2013 McNeese State Cowboys football team

2013 McNeese State Cowboys football
NCAA Division I Second Round, L 10–31 vs. Jacksonville State
Conference	Southland Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 11
FCS Coaches	No. 9
Record	10–3 (6–1 Southland)
Head coach	Matt Viator (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Tim Leger (7th season)
Defensive coordinator	Lance Guidry (1st season)
Home stadium	Cowboy Stadium

2013 Southland Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 6 Southeastern Louisiana $^		7	–	0					11	–	3
No. 11 McNeese State ^		6	–	1					10	–	3
No. 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 poll

The 2013 McNeese State Cowboys football team represented McNeese State University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Matt Viator, the Cowboys compiled an overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 6–1 in conference play, placing second in the Southland. McNeese State received an at-large bid to NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where, after a first-round bye, the Cowboys lost in the second round to Jacksonville State. The team played home games at Cowboy Stadium in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

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*	No. 18	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	CSNH	W 58–14	15,217
September 14	7:00 pm	West Alabama*	No. 13	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA		W 44–42	10,107
September 21	7:00 pm	Weber State*	No. 12	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA		W 43–6	8,893
September 28	4:00 pm	at No. 5 Northern Iowa*	No. 9	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA		L 6–41	12,325
October 5	3:00 pm	at No. 14 Central Arkansas	No. 11	Estes Stadium Conway, AR (Red Beans and Rice Bowl)	SLCTV	W 59–28	10,247
October 19	7:00 pm	No. 2 Sam Houston State	No. 9	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	ESPN3	W 31–23	15,352
October 26	3:00 pm	at Nicholls State	No. 4	John L. Guidry Stadium Thobodaux, LA		W 55–30	5,988
November 2	7:00 pm	No. 25 Southeastern Louisiana	No. 4	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA		L 7–41	14,898
November 9	3:00 pm	at Stephen F. Austin	No. 11	Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX		W 69–38	6,312
November 16	7:00 pm	Northwestern State	No. 9	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA (rivalry)	ESPN3	W 43–17	15,003
November 23	3:00 pm	at Lamar	No. 6	Provost Umphrey Stadium Beaumont, TX (Battle of the Border)		W 42–38	7,627
December 7	6:00 pm	No. 20 Jacksonville State*	No. 6	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN3	L 10–31	5,036
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

South Florida

See also: South Florida Bulls football and 2013 South Florida Bulls football team

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 Dylan Long 1-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick good 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

McNeese State received $400,000 to play the upper division (FBS) USF Bulls to open the 2013 season for both programs. 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. 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.

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Arkansas-Pine Bluff

See also: Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions football and 2013 Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions football team

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

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West Alabama

See also: West Alabama Tigers football

West Alabama at McNeese State

1 2 3 4 Total Tigers 14 7 14 7 42 • #13 Cowboys 14 10 7 13 44 Date: September 14 Location: Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA Game start: 7:00 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:05 Game attendance: 10,107 Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C), Partly Cloudy, Winds E @ 6mph Referee: Ross Smith Sources:

Scoring summary 1 14:48 UWA Chad Toocheck 75-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Caldwell, Mark Grant kick good UWA 7–0 1 10:35 MCN Zach Hetrick 3-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick good Tied 7–7 1 7:40 UWA Seth Roberts 26-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Caldwell, Mark Grant kick good UWA 14–7 1 1:49 MCN Wes Briscoe 16-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick good Tied 14–14 2 13:11 UWA Gary Johnston 1-yard touchdown run, Mark Grant kick good UWA 21–14 2 10:39 MCN Ryan Rome 31-yard Field Goal UWA 21–17 2 4:17 MCN Nic Jacobs 4-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick good MCN 24–21 3 12:49 UWA Ty Morgan 57-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Caldwell, Mark Grant kick good UWA 28–24 3 6:34 MCN Dylan Long 1-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick good MCN 31–28 3 0:22 UWA Kedrick Rhodes 29-yard touchdown run, Mark Grant kick good UWA 35–31 4 12:58 MCN Jereon McGilvery 28-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick good MCN 38–35 4 3:41 UWA Gary Johnston 2-yard touchdown run, Mark Grant kick good UWA 42–38 4 0:46 MCN Diontae Spencer 20-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick blocked MCN 44–42

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Weber State

See also: Weber State Wildcats football and 2013 Weber State Wildcats football team

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

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Northern Iowa

See also: Northern Iowa Panthers football and 2013 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

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:

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Central Arkansas

See also: 2012 Central Arkansas Bears football team

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:

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Sam Houston State

See also: Sam Houston State Bearkats football and 2013 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

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:

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Nicholls State

See also: Nicholls State Colonels football and 2013 Nicholls State Colonels football team

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:

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Southeastern Louisiana

See also: Southeastern Louisiana Lions football and 2013 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team

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:

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Stephen F. Austin

See also: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football and 2013 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team

McNeese State at Stephen F. Austin

1 2 3 4 Total • #11 Cowboys 21 24 17 7 69 Lumberjacks 24 0 7 7 38 Date: November 9 Location: Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX Sources:

Scoring summary 1 9:37 SFA Tyler Boyd 62-yard touchdown pass from Brady Attaway, Jordan Wiggs kick SFA 7–0 1 9:25 MCNS Diontae Spencer 93-yard kickoff return, Ryan Rome kick Tied 7–7 1 7:16 SFA Jordan Wiggs 20-yard field goal SFA 10–7 1 5:07 SFA Tyler Boyd 17-yard touchdown pass from Brady Attaway, Jordan Wiggs kick SFA 17–7 1 4:53 MCNS Diontae Spencer 85-yard kickoff return, Ryan Rome kick SFA 17–14 1 4:39 SFA Mike Brooks 100-yard kickoff return, Jordan Wiggs kick SFA 24–14 1 2:09 MCNS Marcus Wiltz 2-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick SFA 24–21 2 8:08 MCNS Ernest Celestie 71-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick MCNS 28–24 2 7:24 MCNS Zack Hetrick 4-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick MCNS 35–24 2 2:37 MCNS Diontae Spencer 10-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick MCNS 42–24 2 0:05 MCNS Ryan Rome 22-yard field goal MCNS 45–24 3 7:54 MCNS Ryan Rome 23-yard field goal MCNS 48–24 3 7:20 SFA Marquis Mosley 51-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Boyd, Jordan Wiggs kick MCNS 48–31 3 5:29 MCNS Dylan Long 1-yard touchdown run, Ryan Rome kick MCNS 55–31 3 3:29 MCNS Diontae Spencer 9-yard touchdown pass from Cody Stroud, Ryan Rome kick MCNS 62–31 4 8:36 MCNS Diontae Spencer 35-yard punt return, Ryan Rome kick MCNS 69–31 4 3:38 MCNS Braxton Beardon 11-yard pass from Joe Minden, Jordan Wiggs kick MCNS 69–38

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Northwestern State

See also: Northwestern State Demons football and 2013 Northwestern State Demons football team

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:

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Lamar

See also: Lamar Cardinals football and 2013 Lamar Cardinals football team

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:

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Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
Sports Network	—	18	13	12	9	11	9	9	4	4	11	9	6	6	11
Coaches	—	20	18	13	9	14	11	10	7	7	13	11	8	6	9

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.