2013 McNeese State Cowboys football team

2013 McNeese State Cowboys football
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
	Seasons ← 2012 2014 →

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.

2013 Southland Conference football standings
v t e
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

Schedule edit

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

^[1]^[2]

Game summaries edit

South Florida edit

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:

McNeese State received $400,000 to play the upper division (FBS) USF Bulls to open the 2013 season for both programs.^[3] 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.^[3]^[4] 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.^[4]

Arkansas-Pine Bluff edit

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:

West Alabama edit

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:

Weber State edit

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:

Northern Iowa edit

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:

Central Arkansas edit

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:

Sam Houston State edit

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:

Nicholls State edit

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:

Southeastern Louisiana edit

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:

Stephen F. Austin edit

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:

Northwestern State edit

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:

Lamar edit

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:

Ranking movements edit

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 edit

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.

References edit

^ "McNeese Cowboys Schedule 2013". ESPN. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
^ "2013 Football Schedule". McNeese State University Athletics. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Auman, Greg (August 31, 2013). "McNeese State Hands USF Bulls Humbling Loss". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Auman, Greg (August 31, 2013). "McNeese State Ranks Among USF Bulls' Worst Losses". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 3, 2013.

[1] "McNeese Cowboys Schedule 2013". ESPN. Retrieved June 20, 2023.

[2] "2013 Football Schedule". McNeese State University Athletics. Retrieved June 20, 2023.

[TBT083113a-3] Auman, Greg (August 31, 2013). "McNeese State Hands USF Bulls Humbling Loss". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 3, 2013.

[TBT083113-4] Auman, Greg (August 31, 2013). "McNeese State Ranks Among USF Bulls' Worst Losses". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 3, 2013.

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