2017 McNeese State Cowboys football team

2017 McNeese State Cowboys football
Conference	Southland Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 22
FCS Coaches	No. 18
Record	9–2 (7–2 Southland)
Head coach	Lance Guidry (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Landon Hoefer (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Tony Restivo (2nd season)
Home stadium	Cowboy Stadium

2017 Southland Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 10 Central Arkansas $^		9	–	0					10	–	2
No. 4 Sam Houston State ^		8	–	1					12	–	2
No. 25 Nicholls State ^		7	–	2					8	–	4
No. 22 McNeese State		7	–	2					9	–	2
Southeastern Louisiana		6	–	3					6	–	5
Northwestern State		4	–	5					4	–	7
Stephen F. Austin		4	–	5					4	–	7
Abilene Christian		2	–	7					2	–	9
Incarnate Word		1	–	7					1	–	10
Lamar		1	–	8					2	–	9
Houston Baptist		0	–	9					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS poll

The 2017 McNeese State Cowboys football team represented McNeese State University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Lance Guidry, the Cowboys compiled an overall record of 9–2 with a mark of 7–2 in conference play, tying for third place in the Southland. McNeese State played home games at Cowboy Stadium in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:00 p.m.	at Nicholls State		John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA	ESPN3	L 35–37	9,024
September 9	6:00 p.m.	Florida Tech*		Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	AACI	W 42–21	11,101
September 16	6:00 p.m.	at Alcorn State*		Casem-Spinks Stadium Lorman, MS	BAA	W 34–27	12,608
September 23	6:00 p.m.	Houston Baptist		Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	FSSW+	W 27–12	11,398
September 30	6:00 p.m.	at Stephen F. Austin		Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX	ESPN3	W 35–0	12,812
October 7	6:00 p.m.	at Abilene Christian		Wildcat Stadium Abilene, TX	ELVN	W 13–7	10,564
October 21	6:00 p.m.	Incarnate Word	No. 20	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA		W 55–7	9,732
October 28	6:00 p.m.	at No. 4 Central Arkansas	No. 20	Estes Stadium Conway, AR (Red Beans and Rice Bowl)	ESPN3	L 17–47	9,887
November 4	6:00 p.m.	Southeastern Louisiana	No. 22	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	CST	W 13–3	7,332
November 11	6:00 p.m.	Northwestern State	No. 20	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA (rivalry)	CST	W 44–24	10,132
November 18	6:00 p.m.	at Lamar	No. 19	Provost Umphrey Stadium Beaumont, TX (Battle of the Border)	ESPN3	W 13–3	5,378
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Sources

Game summaries

@ Nicholls

See also: Nicholls State Colonels football and 2017 Nicholls State Colonels football team

McNeese State at Nicholls State

1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 6 3 13 13 35 • Colonels 7 0 14 16 37 Date: August 31 Location: John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA Game start: 7:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:39 Game attendance: 9,024 Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C) • WSW 4 • Overcast, some rain Referee: Ross Smith TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-by-Play: Lyn Rollins Analyst: Rene Nadeau Sideline: Carly McCord Sources:

Scoring summary 1 10:19 McNeese State Trent Manuel 29 yard field goal, Drive: 11 plays, 63 yards, 4:41 3–0 1 8:45 Nicholls Damion Jeanpiere Jr. 62 yard pass from Chase Fourcade (Lorran Fonseca kick), Drive: 4 plays, 79 yards, 1:27 3–7 1 3:15 McNeese State Trent Manuel 21 yard field goal, Drive: 4 plays, 8 yards, 1:22 6–7 2 1:56 McNeese State Trent Manuel 25 yard field goal, Drive: 4 plays, 7 yards, 1:22 9–7 3 10:52 McNeese State Tavarious Battiste 30 yard pass from James Tabary (Trent Manuel kick), Drive: 4 plays, 17 yards, 2:58 16–7 3 6:18 Nicholls Jonavon Lewis 67 yard interception return (Lorran Fonseca kick), Drive: 6 plays, 37 yards, 3:22 16–14 3 2:29 McNeese State Darious Crawley 9 yard pass from James Tabary (Trent Manuel kick blocked), Drive: 5 plays, 22 yards, 3:07 22–14 3 2:07 Nicholls Damion Jeanpiere Jr. 77 yard pass from Chase Fourcade (Lorran Fonseca kick), Drive: 1 play, 77 yards, 0:17 22–21 4 13:02 McNeese State Tavarious Battiste 28 yard pass from James Tabary (Trent Manuel kick), Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards, 4:05 29–21 4 9:45 Nicholls Raheem Falkins 12 yard pass from Chase Fourcade (two-point conv. failed), Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards, 3:17 29–27 4 5:43 Nicholls Chase Fourcade 19 yard run (Lorran Fonseca kick), Drive: 1 play, 19 yards, 0:06 29–34 4 3:02 McNeese State Nick Edwards 10 yard run (two-point conv. failed), Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:41 35–34 4 0:00 Nicholls Lorran Fonseca 32 yard field goal, Drive: 10 plays, 53 yards, 2:57 35–37

