Box Score SAN ANTONIO – McNeese got out to a slow start but caught some steam after the first 15 minutes, but 11^th-ranked UIW's playmakers came up big when needed as the Cardinals handed the Cowboys a 48-20 loss in Southland Conference action on Saturday night.
 
McNeese (1-4, 0-1 SLC) trailed 14-0 after the first quarter while totaling only one first down and 24 total yards. After getting on the board by way of a 39-yard Garrison Smith field goal with 10:04 to play in the second, McNeese took advantage of a muffed punt that turned into a 3-yard Deonta McMahon touchdown run to pull McNeese to within 14-10 with 2:12 to play in the half.
 
UIW came up with one of those big plays when facing a 4^th-and-11 at the McNeese 42, quarterback Lindsey Scott connected with Taylor Grimes for a 31-yard gain with seven seconds to play. On the next play, Scott found Grimes from 11-yards out to give the Cardinals a quick score and a 21-10 lead going into the half.
 
Smith connected on a career-long 47-yard field goal with 10:58 to play in the third to pull the Cowboys to within a score at 21-13 then recovered a fumble forced by Mason Kinsey to give McNeese the ball back at its own 29-yard line with 8:12 to go in the quarter. An illegal participation negated a first down run by McMahon and the Cowboys lost a yard on a 3^rd-and-1 to force a punt.
 
UIW took advantage of the missed opportunity by McNeese and scored on a 33-yard pass by Scott to Grimes to put the Cardinals up 28-13 at the 3:40 mark.
 
The Cowboys responded with nice 12-play, 56-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Josh Parker to close the gap to 28-20 early in the fourth quarter but the Cardinals scored 20 unanswered points to put the game away.
 
McNeese finished with 310 total offensive yards (144 passing and 166 rushing) while UIW put up 550 yards (347 passing, 203 rushing).
 
Knox Kadum completed 13 of 26 passes for 144 yards for the Cowboys while McMahon rushed for 88 yards on 17 carries and a TD. He had a 17-yard run called back due to a holding penalty that would have put him over 100 yards for the fourth straight game.
 
Mason Pierce caught five passes for 60 yards while Kordell Williams, Accord Green and Kinsey each collected seven tackles.
 
Scott completed 25 of 35 passes for 347 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 49 yards and three touchdowns. Grimes was his favorite target catching eight passes for 115 yards and three scores. Marcus Cooper rushed for 13t5 yards on 25 carries.
 
McNeese is open next Saturday and will return to action on October 15 when it hosts Texas A&M-Commerce.