2013 McNeese State Cowboys football team

2013 McNeese State Cowboys football

FCS Playoffs Second Round vs. Jacksonville State, L 10–31
Conference	Southland Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	#11
FCS Coaches	#9
2013 record	10–3 (6–1 Southland)
Head coach	Matt Viator (8th year)
Offensive coordinator	Tim Leger (7th year)
Defensive coordinator	Lance Guidry (1st year)
Home stadium	Cowboy Stadium (Capacity: 17,610)


2013 Southland Conference football standings
Team	W		L	W		L
#6 Southeastern Louisiana †^	7	–	0	11	–	3
#11 McNeese State ^	6	–	1	10	–	3
#14 Sam Houston State ^	4	–	3	9	–	5
Central Arkansas	4	–	3	7	–	5
Northwestern State	3	–	4	6	–	6
Lamar	2	–	5	5	–	7
Nicholls State	1	–	6	4	–	8
Stephen F. Austin	1	–	6	3	–	9

† – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll

The 2013 McNeese State Cowboys football team represented McNeese State University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Cowboys were led by eighth year head coach Matt Viator and played their home games at Cowboy Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 10–3, 6–1 in Southland play to finish in second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost in the second round to Jacksonville State.

Media

All McNeese State games were broadcast on Gator 99.5 FM. KVHP 30.2 is the local affiliate for SLC TV and aired McNeese State games on SLC TV.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	6:00 PM	at South Florida*		Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPN3	W 53–21	35,470
September 7	7:30 PM	Arkansas-Pine Bluff*	#18	Cowboy Stadium • Lake Charles, LA	CSNH	W 58–14	15,217
September 14	7:00 PM	West Alabama*	#13	Cowboy Stadium • Lake Charles, LA		W 44–42	10,107
September 21	7:00 PM	Weber State*	#12	Cowboy Stadium • Lake Charles, LA		W 43–6	8,893
September 28	4:00 PM	at #5 Northern Iowa*	#9	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA		L 6–41	12,325
October 5	3:00 PM	at #14 Central Arkansas	#11	Estes Stadium • Conway, AR (Red Beans and Rice Bowl)	SLCTV	W 59–28	10,247
October 19	7:00 PM	#2 Sam Houston State	#9	Cowboy Stadium • Lake Charles, LA	ESPN3	W 31–23	15,352
October 26	3:00 PM	at Nicholls State	#4	John L. Guidry Stadium • Thobodaux, LA		W 55–30	5,988
November 2	7:00 PM	#25 Southeastern Louisiana	#4	Cowboy Stadium • Lake Charles, LA		L 7–41	14,898
November 9	3:00 PM	at Stephen F. Austin	#11	Homer Bryce Stadium • Nacogdoches, TX		W 69–38	6,312
November 16	7:00 PM	Northwestern State	#9	Cowboy Stadium • Lake Charles, LA (Rivalry)	ESPN3	W 43–17	15,003
November 23	3:00 PM	at Lamar	#6	Provost Umphrey Stadium • Beaumont, TX (Battle of the Border)		W 42–38	7,627
December 7	6:00 PM	#20 Jacksonville State*	#6	Cowboy Stadium • Lake Charles, LA (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	L 10–31	5,036
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

^[1]

Game summaries

South Florida

McNeese State at USF

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Cowboys	2	31	10	10	53
Bulls	7	0	7	7	21

Date: August 31
Location: Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, FL
Game start: 7:00 PM EST
Elapsed time: 3:15
Game attendance: 35,470
Game weather: 88 °F (31 °C), Cloudy
Referee: Todd LaPenta
TV announcers (ESPN3): Drew Fellios, Doug Graber, and Tiffany Greene

Sources:

Scoring summary

1	12:47	USF	Marcus Shaw 80-yard touchdown run, Marvin Kloss kick good	USF 7–0

1	7:55	MCN	30-yard Team Safety	USF 7–2

2	11:02	MCN	Kelvin Bennett 7-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 9–7

2	10:38	MCN	Dylan Long 7-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 16–7

2	6:47	MCN	Nic Jacobs 22-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 23–7

2	3:13	MCN	Jean Breaux 47-yard Field Goal	MCN 26–7

2	0:12	MCN	Guy Morgan 76-yard Interception return for a touchdown, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 33–7

3	12:46	MCN	{{{Event}}}	MCN 40–7

3	11:23	USF	Stephen Bravo-Brown 59-yard touchdown pass from Bobby Eveld, Marvin Kloss kick good	MCN 40–14

3	4:23	MCN	Ryan Rome 32-yard Field Goal	MCN 43–14

4	13:57	USF	Andre Davis 7-yard touchdown pass from Bobby Eveld, Marvin Kloss kick good	MCN 43–21

4	12:59	MCN	Nic Jacobs 22-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 50–21

4	5:37	MCN	Ryan Rome 24-yard Field Goal	MCN 53–21

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–1	2006	USF, 41–10

McNeese State received $400,000 to play the upper division (FBS) USF Bulls to open the 2013 season for both programs.^[2] The Bulls prior record as an FBS team playing against FCS teams was 23–0; USF was a 20.5 point favorite before the game.^[2]^[3] The Cowboys spoiled Willie Taggart's debut as the Bulls' head coach, winning 53–21. The 32-point margin was the largest margin of victory by any FCS team over an FBS team since Division I was split into FBS and FCS in 1978.^[3]

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas–Pine Bluff at McNeese State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Lions	7	7	0	0	14
• #18 Cowboys	14	23	14	7	58

Date: September 7
Location: Cowboy Stadium
Lake Charles, LA
Game start: 7:37 PM CST
Elapsed time: 2:48
Game attendance: 15,217
Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C), Cloudy, Winds SSW @ 6mph
Referee: Ken Ray
TV announcers (CSNH): David Saltzman, ND Kalu & Bart Enis

