McNeese Cowboys Finish Regular Season 10-0, Seeded No. 4 in Playoffs

Despite turning the ball over twice inside the Lamar 5-yard line and missing two field goals, the McNeese Cowboys held on for 20-14 win in Beaumont. The victory give the Cowboys a perfect 10-0 record for the season, a first round bye in the FCS playoffs, and at least one home game in the second round. The win also gave head coach Matt Viator his 78th win as head coach, tying him with Bobby Keasler for the most wins in McNeese history.

The next time time the Pokes play again is Dec. 5 -- they will face the winner of the Sam Houston State / Southern Utah game.

As for the game against Lamar, the offense struggled at times going against a wind that was gusting over 30 mph. The passing game was almost nonexistent for McNeese. But the running game picked up 406 yards. The Pokes took a 3-0 lead on a 32-yard field goal by Jean Breaux. Lamar took the lead at 7-3 on a 66-yard fumble return. The Cowboys lead 17-7 after the first quarter of play.

Then the McNeese defense took over. Lamar had less than 100 yards of total offense through three quarters, while the Cowboys added a field goal to take a 20-7 lead midway through the 4th. Lamar was able to get a touchdown to cut the lead to 20-14 with 4:42 to play. The Cowboys never gave up the football the rest of the way.

McNeese held Kade Harrington to just 70 yards rushing. He entered the game with 2,022 yards to lead all running backs in the NCAA this season. The Pokes had three players run for over 100 yards lead by Derrick Milton with 138, Ryan Ross with 126, and Daniel Sams with 104.