OGDEN, Utah – McNeese quarterback Clifton McDowell threw for 203 yards and rushed for another 109, Joshon Barbie ran for three touchdowns, and the Cowboys' Defense With Attitude came up with big play after big play to help McNeese defeated 25^th-ranked Weber State, 28-26, here Saturday night.
 
The win was the third straight for the Cowboys who improve to 4-2 on the season while snapping an eight-game road losing streak. The win was the first against a ranked team on the road since McNeese defeated No. 14 Central Arkansas 59-28 in 2013.
 
McNeese is also 4-1 against FCS opponents this year. Weber State fell to 2-3 and dropped its second game to a Southland Conference opponent in three tries this season.
 
McNeese outgained Weber State 423-416 in total offense – 220 on the ground and 203 through the air. Weber State added 287 rushing yards to its 129 in the air.
 
The Cowboys also averaged 5.5 yards per carry and 6.3 yards per offensive play.
 
Barbie ran for 70 yards on 13 carries and scored three touchdowns to become the first Cowboys since the 2022 season (Deonta McMahon vs. Nicholls) to rush for three TDs in a game.
 
His final one, a 9-yard burst, extended McNeese's lead to 28-20 with 10:33 to play in the fourth quarter.
 
The defense may have given up some rushing yards but the Cowboys came up big when it mattered. For example, the DWA forced the Wildcats to turn the ball over on downs twice and a missed field goal.
 
One of the bigger stops occurred at the start of the fourth quarter and McNeese just going ahead 21-20. Facing a third-and-3 at the WSU 32, McNeese's Jaylen Jackson burst through the block for a 2-yard tackle for a loss that forced the Wildcats into a punt. McNeese responded with a 10-play, 76-yard touchdown by Barbie that lifted the score to 28-20 with 10:33 to play.
 
Weber State pulled to within 28-26 on its next drive then attempted to tie the game with a 2-point conversion. But Jake Held held his own and halted the attempt just inside the 1.
 
The Wildcats forced McNeese into one last punt and took over the ball at its own 34 with four minutes to play. WSU missed out on a scoring opportunity when quarterback Richie Munoz's pass deep was just off the finger tips of the receiver that would have put the Wildcats back on top with less than two minutes to play.
 
The next play, Munoz would once again throw an incomplete pass on a 4^th-and-long but a penalty for targeting against the Cowboys' Boogsie Silvera was threatening to extend the game in WSU's favor. But after reviewing the play, the call was reversed and the Cowboys took over on downs and were able to run out the clock for the win.
 
McNeese scored on its opening possession of the game for the second straight time and led a defensive battle 7-6 at the half.
 
Weber State scored on its first possession of the third quarter after holding the Cowboys to a 3-and-out to take a 13-7 lead for its first of the game.
 
The two teams traded scores in the third quarter until the Cowboys were able to go ahead for good late.
 
Postgame Notebook:
• With his 109 rushing yards, quarterback Clifton McDowell is the first Cowboys' QB to rush for 100 yards in a game since February 13, 2021 (Cody Orgeron, 108 at Tarleton State).
• Joshon Barbie is first RB to score 3 rushing TDs since Deonta McMahon vs. Nicholls (Oct. 22, 2022).
• McNeese snapped an 8-game road losing streak and a 5-game skid against ranked opponents with the win.
• The victory on the road against a ranked team is the first since the 2013 season (defeated No. 14 Central Arkansas 59-28).
• The Cowboys have won three straight games for the first time since ending the 2022 season with three straight victories.
• McNeese is 4-1 on the season against FCS opponents.
• With 423 total yards, McNeese has recorded 400 or more in five of six games on the year.