McNeese (4-7, 3-4 SLC) vs. #19 Lamar (8-3, 5-2 SLC)
Saturday, November 22, 2025 • 3 p.m.
Provost Umphrey Stadium • Beaumont, Texas
 
Broadcast Information:
Time: 3:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN+ (LINK)
Radio: 92.9 The Lake and 929thelake.com (Link) – Tom Hoefer (PxP), Mark Young (Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (Link)
Media Hub (Link)
 
McNeese closes out 2025 season with Battle of the Border game at Lamar
 
McNeese will wrap up its 2025 football season at 19^th-ranked Lamar on Saturday with the annual Battle of the Border rivalry game with the Louisiana-Texas trophy on the line.
 
A lot is at stake for the Cowboys (4-7, 3-4 SLC) and the Cardinals (8-3, 5-2) in the 3 p.m. kickoff that will broadcast live on ESPN+ and the McNeese Radio Network (92.9 The Lake and 929thelake.com). A win for McNeese will give it a .500 conference record for the first time since the Cowboys posted a 5-4 league mark in 2019. A win for Lamar would increase its chances of earning an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs for just the second time in school history while matching a school record in total wins.
 
Battle of the Border Rivalry game Closes Out 2025 Season
• McNeese will cap off the 2025 season on Saturday when it visits Lamar for the annual Battle of the Border rivalry game.
• The Cowboys are coming off a 28-13 loss to UTRGV last Saturday, snapping the team's two-game winning streak while Lamar fell to Stephen F. Austin 25-16 at SFA.
• A win would put McNeese at 4-4 in Southland Conference play to end the season, marking the first .500 record in league play since finishing 5-4 in 2019.
• A win would also give the Cowboys a 5-5 record in its non-FBS schedule.
• Lamar, ranked No. 19 in both FCS polls, is the first ranked team for the Cowboys to face this season.
• McNeese is 1-4 on the road this year while Lamar is 5-0 at home.
• The Cardinals need a win to keep its playoff hopes alive and qualify for the FCS postseason for the first time since the 2018 season and only the second time in school history while a win will also give the Cardinals a school-record 9th victory for the season.
• Lamar long-time radio broadcaster Harold Mann was recently enshrined into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.
 
McNeese vs. Lamar - The Series
• Saturday's game will be the 48th meeting all-time in the series with McNeese holding a 29-17-1 advantage.
• Since Lamar revived the program for the 2010 season, McNeese leads the series 9-5.
• Lamar has won two-straight over the Cowboys and only once before has won three straight in the series (1956, 66-67).
• McNeese head coach Matt Viator is 5-1 all-time against the Cardinals while Lamar head coach Pete Rossomando is 2-0 against the Cowboys.
• McNeese is 15-8-1 playing at Lamar but has not won in Beaumont since the 2019 season (27-3 victory).
• Lamar won last year's game 26-24 in Lake Charles when the Cardinals scored on a 5-yard touchdown pass on an untimed play. The Cardinals scored on the final play but were flagged for an offensive pass interference, so McNeese had to either decline the penalty, which would result in the TD, or accept the penalty, which resulted in an untimed play from the 20-yard line. That's when Lamar backup QB Jakolby Longino completed the 20-yard game-winner to capture the rivalry trophy for the second straight season.
• Lamar led 17-0 early and 20-10 at the end of the third quarter before McNeese scored 14 straight fourth-quarter points to go ahead with 1:45 to play.
• There were a total of 15 penalties call, nine of which were personal foul calls, and one player from each team was ejected.
 
Quick Hits
• McNeese has held its last three opponents to under 150 rushing yards each - 108 by UTRGV, 149 by ETAM, 99 by Northwestern State.
• The Cowboys have allowed fewer than 400 offensive yards in three straight games and in 4 out of the last 5.
• McNeese has broken up 29 passes on the season, 11 in the last two games.
• QB Jake Strong is ranked 19th in the FCS in rushing yards among quarterbacks with his 469 yards.
• Has allowed 7 total points in the third quarter in the last six games combined and a total of 17 third quarter points in conference play.
• Strong has thrown for 2,008 yards this season becoming the first McNeese QB since Cody Orgeron in 2021 to surpass 2,000 yards.
• Strong's 2,477 total offensive yards are the most since Orgeron accumulated 3,110 in 2019.
• TE Logan Mauldin is ranked 8th in the FCS among tight ends with 339 receiving yards and is 5th among tight ends with a 14.7 yards per reception average.
• DL Phillip Bradford is 1st in the Southland Conference and 20th in the FCS with 11.5 tackles for a loss and a 1.23 per game average.
• Bradford has recorded seven of those TFLs in the last three games to go along with 3.5 sacks during that span.
• Seven players have scored at least one rushing TD on the season with five players scoring multiple TDs.
• 24th in FCS in red-zone defense at 76%.
• McNeese is 27 for 27 on PATs this season.
• McNeese is No. 1 in the SLC and 14th in FCS in  4th-down conversions (17 for 26 for 65 percent).
• In the last 3 wins, McNeese has dominated time of possession by averaging 34 minutes a game.
• McNeese is the only team in the Southland with four players ranked in the top 16 in rushing: Coleby Hamm (5th, 56.0), Jake Strong (10th, 42.6), Tre'Vonte Citizen (12th, 40.9), and Bryce Strong (16th, 34.4).
• Quarterback Jake Strong has scored 7 rushing TDs, tied for 3rd in the Southland... 3rd in the league and 40th in the FCS in total offense with a 225.2 average.