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Florida Tech

See also: Florida Tech Panthers football

Florida Tech at McNeese State

1 2 3 4 Total Panthers 0 7 14 0 21 • Cowboys 14 7 7 14 42 Date: September 9 Location: Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:05 Game attendance: 11,101 Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C) • NE 10 • Clear Referee: Dan Lewis TV announcers (AACI): Play-by-Play: Tom Hoefer Analyst: Johnny Suydam Sideline: Ron Hayes Sources:

Scoring summary 1 11:50 McNeese State Justin Pratt 1 yard run (Trent Manuel kick), Drive: 7 plays, 48 yards, 2:51 7–0 1 6:47 McNeese State Cyron Sutton 28 yard pass from James Tabary (Trent Manuel kick), Drive: 6 plays, 79 yards, 2:45 14–0 2 3:31 McNeese State Justin Pratt 7 yard pass from James Tabary (Trent Manuel kick), Drive: 10 plays, 64 yards, 5:05 21–0 2 1:04 Florida Tech Antwuan Haynes 11 yard pass from Mark Cato (Zachary Leatherman kick), Drive: 9 plays, 69 yards, 2:27 21–7 3 9:42 Florida Tech Romell Guerrier 20 yard pass from Mark Cato (Zachary Leatherman kick), Drive: 3 plays, 56 yards, 1:00 21–14 3 4:12 McNeese State Justin Pratt 4 yard run (Trent Manuel kick), Drive: 2 plays, 2 yards, 0:48 28–14 3 2:09 Florida Tech Antwuan Haynes 19 yard run (Zachary Leatherman kick), Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:06 28–21 4 10:00 McNeese State David Hamm 6 yard run (Trent Manuel kick), Drive: 12 plays, 74 yards, 7:09 35–21 4 1:18 McNeese State Benjamin Jones 69 yard run (Trent Manuel kick), Drive: 4 plays, 84 yards, 1:40 42–21

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@ Alcorn State

See also: Alcorn State Braves football and 2017 Alcorn State Braves football team

McNeese State at Alcorn State

1 2 3 4 Total • Cowboys 7 7 6 14 34 Braves 7 6 7 7 27 Date: September 16 Location: Jack Spinks Stadium Lorman, MS Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:13 Game attendance: 12,608 Game weather: Low 80s • Clear Referee: Trennis Livings Television network: BAA Sources:

Scoring summary 1 6:47 Alcorn State Norlando Veals 2 yard pass from Lenorris Footman (Corey McCullough kick), Drive: 10 plays, 67 yards, 6:35 0–7 1 3:12 McNeese State Parker Orgeron 2 yard pass from James Tabary (Trent Manuel kick), Drive: 7 plays, 78 yards, 3:20 7–7 2 10:59 McNeese State Cyron Sutton 24 yard pass from James Tabary (Trent Manuel kick), Drive: 6 plays, 85 yards, 2:38 14–7 2 9:40 Alcorn State Marquis Warford 69 yard pass from Lenorris Footman (Corey McCullough kick failed), Drive: 3 plays, 82 yards, 1:12 14–13 3 13:12 McNeese State Darious Crawley 20 yard pass from James Tabary (Trent Manuel kick failed), Drive: 4 plays, 70 yards, 1:41 20–13 3 2:38 Alcorn State Lenorris Footman 7 yard pass from Norlando Veals (Corey McCullough kick), Drive: 6 plays, 74 yards, 2:11 20–20 4 13:13 McNeese State Benjamin Jones 2 yard run (Gunnar Raborn kick), Drive: 9 plays, 74 yards, 4:22 27–20 4 12:33 Alcorn State De'Lance Turner 70 yard pass from Lenorris Footman (Corey McCullough kick), Drive: 3 plays, 70 yards, 0:29 27–27 4 0:26 McNeese State Kent Shelby 33 yard pass from James Tabary (Gunnar Raborn kick), Drive: 4 plays, 62 yards, 1:01 34–27

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Houston Baptist

See also: Houston Baptist Huskies football and 2017 Houston Baptist Huskies football team

Houston Baptist at McNeese State

1 2 3 4 Total Huskies 10 0 0 2 12 • Cowboys 3 3 7 14 27 Date: September 23 Location: Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 2:55 Game attendance: 11,398 Game weather: 86 °F (30 °C) • Partly Cloudy Referee: Ross Smith TV announcers (FSSW+): Play-by-Play: Ron Franklin Analyst: ND Kalu Sideline: Jessica Province Sources:

