2023 McNeese Cowboys football team

2023 McNeese Cowboys football
2023 McNeese Cowboys football
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	0–10 (1–6 Southland)
Head coach	Gary Goff (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Adam Neugebauer (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Tony Pecoraro (2nd season)
Home stadium	Cowboy Stadium
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Southland Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Nicholls $^	7	–	0	6	–	5
No. 22 Incarnate Word	6	–	1	8	–	2
Lamar	5	–	2	6	–	5
Houston Christian	4	–	3	5	–	5
Southeastern Louisiana	3	–	4	3	–	8
Texas A&M–Commerce *	2	–	5	1	–	9
McNeese	1	–	6	0	–	10
Northwestern State **	0	–	2	0	–	6

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * – Texas A&M–Commerce ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II. ** – Northwestern State canceled its season on October 26. Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 McNeese Cowboys football team represented McNeese State University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Gary Goff, the Cowboys played home games at Cowboy Stadium in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Preseason

Preseason poll

The Southland Conference released their preseason poll on July 24, 2023. The Cowboys were picked to finish third in the conference.^[1]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Southeastern Louisiana	93 (9)
2	Incarnate Word	91 (7)
3	McNeese	65
4	Nicholls	62
5	Northwestern State	52
6	Texas A&M–Commerce	33
7	Lamar	28
8	Houston Christian	24

Preseason All–Southland Teams

The Southland Conference announced the 2023 preseason all-conference football team selections on July 21, 2023. McNeese had a total of 4 players selected.^[2]

Offense

1st Team

Garrison Smith – placekicker, SO

2nd Team

Cole LeClair – offensive lineman, JR

Defense

2nd Team

Welland Williams – defensive lineman, RS-SO
Javon Davis – defensive back, SO

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	7:00 p.m.	Tarleton State*	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	ESPN+	L 34–52	12,074
September 9	6:30 p.m.	at Florida*	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPNU	L 7–49	88,163
September 16	6:00 p.m.	at Alcorn State*	Casem-Spinks Stadium Lorman, MS		L 3–17	2,052
September 23	2:00 p.m.	at Eastern Illinois*	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN+	L 28–31	6,565
September 30	7:00 p.m.	Nicholls	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	ESPN+	L 10–31	9,148
October 7	7:00 p.m.	at Texas A&M–Commerce	Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium Commerce, TX	ESPN+	L 10–41	4,817
October 21	7:00 p.m.	No. 5 Incarnate Word	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	ESPN+	L 24–35	7,415
October 28	7:00 p.m.	Northwestern State	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA (rivalry)	ESPN+	W 2–0 (forfeit)		^[3]
November 4	3:00 p.m.	at Southeastern Louisiana	Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA	ESPN+	L 24–38	3,228
November 11	7:00 p.m.	Houston Christian	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	ESPN+	L 24–35	6,724
November 18	3:00 p.m.	Lamar	Provost Umphrey Stadium Beaumont, TX (Battle of the Border)	ESPN+	L 27–52	5,683
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[4]^[5]

Game summaries

at Florida (FBS)

Previous meeting
First Meeting

Game Two – McNeese Cowboys (0–1) at Florida Gators (FBS) (0–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
McNeese	0	0	0	7	7
Florida	13	13	16	7	49

at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida

Date: September 9
Game time: 7:35 p.m. EDT
Game weather: Sunny
Game attendance: 88,163
Referee: Wayne Winkler
TV announcers (ESPNU): Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Kirk Morrison (analyst), and Stormy Buonantony (sideline reporter)^[6]
Boxscore

Game information

First quarter

(10:59) FLA – Montrell Johnson Jr. 2-yard run (pass failed) (Drive: 9 plays, 62 yards, 3:54; Florida 6-0)
(0:28) FLA – Graham Mertz 1-yard run (Adam Mihalek kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 99 yards, 5:28; Florida 13-0)

Second quarter

(7:04) FLA – Treyaun Webb 2-yard run (pass failed) (Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 5:15; Florida 19-0)
(0:34) FLA – Trevor Etienne 8-yard run (Adam Mihalek kick) (Drive: 10 plays, 74 yards, 3:53; Florida 26-0)

