The Southeastern Louisiana game was sitting on the schedule like an upcoming family reunion that you were either dreading more than a root canal or anxiously counting the days to. It depended on your perspective.
Needless to say, it was a game circled in red that would determine the early lead in the Southland Conference race six weeks into the season.
I would say the McNeese Cowboys wanted this game with the Lions as much or more than Donald Trump seeks out a podium, microphone or press conference.
The fact that Southeastern, the two-time defending Southland Conference champs, has beaten the Cowboys in their last three games simply added more fire to the Cowboys’ already blazing bellies. “I like Ron Roberts [Southeastern Louisiana head coach], as a matter of fact,” Viator said.
“I told the players all week, ‘Let’s have fun. Let’s play our best. If that’s not good enough, well … ‘ But I don’t think we’ve done that the last couple of years. They [the Lions] out-played us and deserved to win those games.”
Viator said he did not take the game to a point that it was personal for him.
The players, on the other hand, may have behaved differently. Let’s just say the Cowboys, many of whom on this roster had never beaten the Lions, were extremely motivated.
Do you feel it?
That’s the weight of the SLC power rankings shifting to the West from Hammond to Lake Charles.
The Cowboys know good and well their unbeaten record and the move up the FCS polls came on the backs of four lightweights — OK, maybe Stephen F. Austin may turn out to be a welterweight — and games they were expected to win.
Southeastern was to be McNeese’s first real litmus test as to just how good the Cowboys may be now and are going to be come mid-November.
It turned out the Pokes are damn good and answered some questions and filled in more than a few blanks following a hard-fought 21-7 victory over these Lions.
McNeese wasn’t just padding the offensive and defensive stats over four cupcakes. They went out and pounded out 369 total yards against the league’s second-rated defense.
The Cowboys defense, which is the SLC’s top-ranked scoring defense; is No. 1 against the rush and pass; and — let’s not forget — No. 1 in total defense, held Southeastern to only 231 total yards. That’s well below the team’s 387-yard average going into the game.
How stout were the blue and gold defenders against the run?
The Lions came in rushing for 232 yards per game. This offense racked up 539 total yards just the week before the game in a 30-27 win over Lamar.
The Cowboys limited Southeastern to a mere 59 yards on the ground off 28 carries.
Stout doesn’t do them justice. Scary is more like it.
Look, this Southeastern offense has taken a few steps back without last year’s All SLC quarterback Bryan Bennett. But Bennett would not have done much better against this Cowboys defense.
“The big thing that I see going back to last year with this defense is just confidence. Our kids are playing with a lot of confidence, and they believe in coach Guidry [defensive coordinator Lance Guidry], the coaches and what we are doing. We have great players. We have guys that can run, and going back to spring ball and August, we have guys that are playing with extreme confidence,” Viator said.
So that’s one question answered. This defense — devised by its aggressive and fiery defensive coordinator, who loves speed, gang tackling, forced turnovers and exotic blitzes from every angle — is good enough to carry this club if need be.
When you are giving up a miniscule 6.8 points per game over five weeks, with an entirely new and young defensive line, more than a few offensive coordinators in the Southland will be up late at night.
“Any time you get good players and have guys that can run like ours can, playing with great confidence, trust what they see and … go get it, that’s hard. [It’s] good for us but very tough on the opponent,” Viator deadpanned.
Trust me, no one wearing the blue and gold is feeling sorry for anyone else in the conference. The Southeasterns, Sam Houstons and Central Arkansases of the league have pushed the Cowboys around a good bit over the last three to four years.
The nagging question over McNeese’s ability to play smash mouth football and compete physically against the bigger and bulkier teams was answered in part against the Lions.
The last few years, maybe size and strength trumped the Cowboys’ speed. The addition of 325-pound transfer defensive tackle Isaiah Golden, and an experienced offensive line that can throw a couple of 300-pounders at you, has answered the question about whether this club can compete, match and ultimately win the physical battles up front.
“It was important to win a physical football game against a team like this,” said Viator. “To be able to just line up with them and power against power.”
