McNeese (3-7, 1-4 SLC) vs. Lamar (1-9, 1-4 SLC)
Saturday, November 19, 2022 • 7 p.m.
Cowboy Stadium (20,000) • Houston, Texas
 
TV: ESPN3 LINK
Radio: 92.9 The Lake
Audio Stream: 929thelake.com
Live Stats: LINK
 
LAKE CHARLES  – McNeese will bid farewell to 15 seniors prior to its season finale against Lamar on Saturday night as the Cowboys will look to close out the 2022 slate with their third straight win.
 
Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Cowboy Stadium.
 
The Cowboys (3-7, 1-4 SLC) are coming off a 21-10 win at HCU last Saturday while Lamar (1-9, 1-4 SLC) dropped a 51-14 non- conference game at New Mexico State.
 
COACHES
• McNeese: Gary Goff (1^st season at McNeese, 3-7; 11^th season overall, 63-60)
• Lamar: Blane Morgan (3rd season at Lamar and overall, 5-22)
 
COWBOYS AND CARDINALS
• McNeese and Lamar will meet up for the 40th time in the history of the series after taking a one-year hiatus in 2021 while Lamar competed in the WAC.
• The Cowboys lead the series 27-11-1 and are 13-8 at home.
• Lamar has defeated McNeese the last two matchups in Cowboy Stadium - 27-26 in overtime in the spring of 2021, and 21-17 in 2018 when the Cardinals.
• Since Lamar re-started the program in 2010, McNeese has posted an 8-3 record in the 11 previous meetings.
• All three of Lamar's wins over the Cowboys in that span have occurred in Cowboy Stadium (spring 2021, 2018, 2014).
 
McNEESE TO HONOR SENIORS
• 15 seniors will be recognized in a pregame ceremony on Saturday night against Lamar.
• Those seniors are: OL Calvin Barkat, DB Tyler Barnes, OL Caron Coleman, DL Accord Green, DE Mason Kinsey, DB Enos Lewis, DL Masry Mapieu, WR Josh Matthews, RB Marcus McElroy, RB Deonta McMahon, DL C.J. Semien, DB Malik Welch, LB Kordell Williams, LB Amaud Willis-Dalton, and QB/WR Walker Wood.
• Of the 15, four have been with the Cowboys since their signing out of HS - Barkat, Lewis, Semien and Williams.
 
McELROY NAMED SLC, LSWA OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• McNeese senior running back Marcus McElroy, Jr. has been named this week's Southland Conference and Louisiana Offensive Player of the Week, it was announced on Monday.
• McElroy came off the bench in Saturday's 21-10 win at HCU and rolled up a career-high 136 yards on the ground while scoring two touchdowns.
• The Denver native, who is playing his only season with the Cowboys, averaged 11.3 yards per carry in the game and had five of his 12 carries go for 10 or more yards with four of those going for 20 or more with his longest run coming on his first carry of the game which went for 30 yards.
• His 100-yard rushing game was the eighth for the Cowboys on the season (Deonta McMahon with six, McElroy and D'Angelo Durham with one each).
• McElroy is the first Cowboy to receive a weekly conference award while being the third honored by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, joining McMahon and kicker Garrison Smith.
 
McMAHON TO WIN SLC RUSHING TITLE      
• Senior RB Deonta McMahon will become the first Cowboy to win the Southland Conference rushing title since the 2008 season when Toddrick Pendland led the league in rushing.
• Heading into Saturday's finale, McMahon has rushed for 1,169 yards for a 116.9 yards per game average, both league highs.
• He also tops the SLC in all-purpose yards with 1,642 yards and a 164.2 ypg average.
• He's coming off a 197-yard rushing game at HCU to mark his 6th 100-yard game of the season and 9th in his career.
• He ran for a career-high 211 yards in a win over Eastern Illinois two weeks ago that ranks as the 11th-best rushing game  in school history.
• His six 100-yard games this season ranks as the 2nd most in school history in a single season while his 9 career 100-yard games ranks as the 6th-most in a career in school history.
• He'll enter Saturday's game with 1,916 career rushing yards, ranking 17th all-time in school history, and looking to become just the 16th player ever in McNeese history to collect 2,000 rushing yards.
• He's also the first Cowboy player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2015 (Marcus Wiltz 1,287).
• 10 rushing TDs this season is the 7th-most in a single season while his 19 career rushing scores rank as the 13th-most in school history.
 