Scoring summary 1 7:03 McNeese State Gunnar Raborn 40 yard field goal, Drive: 6 plays, 17 yards, 1:31 3–0 1 2:!5 Houston Baptist Alec Chadwick 29 yard field goal, Drive: 12 plays, 66 yards, 4:48 3–3 1 2:00 Houston Baptist Raphael Lewis 21 yard interception return (Alec Chadwick kick), Drive: 1 play, 0 yards, 0:15 3–10 2 0:54 McNeese State Gunnar Raborn 25 yard field goal, Drive: 6 plays, 0 yards, 2:04 6–10 3 4:28 McNeese State Kent Shelby 14 yard pass from James Tabary (Gunnar Raborn kick), Drive: 11 plays, 91 yards, 6:20 13–10 4 11:00 McNeese State Darious Crawley 6 yard pass from James Tabary (Gunnar Raborn kick), Drive: 3 plays, 4 yards, 0:57 20–10 4 4:01 Houston Baptist Team Safety, Drive: 1 play, -2 yards, 0:07 20–12 4 0:38 McNeese State David Hamm 1 yard run (Gunnar Raborn kick), Drive: 6 plays, 42 yards, 3:01 27–12

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@ Stephen F. Austin

See also: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football and 2017 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team

McNeese State at Stephen F. Austin

1 2 3 4 Total • Cowboys 7 14 14 0 35 Lumberjacks 0 0 0 0 0 Date: September 30 Location: Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:12 Game attendance: 12,812 Game weather: 85 °F (29 °C) • ENE 8 • Sunny Referee: Vidal Jones TV announcers (ESPN3): Play-by-Play: Rob Meyers Analyst: Kevin Langford Sources:

Scoring summary 1 7:51 McNeese State Cyron Sutton 15 yard run (Gunnar Raborn kick), Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 4:04 7–0 2 11:14 McNeese State David Hamm 2 yard run (Gunnar Raborn kick), Drive: 5 plays, 69 yards, 1:51 14–0 2 1:41 McNeese State Lawayne Ross 30 yard pass from James Tabary (Gunnar Raborn kick), Drive: 5 plays, 65 yards, 2:09 21–0 3 12:38 McNeese State Kent Shelby 8 yard pass from James Tabary (Gunnar Raborn kick), Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:16 28–0 3 2:19 McNeese State Parker Orgeron 29 yard pass from James Tabary (Gunnar Raborn kick), Drive: 3 plays, 31 yards, 0:55 35–0

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@ Abilene Christian

See also: Abilene Christian Wildcats football and 2017 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team

McNeese State at Abilene Christian

1 2 3 4 Total • Cowboys 3 10 0 0 13 Wildcats 0 7 0 0 7 Date: October 7 Location: Wildcat Stadium Abilene, TX Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 2:58 Game attendance: 10,564 Game weather: 76 °F (24 °C) • NE 5 • Clear Referee: C. Castleberry TV announcers (ELVN): Play-by-Play: David Saltzman Analyst: Keith Moreland Sideline: Whitley Pleasant Sources:

Scoring summary 1 3:23 McNeese State Gunnar Raborn 32 yard field goal, Drive: 13 plays, 46 yards, 6:17 3–0 2 14:21 McNeese State D. Crawley 22 yard pass from James Tabary (Gunnar Raborn kick), Drive: 8 plays, 69 yards, 3:07 10–0 2 11:43 Abilene Christian Dallas Sealey 16 yard run (Nik Grau kick), Drive: 7 plays, 45 yards, 2:29 10–7 3 4:58 McNeese State Gunnar Raborn 27 yard field goal, Drive: 15 plays, 67 yards, 6:40 13–7

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Incarnate Word

See also: Incarnate Word Cardinals football and 2017 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team

Incarnate Word at McNeese State

1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 7 0 0 0 7 • Lumberjacks 17 7 21 10 55 Date: October 21 Location: Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Sources:

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

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@ Central Arkansas

See also: Central Arkansas Bears football, 2017 Central Arkansas Bears football team, and Red Beans and Rice Bowl

McNeese State at Central Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total Bears 0 0 0 0 0 Cowboys 0 0 0 0 0 Date: October 28 Location: Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Sources:

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

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Southeastern Louisiana

See also: Southeastern Louisiana Lions football and 2017 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 4 Location: Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Television network: CST Sources:

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

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Northwestern State

See also: Northwestern State Demons football, 2017 Northwestern State Demons football team, and McNeese State–Northwestern State football rivalry

Northwestern State at McNeese State

1 2 3 4 Total Demons 0 0 0 0 0 Cowboys 0 0 0 0 0 Date: November 11 Location: Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Television network: CST Sources:

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

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@ Lamar

See also: Lamar Cardinals football, 2017 Lamar Cardinals football team, and Battle of the Border (Lamar–McNeese State)

Lamar at McNeese State

1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 0 0 0 0 0 • Cardinals 14 14 7 6 41 Date: November 18 Location: Provost Umphrey Stadium Beaumont, TX Game start: 6:00 p.m. CST Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

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Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	20	20	22	20	19	19	22
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	22	21	19	18	22	18	19	15	18