Third quarter

(9:27) FLA – Montrell Johnson Jr. 8-yard run (Adam Mihalek kick) (Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 3:57; Florida 33-0)
(3:45) FLA – Ricky Pearsall 50-yard pass from Graham Mertz (Adam Mihalek kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 84 yards, 2:41; Florida 40-0)
(2:54) FLA – Jamari Lyons 0-yard safety (Florida 42-0)

Fourth quarter

(13:00) FLA – Treyaun Webb 5-yard run (Trey Smack kick) (Drive: 9 plays, 62 yards, 4:54; Florida 49-0)
(2:24) MCN – Coleby Hamm 8-yard run (Garrison Smith kick) (Drive: 1 play, 8 yards, 0:09; Florida 49-7)

Statistics	MCN	FLA
First downs	6	33
Total yards	40–112	74–560
Rushing yards	26–46	51–327
Passing yards	66	233
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	7–14–0	18–23–0
Time of possession	23:51	36:09

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
McNeese	Passing	Nate Glantz	6/13, 62 yards
	Rushing	D'Angelo Durham	11 carries, 45 yards
	Receiving	Jon McCall	1 reception, 18 yards
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	14/17, 193 yards, TD
	Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	15 carries, 119 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Ricky Pearsall	6 receptions, 123 yards, TD

Pregame line^[7]	Over/under
Florida −47.5	55.5

Postseason All–Southland Teams

The Southland Conference announced the 2023 all-conference football team selections on November 22, 2023. Three McNeese players were selected.^[8]

Offense

2nd Team

Jon McCall – wide receiver, R-SO
Cole LeClair – offensive line, JR

Defense

1st Team

Micah Davey – linebacker, R-SO

References

^ "Southeastern Voted Top Spot in 2023 Southland Football Preseason Poll". www.southland.org. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
^ "Southland Announces 2023 All-Conference Team". www.southland.org. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
^ Kasabian, Paul (October 26, 2023). "Northwestern State Cancels Football Season, HC Resigns After Ronnie Caldwell's Death". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
^ "McNeese Cowboys Schedule 2023". ESPN. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
^ "2023 Football Schedule". McNeese State University Athletics. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
^ McNeese Pregame|
^ McNeese betting
^ James Hill (November 22, 2023). "Southland Announces 2023 All-Conference Football Team and Superlatives". Southland Conference. Retrieved November 22, 2023.

[1] "Southeastern Voted Top Spot in 2023 Southland Football Preseason Poll". www.southland.org. Retrieved July 24, 2023.

[2] "Southland Announces 2023 All-Conference Team". www.southland.org. Retrieved July 24, 2023.

[3] Kasabian, Paul (October 26, 2023). "Northwestern State Cancels Football Season, HC Resigns After Ronnie Caldwell's Death". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 26, 2023.

[4] "McNeese Cowboys Schedule 2023". ESPN. Retrieved June 20, 2023.

[5] "2023 Football Schedule". McNeese State University Athletics. Retrieved June 20, 2023.

[6] McNeese Pregame|

[7] McNeese betting

[8] James Hill (November 22, 2023). "Southland Announces 2023 All-Conference Football Team and Superlatives". Southland Conference. Retrieved November 22, 2023.

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v t e McNeese Cowboys football
Venues	Killen Field (1951–1953) Wildcat Stadium (1954–1964) Cowboy Stadium (1965–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Central Arkansas: Red Beans and Rice Bowl Lamar: Battle of the Border Louisiana: Cajun Crown Northwestern State
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1940–1950 (junior college) 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 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Southland Conference
Members	East Texas A&M Lions Houston Christian Huskies Incarnate Word Cardinals Lamar Cardinals and Lady Cardinals McNeese Cowboys and Cowgirls Nicholls Colonels New Orleans Privateers Northwestern State Demons and Lady Demons Southeastern Louisiana Lions and Lady Lions Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders UTRGV Vaqueros (adding football in 2025)
Beach volleyball-only members	Boise State Broncos San Jose State Spartans
Golf-only members	Augusta Jaguars (men & women) Francis Marion Patriots (men)
Tennis-only members	NJIT Highlanders (men & women)
Multi-sport affiliate	Bryant Bulldogs (men's & women's golf and tennis)
Related entities	Southland Bowling League (2015–2023)