CONWAY, Arkansas – McNeese will look to make it two straight wins against its second consecutive ranked opponent when it visits 16^th-ranked Central Arkansas at 4 on Saturday for the 11^th Annual Red Beans & Rice Bowl.
 
The game will broadcast live on ESPN-Plus and also on McNeese's flagship station, 92.9 The Lake and 929thelake.com.
 
McNeese (3-3, 1-2 SLC) is coming off its biggest offensive output of the season in last Saturday's 38-34 win over then-No. 17/19 Southeastern Louisiana. The Cowboys rolled up a season-high 473 offensive yards – 225 rushing and 248 passing, and a season-best 23 first downs.
 
UCA (3-2, 1-1) dropped a 34-14 decision at Nicholls in its last outing.
 
Quarterback Cody Orgeron completed 12 of 29 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns as his 20.7 yards per completion rate was the highest for a Cowboy QB since the 2013 season when Cody Stroud averaged 21.3 yards per completion in a win over Central Arkansas.
 
The junior from Mandeville threw touchdown passes of 20, 58 and 33 yards with the latter being a game-winning connection to Trevor Begue with 2:21 left to play. It was Orgeron's first-career three touchdown passing game.
 
In his last two games, Orgeron has throw for 528 yards and five touchdowns. For the season, he's ranked ninth in the league with a 201.0 passing average and is second with 11 touchdown passes.
 
Also on the offensive side of the ball, junior receiver Cyron Sutton leads the team with 28 catches for 468 yards and four touchdowns.
 
He tied a school record with 10 grabs against Sam Houston State two weeks ago, has caught a pass in 15 straight games, and a touchdown reception in four consecutive contests.
 
Right behind him is Trevor Begue who has 26 receptions for 353 yards and four scores.
 
In the backfield, transfer Elijah Mack has rushed himself as the team's top running back with 381 yards and a 63.5 yards per game average, ranking him tied for sixth in the league. The South Florida transfer ran for a career-high 142 yards on 28 carries in last week's win and has rushed for 100 yards or more in two of the last three games.
 
Defensive, the Cowboys continue to possess one of the league's top units, ranking second in rushing defense (114.0) and fourth in both scoring defense (29.5) and total defense (420.5).
 
Things are different in league games only, however. In that aspect, McNeese is No. 1 in the league in rushing defense by allowing just 86.7 yards per game on the ground and has held its last three opponents under the century mark.
 
Senior end Chris Livings moved into sole possession of No. 2 on the school's all-time sacks list with his third of the season against Southeastern Louisiana. That bumped his career total to 23.5 as he takes a step closer to Bryan Smith's record of 31.
 
Safety Jovon Burriss leads the team and is ranked fourth in the conference with 54 total tackles and a 9.0 per game average. Burriss is coming off a career-high 14 tackles game against SLU and has recorded 10 or more tackles three times this season.
 
In the special team's department, Bailey Raborn was called upon to handle all three kicking duties against SLU as he accounted for eight points (1-1 in field goals and 5-5 in extra points) as well as averaging 46.3 yards per punt on six kicks. He also kicked off seven times, putting two in the end zone for touchbacks.
 
The Bears rank ninth in the conference in scoring offense (24.0), 11^th in rushing offense (76.6), fifth in passing offense (285.0), and 10^th in total offense (361.6).
 
Defensively, UCA is third in scoring (28.6), fifth in rushing (142.6), sixth in passing (292.6), and sixth in total defense (435.2).
 
Quarterback Breylin Smith is fourth in the league with a 268.2 passing average while running back Carlos Blackman is 10^th in rushing with a 57.2 mark.
 
The Red Beans & Rice Bowl was established in 2008, UCA's second season in the Southland Conference. The Bears have won the cast-iron pot trophy in six of the 10 meetings since its inception but the overall series it tied 6-6.
 
McNeese won last year's contest by a 23-21 score in Lake Charles in what was Orgeron's first career start behind center.
 
The Cowboys, who in 2013 snapped UCA's 13-game unbeaten streak on its famed purple and gray striped field, lost the last meeting in Conway by a 47-17 score in 2017.
 
McNEESE TEAM NOTABLES
• Saturday's game against the Bears will be the second straight game for McNeese against a ranked team.
• The Cowboys are 3-10 against ranked opponents since the 2004 season when McNeese is not ranked.
• The Cowboys have won the turnover battle in 5 of the 6 games this season and are 3-0 when not committing a turnover.
• 3-1 on the year when leading at halftime and has won 46 of 52 games when leading at half dating back to the 2012 season.
• Defense has held its last three opponents to under 100 yards rushing.
• Cowboys are 3-0 on the year when not throwing an interception.
• Have forced 15 turnovers through six games, the most since forcing 15 turnovers through 6 games in 2015.
• McNeese has forced a turnover in 19 of the last 20 games.
• The win over No. 17/19 Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday was the first time as an unranked team to beat a ranked team since defeating No. 2 Appalachian State 40-35 in 2009.
 
McNEESE PLAYER NOTABLES
• QB Cody Orgeron has thrown for 528 yards and 5 TDs in the last two games.
• Orgeron was named the league's offensive player of the week by College Sports Madness for his performance last Saturday.
• Safety Cory McCoy had a hand in two first quarter turnovers against SLU, literally. The first, he batted a pass in the air that was picked off by teammate Justin Jackson that led to a TD. Then on the next possession he forced a fumble that led to a field goal and a 10-0 lead. His efforts garnered him STATS honorable mention honors for national defensive player of the week.
• RB Elijah Mack rushed for a career-high 142 yards on Saturday giving his is second 100-yard game of the season and the first McNeese RB with multiple 100-yard games through six contests since the 2017 season (Justin Pratt).
• WR Cyron Sutton has caught a TD pass in four consecutive games and has made at least 1 catch in 15 straight games.
• FS Jovon Burriss set a new career-high with 14 tackles against SLU, breaking his old high of 12. The senior has recorded 10 or more tackles in a game three times this season.
• LG Grant Burguillos will be making his 34th consecutive start on Saturday.
• PK/P Bailey Rabon was named this week's Louisiana Special Teams Player of the Week after accounting for eight total points (1-1 FG, 5-5 PAT) and averaging 46.3 yards per punt on six kicks. He also kicks off for the Cowboys.
 
VS. CENTRAL ARKANSAS
• Saturday will be the 13th meeting in the all-time series with it evened up a 6-6.
• This will be the 11th edition of the Red Beans & Rice Bowl with UCA holding a 6-4 advantage since it was established in 2008.
• McNeese was the first team to defeat the Bears on their famous "striped" field back in 2013, snapping a UCA winning streak of 13 straight games against its opponents.
• In that 2013 game, a 59-28 victory, McNeese set a new school record with 35 second quarter points.
• The Cowboys are 2-4 at UCA and fell 47-17 in their last game there in 2017.
• The series began in 1994 when McNeese hosted then the Division II Bears and won 21-7.
 
McNeese All-Time vs. UCA     
Series tied 6-6
4-2 at home;2-4 on the road         
2018 at McNeese 23, UCA 21
2017 at UCA 47, McNeese 17
2016 UCA 35, at McNeese 0
2015 McNeese 28, at UCA 13
2014 Did Not Play
2013 McNeese 59, at UCA 28
2012 UCA 27, at McNeese 26
2011 at UCA 21, McNeese 18
2010 at UCA 28, McNeese 24
2009 at McNeese 21, UCA 7
2008 at UCA 47, McNeese 30
2007 at McNeese 41, UCA 14
1994 at McNeese 21, UCA 7