HUNTSVILLE – For 35 weeks in its FCS history, McNeese held the No. 1 ranked spot in the nation. On Saturday, the Cowboys will battle the top-ranked squad when they visit Sam Houston State in what will be a battle between two of the nation's top passing quarterbacks.
 
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Sam Houston's Bowers Stadium. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3 and will also be carried on the McNeese Radio Network (92.9 FM The Lake and 929thelake.com).
 
McNeese junior quarterback James Tabary is ranked seventh in the FCS with 2,444 passing yards, second in the Southland Conference right behind SHSU's Jeremiah Briscoe who has thrown for 2,824 yards and is third in the nation.
 
The Bearkats (8-0, 6-0 SLC) rely heavily on their star junior quarterback for their nation-leading 54.1 points scored per game and 592 yards of offense. Briscoe, who is connecting on 69 percent of his passes and has thrown 34 touchdowns to just five interceptions, is averaging 353 yards per game passing on the season.
 
"We're going to have to move him off of his spot," said McNeese coach Lance Guidry about Briscoe. "We have to get him moving sideways to where we take away half the field because when we move him sideways, we're giving him just half the field to work with."
 
SHSU has pretty much disposed of all of its opponents this season by halftime, outscoring teams 122-24 in the first quarter and 227-51 in the first half.
 
McNeese (5-4, 4-3) should be the toughest matchup for the Bearkats this season.
 
"They've got a good defense, probably the best one we'll see all season," said SHSU head coach K.C. Keeler.
 
The Cowboys will enter the game ranked second in the league in points allowed per game (24.3) and in total defense (359.4 ypg). McNeese has allowed just 300 yards passing in a game three times this season and is coming off a 154 allowance against Abilene Christian in a 33-14 win.
 
Tabary and his McNeese targets are just as lethal as the Bearkats' offensive power.
 
The sophomore slinger has tied a school record with six games for throwing 250 yards or more and has topped 300 yards three times. His 2,444 passing yards is ranked as the fifth-most in a season in school history. The record of 3,068 was set by Blake Prejean in 1997 in a 15-game season. Through nine games in that national championship appearance, Prejean had 1,788 yards.
 
Tabary has connected with 19 different targets on the year with five of those hauling in 20 or more passes. Darious Crawley and Kent Shelby top the team with 31 receptions each and have combined for eight of the Cowboys' 17 touchdown catches.
 
Defensively, the Cowboys' front four are coming off their best game of the season with six sacks and nine tackles for a loss.
 
"We're going to have to get pressure from our front four," said Guidry. "Everybody's tried to do different things against him (Briscoe). He recognizes blitzes and knows where to go with the football. We're going to have a good game plan to try to affect him and affect the wide receivers."
 
Jammerio Gross, the reigning Louisiana Defensive Player of the Week, led the way with 2.5 sacks and four tackles for a loss while Chris Livings had two sacks. For the season, Gross (6.5) and Living (6.0) have accounted for 12.5 of the team's 17 total sacks.
 
In the defensive backfield, cornerback Jermaine Antoine has posted back-to-back games with an interception while buck safety Dominique Hill is able to bounce around to help out at any position needed.
 
GAME NOTES:
• Saturday's game will be the fourth time McNeese will play the nation's No. 1 team (1-3 record). The last was in 1999 when the Cowboys defeated Troy 24-7 in Lake Charles. In 1991 McNeese lost 22-16 at Nevada in the first round of the playoffs and in 1988, lost 37-0 at North Texas and 20-3 at Stephen F. Austin.
• This will be the 39^th all-time meeting with McNeese leading the series 26-11-1.
• Will be the 30^th meeting playing as Southland Conference foes, McNeese winning 22 of the previous 29.
• This matchup will feature a No. 1 team for the third time. McNeese was ranked No. 1 when the two played in 1995 (W, 20-0) and 2003 (W, 56-37).
• The Cowboys are 2-3 against the Bearkats when SHSU is the higher ranked team.
• QB James Tabary needs 13 completed passes and 34 attempts to become the school single-season record holder.
• RB Ryan Ross is 18 rushing yards short of becoming the 14^th player in school history to rush for 2,000 yards in a career.
• McNeese is 2-1 in road SLC games this year and has won 6 of 7 dating back to last year and 13 of 16 away from home dating back to the 2012 season.
• The Cowboys have lost two straight in Hunstville. The last win was in 2010 (33-28).