Sources:

Scoring summary

1	11:40	MCN	Marcus Wiltz 12-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 7–0

1	6:00	UAPB	Jamie Smith 7-yard touchdown run, Tyler Strickland kick good	Tied 7–7

1	0:24	MCN	Dylan Long 1-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 14–7

2	14:30	UAPB	Jeremiah Young 2-yard touchdown run, Tyler Strickland kick good	Tied 14–14

2	12:32	MCN	Tyler Bolfing 7-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 21–14

2	11:42	MCN	1-yard Team Safety	MCN 23–14

2	10:11	MCN	Marcus Wiltz 22-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 30–14

2	0:41	MCN	Marcus Wiltz 6-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 37–14

3	14:12	MCN	Ernest Celestie 33-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 44–14

3	1:56	MCN	Dylan Long 12-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 51–14

4	9:58	MCN	Jontrey Tillman 9-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 58–14

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First Meeting

West Alabama

Weber State

Weber State at McNeese State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	6	0	0	0	6
• #12 Cowboys	7	10	13	13	43

Date: September 21
Location: Cowboy Stadium
Lake Charles, LA
Game start: 7:00 PM CST
Elapsed time: 2:53
Game attendance: 8,893
Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C), Cloudy w/ 70% chance of rain, Winds NNE @ 12mph
Referee: C. Castleberry

Sources:

Scoring summary

1	9:41	WSU	Cam Livingston 48-yard touchdown pass from Austin Chipoletti, Austin Chipoletti rush failed	WSU 6–0

1	2:55	MCN	Wallace Scott 69-yard Interception returned for a touchdown, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 7–6

2	14:45	MCN	Kelvin Bennett 48-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 14–6

2	5:40	MCN	Ryan Rome 35-yard Field Goal	MCN 17–6

3	7:15	MCN	Ernest Celestie 43-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick good	MCN 24–6

3	1:36	MCN	Marcus Wiltz 11-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick blocked	MCN 30–6

4	14:49	MCN	Ernest Celestie 60-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick failed	MCN 36–6

4	9:55	MCN	Kelvin Bennett 50-yard touchdown run, Jean Breaux kick good	MCN 43–6

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–1	2012	McNeese State, 35–21

Northern Iowa

McNeese State at Northern Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
#9 Cowboys	0	0	6	0	6
• #5 Panthers	7	10	14	10	41

Date: September 28
Location: UNI-Dome
Cedar Falls, IA
Game attendance: 12,325

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–7	1999	Northern Iowa, 41–17

Central Arkansas

McNeese State at Central Arkansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #11 Cowboys	7	35	7	10	59
#14 Bears	7	14	7	0	28

Date: October 5
Location: Estes Stadium
Conway, AR
Television network: SLCTV

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–4	2012	Central Arkansas, 27–26

Sam Houston State

McNeese State at Sam Houston State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#9 Cowboys	0	0	0	0	0
#2 Bearkats	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 19
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
22–7	2012	Sam Houston State, 45–10

Nicholls State

McNeese State at Nicholls State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	0	0	0	0
Colonels	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 26
Location: John L. Guidry Stadium
Thibodaux, LA

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
26–11	2012	McNeese State, 42–10

Southeastern Louisiana

Southeastern Louisiana at McNeese State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	0	0	0	0
Cowboys	0	0	0	0	0

Date: November 2
Location: Cowboy Stadium
Lake Charles, LA

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
22–16	2012	Southeastern Louisiana, 25–24

Stephen F. Austin

McNeese State at Stephen F. Austin

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	0	0	0	0
Lumberjacks	0	0	0	0	0

Date: November 9
Location: Homer Bryce Stadium
Nacogdoches, TX

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
14–11–1	2012	McNeese State, 35–24

Northwestern State

Northwestern State at McNeese State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Demons	0	0	0	0	0
Cowboys	0	0	0	0	0

Date: November 16
Location: Cowboy Stadium
Lake Charles, LA
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
36–16–1	2012	McNeese State, 30–22

Lamar

McNeese State at Lamar

	1	2	3	4	Total
Demons	0	0	0	0	0
Cowboys	0	0	0	0	0

Date: November 23
Location: Provost Umphrey Stadium
Beaumont, TX

Sources:

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
20–7–1	2012	McNeese State, 35–0

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
Sports Network	NR	18	13	12	9	11	9	9	4	4	11	9	6	6	11
Coaches	NR	20	18	13	9	14	11	10	7	7	13	11	8	6	9

References

↑ "McNeese State announces 2013 football schedule". McNeese State Athletics. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
↑ 2.0 2.1 Auman, Greg (August 31, 2013). "McNeese State Hands USF Bulls Humbling Loss". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
↑ 3.0 3.1 Auman, Greg (August 31, 2013). "McNeese State Ranks Among USF Bulls' Worst Losses". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 3, 2013.

McNeese State Cowboys football

Venues	Cowboy Stadium (1965–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Battle of the Border (Lamar) Cajun Crown (Louisiana–Lafayette) Northwestern State Red Beans and Rice Bowl (Central Arkansas)

People	Head coaches NFL draftees

Seasons	1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

2013 NCAA Division I FCS playoff participants

Bethune-Cookman Butler Coastal Carolina Eastern Illinois Eastern Washington Fordham Furman Jacksonville State Lafayette Maine McNeese State Montana New Hampshire North Dakota State Northern Arizona Sacred Heart Sam Houston State Samford South Carolina State South Dakota State Southeastern Louisiana Southern Utah Tennessee State Towson

Champion – North Dakota State