McNEESE NOTES        LAMAR NOTES

LAKE CHARLES – McNeese will bid farewell to 18 seniors prior to Saturday afternoon's Southland Conference and regular season finale when the Cowboys host Lamar.
 
Kick-off is set for 3 p.m. at Cowboy Stadium. The game will air live on ESPN3 and on the ESPN mobile apps.
 
McNeese (6-4, 5-3 SLC) still has a chance to slide into the FCS playoffs but will need to beat a Lamar team (6-4, 5-3) that's the hottest in the league with five straight wins heading into the game.
 
"We're going to go out and have fun," said head coach Lance Guidry. "We're going to try to win the game and have fun doing it. I think we have a really good game plan for Lamar."
 
The Cardinals will enter the game ranked No. 1 in the league in rushing offense. Lamar will use two, dual-threat quarterbacks in the process.
 
"Both of them are really good and athletic players," said Guidry.
 
McNeese will be without the services of Buck Buchanan Award candidate, linebacker B.J. Blunt as well as starting free safety Jovon Burriss. Burriss suffered a concussion on the opening kick at Northwestern State last week while Blunt sprained his knee on the final kick of regulation.
 
Cowboys' quarterback James Tabary will get the start in what could be his final game at McNeese.
 
"It's been a great three years," said Tabary who transferred to McNeese from Arkansas State following his freshman campaign. "I wouldn't change it for anything in the world."
 
GAMEDAY NOTES
McNeese in "The Hole"
• Cowboy Stadium, aka "The Hole" has been McNeese's home since 1965, and since that time, the Cowboys have recorded 209 wins in 304 games in their home venue.
• McNeese will be going for its second consecutive and 17th overall undefeated home season on Saturday. The Cowboys have produced 16 regular season undefeated home slates in Cowboy Stadium history.
• The Cowboys have posted a 100-39-3 all-time record in Southland Conference home games, including a 52-13 home mark since the year 2000.
• McNeese has won 11 straight home league games dating to the 2016 season and is 26-7 since 2010.
 
McNeese vs. Lamar - The Battle of the Border
• Saturday's game will mark the 37th meeting between the Cowboys and Cardinals, which are separated by just 53 miles.
• McNeese holds a 26-9-1 lead in the all-time series that started in 1940. Since Lamar returned the program in 2010, the Cowboys are 7-1 and have won three straight.
• McNeese won last year by a 13-3 score in Beaumont.
 
McNeese to Honor 18 Seniors
• Saturday's game is Senior Day for the Cowboys, as they'll recognize 18 seniors in a pregame ceremony.
• Those being honored will be: WR Josh Batiste, LB BJ Blunt, OL Jimmy Converse, WR Rodnell Cruell, DB Kamon Darby, RB David Hamm, WR Kylon Highshaw, LB Christian Jacobs, WR/KR Benjamin Jones, P/K Alex Kjellsten, DB Kyree McLean, LB Tre Porter, PK Gunnar Raborn, WR Tre Roberts, RB Ryan Ross, QB James Tabary, DL Harris Tafah, OL Kyle Zenon.
 
BJ Blunt Surpasses 100 Tackles on the Season
• Senior linebacker BJ Blunt became the first Cowboy defender to record triple digits in tackles since Terence Cahee (101 tackles) in the 2012 season.
• Blunt recorded nine stops at NSU in his last outing before leaving the game with a knee injury on the final kickoff of the contest, giving him 102 on the year.
• He's the team leader with 11 sacks and 20 tackles for a loss, ranking him Nos. 4 and 3 in the FCS respectively.
• He's a candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award.
• Blunt has recorded 10 or more tackles four times this season including 20 against Abilene Christian making him the first McNeese player to record 20 tackles in a game since the 1997 season (current LB coach Charlie Ayro). He had 17 at SLU two weeks ago.
 
Tabary Surpasses 7,000 Career Passing Yards; Moves up in Completions
• Senior QB James Tabary entered Saturday's game at NSU in the second series of the second quarter and with the game scoreless. In his 2 1/2 quarters of play, the senior completed 15 of 27 passes for 203 yards and threw three touchdowns with no interceptions.
• His yardage moved him into the 7,000-career passing yards group at 7,044 and making him one of just four in school history to do so.
• He also moved into No. 3 on the all-time pass completions list, now with 579, moving him ahead of current QB coach Kerry Joseph.