What: McNeese (0-0) at No. 21/21 Tarleton State (0-0)
Where: Stephenville, Texas • Memorial Stadium (24,000)
When: Saturday, August 24, 2024
Time: 2:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN2 (Lowell Galindo, pbp; Fozzy Whitaker, analyst)
Radio: KHLA 92.1 FM (Tom Hoefer, pbp)
Series: 4^th Meeting (McNeese leads 2-1)
Last Meeting: Tarleton State 52, McNeese 34 (Sept. 2, 2023 in Lake Charles)
 
STEPHENVILLE, Texas – A new look McNeese Cowboys gridiron gang will kickoff the 2024 season on Saturday against 21^st-ranked Tarleton State in front of a national televised audience at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
 
Saturday's contest is one of seven Division I college football games being played in what is called Week 0, and will be the first game to kickoff on American soil.
 
McNeese enters the contest with 59 new faces including 21 FBS transfers and another six from the FCS ranks, including highly-anticipated quarterback Clifton McDowell who led the Montana Grizzlies to the FCS Championship game last season.
 
On defense, All-American linebacker Micah Davey returns for his junior season after he led the nation with 153 tackles last season and set a school record with 15.3 tackles per game.
 
COWBOYS OPEN 81ST SEASON AT TARLETON ON NATIONAL TV
• McNeese will begin its 81st season of football at Tarleton State in front of a national TV audience on ESPN2.
• The Aug. 24 playing date is the earliest for the Cowboys with the previous earliest date being Aug. 30 played on three different times.
• This will be the second straight season McNeese and Tarleton will open the season against each other, and for the third time in the last four years.
• The Cowboys visited Tarleton to open up the 2021 spring season, winning 40-37 in double-overtime.
• Last season, Tarleton rallied from a 24-17 third quarter deficit by scoring 35 straight points to win 52-34.
• This will be the second straight year McNeese will play on national TV... last season, the Cowboys fell to Florida on ESPNU.
• McNeese will also play on SEC Network Sept. 7 at Texas A&M while the remaining games will air on ESPN+.
 
COWBOYS IN SEASON OPENERS
• McNeese is 49-29-2 in season openers and a 36-16 mark since moving up to the Division I ranks and the Southland Conference in 1972.
• Since 2000, the Cowboys are 14-10 in season openers - 14-4 vs. non-FBS opponents.
 
2024 McNEESE COWBOYS
• McNeese returns 39 lettermen and 14 full-time starters (7 offense, 7 defense), not including a slew of young players that saw starting action from late in the season.
• There are 59 newcomers on the roster including 21 that have transferred in from the FBS level and six other transfers coming in from the FCS ranks.
 
MICAH DAVEY NAMED TO BUCHANAN WATCH LIST  
• Micah Davey, the nation's leading tackler in 2023 and a finalist as the FCS top defensive player, has been named as one of 30 players to the preseason watch list for the 2024 Buck Buchanan Award by Stats Perform.
• The 2024 Buchanan Award will be presented after the season to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football. The award is named for legendary defensive lineman Junious "Buck" Buchanan, who starred at Grambling State as part of his Hall of Fame career.
• All 13 FCS conferences are represented on the watch list, which includes 10 past finalists. Davey is one of two players representing the Southland Conference (Nicholls DB Tyler Morton).
• Last season Davey led the FCS in three different statistical categories including total tackles (153), tackles per game (15.3) and solo tackles per game (8.3).
• His 15.3 tackles per game set a new McNeese single-season record while his 153 total tackles ranked as the sixth-most in a season in school history.
• Davey recorded 10 or more tackles in all 10 games including 20 tackles against HCU and 21 at Lamar in the final two games of the season as he became the first Cowboy to record 20 tackles or more in back-to-back games. His 21 stops at Lamar were the second-most in a game in school history.
• A 2022 Freshman All-American, Davey will enter the 2024 campaign with 221 career tackles, ranking him just outside the top 20 on the school's career record list.
 
DAVEY NAMED PRESEASON 1ST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN BY THREE OUTLETS
• Davey has been named a preseason first team All-American by Phil Steele, Stats Perform and FCS Football Central.
• The junior earned All-American honors by seven organizations last year, including first team honors by the AFCA and Walter Camp.
 
STABLE OF BACKS READY TO BREAK LOOSE
• McNeese has a stable of five running backs that could all play a big part in the offense this season.
• Leading the way is Joshon Barbie, who entered last season as the No. 5 back on the depth chart but was thrust into a starting role midway through the year following injuries up the chart.
• Barbie responded with 421 yards, three TDs, an 84.2 ypg average and 6.5 ypc mark, all in just five games of work.
• D'Angelo Durham returns for his season season after leading the team in rushing last year with 509 yards and 5 TDs.
• Coleby Hamm (168 yards in 5 game) is also returning after an injury-plagued season.
• Added to the mix this season is Tre'vonte Citizen, a transfer from the University of Miami where he spent the last two seasons but did not play due to injuries.
• Citizen showed some flashes of greatness during the Cowboys' two fall camp scrimmaged.
 
LINEBACKER ROOM BEEFED UP
• All-American linebacker Micah Davey was the story of the year last season for the Cowboys' defense as he led the nation in three different tackle categories, including most tackles in a season.
• This year, Davey is getting some help from the portal with the addition of ULM transfer Tristan Driggers and All-Ivy League graduate Marques White.
 
TRIO NAMED PRESEASON ALL-SLC
• McNeese junior All-American linebacker Micah Davey, returning all-conference starting offensive lineman and senior Cole Leclair, and junior defensive back Levi Wyatt have been named to the 2024 Preseason All-Southland Conference team.
• Davey and Leclair earned first team honors while Wyatt was tabbed for the second team.
• In 2023, Davey earned first-team all-conference honors and was named All-American by six different organizations, including first team honors by Walter Camp and the AFCA. He also earned second team honors by FCS Football Central, Associated Press, Sports Perform and Phil Steele.
• Last season he led the FCS in three different statistical categories including total tackles (153), tackles per game (15.3) and solo tackles per game (8.3).
• His 15.3 tackles per game set a new McNeese single-season record while his 153 total tackles ranked as the sixth-most in a season in school history.
• Leclair was named to the All-SLC second team last year and will enter the 2024 season making 21 straight starts as a Cowboy and 35 consecutive starts overall dating back to his playing days at Valdosta State.
• The senior from Middleburg, Florida played a team-high 599 snaps last season.
• He also earned LSWA All-Louisiana honors and was named to the SLC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.
• In his first season with the Cowboys in 2023, Wyatt started all 10 games at the cornerback position.
• The junior from Byram, Mississippi finished with 13 tackles, an interception, and a team-high seven pass break-ups.