McNeese (3-4, 2-2 SLC) at Southeastern (6-1, 4-0 SLC)
Saturday, October 30
Time: 6 p.m.
Where: Strawberry Stadium on the SLU campus
Stream: ESPN3
Radio: 92.9 The Lake or 929thelake.com
Live Stats: Link
 
HAMMOND – McNeese will carry a two-game win streak into Strawberry Stadium on Saturday when the Cowboys aim to keep the streak alive when they face 8^th-ranked Southeastern in Southland Conference action.
 
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game will broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
McNeese (3-4, 2-2 SLC) is coming off an impressive 28-20 win over then-No. 16 Incarnate Word in a game that saw the defense hold UIW to its lowest point total of the season along with just 33 yards rushing.
 
Defensive end Isaiah Chambers was named the league and Louisiana player of the week after he sacked Cardinals quarterback Cameron Ward a career-high four times.
 
Offensively, the Cowboys rushed for 172 yards and three touchdowns, the most yards this season and tied for the most rushing TDs on the year.
 
Over the last two games, both wins, McNeese is averaging 4.6 yards per every first down and on third-and-short (1-5 yards), the Cowboys are an astonishing 13 for 18 (72%).
 
SLU (6-1, 4-0 SLC) beat Northwestern State 51-14 last week and haven't lost since a season-open defeat at the hands of Louisiana Tech.
 
The Lions held off the Cowboys 38-35 back on October 2 in Lake Charles.
 
The last three meetings have been decided by five points or less, including this past spring's 25-20 loss in Hammond when the Cowboys were on the verge of the victory but fumbled the ball away inside the 5-yard line.
 
SERIES VS. SOUTHEASTERN
• Saturday's game will be the 48th meeting in the all-time series with McNeese holding down a 25-22 lead and is 14-12 against the Lions as Southland Conference members.
• Southeastern has won the last two games, including 38-35 back on Oct. 2 in Lake Charles.
• The Lions hold a 16-7 advantage in games played in Hammond and have won five straigth in their home stadium.
• McNeese's last win at SLU came on Oct. 23, 2010 by way of a 13-10 victory when kicker Josh Lewis connected on a 52-yard field goal as time expired to give the Cowboys the win.
 
COWBOYS NAMED FCS TEAM OF THE WEEK BY STATS PERFORM
• Following its impressive 28-20 win over 16th-ranked Incarnate Word, McNeese was named this week's FCS Team of the Week by Stats Perform.
• The win was the 200th for the Cowboys in Southland Conference play, the most of any team past or present.
• McNeese sacked 2020-21 Jerry Rice Award winner Cameron Ward 10 times and forced him into four turnovers, three of those interceptions that led to Cowboy touchdowns.
• The 20 points scored by UIW was the least amount by the Cardinals this season.
 
ISAIAH CHAMBERS = SACK MASTER
• All-American defensive end Isaiah Chambers had a slow start to the season in terms of quarterback sacks, but that has changed over the last 4 games and the graduate student is now atop the Southland Conference rankings with 6.5 sacks on the year.
• Chambers is coming off a 4-sack game against UIW, the most in his career and just one off the school record.
• Has recorded at least half a sack in four straight games.
• He's recorded 13 sacks in 14 games as a Cowboy and is 2.5 sacks away from breaking into the top 10 on the school's all-time sack list.
 
OFFENSE FINDING ITS GROOVE
• McNeese has scored at least 28 points in three straight games after falling 31-0 at UIW back on Sept. 25.
• The 98 points scored over the three-game stretch is the most since scoring 105 over three games from Oct. 19-Nov. 2 in 2019, all Cowboy wins.
• McNeese has scored first in 5 of the 7 games played this season.
• The 98 points scored over the last three games have been scored in 9 of the 12 quarters played.
• The Cowboys are outscoring their opponents 91-51 over the last 10 quarters.
 
PRODUCING IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS
• During the two-game winning streak, the Cowboys have produced greatly on first downs and in 3rd-and-short situations.
• On first downs, McNeese averaged 4.5 yards per play the last two games - 4.5 vs. Northwestern State and 4.4 vs. UIW.
• Impressively, the Cowboys are 13 for 18 in 3rd-and-short situations (3-1 to 3-5) for 72%.
• At NSU, the Cowboys were 6 for 9 (67%) on 3rd-and-short situations and 7 for 9 (78%) against UIW.
 
SPREADING THE BALL AROUND
• Quarterback Cody Orgeron has spread the wealth to his receiving corps this season, hitting 13 different players with passes.
• Four players have 10 or more receptions on the season - Josh Matthews 25, Mason Pierce 18, Walker Wood 14, Deonta McMahon 14.
• In all but one game this season, he's connected with 7 different receivers and in two games, hit 10 or more different players with passes (West Florida and UIW with 10 each).
• Of his 10 completion against UIW on Saturday, nine different receivers were in on the action.
 
COWBOYS AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
• Saturday's game will mark the third game of the season for the Cowboys against an FCS ranked opponent and the second vs. a ranked Southeastern squad.
• Saturday will mark the 12th straight game where at least one of the teams is ranked in the Top 25 (SLU has won 7 of the 11).
• The Cowboys are 1-2 when only SLU is ranked; 2-3 when McNeese is ranked; and 1-2 when both teams are ranked.
• Overall, 14 times the teams have met with at least one team ranked with SLU holding an 8-6 edge in those outcomes.