New era at McNeese as Goff leads Cowboys into opener at No. 4 Montana State

What: McNeese (0-0) at #4/4 Montana State (0-0)
When: 7 p.m. CT
Where: Bozeman, Montana
Stadium: Bobcat Stadium (17,777)
Series: McNeese leads 1-0
TV: ESPN+ (LINK)
Radio: 92.9 The Lake
Audio Stream: 929thelake.com

BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Gary Goff coaching era begins in the 79^th season of McNeese football on Saturday night when the new-look Cowboys visit 4^th-ranked Montana State in a game that will show they Cowboys where they stand early on.

“We’re excited to get the season started and to finally be going against someone other than ourselves,” said Goff who became the Cowboys’ 18^th head coach back in December, one day after taking the Valdosta State Blazers to the Division II national title game. “It’s been a long seven months coming. It’s been a lot of recruiting, a lot of behind-the-scenes for everybody. But I’m excited to see the team play Saturday.”

Goff brought his staff over from Valdosta State and added a couple of key members as well, inherited a talented group of Cowboys but also saw many leave during the coaching change. That resulted in 58 new players joining the roster including 15 transfers from the portal.

“This group has worked extremely hard. Had a great camp. Light years ahead of where we were in the spring,” said Goff.

The Cowboys are coming off their first back-to-back losing seasons in 33 years and are looking to get back to the mountaintop, a place that was very familiar not many years ago (2015 McNeese ranked No. 2 in the nation). But since then, the Cowboys have had a presence in the top 25 poll just for just a few weeks.

Montana State, however, has flipped the script with the Cowboys, so-to-speak.

When the two teams played each other for the only time in history, back in the first round of the 2002 playoffs, the Cowboys defeated an up-and-coming Bobcat program by a 21-14 score. McNeese went on to play for the national title that season, falling in the finals to Western Kentucky. McNeese has not won a playoff game since in six tries.

Montana State, on the other hand, has continued to climb up the ladder and just last season played for the national title, falling to North Dakota State.

“Montana State is a great program. Very well coached. They are exactly where we want to get back to. We want to be back to the top of the country just like they have been. This will be a great challenge for us,” mentioned Goff.

ABOUT MONTANA STATE 

• The Bobcats are a member of the Big Sky Conference and posted a 12-3 overall record in 2021, including a 7-1 mark in conference play and a perfect 8-0 record at home.
• Head coach is Brent Vigen, who is in his second season and has a 12-3 career record.
• In 2021, MSU finished 7^th in the FCS with 220.9 rushing yards per game while RB Isaiah Ifanse ranked 3^rd in the FCS with 118.4 yards on the ground. Ifanse was injured in the national title game and is expected to miss Saturday’s contest. He’s a Stats Perform preseason 1^st team All-American.
• Returning starting quarterback Tommy Mellott, who is nicknamed “Touchdown Tommy”, threw for 484 yards and four TDs while rushing for another 716 yards and 10 scores.
• Mellott is a preseason 3^rd team All-American by Stats Perform.
• The Bobcats have two more players preseason All-America teams – nickel back Ty Okada (2^nd team Hero Sports) and will linebacker Callahan O’Reilly (3^rd team Hero Sports).
• The Bobcats have won 12 straight at home, going back to the 2019 season (L34-21 to Sacramento State, Oct. 12).
• MSU has also won 12 straight against non-conference opponents with the last loss coming at the hands of Kennesaw State (16-14, Nov. 4, 2017).

COWBOYS AND BOBCATS  

• McNeese and Montana State will meet for just the second time in history to kick off the 2022 campaign on Saturday in Bozeman.
• This will be McNeese’s first visit to Bozeman but third trip to Montana.
• The Cowboys defeated Montana State 21-14 in the only other meeting, that coming in the 2002 FCS first round of the playoffs with McNeese winning 21-14. The Cowboys broke a 14-14 tie with the game-winning score with 9:40 to play in the fourth quarter. McNeese went on to play in its second FCS National Title game, falling to Western Kentucky by a 34-14 score.

THE GARY GOFF ERA BEGINS LOOKING TO BRING BACK WINNING TRADITION  

• Gary Goff was named McNeese’s 18th head coach back in December, just one day after taking his Valdosta State Blazers to the Division II National Championship game.
• In three seasons at Valdosta State, Goff compiled a 22-3 record, including a 12-2 mark last season.
• He was named the Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year in 2021 and the Co-GSC Coach of the Year in 2019.
• Goff takes over a program that posted back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1989 and 1990 and plans to bring the Cowboys back to the domination it once held in the Southland Conference and FCS.
• In addition to inheriting a talented group of returners, Goff acquired 58 newcomers including 15 out of the transfer portal covering key skill positions such as quarterback, cornerback, safety and wide receiver.

