: MCNEESE 23 – WEBER ST 22
1990: WEBER ST 27 – MCNEESE 7
STAT LEADERS
McNeese
Clifton McDowell: 48-of-74, 815 Yards, 6 TD, 2 INT
Clifton McDowell: 51 Carries, 243 Yards, 5 TD
Jer’Michael Carter: 15 Catches, 181 Yards, 1 TD
Masey Lewis: 2 Sacks
Boogsie Silvera & Micah Davey: 39 Tackles (20 & 15 solo)
Boogsie Silvera: 2 INT
Tyler Larco: 2-of-5 Field Goals, Long of 36, 16-of-17 PAT
Weber State
Richie Munoz: 71-of-123, 828 Yards, 5 TD, 1 INT
Damon Bankston: 64 Carries, 377 Yards, 3 TD
Jacob Sharp: 21 Catches, 279 yards, 2 TD
Kemari Munier-Bailey: 5 Sacks
Kemari Munier-Bailey: 22 Tackles (17 solo)
Angel King & Montae Pate: 1 INT