The football team is faced with a road tester against FCS No. 10 McNeese after a tough two-game losing streak.
McNeese is 3-0 in conference play with wins over Houston Baptist, Nicholls and Stephen F. Austin. Overall, the team is 4-1 with a win against Northern Colorado and a 30-3 loss to a talented BYU squad.
ACU is in search of its second conference victory after starting off 1-2 in Southland play. The Wildcats began with a 38-13 win over Houston Baptist and were defeated 24-21 by SFA and 44-34 by Incarnate Word ever since.
McNeese comes into the game as the highest nationally ranked team in the Southland Conference. They also have the top defence in the conference giving up 1635 yards over five matchups this season and allowing 327 yards per game.
Head coach Adam Dorrel said playing the Cowboys will be tough, but his team is prepared for the challenge.
“We’ve got a lot of challenges Saturday, I think for us we’re excited for the opportunity to go compete against a national opponent and we’re just trying to get back out there and compete at the highest level we can,” Dorrel said.
Looking at the McNeese offense, the team has averaged 21.6 points per game as well as an average of 317.2 yards ranking second to last in both categories.
Senior linebacker B.J. Blunt and the defense have bailed the offense out this season allowing only 18 points per game in three conference matchups. Blunt has been the outright leader on his team so far this season making 36 tackles, 11.5 for a loss and seven sacks.
Offensively, senior quarterback James Tabary leads the Cowboys under center with 893 yards and seven touchdowns on the year.
Despite a disappointing last two weeks, the Wildcats run the leading offense in the Southland conference after five weeks. ACU has totalled 2480 yards and 496 per game placing them first overall in each category. They’re also second in the conference with 161 total points and 32.2 per game.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Luke Anthony continues to man the top Southland offense with 1476 yards and 11 touchdown passes on the year.
Running backs junior transfer Billy McCrary and redshirt junior Tracy James lead the rushing attack with 747 of the 977 total running yards. McCrary, however, has the advantage in scoring so far this season with five rushing touchdowns and one receiving as well.
Defensively, junior linebacker Jeremiah Chambers continues to lead the defense with 47 tackles, three shy of his season total from last year. The Wildcats have allowed 2021 yards overall on defense this season and rank fourth in the conference with an average of 404.2 yards per game.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Saturday in Lake Charles. Coverage of the game can be heard on 98.1 FM.
