2015 McNeese State Cowboys football team

The 2015 McNeese State Cowboys football team represented McNeese State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Cowboys were led by tenth-year head coach Matt Viator and played their home games at Cowboy Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 10–1, 9–0 in Southland play to win the Southland Conference title. They went undefeated 10–0 in the regular season. They received the Southland's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost in the second round to fellow Southland member Sam Houston State.

2015 McNeese State Cowboys football
Southland champion
ConferenceSouthland Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 7
FCS CoachesNo. 9
2015 record10–1 (9–0 Southland)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTim Leger (9th season)
Defensive coordinatorLance Guidry (3rd season)
Home stadiumCowboy Stadium
(Capacity: 17,610)
2015 Southland Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 7 McNeese State $^  9 –0     10 –1  
No. 3 Sam Houston State ^  7 –2     11 –4  
Central Arkansas  7 –2     7 –4  
Incarnate Word*  5 –4     6 –5  
Northwestern State  4 –5     4 –7  
Lamar  4 –5     5 –6  
Stephen F. Austin  4 –5     4 –7  
Nicholls State  3 –6     3 –8  
Abilene Christian*  3 –6     3 –8  
SE Louisiana  3 –6     4 –7  
Houston Baptist  0 –8     2 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
  • Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word ineligible for FCS Playoffs due to transition from Division II
Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

Previous season

The Cowboys finished the 2014 season with a 6–5 overall record and were 4–4 in conference play. They were ranked in both FCS polls from the preseason polls through the twelfth week. Their highest ranking was Number 5 in the Sports Network poll and Number 4 in the Coaches poll in weeks four through six. The Cowboys dropped out of both polls following a season ending loss to the Lamar Cardinals.

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 56:30 pmNo. 14 (FBS) LSU* No. 25
SECN Canceled[a]
September 126:00 pmIncarnate Word
ASNW 43–612,804
September 196:00 pmat Stephen F. Austin
ESPN3W 28–1412,018
September 266:00 pmMississippi College*No. 25
  • Cowboy Stadium
  • Lake Charles, LA
W 37–010,436
October 33:00 pmat Nicholls StateNo. 23
CST[1]W 37–76,192
October 106:00 pmNo. 20 Southeastern LouisianaNo. 22
  • Cowboy Stadium
  • Lake Charles, LA
CSTW 21–713,110
October 176:00 pmat Central ArkansasNo. 15
ESPN3W 28–1310,527
October 246:00 pmNorthwestern StateNo. 12
  • Cowboy Stadium
  • Lake Charles, LA (Rivalry)
CSTW 47–279,806
October 312:00 pmat Abilene ChristianNo. 10
ASNW 15–133,567
November 76:00 pmNo. 7 Sam Houston StateNo. 9
  • Cowboy Stadium
  • Lake Charles, LA
ESPN3W 27–1010,501
November 216:00 pmat LamarNo. 3
ESPN3W 20–149,808
December 57:00 pmNo. 6 Sam Houston StateNo. 3
ESPN3L 29–3413,493

[2]

^[a] The game between LSU and McNeese State was canceled due to inclement weather. The game was delayed due to lightning after 5 minutes of play during each team held the ball for one drive and no one scored. Both schools' athletic directors decided not to reschedule the game, thus declaring it a "no contest". LSU did agree to pay McNeese State its promised fee of $500,000.
Schedule Source:[3]

Game summaries

@ LSU
See also: LSU Tigers football and 2015 LSU Tigers football team
McNeese State at LSU
1 234Total
#25 Cowboys 0 000 0
Tigers 0 000 0
  • Date: September 5
  • Location: Tiger Stadium
    Baton Rouge, LA
  • Game start: CANCELLED
Sources:[4]

Incarnate Word
See also: Incarnate Word Cardinals football and 2015 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team
Incarnate Word at McNeese State
1 234Total
Cardinals 0 006 6
• Cowboys 7 22014 43
  • Date: September 12
  • Location: Cowboy Stadium
    Lake Charles, LA
  • Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:18
  • Game attendance: 12,804
  • Game weather: NNW 11 • Fair, 38% humidity
  • Referee: Ross Smith
  • Television network: ASN
Sources:[5]

@ Stephen F. Austin
See also: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football and 2015 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team
McNeese State at Stephen F. Austin
1 234Total
• Cowboys 7 1407 28
Lumberjacks 14 000 14
  • Date: September 19
  • Location: Homer Bryce Stadium
    Nacogdoches, TX
  • Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:25
  • Game attendance: 12,018
  • Game weather: High 80's • SE 0–5 • Sunny and clear
  • Referee: Brandon Cruse
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:[6]

Mississippi College

See also: Mississippi College

Mississippi College at McNeese State
1 234Total
Choctaws 0 000 0
• #25 Cowboys 13 7107 37
  • Date: September 26
  • Location: Cowboy Stadium
    Lake Charles, LA
  • Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 2:40
  • Game attendance: 10,436
  • Game weather: 75°F • Overcast 86% • SSE 2 mph
  • Referee: Michael VanderVelde
  • Television network: All Access Cowboy Insider
Sources:[7]

@ Nicholls
See also: Nicholls State Colonels football and 2015 Nicholls State Colonels football team
McNeese State at Nicholls
1 234Total
• #23 Cowboys 7 2073 37
Colonels 0 700 7
  • Date: October 3
  • Location: John L. Guidry Stadium
    Thibodaux, LA
  • Game start: 3:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:03
  • Game attendance: 6,192
  • Game weather: 76°F • Clear • NNW 11 mph
  • Referee: Kevin Hassell
  • Television network: CST
Sources:[8]