2022 COWBOYS  

• McNeese returns 47 lettermen and 14 starters (8 offense, 5 defense, 1 special teams) from the 2021 team and added 58 newcomers, 15 of those out of the transfer portal.
• With a new coaching staff comes a new scheme as the Cowboys will run the Air Raid offense while the defense will show multiple sets.
• The top story in the preseason was the quarterback battle between Georgia Southern transfer Cam Ransom and Virginia Tech transfer Knox Kadum. Goff announced on Monday Ransom will take snaps to start the game but Kadum will also see action with it being more of a 1A and 1B situation.
• According to the depth chart, 11 players will get their first start as a Cowboy with 10 of those being transfers (Cole LeClair, LG; Kyle Klink, TE; Cam Ransom, QB; Koby Duru, WR; Will Rogers, NT; Amaud Willis-Dalton, LB; Tyler Barnes, SS; Ke’Shon Murray, CB; Gerell Green, CB; and Garrison Smith; PK.)

T.A.D. – TOUGH, ATTITUDE, DISCIPLINE  

• Tough, Attitude, Discipline are the pillars that head coach Gary Goff has implemented with his new team, and with that, players that have shown great leadership on and off the field, holds him­self and others accountable, and gives everything he has on and off the field, is awarded the TAD Team Captain Dog Tags.
• To date, four players have been named TAD TAG Team Captains – DE C.J. Semien, WR Walker Wood, OL Calvin Barkat and LB Brayden Adams.
• To earn a tag, a unanimous approval must be made by the coaching staff, trainers, and other football personnel.

SEASON OPENER SUPERLATIVES  

• McNeese is 49-27-2 in season openers and a 36-14 mark since moving up to the Division I ranks and the Southland Conference in 1972.
• Of those 14 season-opening losses since 1972, six have come against FBS opponents.
• Since 2000, the Cowboys are 14-8 in season openers – 14-2 vs. non-FBS opponents.
• McNeese will open on the road for the second time in the last three season and third out of the last five years.

COWBOYS VS. THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE

• Saturday’s game against Montana State will mark the third time the Cowboys have opened the season against a member of the Big Sky Conference.
• In 2007, the Cowboys defeated Portland State, 35-12, in Lake Charles to begin what would be­come a perfect 11-0 regular season campaign.
• Most recently, McNeese began the 2018 sea­son at Northern Colorado as the Cowboys es­caped with a 17-14 win.
• Saturday’s game will also be the 30th contest for the Cowboys against members of the Big Sky.
• The Cowboys have posted an all-time record of 17-12 against 11 current or former members.
• 10 of the 29 games played occurred during the FCS playoffs.
• McNeese’s most-played Big Sky opponent is Montana, where the teams have compiled a 3-3 record in six meetings.

LOOKING BACK AT THE COWBOYS IN 2021

• McNeese posted a 4-7 record last year, mark­ing the second straight losing season for the first time in over 30 years.
• The under .500 mark was the first time in a fall season in 15 years, snapping the FCS’s longest streak. The Cowboys went 3-4 in the spring of 2021 (2020 season).
• Despite its record, the Cowboys continued its tradition of a dominating defense by leading the Southland Conference in total defense (375.8 ypg), rushing defense (110.6 ypg), scoring de­fense (25.5 ppg), and total sacks (33).
• McNeese two-time consensus All-American defensive end Isaiah Chambers was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year and Stu­dent-Athlete of the Year for the second straight season after he led the conference with 10.5 sacks and 15 tackles for a loss.
• Fellow DE Mason Kinsey ranked 4th in the league with 6.5 sacks and 7th with 8.5 TFLs.
• Linebacker Kordell Williams recorded 100 tackles, ranking 4th in the conference, and was 9th in the SLC with 8.0 tackles for a loss.
• On offense, Deonta McMahon led the team and ranked 5th in the league with 558 rushing yards and tied for 5th with eight rushing TDs.
• Josh Matthews caught 36 passes to rank 14th in the conference and was 12th with 463 receiv­ing yards. • WR Mason Pierce ranked 17th with 362 re­ceiving yards and tied for 9th with five receiving TDs.
• Pierce ranked third in kickoff return average with a 25.9 mark.

COWBOYS vs. NATIONALLY RANKED OPPONENTS 

Since moving to the Division I-AA/FCS ranks in 1982, McNeese has played a total of 131 games against ranked opponents and compiling a 56-74-1 record. Since 1990, McNeese is 55-56-1. Against Top 10 teams, the Cowboys are 23-39-1 and are 12-20 vs. Top 5 opponents. The Cowboys have played the No. 1 team in the country seven times, winning one. In the Cowboys’ run for the 2002 national championship, McNeese went 8-1 vs. ranked opponents with the lone loss coming to Western Kentucky in the title game. In 1995, McNeese posted a 7-1 record against ranked teams with the only loss coming in the semifinals to Marshall.