Since losing three consecutive games, the McNeese Cowboys took down East Texas A&M 31-3 and had their second bye week last weekend before these final two regular season games. This week’s matchup will be against the Northwestern State Demons, who have had a rough go at this year.
The Cowboys and Demons haven’t played each other in three years. Last year’s contest was cancelled and McNeese was given the forfeit win after Northwestern State cancelled the remainder of their 2023 season following the passing of one of their players.
Kickoff inside Turpin Stadium is set for 1:00 on Saturday, November 16th and the action can be watched on ESPN+.
LEAN ON THE RUN
Kamden Sixkiller has been the starter for the last three games since Clifton McDowell is unavailable. That means the redshirt freshman quarterback will start this week and in the season finale versus Lamar.
The passing game hasn’t wowed anyone, even last game as Sixkiller finished the contest 2/11 for 60 yards and two interceptions. The reason the Cowboys beat the Lions was due the ground game. McNeese ran the football 56 times for 367 yards and three touchdowns in the 31-3 win, a season high in both statistical catergories.
In three out of their five wins, McNeese has rushing for at least 200 yards and threw fewer than 30 pass attempts in each win. The recipe for success for the Pokes is to establish the run early and keep it on the ground consistently.
BAD RECORD
Northwestern State has an 0-10 heading into this matchup with McNeese on Saturday. Within those losses, the Demons have been shut out four times, losing by 39 to Weber State, 19 to Southeast Missouri State, 20 to Nicholls, and 41 to Southest Louisiana.
Their 0-5 Southland Conference record is paramount as they fell 59-17 to Stephen F. Austin, 42-21 to East Texas A&M, and 42-10 to Lamar. Northwestern’s also been blown out by other non-conference opponents. Tulsa was the first as they defeated the Demons 62-28 and then lost 87-10 to South Alabama two weeks later.
On the season, opponents have outscored the Demons 448 to 117, an average final score of 44.8-11.7.
TURNOVER WORTHY
McNeese has gotten opportunistic as of late, forcing five turnovers over the last three games. On the season, the Cowboys have record 13 takeways (seven interceptions, six fumble recoveries).
For Northwestern State, they’ve turned the ball over 18 times with 11 of those being interceptions. The picks occured throughout the season between three different quarterbacks — JT Fayard threw six, Quaterius Hawkins threw three, and Abram Johnston made the other two mistakes.
The Demons have rotated between all three signal callers while wide receiver Kareame Cotton recorded 13 passes himself. In the 20-0 loss to Nicholls, Johnston was starter before getting replaced for Hawkins, who was the starter in the previous two losses to Lamar and Southeast Louisiana.
No matter who will play quarterback for Northwestern State on Saturday, McNeese should have opportunities to create turnovers on defense. The Pokes on the other hand will want Sixkiller to keep the giveaways to a minimum as he’s thrown five interceptions in 152 pass attempts. Three of his picks have come in the last two games.
SERIES RECORD: McNeese leads 49-22-1
Last 5 Meetings:
2023: MCNEESE 2 – NORTHWESTERN STATE 0 (Forfeit)
2021: NORTHWESTERN STATE 24 – MCNEESE 20
2021: MCNEESE 35 – NORTHWESTERN STATE 17
2021: MCNEESE 21 – NORTHWESTERN STATE 7
2019: MCNEESE 30 – NORTHWESTERN STATE 20
STAT LEADERS
McNeese
Clifton McDowell: 63-113, 1,054 Yards, 6 TD, 3 INT
Joshon Barbie: 103 Carries, 598 Yards, 7 TD
Jer’Michael Carter: 30 Catches, 450 Yards, 2 TD
Marques White: 2.5 Sacks
Micah Davey: 71 Tackles (30 Solo)
Boogsie Silvera: 2 INT
Tyler Larco: 9-of-12 Field Goals, Long of 47, 28-of-29 PAT
Northwestern State
JT Fayard: 61-134, 803 Yards, 3 TD, 6 INT
Kennieth Lacy: 59 Carries, 250 Yards, 4 TD
Myles Kitt-Denton: 23 Catches, 386 Yards, 4 TD
Blake Gotcher: 4.5 Sacks
Blake Gotcher: 134 Tackles (50 Solo)
Caesar Magee III, Cadillac Rhone, Jeremiah Keppard, Antonio Hall, Emanuel Brown: 1 INT
Reed Honshtein: 4-of-6 Field Goals, Long of 38, 15-of-15 PAT