McMahon 100-Yard Career Rushing Games:
197 (27 carries) at HCU (Nov. 12, 2022)
211 (26 carries) vs. Eastern Illinois (Nov. 5, 2022)
121 (25 carries) at Nicholls (Oct. 22, 2022)
138 (12 carries) vs. Mississippi College (Sept. 24, 2022)
102 (10 carries) vs. Alcorn State (Sept. 17, 2022)
101 (5 carries) at Rice (Sept. 10, 2022)
111 (17 carries) vs. Northwestern State (Nov. 20, 2021)
124 (23 carries) at HBU (Nov. 13, 2021)
111 (11 carries) vs. Nicholls (Apr. 3, 2021)
 
NOTES ON THE COWBOYS
• In all four conference losses, McNeese trailed by one score or led in the fourth quarter (led 27-21 with 13:44 vs. SLU; led 35-34 with 11:15 left at Nicholls; 28-20 at UIW with less than 10 minutes to play; 20-15 vs. TAMUC with 12 minutes remaining).
• After playing its first five games without an interception, McNeese has picked off 9 passes in the last 5 games.
• The 3 picks vs. SLU was the first 3-interception game for the Cowboys since picking off 3 at HCU last fall.
• McNeese has scored in 17 of its last 19 chances in the red-zone over the last five games (14 TDs, 3 FG).
• Averaging 28 points and 408 yards of offense over the last four games after averaging just 19 points and 309 yards of offense through the first six games of the season.
 
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
• Making a return to the Southland Conference after spending the 2021 season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference.
• Coached by Blane Morgan who is in his third season and has compiled a 5-22 record.
• Former Cowboy linebacker and SLC performer Wayne Cordova is the safeties coach for the Cardinals.
• Freshman OL Reginald Burks is a Lake Charles native and prepped at Lake Charles College Prep and was a teammate of current Cowboys Dillon Simon, Joe Ward and Jaylon Easton.
 
TEAM AND PLAYER NOTES            
• McNeese rushed for 346 yards against HCU last Saturday, marking the second 300-yard rushing game of the season (350 vs. Mississippi College).
• The Cowboys lead the league and are ranked 25th in the FCS in rushing with 193.7 yards per game.
• RB Deonta McMahon is ranked 10th in the FCS in rushing yards per game, 8th in total rushing yards, 11th in yards per carry (6.8), and 24th in rushing TDs (10)... also 5th in NCAA in all-purpose yards per game (164.2)
• McMahon is ranked 18th in the NCAA with 12 total touchdowns scored... he also threw one TD pass.
• McMahon has scored 8 touchdowns in the last three games and has at least one rushing TD in 6 of the last 7 consecutive games.
• RB Marcus McElroy, Jr. rushed for a career-high 136 yards and 2 TDs at HCU last weekend.
• WR Mason Pierce leads the team with 40 catches, a career high in a season for the RS sophomore, and has 997 career receiving yards, 3 short of becoming just the 27th player in school history to reach the 1,000-yard milestone.
• OL Calvin Barkat has started 26 straight games.
• OL Cole LeClair has started in 24 straight games (9 at McNeese and 14 at Valdosta State last season).
• LB Kordell Williams now has 108 tackles on the season and 328 in his career, moving him into 8th on the career all-time tackles list.
• K Garrison Smith made 3 field goals against Eastern Illinois... it was the first 3 FG game for a Cowboy since Jacob Abel made 3 at Southern last season.
• Smith's 47-yard FG at UIW was the 8th longest in school history (54 is the record by Eric Roberts vs. Northern Iowa in 1991).