Opponent Preview: McNeese
9/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin opens up its 30th season of Southland Conference play Saturday, traveling to Lake Charles, Louisiana, for a showdown with 13th-ranked McNeese. Kickoff against the Cowboys is set for 6 p.m. at Cowboy Stadium, airing on the American Sports Network.
Broadcast Information
Saturday’s Southland Conference opener for both Stephen F. Austin and McNeese will be televised on the American Sports Network, marking SFA’s first appearance on the network this season and its third since ASN came on board with the conference last season. David Saltzman (play-by-play) and ND Kalu (analyst) will have the call of the game with Carly McCord on the sideline. The local affiliate for ASN is KTPN (The Z) out of Tyler-Longview, airing on Suddenlink 9 (SD) and 109 (HD) and over-the-air on channels 47.1 and 51.2. ESPN3 will also carry the game online at ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app. The audio call courtesy of Rob Meyers will again be carried by Q107.7 FM and online at Q1077.com, as well as through the TuneIn app by following the Lumberjack Sports Network.
Five Storylines
• McNeese holds a 19-14-2 edge in the all-time series, including a 10-6-1 record in Lake Charles. The road team has won the last three games in the series, including SFA's 31-16 win over then-sixth-ranked McNeese in 2014.
• Stephen F. Austin enters its 30th season as a member of the Southland Conference Saturday as the Lumberjacks have posted a 17-12 record in SLC openers. Six times those openers have come against McNeese as the Lumberjacks and Cowboys have split those games, winning three a piece.
• Through the first two games of the 2016 season, Stephen F. Austin finds itself among the national FCS leaders in a number of categories. As a team, the Lumberjacks are tied for first nationally in sacks per game (4.5), fourth in punt return average (29.0), 15th in rushing defense (80.0 ypg), and 20th in fewest penalty yards per game (43.0). Individually, K Storm Ruiz is tied for first in both field goal and PAT percentage (100.0%) while ranking third in field goals per game (2.0), PR Trae Hart is second nationally in punt return average (29.0), DE John Franklin ranks eighth in sacks per game (1.25) with QB Zach Conque sitting 10th in completions per game (24.0). DE Kedrick Harrison is also among the national defensive leaders, joining Franklin among the sacks per game leaders in 12th (1.0).
• Saturday’s game against McNeese in Lake Charles marks the fifth game for head coach Clint Conque against his home state since he took over the Stephen F. Austin program prior to the 2014 season. A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Conque is 3-1 in games played in the Pelican State. In 2014, SFA defeated Nicholls 42-20 in Thibodaux before a 31-16 upset of sixth-ranked McNeese in Lake Charles. Last season, the ‘Jacks recorded another upset, rallying to defeat 21st-ranked Southeastern Louisiana 28-27 in Hammond before dropping the season finale to Northwestern State 33-17 in Natchitoches.
• One unique stat for Stephen F. Austin heading into Saturday’s game at McNeese is the game against the Cowboys marks the third-straight game the Lumberjacks will be facing an opposing head coach who is coaching his alma mater. SFA opened up the season against Texas Tech and head coach Kliff Kingsbury (class of 2001) before facing West Alabama and head coach Brett Gilliland (class of 2004) last Saturday. Lance Guidry, who earned his degree from McNeese in 1995, is in his first season at the helm of the Cowboys and actually spent one season on the roster with head coach Clint Conque, utilizing his redshirt season in 1989 - Conque’s final year on the Cowboy coaching staff.