Senior offensive tackle Quentin Marsh, a pup listed at only 250 pounds, knows that the game can be simplified when you are able to run over or through people. “You have to win the physical battle when you are playing five-on-five up front. Man-on-man blocks, you don’t have any help. [You] do what you can do to move bodies.”
I’ve said all along that McNeese’s schedule and the fact that the team had Southeastern on the home turf and will have Sam Houston, the preseason pick to win the SLC, also coming to The Hole, could swing the pendulum the Cowboys’ way.
The home field helped McNeese’s offense put two big, explosive plays on Southeastern early in the game and rattle a senior laden-defense. Daniel Sams’ 57-yard bomb to Kent Shelby set up Sams’ short touchdown run in the first quarter. McNeese’s second possession included Ryan Ross’ 58-yard burst up the middle and into the end zone for an early 14-0 lead.
Ross added a nifty second-quarter touchdown run for a 21-7 half-time lead.
Building that cushion proved to be the difference for the Cowboys, as both defenses controlled a scoreless second half. As Viator said before the game, “these [are] the two best defenses in the conference.”
“It was definitely a dog fight all four quarters,” said starting quarterback Daniel Sams. “Hats off to my offense. We did not put any points up in the second half, but we kept grinding. No one lost focus or the vision at hand. It may not have looked good all the time. [There were] dumb penalties. The intensity was still there, and we got the W, and that’s the most important part.”
The senior quarterback had less than stellar stats, going 13 of 30 for 137 yards with no interceptions. He was active in the running game, with 22 carries for 75 yards and that one rushing touchdown.
You can question Sams’ throwing accuracy and his vision downfield. I do it regularly, even though he is improving and progressing in the passing game. You can never question his courage, heart and toughness. When he tucks it and runs, he is a spinning, twisting open target for angry linebackers and safeties who want to break him in half.
It’s evident in his play and how he carries himself on the field that the 6-foot, 2-inch, 200-pound Sams really loves the game of football and competing. He has the elusiveness of his uncle — former McNeese great B.J. Sams. But the younger Sams still gets hit a lot and hit hard. I don’t think I’m imagining that collective sigh of relief from the stadium when Sams does one of his patented pop-ups and high fives after hard tackles.
“I love this game, man,” said Sams. “When I get hit like that, it’s just time to get back up. I think it fuels my offense up when I pop right back up. When the game is on the line, the fire is there, and I’m just playing: trying to get first downs; thinking about making big plays. As far as getting tackled and possibly getting hurt, that doesn’t cross my mind. When you think about getting hurt, then that’s when it’s going to happen.”
I thought Sams would make improvements passing, both on the deep throws and the shorter touch throws. But I had to see it for myself. That question appears to be somewhat answered at this point. “[We’re] definitely making some headway, but [are] not where we want to be at all,” said Sams. “And I will be the first one to say that, seeing I’m the one throwing the ball.”
I asked Viator about the concern over Sams being the leading rusher over the first four games. The concern has been put to rest for now, as Ryan Ross got his wheels going for a season-high 149 yards on 15 carries. Ross saw some appetizing gaps to take advantage of. “They just make it easy on me when the offensive line blocks that well. It makes it easier for me to find the holes and get the job done.”
It’s obvious with this suffocating defense the Cowboys are a tough out if they build a 10- to 14-point cushion.
They have stared down adversity and responded with game-changing plays. See Beau Brown’s hit and forced fumble on SFA quarterback Zach Conque at the goal line and Wallace Scott’s sack and forced fumble on Southeastern quarterback D’Shaie Landor that iced a win.
Can the Cowboys rally and win a close game in the closing minutes when every play counts?
Will kicker Trent Manuel’s recent missed field goals — he failed from 46 and 32 yards versus Southeastern — become a worrisome trend? He has to improve on his 4 of 7 field goal attempts to put that question to bed.
McNeese, now 5-0 for the first time since 2007, when a Viator-led club went 11-1, will take a 4-0 SLC record on the road to Conway, Ark., to face a Central Arkansas team that is also unbeaten in league play.
There is no question that there have been some strange and baffling bounces when the Cowboys have to play on that purple-striped field.
More answers to come.
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