FOOTBALL PREVIEW: Cowboys journey to tackle Colonels at 3 p.m.

McNeese (2-5, 1-2 SLC) at Nicholls (1-6, 1-2 SLC)
Saturday, October 25, 2025, Manning Field at Guidry Stadium, Thibodaux, La.
 
Broadcast Information:
Time: 3:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN+ (LINK) – Jack Benjamin (PxP), Wayde Keiser (Analyst)
Radio: 92.9 The Lake and 929thelake.com (Link) – Tom Hoefer (PxP), Mark Young (Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (Link)
Media Hub (Link)
 
Viator Closes in on Career Win No. 100
• McNeese head coach Matt Viator can report his one hundredth profession victory with a win on Saturday at Nicholls.
• Viator has collected a 99-77 report which incorporates an 80-38 mark at McNeese.
• His 80 wins are essentially the most at school historical past and the third-most of any coach in Southland Conference historical past (99 by Ron Randleman, Sam Houston State, 1987-2004; 83 by Sam Goodwin, Northwestern State, 1987-99).
• Viator has gained a Southland Conference solely 55 video games, a league report, and has compiled a 55-20 total mark in league video games.
 
Game Overview
• McNeese might be seeking to put collectively a successful streak for the primary time this season when it visits Nicholls.
• The Cowboys (2-5, 1-2 SLC) snapped a 5-game dropping streak final Saturday after a 27-0 shutout win at dwelling in opposition to HCU to mark the primary shutout win since 2017 and the primary at dwelling for the reason that 2015 season. Nicholls (1-6, 1-2) dropped its sixth-straight sport, 34-7, at Stephen F. Austin in a contest that didn’t finish till after 1 a.m. as a result of a 4 hour climate delay. • McNeese is 0-3 away from dwelling this season whereas Nicholls is 1-1 at dwelling.
• Head coach Matt Viator might be seeking to win his one hundredth profession sport on Saturday.
• Viator is 9-1 all-time in opposition to Nicholls whereas Colonels’ head coach Tommy Rybacki might be dealing with the Cowboys for the primary time as a head coach.
• Cowboys’ head coach Matt Viator will enter Saturday’s sport because the Southland Conference’s all-time chief in league wins with 55. He’s compiled a 55-20 report in convention video games for a .733 successful share. His total win complete of 80 victories at McNeese is ranked third all-time within the league whereas teaching within the Southland, trailing solely Ran Randleman (SHSU, 99 wins) and Sam Goodwin (NSU, 83 victories). Viator has recorded 99 profession wins.
 
McNeese vs. Nicholls – The Series
• Saturday will mark the fiftieth assembly within the all-time collection with McNeese main 31-18.
• The Colonels have gained 4 straight video games within the collection together with final 12 months’s 24-19 win in Thibodaux.
• McNeese hasn’t gained at Nicholls for the reason that 2015 season by a 37-7 rating in what was Viator’s final 12 months at McNeese earlier than taking the pinnacle teaching job at ULM.
• McNeese holds a 15-8 lead within the collection in video games performed at Nicholls however the Colonels have gained the final 4 video games at their dwelling stadium in opposition to the Cowboys.
 
Strong Garners 2^nd SLC Offensive Player of the Week Award
• Quarterback Jake Strong was named this week’s SLC Offensive Player of the Week for his efficiency in serving to lead the Cowboys to a 27-0 win over HCU.
• It’s his second participant of the week award of the season.
• Against HCU, Strong tied a McNeese single-game college report for many speeding TDs scored by a quarterback with three, scoring from 7, 7, and 34 yards.
• He completed the sport with a career-high 108 yards speeding, the Ninth-most by a quarterback at school historical past.
• He averaged 6.8 yards per carry and added 133 passing yards to complete with 221 complete offensive yards.
• Strong was environment friendly on 1st downs within the sport, finishing 7 of 9 passes for 64 yards, a 9.1 common.
 
Quick Hits
• Quarterback Jake Strong was named this week’s SLC Offensive Player of the Week for his efficiency in serving to lead the Cowboys to a 27-0 win over HCU.
• McNeese is ranked third within the league in speeding with 175.9 yards per sport.
• Against HCU final Saturday, the Cowboys fielded their three high working backs – Coleby Hamm, Bryce Strong, Tre’Vonte Citizen – for the primary time for the reason that season opening sport and the trio mixed to hurry for 270 yards within the win over the Huskies.
• McNeese is ranked No. 1 within the league in punting with a 41.0 common.
• The Cowboys’ protection is tied with the second-most sacks this season at 15 and tied for the third-most interceptions with six.
• McNeese is second within the league in 4th-down conversions (12 for 19 for 63.2 %).
• Coleby Hamm is third within the league in speeding with 51.6 ypg with Tre’Vonte Citizen fourth with 48.6 ypg and Bryce Strong twelfth with 38.8 ypg.
• Quarterback Jake Strong has scored 5 speeding TDs, tied because the third-most within the league and ranked 61st within the FCS.
• J. Strong is third within the league and 61st within the FCS in complete offense with a 206.3 common.
• Punter Fabrizio Pinton is second within the convention and twenty sixth within the nation with a 42.9 common.
• QB Jake Strong is forty eighth within the FCS and third within the SLC with 1,271 passing yards on the season.
• Safety Shoes Brinkley recorded double-digits tackles in back-to-back video games (10 at ULL, 11 vs. Weber State).
• RB Tre’Vonte Citizen ran for a career-high 117 yards in opposition to Weber State and scored on a 79-yard jaunt, the Tenth-longest speeding TD at school historical past.
• WR Jonathan Harris recorded profession highs in opposition to WSU with 7 catches for 114 yards and a pair of TDs.
 
Offensive Line Getting within the Work
• McNeese’s beginning 5 on the offensive line has mixed to play 2,214 snaps on the season, roughly 93% of the whole offensive snaps on the season.
• Cody Brackeen has performed a season-high 454 out of a attainable 478 snaps.
• Will Bressi leads the group with 20 complete knockdown blocks.
 
OL Starters             Plays Knockdowns
Cody Brackeen        454   16
Greg Knox               448   14
Will Bressi               438   20
Eric Aschenbeck     438   6
Sam Liu                   436   12