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LAKE CHARLES WEATHER

Tough Road Ahead- McNeese Schedule Loaded with Challenges

Aug 22, 2024 02:07PM ● By Kelsey Swire
By Jim Gazzolo


The Cowboy turnaround won’t be an easy one.

If McNeese State is to flip the script from a year ago, then they will have to do it the hard way.

The preseason FCS Coaches Poll came out last week and the Cowboys will get a good look at a couple of teams on the list.

Three of McNeese’s opponents made the Top 25, with all three of the games set for the road. Alcorn State, the second home game of the year, also received votes but was out of the top group.

Then there is the one money game McNeese has, which will be played against SEC foe Texas A&M, which is ranked No. 20 by the Associated Press in the FBS division.

That’s five of their 12 games against teams getting some votes nationally. 

Earlier in camp, McNeese head coach Gary Goff simply said “You play the schedule they give you,” when asked about what his team faces.

It will start early for McNeese, which opens at FCS No. 21 Tarleton State Saturday. Three of their first four games will be against teams that picked up votes, with games against the Aggies in Week 3 and Alcorn in Week 4.

If that’s not tough enough, their two Southland Conference games against ranked foes are also on the road, and on back- weekends during their no-home October. McNeese will face No. 15 UIW and No. 24 Nicholls the last two Saturdays before Halloween. 

While some see this schedule as potential chaos, it is more like a great opportunity for the Cowboys who need to make a statement they are once again players in the league and on the national level.

To do that, they must beat some good teams and play well against others. In many ways, this schedule is the perfect chance for McNeese to earn back the respect it has lost over the last few seasons. 

After last season’s woes, Goff and the program changed a lot of how they do business. The most important thing has been with recruiting, as McNeese has had a big offseason. Now they get a chance to showcase that talent on a national stage.

Two of the Cowboys’ first three games will be televised across the country on ESPN networks. This is the perfect opportunity for McNeese to show how things are different this fall. 

McNeese players and coaches have called this the season of “redemption”, which this schedule gives them a perfect opportunity to fulfill. 

But one thing must be remembered, respect in football must be earned, it can’t be given. Just because you get a lot of good, new players, you still need to prove it on the field. 

Tarleton is the perfect place for that “redemption” tour to begin.

Ratings also aren’t perfect, and they are even harder to figure out on the lower levels. Everybody in FCS starts over each year and this one is no different.

So Cowboy fans should not despair, this is what you want, your team to be back in the spotlight. Now we find out if the team is ready for the challenge. 


Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese athletics. He is the host of Poke Nation on CBS-Lake Charles
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