Early Look at Cowboy Schedule

By Jim Gazzolo

It’s never too early to take a look at the upcoming McNeese State football schedule.

The Cowboys are coming off a 6-6 season in 2024, their first non-losing campaign since 2019. After an 0-11 2023, it was the second-largest turnaround in Division I to Indiana.

Now, with the return of Matt Viator as head coach, hopes are high that the Cowboys will make a significant leap even further up the Southland Conference ladder and return to title contention. 

Here is what McNeese faces.

Aug. 30 vs. Louisiana Christian

A new era of Cowboy football opens with a fresh-looking press box and luxury suites. That's for show; McNeese fans hope they can tell by the way their team plays that it will be a good year. Viator should break a tie he has for most wins in program history, as the Cowboys have never lost to a non-NCAA team, and LC is an NAIA program. They are 7-0 all-time against LC but haven’t met since 1966 and have outscored the Crusaders 170-34.

Sept. 6 at Louisiana-Lafayette

After playing down levels in the opener, McNeese moves up to face a familiar foe, even if they haven’t played that much recently. The two teams have split the pair of games since ULL moved up to college football’s top division. The teams last met in 1017 with the Cajuns winning 30-22. McNeese holds a 17-10 record against Lafayette. This will be a significant test to determine where the Cowboys stand this year, as they face the first of two games against FBS teams.

Sept. 13 vs. Weber State

The Cowboys secured their biggest win of last season when they traveled to Utah and defeated the No. 25 Wildcats 24-22. This will once again be a big game as it is the only time McNeese will face a non-conference FCS school. With hopes of making a run at the postseason, these games are crucial for both the Cowboys and the rest of the Southland Conference as they look to impress the playoff selection committee.

Sept. 20 at Utah State

For the first time in program history, McNeese will take on the Aggies. It is the second straight year the Cowboys are heading to Utah for a road game. This is also the second FBS opponent of the season for McNeese. The Aggies went 4-8 last season as a member of the Mountain West Conference. This is your final chance to impress the committee before the start of league play.

Sept. 27 at Stephen F. Austin

This game could have major implications in the Southland as both teams open up conference play against each other for the second straight season. McNeese scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally to a 28-24 victory in SFA’s return to the Southland after three seasons in the WAC. Another close game is expected. The winner jump-starts its run in the league and could be the surprise team in the SLC.

Oct. 4 vs. Southeastern

After not playing last year, the two rivals will be back at it as the Cowboys play their first home conference game. Despite being just 7-5 overall, the Lions shared the SLC title with Incarnate Word at 6-1. However, the Lions were not rewarded with a bid to the NCAA playoffs. Frank Scelfo is the longest tenured head coach in the league, but this will be his first time going up against Viator.

Oct. 18 vs. Houston Christian

The Cowboys will look to bounce back from their worst game of last season, when they struggled and were dominated by HCU. Jason Bachtel takes over as head coach of the Huskies after spending one season as the offensive coordinator. McNeese will look to play more physically this time against HCU as the second half of the season begins.

Oct. 25 at Nicholls

There will be a new leader of the Colonels for the first time in 11 seasons when the Cowboys travel to Nicholls. Tommy Rybacki moves up from the defensive coordinator role to replace Tim Rebowe. Nicholls will likely still try to be a running, power team that will look a lot like it usually does and be a physical foe for the Cowboys. 

Nov. 1 vs. Northwestern State

If you think times have been tough around the McNeese program, take a look at the Demons. They enter this season having lost 25 straight games with their last win coming on Nov. 5, 2022. McNeese beat them last year 35-3. The Demons are looking to rebuild from the bottom up and would like to beat their rivals to show their improvement.

Nov. 8 at East Texas A&M

For the second straight week, the Cowboys will face a team trying to turn their program around. ETAM will have a lot of new faces, as the coaching staff aggressively utilized the transfer portal in the offseason. The game starts the home stretch for McNeese, which hopes to be in position for a playoff run.

Nov. 15 vs. Texas-Rio Grande Valley

This game is a real unknown. UTRGV is in its second year in the Southland and is playing its first season of football, so any preseason predictions are out the window. In the past, building a college football program would take several years, but now, with the portal and NIL, teams can become contenders quickly. It might be hard to imagine that in one year, but who knows?

Nov. 22 at Lamar

For Cowboy fans, it will have been a long year since they saw their Pokes suffer a gut-wrenching loss in an ugly game at the end of last season. Fights, flags, and some strange late calls by officials gave Lamar an extra play after time had expired, and with it the Cardinals scored a game-winning TD, setting off a list of events that led to a coaching change at McNeese. That makes for a real rivalry.

Incarnate Word

McNeese will not play defending champ UIW this season thanks to the league’s rotating schedule. The Cardinals are considered by many to be the favorites once again to win the SLC, but with several key losses from last year, they don’t look as dominant on paper going into camp.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers sports in Southwest Louisiana. He is also the host of Poke Nation, which airs weekly on CBS-Lake Charles.