McNeese (1-3, 0-2 SLC) vs. East Texas A&M (1-3, 1-1 SLC)
Saturday, September 26, 2026 • 6 p.m.
Louis Bonnette Field at Navarre Stadium • Lake Charles, La.
 
Broadcast Information:
TV: ESPN+ (LINK) - Chaston Tavares (PxP), Cody Stroud (Analyst), Lexi Arabie (Sideline Reporter)
Radio: 92.9 The Lake and 929thelake.com (Link) – Tom Hoefer (PxP), Mark Young (Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (Link)
Media Central: (Link)
Tickets: (Link)
Digital Program: (Link)
 
 
LAKE CHARLES - McNeese returns to Navarre Stadium for its fourth home game in five weeks when it hosts East Texas A&M as the Cowboys look to pick up their first Southland Conference win of the season.
 
Kickoff is schedule for 6 p.m. in Navarre Stadium and the game will broadcast live on ESPN+ and on the McNeese Radio Network at 92.9 The Lake and 929thelake.com.
 
McNeese (1-3, 0-2 SLC) dropped a 27-10 league game at UTRGV last week for its first road game of the season. The Cowboys recorded a season-low 279 total offensive yards while allowing a season-high 315 yards rushing. But despite the yardage gap, the Cowboys still had chances in the second half to close the gap against the Vaqueros who have yet to lose a home game in their two years of competition.
 
"We didn't play good enough to win. We didn't execute," said head coach Matt Viator. "Going in, I thought it was a 50-50 game. We didn't do a good enough job against the run but I thought the defense kept it close enough to have an opportunity to win the game. Offensively, we didn't run the ball near effective enough. But if we threw and caught it like we have the previous weeks, we're right there in the game."
 
Jake Strong will take over as starting quarterback after Devin Lippold was injured against UTRGV and will miss the rest of the season. Strong started the season-opener against Stephen F. Austin and 11 games last year. At ETAMU last season, Strong led the Cowboys to a 35-20 win, rolling up 307 total offensive yards, 171 passing and 136 rushing for a career high.
 
The Lions, who dropped a 42-0 contest at Tulsa last week, beat Northwestern State two weeks ago in their conference opener. East Texas is allowing 31 points a game and 357 yards of offense including 198 yards rushing.
 
The Cowboys, who are putting up 28 points a game and 420 yards of offense, are ranked fourth in the league in rushing with 184 yards a game.
 
Running back Omiri Wiggins leads the team and is third in the Southland Conference with 259 yards rushing and a 64.8 per game average. Receiver Curtis Deville leads the league and is fifth in the FCS with four touchdown catches while ranking in the top 30 in the nation with 284 receiving yards.
 
The Matchup
    Saturday's game will mark the seventh meeting between the Cowboys and Lions in the series with it knotted up at 3-3.
    McNeese has won two straight including last year's 35-20 win at ETAMU.
    In that game, quarterback Jack Strong recorded 307 total offensive yards nad two touchdowns to lead the Cowboys. Strong threw for 171 yards on 10 of 18 passing with a TD and interception while rushing for a career-high 136 yards and a score.
    As a team, McNeese ran for 310 yards in the contest with three rushing TDs and accumulated 481 yards total. The Cowboys forced the Lions into four turnovers, a fumble and three interceptions, one which was returned 12 yards for a touchdown and giving the Cowboys a 21-10 lead late in the first half.
    McNeese beat ETAMU 31-3 the last time the two played in Navarre Stadium back in 2024.
    The series played its first game in 1970, a 57-26 ETAMU win in Commerce.
    McNeese head coach Matt Viator is 1-0 against the Lions while ETAMU head coach Clint Dolezel is 1-2 against the Cowboys.
 
