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2023 McNeese Cowboys football
2023 McNeese Cowboys football
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	0–10 (1–6 Southland)
Head coach	Gary Goff (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Adam Neugebauer (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Tony Pecoraro (2nd season)
Home stadium	Cowboy Stadium
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Southland Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Nicholls $^	7	–	0	6	–	5
No. 22 Incarnate Word	6	–	1	8	–	2
Lamar	5	–	2	6	–	5
Houston Christian	4	–	3	5	–	5
Southeastern Louisiana	3	–	4	3	–	8
Texas A&M–Commerce *	2	–	5	1	–	9
McNeese	1	–	6	0	–	10
Northwestern State **	0	–	2	0	–	6

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * – Texas A&M–Commerce ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II. ** – Northwestern State canceled its season on October 26. Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 McNeese Cowboys football team represented McNeese State University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Gary Goff, the Cowboys played home games at Cowboy Stadium in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Preseason

Preseason poll

The Southland Conference released their preseason poll on July 24, 2023. The Cowboys were picked to finish third in the conference.^[1]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Southeastern Louisiana	93 (9)
2	Incarnate Word	91 (7)
3	McNeese	65
4	Nicholls	62
5	Northwestern State	52
6	Texas A&M–Commerce	33
7	Lamar	28
8	Houston Christian	24

Preseason All–Southland Teams

The Southland Conference announced the 2023 preseason all-conference football team selections on July 21, 2023. McNeese had a total of 4 players selected.^[2]

Offense

1st Team

Garrison Smith – placekicker, SO

2nd Team

Cole LeClair – offensive lineman, JR

Defense

2nd Team

Welland Williams – defensive lineman, RS-SO
Javon Davis – defensive back, SO

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	7:00 p.m.	Tarleton State*	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	ESPN+	L 34–52	12,074
September 9	6:30 p.m.	at Florida*	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPNU	L 7–49	88,163
September 16	6:00 p.m.	at Alcorn State*	Casem-Spinks Stadium Lorman, MS		L 3–17	2,052
September 23	2:00 p.m.	at Eastern Illinois*	O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	ESPN+	L 28–31	6,565
September 30	7:00 p.m.	Nicholls	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	ESPN+	L 10–31	9,148
October 7	7:00 p.m.	at Texas A&M–Commerce	Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium Commerce, TX	ESPN+	L 10–41	4,817
October 21	7:00 p.m.	No. 5 Incarnate Word	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	ESPN+	L 24–35	7,415
October 28	7:00 p.m.	Northwestern State	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA (rivalry)	ESPN+	W 2–0 (forfeit)		^[3]
November 4	3:00 p.m.	at Southeastern Louisiana	Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA	ESPN+	L 24–38	3,228
November 11	7:00 p.m.	Houston Christian	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	ESPN+	L 24–35	6,724
November 18	3:00 p.m.	Lamar	Provost Umphrey Stadium Beaumont, TX (Battle of the Border)	ESPN+	L 27–52	5,683
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[4]^[5]

Game summaries

at Florida (FBS)

Previous meeting
First Meeting

Game Two – McNeese Cowboys (0–1) at Florida Gators (FBS) (0–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
McNeese	0	0	0	7	7
Florida	13	13	16	7	49

at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida

Date: September 9
Game time: 7:35 p.m. EDT
Game weather: Sunny
Game attendance: 88,163
Referee: Wayne Winkler
TV announcers (ESPNU): Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Kirk Morrison (analyst), and Stormy Buonantony (sideline reporter)^[6]
Boxscore

Game information

First quarter

(10:59) FLA – Montrell Johnson Jr. 2-yard run (pass failed) (Drive: 9 plays, 62 yards, 3:54; Florida 6-0)
(0:28) FLA – Graham Mertz 1-yard run (Adam Mihalek kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 99 yards, 5:28; Florida 13-0)

Second quarter

(7:04) FLA – Treyaun Webb 2-yard run (pass failed) (Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 5:15; Florida 19-0)
(0:34) FLA – Trevor Etienne 8-yard run (Adam Mihalek kick) (Drive: 10 plays, 74 yards, 3:53; Florida 26-0)

Third quarter

(9:27) FLA – Montrell Johnson Jr. 8-yard run (Adam Mihalek kick) (Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 3:57; Florida 33-0)
(3:45) FLA – Ricky Pearsall 50-yard pass from Graham Mertz (Adam Mihalek kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 84 yards, 2:41; Florida 40-0)
(2:54) FLA – Jamari Lyons 0-yard safety (Florida 42-0)

Fourth quarter

(13:00) FLA – Treyaun Webb 5-yard run (Trey Smack kick) (Drive: 9 plays, 62 yards, 4:54; Florida 49-0)
(2:24) MCN – Coleby Hamm 8-yard run (Garrison Smith kick) (Drive: 1 play, 8 yards, 0:09; Florida 49-7)

Statistics	MCN	FLA
First downs	6	33
Total yards	40–112	74–560
Rushing yards	26–46	51–327
Passing yards	66	233
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	7–14–0	18–23–0
Time of possession	23:51	36:09

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
McNeese	Passing	Nate Glantz	6/13, 62 yards
	Rushing	D'Angelo Durham	11 carries, 45 yards
	Receiving	Jon McCall	1 reception, 18 yards
Florida	Passing	Graham Mertz	14/17, 193 yards, TD
	Rushing	Montrell Johnson Jr.	15 carries, 119 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Ricky Pearsall	6 receptions, 123 yards, TD