McNeese Loses a Nailbiter Against Tarleton State

Texans down the Cowboys on a final field goal.

The teams were hitting and the offense was flowing.

Lippold throws deep.

The Cowboys struck first against Tarleton State, but in the end, it came down to which team had the ball last, as the Texans put up a winning 24 yard field goal as time expired to take the win and improve to 2-1. The Cowboys drop to 1-2.

But it’s a tough 1-2, as both McNeese loses have come against teams ranked in the Top-20, and both games the Cowboys were arguably in at the end. 

The hope is that this is the continued signal that McNeese is headed in the right direction, but dropping this one that felt so within grasp is hard to swallow.

Lippold finished 27 for 45 for 286 and 2 touchdowns and looked solid in his second start for the injured Jake Strong.

Omari Wiggins once again stepped up and led all rushers with 15 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown. Elisha Edwards led receivers with 8 catches on 11 targets for 111 yards, but Curtis Deville was next in line with 5 for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns. 

Tarleton State put up some big numbers themselves as their QB Kadon Anderson threw for 363 yards with 166 of it going to Marquis Willis. Tylan Hines led the Texas with 141 yards on the ground and two touchdowns to go with it.

The two teams combined for over 1,000 yards of total offense, so fans in attendance definitely got to see a game. In addition, neither team turned the ball over, making field position one of the keys to winning this one.

Unfortunately, that’s one area that McNeese has seemed to be behind all season, as Coach Viator pointed out. 

There’s still time to right this ship for McNeese, but the next game at UTRGV is going to prove to be a tough test, as UTRGV is currently undefeated at their home stadium, and they’ve been making a lot of noise in all sports since joining the Southland Conference. 

It will be telling to see which McNeese teams shows up in their first road contest of the season after opening with three home games. If this team finds itself 1-3 after next week, there are going to be a lot of questions as a lot of dreams of hardware will be fading away into the ether and thoughts of next season will already be on the discussion board.

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