McNeese Game Notes

GAME: McNeese (3-1, 1-0) at Sam Houston State (2-3, 1-0)
RANKINGS: McNeese #4 in Coaches Poll; #5 in Sports Network; SHSU receiving votes
WHEN: 3 p.m. Bowers Stadium (12,975) in Huntsville, Texas
SERIES: McNeese leads 25-9-1
LAST: McNeese won 31-23 on Oct. 19, 2013 in Lake Charles
RADIO: Gator 99.5 FM (Tom Hoefer, pxp; Johnny Suydam, analyst; Ron Hayes, sideline)
TV: SLC TV Network (Channel 7 on Suddenlink in LC; 30 on DirecTV); ESPN3
 
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Something's gotta give on Saturday when No. 5/4 McNeese visits Sam Houston State in the Southland Conference Television Network Game of the Week.
 
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at SHSU's Bowers Stadium. The SLC Network can be seen in Lake Charles on the CW Channel 7 on Suddenlink in Lake Charles or on DirecTV channel 30. It can also be viewed online at southland.org/watch or on southland.org/espn3.
 
The Cowboys (3-1, 1-0 SLC) have won three straight games but will be hitting the road for the first time since the Sept. 6 season opener at Nebraska. McNeese has won five straight league road games dating back the 2012 season when the last loss came at the hands of the Bearkats by a 42-10 score.
 
Sam Houston (2-3, 1-0) had last Saturday off but prior to then, beat Lamar in its league opener, 42-10. The Bearkats have won 10 consecutive home Southland games with their last defeat in Bowers Stadium coming by way of the Cowboys on Nov. 6, 2010 by a score of 33-28.
 
"Sam Houston is definitely going to be a different animal in terms of what we've faced here (the last three weeks)," said McNeese coach Matt Viator. "They have really good players. That about sums it up. When you watch them throughout the course of the year, at times I thought they looked really good and at times, it didn't seem like they came together and played like they did in other games."
 
The Bearkats opened the season on Aug. 23 with a hard-fought loss at No. 1/2 Eastern Washington. They turned around and whipped Alabama State a week later then went through a lull with a 56-0 loss at LSU followed by a 47-21 whipping at the hands of Division II power Colorado State-Pueblo before punishing Lamar.
 
"I remember watching the Eastern Washington game live and remember they have every bit as good as athletes as Eastern Washington did," said Viator. "When you looked at them size for size, speed for speed, I think they matched them in every area."
 
The Cowboys' speed is nothing to look past either.
 
Described by Nicholls' interim head coach Steve Axman as a defense that looks like they're "playing with their hair on fire," the Cowboys defense ranks No. 1 in the conference in total (280.8), rushing (95.5), and scoring defense (14.2) while offensively, McNeese is the top rated team in scoring (44.5) and rushing (277.5) and is second in total offense (475.0).
 
The Cowboys also lead the league in sacks against (4), third down conversions (45.0), pass efficiency defense (92.5), opponent first downs (14.5), opponent third down conversions (29.5), opponent fourth down conversions (28.6), and time of possession (33:45).
 
The quarterback combo of Daniel Sams and Tyler Bolfing continues to click on all cylinders.
 
Sams is second in the league in rushing with 84 yards per game and tops the league and is ranked second in the country with 8.4 yards per carry. Bolfing leads the league in passing efficiency with a 171.8 rating and his 66.7 completion percentage is ranked second in the league.
 
Joining Sams in the top 10 in rushing is Kelvin Bennett with a 67.2 average to rank sixth in the conference while Derrick Milton is rated No. 2 in scoring with an average of nine points scored per game.
 
On defense, McNeese has recorded 13 sacks in four games, led by defensive lineman Brian Hine who has two. The Cowboys totaled 23 sacks all of last season (13 games). Dominique Hill tops the team with 6.5 tackles for loss and Gabe Hamner is the leader with two interceptions.
 
The Bearkats average 29.8 points per game (5^th in SLC), 182.4 yards rushing (5^th), 237.6 passing (5^th), and 420.0 total yards per game (7^th). Defensively, SHSU is allowing 37.8 poings (9^th), 216.0 rushing (9^th), 264.2 passing (9^th), and 480.2 total (9^th).
 
GAMEDAY NOTES:
• McNeese is 12-0 against the Bearkats when the Cowboys are ranked and SHSU is unranked.
• This will be the first of three straight televised games for the Cowboys. Next week's homecoming game against Abilene Christian will air on ESPN3 while the following game at Incarnate Word will show live on Fox College Sports. The Nov. 15 game at Southeastern Louisiana will also air on the Southland TV Network.
• SHSU defensive coordinator Mike Collins has had two coaching stints at McNeese, the most recent from 2008-2012.
• Saturday is homecoming for the Bearkats.
• For the season, McNeese's defense has forced opponents into 24 3-and-outs or 4-down possessions.
• Defense is allowing just 6.0 points per game in the first half while offense is scoring 25.8 points in the first two quarters.
• The winner of this game has gone on to capture at least a share of the conference title in 5 of the last 8 years.