Opponent Preview: McNeese State
11/7/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin heads on the road for the final time this season, making the trek to Lake Charles, La., for a showdown with sixth-ranked McNeese State. Opening kick against the Cowboys is set for 6 p.m. at Cowboy Stadium as SFA will be facing its second top-10 opponent in the last three weeks.
SFA fans unable to make it to Lake Charles for this weekend’s game against McNeese State can still stay up to date on every Lumberjack play. Live video of the game can be seen by logging on to Cowboys Insider at McNeeseSports.com. Fans can also listen to their Lumberjacks as Rob Meyers will have the call on Q107.7 FM as well as online at Q1077.com. Live stats will be available online at McNeeseSports.com with in-game Twitter updates @SFA_Football.
Game Storylines:
• Saturday’s game against McNeese State marks the 34th all-time meeting between the two schools as the Cowboys hold an 18-13-2 (.576) edge in the all-time series, which dates back to 1951. McNeese State has won the last two games, including last season’s 69-38 rout of the Lumberjacks at Homer Bryce Stadium. SFA’s last win in the series came in 2011 when the Lumberjacks defeated the Cowboys 31-17 in Nacogdoches and the last win for SFA in Lake Charles came in 2010 when the ‘Jacks knocked off the Cowboys 32-27. Historically, SFA has struggled in Lake Charles, posting a 4-11-1 (.281) record at Cowboy Stadium, but the series has been relatively even through the last 10 games with McNeese winning six times to SFA’s four.
• Saturday’s game against McNeese State marks familiar territory for SFA as the Lumberjack will be facing a top-10 opponent for the 44th time since making the jump to the FCS level. The ‘Jacks are 17-25-1 (.407) against top-10 foes with the highest-ranked victory coming against top-ranked North Texas in 1988, toppling the Mean Green 17-10. SFA has been dangerous against top-10 foes in the last two seasons, defeating second-ranked Montana State 52-38 in 2013 before upending eighth-ranked Southeastern Louisiana 27-17 earlier this season at Homer Bryce Stadium.
Earlier this week, head coach Clint Conque held his weekly media press conference and reflected back on the Lumberjacks' loss against Sam Houston State while looking ahead to this week's game at sixth-ranked McNeese State in Lake Charles, La.:
On the key momentum plays against Sam Houston State:
“They were huge. We had a touchdown called back on the first drive because of a procedure penalty away from the play. Midway through the second quarter we have an opportunity to take the lead, we’re in an 18-player scrum, and the ball squirts out after we certainly felt like momentum had been stopped on the play. Those were game changing, because we were never able to take the lead and put them behind the eight ball. With that said, you have to give (Sam Houston State) credit too, because they have explosive players. The kids that have been in that program for the last three or four years have been to national championship games and playoffs for the last three years at the FCS level, so that moment wasn’t too big for them. I thought that we played a little tentative. Not nearly as physical this past week, and some of that had to do with just a lack of not being there before. I’m sure all last week our players got patted on the back. They just beat the number eight team in the country for Homecoming, on TV, and you’re nationally ranked for the first time in three or four years. There were a lot of positives came out of that, and I thought we had a really good week of preparation, but I think playing in front of 27,000 people at NRG, another TV audience, tied for first place, that’s a big spot for kids that have never been in that situation before. I’m proud of how we competed there at the end. We score, get an onside kick, and we get a chance to score at the end to try and extend the game. But at the end of the day we gave up 10 explosive plays, a controversial turnover, and then a self-inflicted a procedure call that calls back a touchdown. When you play a really good and solid team those mistakes become magnified, and it was just too much for us to overcome.”
On McNeese State’s offensive abilities:
“They want to grind you, they’ve got a big physical offensive line and are well coached. They’ve had some injury at running back, but some of those guys are getting back healthy now. They just roll three or four (running backs) at you, and they’re all physical with a lot of speed. (Quarterback) Daniel Sams has made a difference for them as a duel threat quarterback. He hasn’t put up very good passing numbers, but you certainly have to be aware of his ability to throw because he has a very strong arm. He’s a dynamic athlete, and he can make a bad play into a really good play in a hurry. I know they’ve had several injuries at receiver, but they still have three very dynamic wide receivers, and they always have good tight ends and full backs, so its just an enormous challenge. I thought the Sam Houston State game was a pretty physical game up front, but these guys are really going to make it physical. So we have to answer the bell this week and be much more passionate about playing defense. I didn’t think last week we were as passionate. As a matter of fact, I thought we were borderline tentative at times, and certainly we are going to have to get back to how we played in some of the earlier conference games to be able to contain a really dynamic offense.”
On how to counter McNeese State’s defense:
“We are going to have to finish blocks. Whether it be pass protection or in the run game, we are going to have to lock people up and create some seams. They are not the biggest defense we’ve played, but they are very active and they do a great job of playing with their hands and getting off blocks. Their five back defenders in their 4-2-5 are very athletic. Similar to last week, there will be a lot of different blitz looks, a lot of man coverage. It’s a lot like what we saw this past week with Sam Houston, except I think this group might actually be a little faster, so it’s just an enormous challenge. They are also very solid in the kicking game. Last year, I think they returned three kicks in the game against SFA for touchdowns, so we are going to have to be really on point in our coverage and protection units. They have a very fine kicker and a very fine punter too. Last week, we started ten drives inside the eighteen-yard line. A lot of those were punts that were downed deep in our own territory, and we’ve got to win the battle of field position to have a chance.
On playing in the hostile environment of Cowboy Stadium:
“It’s an incredible environment, and having coached there for three years, and having competed down there for many years it is one of the great environments in college football. They have passionate fans, fans who have high football IQ, and playing at Lake Charles at night, it really is a tremendous environment. I have no doubt that our players will get excited. We’ve got to quickly put last week away. You can’t dwell on the past, good or bad, you’ve got to put it in the trash can, and you’ve got to move on. We’ve got the number six team in the country to prepare for this week, and we have to go to their place. It’s going to take incredible effort by everyone in our building and four really good quarters of college football on Saturday.”
On how to manage a tough loss after a big victory:
“I think young people in general are resilient. Certainly we recognize we missed a big opportunity last week. But you can’t dwell on it. You’ve got to move on, and our body of work up to this point has been good. We still have an awful lot to play for. It has been four years since a senior class has had a winning season, and that is very important to me as we are just starting to put our processes in place and build our program. That is a key building block, and we’ve got a chance Saturday to get that seventh win. We are going to be back in these big games. I have a great deal of confidence in our staff and in our program about what we are building here that I know we are going to get back in these big games. We’ve just got to handle these moments better, and this is certainly a huge game. McNeese is fighting for their conference life. They are in the top ten. There are some things that we are playing for, and I think kids just in general will respond, but it’s tough coming off of a rivalry loss. But the focus has to be on the next opportunity, and it’s a difficult task but what a wonderful opportunity we have to go to Lake Charles this week and improve as a team.”
-SFA-
