HOUSTON – The 14^th-ranked McNeese Cowboys will kick-off its 2018 Southland Conference season on Saturday when it makes a visit to HBU for the first time and looking to open up the league slate with a win for the first time since 2015.
 
Kick-off is set for 6:05 p.m. at Husky Stadium on the HBU campus. The game will broadcast live on Eleven Sports with Cox Sports TV simulcasting the contest.
 
The Cowboys (1-0) are coming off a 17-14 win at Big Sky member Northern Colorado in last week's opener while HBU opened up at home with a 49-7 victory over Southwest Baptist.
 
"I thought we played with a lot of energy on both sides," said head coach Lance Guidry about the season opening win. "Of course, defensively, I thought we played well. We did give up a couple of big plays but we battled for the most part. We had some guys make plays. (Linebacker) BJ Blunt was all over the place. He had a big night. Our safeties played well. Gabe Foster in his first time starting had a pick-six, and Jovon Burris, his first time being a McNeese Cowboy, he had an interception for a touchdown but they called it back.
 
"Offensively, we did a lot of good things. They were really loading the box and bringing a lot of pressure from the outside. We have to be able to get outside with our run plays. We'll do a better job of that this week. All-in-all, I thought it was a pretty clean game. We threw one interception and got sacked once.
 
"I thought our kickoff was great. Alex was booming them out of the end zone. We did get one blocked on a field goal, so we have to clean that up.
 
"It was a good first game. I think going on the road and beating somebody out of the Big Sky Conference, even though they weren't very good last year, they're a lot better this year. Their quarterback is a good football player and their wide receiver is really good.
 
"It was a good win for the Cowboys."
 
Saturday's game will mark just the second meeting between the Cowboys and Huskies as McNeese won the inaugural meeting 27-12 last year in Lake Charles.
 
HBU entered the new season with new offensive and defensive coordinators.
 
"Defensively, they do some 3-3 stack stuff so they'll move guys all around coming out of three down linemen and three backers," said Guidry about the HBU defense. "They'll get into a lot of different things out of that.
 
"Offensively, they're a little like Texas Tech with four wides and sometimes five. They'll go to a tight end set every now and then and run the football. They're probably going to try to spread us out and up-tempo us and try to get us tired a little bit then try to run the ball on us as they spread us out."
 
The Cowboys will face a quarterback in Bailey Zapp who is more mobile than the quarterback the Cowboys faced last week from Northern Colorado. Zapp threw for 214 yards on 21 of 31 passing with three touchdowns in the opener.
 
"We'll have to affect him," said Guidry. "He's a little more different, more mobile than what we saw last week. He's not as big but he does have a good arm.
 
"They had a really good week last week so they'll have some confidence going in. We're probably going to get their best game I'm sure."
 
The Cowboys will be without starting left defensive end Chris Livings and his backup, Marcus Foster for the game. Both were injured during the Northern Colorado game. Livings is expected to return for Nicholls next week while Foster's status is pending.
 
 
GAME INFORMATION
Television Coverage
• Saturday's game will broadcast live on Eleven Sports (Suddenlink 455; DirecTV 623) and simulcast on Cox Sports TV (Suddenlink 57 in Lake Charles and Iowa; 42 in Sulphur).
• Tom Franklin (play-by-play) and Ken Moore (analyst) will have the call.
 
Radio Coverage
• Tom Hoeffer (play-by-play), Johnny Suydam (analyst), and Ron Hayes (sideline) bring the action to you from the booth and sideline. Anchored by 92.9 The Lake, the McNeese Radio Network is also streaming on www.929thelake.com and www.McNeeseSports.com.
 
Cowboys and Huskies
• McNeese and HBU will meet on the gridiron for just the second time on Saturday at Husky Stadium. The Cowboys hold a 1-0 lead in the all-time series that began last season in Lake Charles with McNeese posting a 27-12 victory.
 
McNeese in Houston
• Saturday's game will be the first-ever visit to Husky Stadium for the Cowboys.
 
Cowboys in the Southland Conference Openers
• McNeese will kickoff its 47th season as a member of the Southland Conference on Saturday.
• The Cowboys hold SLC records for most league wins (186), championships (14), and playoff appearances (16).
• McNeese has lost its last two conference openers by a total of five points - 31-28 vs. SFA in 2016; 37-35 at Nicholls in 2017.
• Overall, the Cowboys have compiled a 27-19 record in SLC openers.
• 5-5 record in league openers the last 10 years
 
THE COWBOYS
Guidry vs. HBU
• McNeese head coach Lance Guidry is 1-0 against the Huskies, posting a 27-12 win in Lake Charles last season in the first-ever meeting between the two school.
 
McNeese Moves Up In FCS Top 25 Polls
• After last Saturday's 17-14 road win at Northern Colorado, McNeese moved up in both the STATS and AFCA Coaches Polls this week. The Cowboys jumped four spots to No. 14 in the coaches poll and moved up one spot to No. 16 in the STATS media rankings.
• It's the ninth straight week McNeese has been ranked in the polls, dating back to Sept. 30 of last season when it debuted at No. 25 after starting the season 3-1.
 
All D1 On Schedule For First Time Since 2010
• For the first time in eight seasons, McNeese will by playing all Division 1 opponents on its 11-game schedule.
• The Cowboys opened the year up at Big Sky Conference member Northern Colorado and will play at FBS member BYU on Sept. 22 as the two non-conference games.
• The last time McNeese played all Division 1 opponents was in 2010 when the Cowboys visited Missouri and LSU, and hosted Cal Poly.
 
McNeese Players Make Debuts at Northern Colorado
• A total of 17 players saw action for the first time in a McNeese uniform in last Saturday's game including four on the offensive line.
• Offensive line newcomers Cutter Leftwich (C) and Zack Jones (RT) started the game while transfers Tre Newton and Jamarus Bolding saw limited action.
• Also getting into the action for the first time was DB Jovon Burris who had an interception returned for a TD, but the TD was brought back due to a penalty following the interception; redshirt freshman WR Nate Briscoe caught one pass for 65 yards; redshirt freshman RB Mac Briscoe carried the ball 3 times for 9 yards; RS freshman DB Andre Sam made three tackles in the game; RS freshman DL Camron Peterson recorded two tackles; and true freshman DL C.J. Semien made a tackle.
• Others that saw action for the first time included RB J'uan Gross, DL Tyrique Gibson, DL Ronell Burbank, DB Enos Lewis, LB Joseph Marshall, DB Kordell Williams, and DB Trent Winbush.
 
Guidry vs. the Southland Conference
• Head coach Lance Guidry is now in his third season at the helm of the Cowboys and has posted a 16-7 record in 23 games.
• In 18 league games as head coach, Guidry has posted a 12-6 mark - 6-4 record on the road.
• He's 0-2 in conference openers - L 31-28 vs. SFA in 2016; L 37-35 at Nicholls in 2017.