McNeese (2-4, 1-2 SLC) at Northwestern State (0-6, 0-3 SLC)
Saturday, October 17, 2026 • 12 p.m.
Turpin Stadium • Natchitoches, La.
 
Broadcast Information:
TV: ESPN+ (LINK) - Patrick Netherton (PxP), Tyler Moody (Analyst), Jason Pugh (Sideline Reporter)
Radio: 92.9 The Lake and 929thelake.com (Link) – Tom Hoefer (PxP), Mark Young (Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (Link)
Media Central: (Link)

NATCHITOCHES - Fresh off an open date to split the season in half, McNeese returns to action on Saturday at Northwestern State to begin the second half of the season.
   
Kickoff is scheduled for noon at NSU's Turpin Stadium. The game will broadcast on ESPN+ and on the McNeese Radio Flagship station of 92.9 The Lake and 929thelake.com.
 
The Cowboys head into the game 2-4 overall and 1-2 in Southland Conference play while coming off a 63-14 loss at LSU on Oct. 3. The Demons are 0-6 on the year and 0-3 in the league and like the Cowboys, were off this past weekend. Prior to that, NSU dropped a 42-14 game to Lamar.
   
McNeese has won three straight games in the series and eight of the last 10 outings. Head coach Matt Viator is 11-0 all-time against the Demons including a 5-0 mark when playing in Natchitoches.
   
Three of the Cowboys' four losses have come against nationally-ranked opponents (SFA, Tarleton State, and LSU).
 
The Matchup
• Saturday will mark the 77th meeting between McNeese and Northwestern State with the Cowboys carrying a three-game winning streak in the series into the matchup.
• Overall, McNeese leads the all-time series by a 53-22-1 mark. The Cowboys defeated the Demons 50-3 last year in Lake Charles to mark the largest winning margin in series history.
• The Demons' 24-21 win over the Cowboys in Lake Charles in November of 2021 marked the first win them in Cowboy Stadium since the 1988 season, snapping a streak of 16 straight losses in Lake Charles.
• The Cowboys have won the last three times the game has been played in Turpin Stadium including a 35-3 win the last time in 2024.
• McNeese has outscored NSU 85-6 over the last two games.
• Cowboys' head coach Matt Viator is 11-0 all-time against NSU.
• The teams first met in 1951, McNeese's first year as a four-year college after the previous 11 seasons as a junior college.
• The longest-running rivalry for McNeese was played every season until 2022 when a reshuffling of the Southland Conference schedule to add back in UIW and SFA forced the series to break following 71 consecutive years of playing.
• McNeese is 8-2 against NSU over the last 10 meetings; 18-2 the last 20 matchups; and 26-4 across the last 30.
• Perhaps the most memorable game between the two came in the 1998 season when the Cowboys, the No. 1 ranked team in FCS (1-AA at the time), fell 14-10 to the 8th-ranked Demons when NSU forced McNeese into six turnovers including four interceptions, the last one sealing the win.
 
RB Omiri Wiggins makes history with long runs
• Omiri Wiggins tied a school record on Sept. 26 against East Texas A&M with a 74-yard touchdown run marking his second 70+ yard TD run of the season to tie a single-season record.
• He's the first Cowboy to record multiple 70-plus TD runs in the same season since Kelvin Bennett in 2012, and only the third ever in school history (Theron McClendon in 1980).
• Wiggins had a 75-yard TD run against SFA in the season opener.
• He's one of just two RBs in the FCS this season to have multiple 74-plus yard scores on the season (Charles Kellomo of Eastern Illinois).
• Through six games, Wiggins continues to lead the Southland Conference in rushing in both total yards (396) and yards per game (66.0) - tying with Lamar's Jojo Uga.
• Both his 75 and 74 yard scores are the top two rushes in the league this season and two of only three recorded (70 by SFA's Jeffery Jones.
• He's looking to become the first 1,000-yard rusher for McNeese since Deonta McMahon (1,408 in 2022).
 
CB Mason Edwards and his No-Fly Zone
• McNeese senior cornerback Mason Edwards has knocked away 11 passes on the season, not only leading the FCS but topping all of Division I football.
• The second-year starter for the Cowboys broke up three passes against LSU's highly potent offense in his last outing on Oct. 3, matching a career-best of three PBUs he recorded against Tarleton State and at UTRGV.
• His 11 pass break-ups this season are the 7th-most in a single-season in school history and the most since 2023 when Yusef Leak broke up 11 passes.
• The school record is 26 PBUs by Keith Smith in the 2002 season when the Cowboys played 15 games en route to the FCS National Championship game.
 
Schedule tied as 4th Toughest in FCS
• McNeese's schedule is currently tied as the 4th-toughest schedule in all of FCS as well as the Southland Conference with UIW.
• The Cowboys' past opponents have a combined for a 17-8 record which includes SFA and Tarleton State, both of who are 6-0 on the season.
• Three of McNeese's four losses have come against nationally ranked teams - then No. 13 SFA (38-27), then No. 4 Tarleton State (27-24), then No. 11 LSU (63-14).
• Another opponent, Lamar, is ranked No. 8 and 10 in this week's polls marking three teams on this year's schedule currently ranked in the top 10 in the FCS polls.
 
Last Time Out: #11 LSU 63, McNeese 14
• LSU scored touchdowns on seven of its first eight drives of the game to build a commanding lead before McNeese scored two touchdowns in a 63-14 win on October 3.
• The game was the final non-conference game for the Cowboys who fell to 2-4 on the season with three of the losses coming against nationally ranked teams.
• McNeese wide receiver Jamaal Levi scored on back-to-back possessions in a span of 1:16 in the third quarter on a 43-yards bubble screen pass then a 64-yard reverse run.
• The 14 points were the most scored by the Cowboys in the three matchups against the Tigers.
• LSU finished the night with 731 total offensive yards (364 passing and 367 rushing) while the Cowboys collected 196 (94 passing and 102 rushing).