NATCHITOCHES – One of the longest-running rivalries in Southland Conference football history will resume following a two-year hiatus when McNeese visits Northwestern State at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at NSU's Turpin Stadium. The game will air live on ESPN+ (Patrick Netherton and Gary Reasons) and also on the McNeese Radio Network (92.9 The Lake and 929thelake.com with Tom Hoefer and Bruce Merchant).
 
McNeese (5-5, 2-3 SLC) defeated East Texas A&M by a 31-3 score in its last game back on November 2 while the Demons (0-10, 0-5) dropped a 41-0 decision at Southeastern last Saturday.
 
McNEESE-NSU MEET UP AFTER 2-YEAR HIATUS
• McNeese and Northwestern State will meet up for the first time since the 2021 season when the Cowboys visit the Demons on Saturday afternoon.
• The two teams last played in the 2021 season when they faced-off twice - Oct. 16 at NSU (35-17 McNeese win) and a month later on Nov. 20 (24-20 NSU win) at McNeese.
• The game in 2022 was canceled due to the Southland Conference readjusting the slate with the addition of Lamar to the league, and last season, the game, which was McNeese's homecoming, was canceled after NSU halted its season following at team tragedy.
• At 5-5, the Cowboys have the most wins in Gary Goff's three years at the helm, and most since the 2019 season (7-5)
• McNeese QB Kamden Sixkiller will get his fifth start of the season and fourth straight... it'll also be his seventh career start.
• The redshirt freshman picked up his first win as a starting in the team's last outing, 31-3 over East Texas A&M on Nov. 2.
• The 31 points scored against ETAM were the most by the Cowboys in conference play since scoring 35 at Nicholls on Oct. 22, 2022.
• Recorded 400 yards of offense in two straight games (401 at Nicholls and 401 vs. ETAM).
 
GAMEDAY BULLETS
• P Finn Lappin has four punts that have soared 60 yards or longer and 19 punts of 50 or more yards... last season the Cowboys had 5 punts of 50 yards or more.
• RB Joshon Barbie has rushed for 100 yards or more in two straight games and is coming off a 124-yard outing against East Texas A&M.
• Barbie has rushed for all 7 of his TDs on the season in the last 6 games.
• K Tyler Larco has made at least one FG in four straight games and is 7-7 during that span.
• Larco kicked a career-long 47-yard FG at Nicholls on Oct. 26... it's the 3rd-longest made FG in the Southland Conference this season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• McNeese and Northwestern State will be meeting for the 73rd time on Saturday with the Cowboys holding down a 49-22-1 lead in the series.
• The two teams played every year from 1951-2021
• The Demons won the last time the two met by a score of 24-20 in the 2021 season finale in Lake Charles.
• McNeese has won 17 of the last 20 meetings and has beaten the Demons in 8 of the last 10 games played in Turpin Stadium.
• NSU's win in Lake Charles in 2021 was the first for the Demons in Cowboy Stadium since 1988, snapping a 15-game winning streak for McNeese.
 
REVVED UP RUNNING GAME                                       
• McNeese rushed for a season-high 367 yards against East Texas A&M two weeks ago in its last outing.
• That amount lifted the Cowboys to No. 1 in the league in rushing offense with a 185.6 average.
• It's the fourth time this season the Cowboys have rushed for 200 yards or more in a game and the fourth-most in school history.
• McNeese had two, 100-yard rushers in the game - Joshon Barbie (124) and Bryce Strong (career-high 121).
• Barbie has rushed for 100 yards or more in two straight games and is ranked 6th in the league with 598 rushing yards on the season.
• His 7 rushing TDs are tied as the 3rd-most in the league.
 
LB MICAH DAVEY CLIMBING TACKLES LIST
• After missing four games due to injured ribs suffered against Texas A&M, All-American linebacker Micah Davey has returned to form, averaging 11 tackles per game in his three games back.
• Coming off a 15-tackle contest against East Texas A&M, lifting his season total to a team-high 71 in six games played (11.8 per game average).
• He's made 291 tackles in his career, ranking 15th in the school's career record book, and needing just 9 more to become only the 14th player in school history to reach that milestone.