Deville McNeese's Go-To Guy
• McNeese WR Curtis Deville is one of two main targets for the Cowboys this season but has become McNeese's go-to guy when it comes to 50-50 balls.
• On the year, Deville is the Southland Conference leader and is 5th in the FCS with four touchdown catches and is ranked in the top 30 in the nation with a team-high 284 receiving yards.
• He's made at least 3 catches in each of the four games this season and has at least one touchdown catch in three straight games.
• Of his 15 receptions on the year, 5 have gone for 20 yards or more (2 at UTRGV , 1 vs. Tarleton State, 1 vs. Texas Wesleyan, 1 vs. Stephen F. Austin), and two 30+ yard touchdown receptions.
• His 18.9 yards per catch is 16th in the FCS among receivers with 10+ catches on the year, 3rd in the conference.
 
Edwards Elite Lockdown Corner
• McNeese cornerback Mason Edwards leads the FCS with eight pass break-ups, averaging two per game.
• Edwards has recorded six total PBUs the last two games, three each vs. Tarleton State and at UTRGV.
• He's one away from matching his total of nine from last season.
• The single-season school record is 26 by Keith Smith in the 2002 season where the Cowboys played 15 games and for the National Championship.
• Only 31 other times in school history has there been a player record 10 PBUs or more in a season since the stat began recording in the late 1980s.
 
McNeese to Recognize 1976/2006 SLC Championship Teams on Saturday
    The 1976 and 2006 Southland Conference championship teams will be recognized at halftime of Saturday's game.
    The 1976 team, which was the first of 14 league championships won, is also celebrating its 50th anniversary of winning the very first Independence Bowl, a 20-16 win over Tulsa.
    In that season, the Cowboys posted a 10-2 record including a thrilling 20-19 win over ULL in the regular-season finale with just over two minutes remaining to clinch the title and Independence Bowl berth.
    Against Tulsa, the Cowboys played the game without 16 players due to being ruled ineligible, including six starters. Back-up quarterback Terry McFarland took over at the position after starter Jim Morvant went down with a sprained knee in the game's third play. McFarland was named the game's Offensive MVP after guiding McNeese to the win.
    Running back Oliver Hadnot scored on a 25-yard run with 36 seconds to play to give McNeese the lead and eventual win.
    Head coach Jack Doland was named the league's Coach of the Year, the first for a McNeese coach in the Southland Conference.
    The 2006 team was returning from an '05 season that saw the slate altered due to Hurricane Rita that devastated the Lake Charles area.
    The Cowboys rallied for a 7-5 record after starting the season 1-3. Matt Viator took over as head coach after the fourth game and led the team to a 6-1 record the rest of the regular season and league title before falling to Montana in the first round of the playoffs.
    Wide receiver Steven Whitehead was named the Southland's Player of the Year and earned consensus All-American honors. Defensive end Bryan Smith earned SLC Defensive Player of the Year honors, quarterback Derrick Fourroux was named the league's Rookie of the Year, and Viator earned SLC Coach of the Year honors.
 
Second Half Strengths
• Through the first four games, McNeese is outscoring its opponents by a 72-37 score, including 35-9 in the fourth quarter.
• McNeese has outgained its opponents in second half offensive yards by a total of 1,060-754 (291-203 vs. SFA, 318-89 vs. Texas Wesleyan, 309-256 vs. Tarleton State, 142-206 at UTTRGV).
• McNeese has possessed the ball for 23 second half drives this season, scoring in 11 of those - 10 touchdowns and one field goal.
 
Offensive Line Rated High
• McNeese's offensive line is ranked 17th in the FCS according to PFN with an 83.4 rating.
• The line has the Cowboys ranked 12th in the nation with 6.3 yards per rush.
• LT Aaron Session is the line's top-rated player, ranking 8th in the Southland Conference among all offensive linemen and 4th among left tackles.
• RT Eric Aschenbeck is 11th in the league among all linemen and No. 1 at the right tackle position.
• TE Reed Boyd is ranked fourth in the league among tight ends when it comes to blocking while Ike Nwobu is ranked 11th.