Southeastern Louisiana
See also: Southeastern Louisiana Lions football and 2015 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team
Southeastern Louisiana at McNeese State
1 234Total
#20 Lions 0 700 7
• #22 Cowboys 14 700 21
  • Date: October 10
  • Location: Cowboy Stadium
    Lake Charles, LA
  • Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:13
  • Game attendance: 13,110
  • Game weather: 80°F • NNW 6 • Sunny and warm
  • Referee: Ross Smith
  • Television network: CST/ESPN3
Sources:[9]

@ Central Arkansas
See also: Central Arkansas Bears football, 2015 Central Arkansas Bears football team, and Red Beans and Rice Bowl
McNeese State at Central Arkansas
1 234Total
• #15 Cowboys 0 0721 28
Bears 0 3100 13
  • Date: October 17
  • Location: Estes Stadium
    Conway, AR
  • Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:27
  • Game attendance: 10,527
  • Game weather: 66°F • Clear
  • Referee: Kevin Boitmann
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:[10]

Northwestern State (Homecoming)
See also: Northwestern State Demons football, 2015 Northwestern State Demons football team, and McNeese State–Northwestern State football rivalry
Northwestern State at McNeese State
1 234Total
Demons 7 3107 27
• #12 Cowboys 7 71320 47
  • Date: October 24
  • Location: Cowboy Stadium
    Lake Charles, LA
  • Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:28
  • Game attendance: 9,806
  • Game weather: 73°F • NE 8 • Cloudy, 40% rain
  • Referee: Kevin Hassell
  • Television network: CST
Sources:[11]

@ Abilene Christian
See also: Abilene Christian Wildcats football and 2015 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team
McNeese State at Abilene Christian
1 234Total
• #10 Cowboys 3 363 15
Wildcats 0 607 13
  • Date: October 31
  • Location: Shotwell Stadium
    Abilene, TX
  • Game start: 2:00 PM CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:20
  • Game attendance: 3,567
  • Game weather: 65°F • NNW 13 • Sunny
  • Referee: Marvel July
  • Television network: ASN
Sources:[12]

Sam Houston State
See also: Sam Houston State Bearkats football and 2015 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team
Sam Houston State at McNeese State
1 234Total
#7 Bearkats 10 000 10
• #9 Cowboys 0 14310 27
  • Date: November 7
  • Location: Cowboy Stadium
    Lake Charles, LA
  • Game start: 7:00 PM CST
  • Elapsed time: 2:58
  • Game attendance: 10,501
  • Game weather: 64°F • NNE 13 • Overcast with rain
  • Referee: Daniel Romeo
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:[13]

@ Lamar
See also: Lamar Cardinals football, 2015 Lamar Cardinals football team, and Battle of the Border (Lamar–McNeese State)
McNeese State at Lamar
1 234Total
• #3 Cowboys 17 003 20
Cardinals 7 007 14
  • Date: November 21
  • Location: Provost Umphrey Stadium
    Beaumont, TX
  • Game start: 6:00 PM CST
  • Elapsed time: 3:11
  • Game attendance: 9,808
  • Game weather: 62°F • 17 mph • Cloudy and Windy
  • Referee: Randy Christal
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:[14]

FCS Playoffs

Second Round–Sam Houston State
See also: Sam Houston State Bearkats football and 2015 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team
Sam Houston State at McNeese State
1 234Total
• #6 Bearkats 7 17100 34
#3 Cowboys 10 766 29
  • Date: December 5
  • Location: Cowboy Stadium
    Lake Charles, LA
  • Game start: 7:00 PM CST
  • Elapsed time: 3:33
  • Game attendance: 13,493
  • Game weather: 57°F • ENE 3 • Fair, 45% humidity
  • Referee: Jeremy Parker
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:[15]

Ranking movements
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final 
STATS FCS 25 RV RV 25 23 22 15 12 10 9 3 3 3 7 
Coaches 23 23 21 17 15 13 9 9 7 5–T 2 (1) 2 (2) 2 (1) 9

References
  1. "Southland Conference Announces Week Five TV Selections". Southland Conference. September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  2. "2015 Football Schedule". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  3. "2015 LSU Tigers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  4. "Blame it on the rain: Cowboys–Tigers washed out". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  5. "Incarnate Word (1–1) –vs– McNeese State (0–0)". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. September 12, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  6. "McNeese (2–0, 2–0) –vs– Stephen F. Austin (0–3, 0–1)". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. September 19, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  7. "Mississippi College (2–2) –vs– McNeese (3–0)". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. September 26, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  8. "McNeese State (4–0, 3–0) –vs– Nicholls (0–4, 0–2)". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  9. "Southeastern Louisiana (3–2, 2–1) –vs– McNeese State (5–0, 4–0)". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. October 10, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  10. "McNeese State (6–0, 5–0) –vs– Central Arkansas (3–3, 3–1)". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. October 17, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  11. "Northwestern State (1–6, 1–4) –vs– McNeese State (7–0, 6–0)". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  12. "McNeese State (8–0, 7–0) –vs– Abilene Christian (2–6, 2–5)". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  13. "Sam Houston State (6–3, 5–2) –vs– McNeese State (9–0, 8–0)". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. November 7, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  14. "McNeese State (10–0, 9–0) –vs– Lamar University (5–6, 4–5)". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  15. "Sam Houston State (10–3) –vs– McNeese State (10–1)". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. December 5, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
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