LAKE CHARLES – One day following McNeese's 43-6 season and Southland Conference opening win over Incarnate Word, head coach Matt Viator and his staff had a chance to view the game film and even though there were the expected first game mistakes, he's pleased with what he saw.
 
"I thought we were a little inconsistent on offense to start," he said, "but it was just a couple of little things here and there. Whether it was a snap or one missed assignment, but I liked the way we blocked and did some good things there."
 
The Cowboys rushed for 225 yards in the game as 10 offensive linemen saw action.
 
"Defensively, one of the things I was really excited about was our pass rush," said Viator. "We had guys like Jammerio Gross and Cam Smith. We did blitz but we put some pressure on the passer without blitzing, and that was really encouraging."
 
The defense finished with five sacks in the game to go along with another 10 tackles for a loss, recovered three fumbles and recorded a sack. Gross ended the game with a team-high two sacks and Bo Brown was credited with a sack and a safety after forcing UIW quarterback Trent Brittain into an intentional grounding when in the endzone late in the second quarter.
 
"It was a really, really good evaluation of where we are," said Viator.
 
McNeese rolled up 247 yards in the second half alone while holding Incarnate Word to 76 yards of offense in the last two quarters.
 
The Cowboys will hit the road next weekend when they visit Stephen F. Austin at 6 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN3.