Wild Ride

If the college football season is any indication, we are in for one wild, topsy- turvy, anything-goes kind of year.

It started in week one with the FCS sending a clear message to their bigger brothers from the FBS that those guaranteed money games are no guarantee when it comes to wins.

Among the FCS upsets were McNeese’s stunning 53-21 romp over South Florida coupled with Eastern Washington’s upset of then-#25 Oregon State. And don’t forget about FCS champion North Dakota State taking down Kansas State.

Ever since last November, the Alabama at Texas A&M rematch was circled as the next game of the decade that would settle all that was unknown in the quest for the BCS tltle. The much-hyped showdown between the Aggies’ controversial, cocky but ultra-talented Johnny Manziel and defensive mastermind Nick Saban lived up to the billing.

Funny thing happened while in College Station. An offensive show from both teams led to a 49–42 Alabama win as the Crimson Tide stayed one step ahead of Johnny Football and avenged last year’s loss in Tuscaloosa.

This one will be an instant “classic” on any one of ESPN’s multiple networks.

I will probably keep it on my DVR until my oldest is out of college.

Manziel’s circus-like jousting with the NCAA over autographs for money allegations took a back seat to the explosive exposé and ten-month investigation by SI.com that outlined a book full of allegations of wrongdoing in the Oklahoma State football program over the last 12 years. Sports Illustrated’s allegations makes the OSU Cowboys’ rise up the BCS ranks of power appear more like a 1990’s rock and roll concert tour than a football program.

Allegations are of thousands of dollars of illegal cash payments to players, turning a blind eye to drug use and also providing sex for recruits visiting the Stillwater campus. Once again, the ugly underbelly of college football that we have heard before in some form or fashion has reappeared, but is hard to prove as this is a classic “he said, she said” situation.

At the center of the SI.com investigative series is LSU coach Les Miles, who was Oklahoma State’s head coach when much of this alleged rule-breaking allegedly occurred in the early 2000’s.  Miles has denied knowledge of any money to star players, rampant drug use or recruits receiving sexual favors.

The McNeese Cowboys 3-0 start to what appears to be a magical season have tried to bump Miles, LSU’s 3-0 run and the Oklahoma State firestorm off of the local front pages. And they have succeeded to a point, thanks to a thrilling come-from-behind 44–42 victory over West Alabama.

The Cowboys’ true test of this season was to begin with hosting Weber State  on Sept. 21, and then the mid-year gauntlet of Northern Iowa, SLC rival Central Arkansas and defending league champion Sam Houston State.

McNeese survived their first maneuver of what is sure to be a stressful obstacle course by beating West Alabama, a Division II team that looked nothing like your run-of-the-mill Division II program.

This was a West Alabama squad that wore a shade of red and played up to the standards of the crimson colors worn to their north in Tuscaloosa. They were that fast and that good, with numerous FBS transfers from Auburn and points  between.

“I was scared to death of this team but noboby believed me (fans and some media types). I think our kids did. They were fast and matched our speed everywhere from special teams to offense and defense. That scared me,” a tired Viator explained after the emotional win.

Back and forth. Big play after big play. Fourth down gambles. Defensive players from both teams ejected under the new “targeting” rule (McNeese linebacker Hayden Dodds will miss the first half of the Weber State game due to his ejection by the refs). The contest featured a Johnny Manziel-like quarterback in West Alabama’s Kyle Caldwell and the completion of the Cowboys’ Cody Stroud as the mature, confident and rifle-armed pocket quarterback he has become.

This game had everything, from the 75-yard bomb on West Alabama’s first offensive play that stunned the crowd to Stroud’s laser-like 28-yard touchdown strike to Jereon McGilvery on a 4th-and-4 play that put McNeese up again 38–35 in a see saw battle. The 10,000-plus fans got their money’s worth and more.

Late in a tight game, I saw bone rattling hits on Cowboys running back Marcus Wiltz that I felt from the sidelines. It was hand-to-hand combat and a man-on-man war effort from each team. You could see no one wanted to lose.

“Their quarterback (Caldwell) was talented and hard to catch, but you are going to face players like that in college football. Regardless of who we faced it’s about what we do. We didn’t execute the best, but it’s a W, and we’ll take wins anyway we can get them,” said safety Terence Cahee.

Senior receiver Diontae Spencer has become the Cowboys’ big play, go-to guy either by design or coverage. Whatever the reason, Mr. Spencer made two highlight plays in the game winning drive.  Trailing by four on a must-have 3rd-and-17, Stroud hit Spencer in traffic. He had possession for the first down but then fumbled. While on the ground, Spencer somehow reached out and scooped the ball back as several Tigers pounced on his back.

A few plays later, Stroud again sent a bullet pass into Spencer’s chest in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.  Spencer made the grab against West Alabama’s best defender and star player Malcolm Butler.

In the context of the young season, Spencer has become a reliable playmaker. First year tight end Nic Jacobs is a reliable playmaker. Senior slot receiver Ernest Celestie and fellow receiver Wes Briscoe are reliable playmakers. Tailback Marcus Wiltz has never given up his claim as a reliable playmaker.

The offensive line allowed their first multiple sack game, but continues to stand up to weekly challenges and this time dealt with better-than-average defensive speed.

After the Spencer touchdown catch there were still 45 seconds on the clock.

Not over just yet. Keep the game film running.

The PAT was blocked. Holder William Ryckman alertly chased down the ball to keep UWA from making a crazy scoring play. The defense finally sacked the jitterbugging Caldwell for consecutive losses and a fourth down desperation pass fell to the turf.

There would be no head-scratching or jaw-dropping comeback plays as there were in last year’s losses to Central Arkansas and Southeastern Louisiana.

The Cowboys finished. Maybe, finally, lady luck winked at the boys in Blue.

This is a different team than last year despite many returning starters and backups. They looked and played differently against South Florida. Buried any lingering threat from Arkansas Pine Bluff. They did not second-guess or wilt under the pressure to respond against West Alabama, a team that could compete in the Southland Conference right now.

Quarterback Cody Stroud is at the epicenter of this McNeese turnaround.

His control, calmness and decision making on that final game winning drive completed his maturation as the leader of the Cowboys. His arm is stronger, his passes are more accurate, and his belief in himself and the playmakers around him is evident.

“We needed a close, tough game before conference. We needed a game to prove ourselves, and we did,” says Stroud.

That proof is in their 3-0 start. But the Cowboys raced out to a 3-0 streak last year before that SLC opening defeat at Southeastern.

An always difficult Weber State team will test that resolve Sept. 21 at Cowboy Stadium. They will test the Cowboys’ confidence.

According to Cahee, that testing will come against a much different McNeese team. “The thing about it is we always believe we are going to win. Maybe in the past it was a hope to win. We never got down on ourselves. We believe in each other. Until that clock strikes zero, you always have a chance.”

More to come from the Cowboys and from a college football season that is not short on drama and surprises.

Get Rick Sarro’s perspectives on sports on Soundoff 60, which airs Monday through Sunday nights at 9 pm on Suddenlink Channel 60 and Saturday and Sunday mornings at 10 am as well.