Scouting the Cowboys
2016 Record: 1-1 overall, 0-0 Southland Conference. Ranked 13th (Coaches)/11th (Media) in this week’s FCS polls
Last Two Games: W vs. Tarleton State (33-3), L at Louisiana-Lafayette (30-22)
Head Coach: Lance Guidry (McNeese, 1995). First season at McNeese (1-1, .500)
Key Offensive Players:
• #4 James Tabary (So., QB): 44-of-67 (65.7%) for 491 yds. (245.5 avg.), 2 TDs
• #6 Ryan Ross (Jr., RB): 40 rushes for 195 yds. (4.9 avg.), long of 22; 8 catches for 43 yds. (5.4 avg.), long of 12
• #1 Kent Shelby (Jr., WR): 11 catches for 146 yds. (13.3 avg.), long of 20
• #19 Parker Orgeron (Fr., WR): 7 catches for 79 yds. (11.3 avg.), long of 35
• #2 Darious Crawley (Jr., WR): 5 catches for 73 yds. (14.6 avg.), 2 TDs, long of 35
Key Defensive Players:
• #55 Jammerio Gross-Whitaker (Jr., DL): 14 tackles (8 solo), 1.0 TFL, 1 PBU, 1 QBH
• #2 Erik Jones (Jr., DB): 9 tackles (6 solo)
• #49 Ashari Goins (Jr., LB): 9 tackles (3 solo)
• #24 Damion Morgan (Jr., DB): 8 tackles (2 solo)
• #92 Chris Livings (So., DE): 3 tackles (2 solo), 2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 1 FF
Synopsis: McNeese enters the weekend at 1-1 on the year, defeating Tarleton State 33-3 in hits home opener before falling to rival Louisiana-Lafayette 30-22 this past weekend. The Cowboys are averaging 27.5 points and 466.0 yards per game through the first two weeks, throwing for 311.5 yards and rushing for 154.5 QB James Tabary, an Arkansas State transfer, has thrown for 491 yards and two touchdowns on the year, both of which were to WR Darious Crawley as RB Ryan Ross is averaging nearly 100 yards a game rushing. Defensively, McNeese is allowing 16.5 points and 262.0 yards per game, holding opponents to 107.5 rushing and 154.5 passing yards per game. DL Jammerio Gross-Whitaker has paced the defensive unit with 14 tackles and a tackle for loss with DB Erik Jones and LB Ashari Goins posting nine tackles each. DE Chris Livings is the Cowboys’ top TFL performer with 2.0 TFL and a sack.
Head Coach Clint Conque's Press Transcript
On his final thoughts from the West Alabama game:
"I was very impressed with West Alabama. They had three or four dozen transfers, and they came out and played well for the majority of the night. I thought we did some really good things, especially in the first half. I thought we played solid defensively all game. We held west Alabama to 35 rushing yards, 7 sacks, and quite a few tackles for loss. With that said, our tackling kind of derailed later on in the game. Special teams were more of a mixed bag. I’m really happy for Storm Ruiz, the conference player of the week, who was three for three on field goals. Trey Hart gave us a 75-yard punt return. He has made his presence known on the offensive side of the ball, but he did blunder that first punt. That gave them a very short field early in the game that led to their first touchdown. We also had a poor punt later in the game that gave West Alabama another short field. That’s something we have to clean up and will be tested more severely this week. I thought we had a good plan offensively. We came out in rhythm and moved the ball and had 20 something points by half time. Towards the end of the second quarter, things started to get disjointed. We had about a half a dozen poor center snaps, high throws, dropped balls, missed assignments. Things that good teams play through, and I think we just tried to get through the game. Loren Easley made his presence known on offense early. Josh West had a solid game. Both of those guys got dinged up a little bit, they will be back, we tried to protect them as best we could. We started true freshman Cooper Williams at right tackle in place of Devonte Jones, and Cooper graded out the highest or second highest of all offensive lineman. De’Quann Ruffin had some nice catches and a couple of blocks. Overall we were just inconsistent, and that was disappointing. Not every game is going to go the right way, but you have to find a way to win.”
On the struggles on the offensive line:
"I think our offensive line did pretty well against Texas Tech, but there were plenty of issues against West Alabama. There were poor center snaps, high throws, running backs cutting on blitz pick up. It’s like we lost interest in the second half. Our intensity went down. We knew West Alabama was going to give us a challenge. They won their conference in 2013 and 2014 so there are a lot of kids that are still there from that. It does start up front, but everyone has to get on the same page, and we better do it in a hurry. Were walking in on an angry football team who just lost to their rivals. We have to get some things on point pretty quick.”
On what to expect from McNeese:
"We’ve got to get the chemistry going and get back a couple of guys that are dinged up. This is one of my favorite weeks of the season. Having coached at McNeese, having the respect I have for their program, you understand the passion of their fans and the importance of football there. It really gets your juices going as a coach. They have a very athletic team. Their defensive front is passionate about the game. Their back end is a little inexperienced but still very athletic. When you play McNeese for the last fifty years, you better stop or contain the tailback. They have a pretty good dual threat quarterback that transferred from Arkansas State. They’re always going to be sound in the kicking game. This is a typical McNeese team, who are the defending conference champions. We expect a great crowd and great atmosphere, and we’re going to prepare for 60 minutes of conflict.”
On the performance of Justice Liggins:
"We targeted Justice about five times in that game, and only came out with a couple of catches. Texas Tech had given us a couple things to the boundary, where he plays quite a bit. I am pleased with the way we’re spreading the ball around. I think we’ve had about a dozen different kids catch passes for us. Justice came out with a bang against Texas Tech, and we certainly hope to get him going this week."
-SFA-
