BEAUMONT – There's so much to play for in the final regular-season game for the 2^nd-ranked McNeese Cowboys when it faces the Lamar Cardinals.
 
First, an outright Southland Conference championship. Second, an undefeated season – the fifth in school history. Number 3, a win over a rival school that's just 45 miles to the west. Fourth, a possible top 2 or 4 seed in the FCS Division I Playoffs. And last but not least, a win will give head coach Matt Viator his 78^th in his career, tying Bobby Keasler as the school's all-time leader.
 
Kickoff for the game is set for 6:05 at Lamar's Provost Umphrey Stadium. The game will broadcast on ESPN3 and also on the McNeese Radio Network.
 
"There's a whole lot to play for," said head coach Matt Viator. "In my opinion, this is just as an important a game as any. The players see that too."
 
The Cowboys (9-0, 8-0 SLC) are coming off a bye-week after beating Sam Houston State 27-10 to win the Southland Conference championship. Lamar (5-5, 4-4) is playing for a winning season and looking to beat the Cowboys for the second straight year. The Cardinals are coming off a 28-21 win at Incarnate Word last week.
 
Lamar has one of, if not the best running back in the nation in Kade Harrington who has rushed for 2,022 yards this season.
 
"It's going to be a huge challenge to stop him," said Viator of Harrington. "It's impressive when you look at him on film. He has great vision. He's not a huge guy but he runs extremely powerful."
 
Harrington will also see it as a challenge himself as he'll be facing one of the top defenses in the nation in the Cowboys' DWA (Defense With Attitude). The Cowboys are ranked No. 2 in the FCS in rushing defense (80.3 ypg), No. 2 in scoring (10.8), and No. 11 in total (292.4).
 
While Harrington has rushed for 100 yards or more in eight straight games, including six of those with 200-plus yards, McNeese's defense has allowed just one player to rush for over 100 yards on the season, that coming in the last game by Sam Houston State's Cory Avery who had 106 yards.
 
Offensively for the Cowboys, quarterback Daniel Sams is coming off a stellar performance against SHSU where he rushed for 164 yards and threw for another 168. He was named the STATS National Offensive Player of the Week for his work in that game. Sams was recently named a finalist to the STATS Offensive Player of the Year Award list.
 
McNeese is ranked third in the league in scoring offense (31.4 ppg) and is third in rushing at 223.7 yards per game.
 
Individually, Sams is fourth in the league in rushing with and 85.9 average while Ryan Ross is fifth with 82.9 ypg.
 
Saturday's game will be the 35^th meeting in the all-time series with McNeese holding a 23-10-1 lead, including a 4-1 advantage since Lamar reinstated the sport in 2010.