HAMMOND - McNeese football will be going for some firsts in quite some time on Saturday when the Cowboys visit Southeastern Louisiana for its final Southland Conference road game of the season.
 
Kick-off is 6 p.m. at SLU's Strawberry Stadium. The game will broadcast on ESPN+ as well as on the radio at 92.9 The Lake and 929thelake.com.
 
McNeese (5-5, 4-3 SLC) can finish above .500 in conference play for the first time since with a win. In addition, a win over the Lions will give make the Cowboys the Louisiana state champions among Southland Conference foes, a clean sweep over league in-state opponents for the first time since 2015. The Lions will go into Saturday's game 4-6 overall and 2-5 in the conference and has lost three straight games.
 
Leading McNeese into Saturday's game will be the stellar defense played by the DWA (Defense With Attitude) over the last two games, both wins, where the Cowboys have held their opponents out of the end zone in both games (16-3 vs. Nicholls and 10-0 against HCU). It's the first time since the 1998 season to not allow an offensive touchdown in back-to-back games.
 
The Cowboys were rated with the best defense in the nation last week by Pro Football Network (PFN) after the shutout win over the Huskies. McNeese allowed a season-low 70 yards rushing and 197 yards of total offense. Over the last two games, the Cowboys are giving up an average of 245.5 offensive yards, just 80 through the air.
 
Edge rusher RJ Staten was named the league's top defensive player of the week after he recorded a career-high three sacks last week. Currently with 6.5 on the season to lead the team, Staten is third in the conference in the category and is one of three other players in the league to record three sacks in a game this season.
 
Offensively, running back Omiri Wiggins has returned to form, rushing for 100 or more yards in each of the last two games and with four 100-yards or more games on the season. He's coming off a season-high 135 yards against HCU, one yard off his career-best, and leads the Southland Conference in both total rushing yards (719) and rushing yards per game (71.9). He's looking to become the first Cowboy to run for 1,000 yards in a season since 2022 (Deonta McMahon).
 
At quarterback, Jake Strong has been efficient for the Cowboys by managing the game effectively. He produced one of his best games of the season at HCU after completing 29 of 36 passes, both season highs, for 175 yards. And for the third straight game, did not throw an interception. He had 27-yard third quarter scramble that got the Cowboys out from deep in their own territory and eventually set up a field goal for the first score of the game.
 
Both the Cowboys and Lions like to run the ball. McNeese is averaging 164.6 yards per game while SLU is rushing for 154.3 yards a contest. Through the air, the Cowboys are at a 186.0 average while the Lions are throwing for 172.3 per game. Lions' quarterback Kyle Lowe is a dual-threat type player, averaging 168.1 yards passing while ranking second on the team in rushing with 345 yards.
 
The Matchup
 
Saturday's game will be the Golden Jubilee between McNeese and Southeastern with the Lions holding a slight 25-24 edge in the all-time series.
   
The Lions have won six straight against the Cowboys and blanked McNeese 38-0 last year in Lake Charles.
   
It's been seven years since McNeese last beat Southeastern, that coming in the 2019 season when the Cowboys scored with just over two minutes to play to upset the 19th-ranked Lions, 38-35. The 2019 season was also the last time McNeese finished above the .500 mark for the season.
   
McNeese has not won at Southeastern since October 2010, a streak of seven straight losses in Hammond.
   
McNeese head coach Matt Viator is 8-4 all-time against the Lions - 7-4 as the Cowboys' head coach and 1-0 while at ULM. Lions' head coach Frank Scelfo is 6-1 against McNeese and 3-0 in games played in Hammond.
   
SLU's 6-game winning streak over McNeese matches the longest streak in the series, equaling McNeese's 6-game win streak over SLU from 2006 to 2011.
           
Viator and Scelfo are the longest-running head coaches in the Southland Conference, Viator in his 12th season as head coach at McNeese and Scelfo in his ninth year at Southeastern.
 
Next Up
 
McNeese will close out the 2026 season with the annual Battle of the Border game against Lamar in Navarre Stadium on November 21. Kick-off is 6 p.m. and McNeese will recognize its seniors in a pregame ceremony.