2020 McNeese State Cowboys football team

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2020 McNeese State Cowboys football
McNeese State "M" logo.png
ConferenceSouthland Conference
2020 record3–4 (2–4 SLC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRonnie Letson (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorGrady Brown (1st season)
Home stadiumCowboy Stadium
(Capacity: 17,610)
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Southland Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 4 Sam Houston State $^   6 0     10 0  
No. 20 Southeastern Louisiana   4 2     4 3  
Incarnate Word   3 3     3 3  
No. 23 Nicholls   3 3     4 3  
McNeese State*   2 4     3 4  
Lamar   2 4     2 4  
Northwestern State   1 5     1 5  
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2020 McNeese State Cowboys football team represented the McNeese State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Cowboys played their home games at Cowboy Stadium in Lake Charles, Louisiana and competed in the Southland Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Frank Wilson.[1]

On August 13, McNeese State Athletic Department decided to postpone all fall sports with the intent to play in the spring.[2] This decision canceled all games that were to be played from September through November 2020.

Previous Season[]

The Cowboys finished the 2019 season 7–5, 5–4 in Southland play to finish in the Southland Conference. Following the season, first-year head coach Sterlin Gilbert resigned following the mediocre season.[3]

Preseason[]

Recruiting class[]

Reference(s):[4]

Preseason poll[]

The Southland Conference released their spring preseason poll in January 2021. The Cowboys were picked to finish fourth in the conference.[5] In addition, three Bearkats were chosen to the Preseason All-Southland Team[6]

Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Nicholls 67 (7)
2 Sam Houston State 65 (6)
3 Southeastern Louisiana 48
4 McNeese State 45 (1)
5 Incarnate Word 32
6 Northwestern State 20
7 Lamar 17

Preseason All–Southland Teams[]

Roster[]

2020 McNeese State Cowboys football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 1 Cyron Sutton Sr
QB 2 Cade Bartlett Redshirt.svg Fr
RB 4 Elijah Mack Sr
QB 8 Cody Orgeron Sr
QB 10 Matt Keller Sr
QB 12 Matt Gardner Redshirt.svg Jr
WR 13 Nate Briscoe Jr
WR 14 Draysean Hudson Redshirt.svg Sr
WR 15 Zach Hayes So
WR 19 Tyler Washington Redshirt.svg Fr
RB 33 J'Uan Gross Jr
RB 34 J'Cobi Skinner Jr
TE 36 Dontay Hargrove Sr
RB 37 Carlos Williams So
TE 40 Dominic Prudhomme Redshirt.svg Fr
TE 44 Jacob Logan Sr
RB 47 McCaylon Thibeaux Redshirt.svg Fr
OL 53 Kyle Herridge Jr
OL 55 Cutter Leftwich Jr
OL 57 Aaron McDaniel Redshirt.svg Fr
OL 58 Tanner Pugh Jr
OL 62 Joe Latronico Sr
OL 63 Charley Zeno Redshirt.svg So
OL 64 Jack Zelezinski Redshirt.svg Fr
OL 66 Juwan Felix Redshirt.svg Fr
OL 68 Caleb Gary Sr
OL 71 Jamarius Bolding Sr
OL 73 Calvin Barkat Jr
OL 77 DeMarcus Thomas So
OL 78 Hayden Shaw Redshirt.svg Fr
OL 79 Nick Holiday Redshirt.svg So
WR 81 Deon Cormier Redshirt.svg So
WR 83 Trevor Begue Sr
TE 84 KJ Brown Redshirt.svg Fr
WR 86 Markel Cotten Redshirt.svg Fr
WR 87 Markquell Stewart Redshirt.svg Fr
WR 88 Tylin Bryant Redshirt.svg Fr
WR 89 Mason Pierce So
QB Morgan Clark Redshirt.svg Fr
RB Ivory Roberts Redshirt.svg Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 1 Darion Dunn Sr
DB 2 Cory McCoy Sr
DB 4 Colby Burton Sr
DB 7 Gabe Foster Sr
DL 8 Damien DeGruy Jr
LB 10 Darius Daniels So
DB 16 Colby Richardson Jr
DB 17 Darius Johnson Sr
DB 18 Eli Johnson So
DB 21 Andre Sam Jr
LB 23 Kordell Williams Jr
DB 25 Darius Shields Redshirt.svg Fr
DB 27 Enos Lewis Jr
DB 28 Andrew Croker Redshirt.svg So
LB 29 Jake LaFleur Redshirt.svg Fr
DE 30 Marcus Foster Sr
LB 31 Dorion Pollard Sr
LB 32 Carlos Scott Sr
DB 35 Anthony Johnson So
LB 41 Eric Rene Redshirt.svg So
DE 42 Earenest Grayson, III Redshirt.svg Fr
LB 43 Tyrell Flugence So
LB 48 Andrew Hyacinth Sr
DL 54 Jonathon Hageon Redshirt.svg So
LB 56 Brayden Adams Redshirt.svg So
DL 91 Tyrique Gibson Jr
DL 92 Arthur Lott Redshirt.svg Fr
DL 93 Steven Conerly Jr
DL 94 Kaleb Wenson Redshirt.svg Fr
DL 95 Chase Davis Jr
DL 96 C. J. Semien Jr
DL 97 Camron Peterson Jr
DE 98 Logan Sonnier Redshirt.svg Fr
LB Blake Robinson Redshirt.svg Fr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K/P 3 Noah Anderson Redshirt.svg So
K 11 Kade Dixon Jr
K 26 Eric Martin So
P 38 Bailey Raborn Sr
LS 51 Trey Vondenstein So
LS 65 Chandler Perer Redshirt.svg Fr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Ronnie Letson (Mississippi)
    Offensive Coordinator
  • Grady Brown (Alabama A&M)
    Defensive Coordinator
  • Gary Hyman (Humboldt State)
    Special Teams Coordinator
  • Landon Hoefer (Texas Tech)
    Running Backs
  • Chris Truax (LSU)
    Offensive Line
  • J. B. Lageman (West Virginia)
    Defensive Line
  • Deron Wilson (Southern Miss)
    Defensive Backs
  • Will Thomas (LSU)
    Linebackers
  • Blaine Gautier (Louisiana
    Wide Receivers
  • Kyle Washington (Angelo State)
    Offensive Assistant Coach
  • Kyle Little
    Director of Strength and Conditioning
  • Matt Saucier
    Head Equipment Manager
  • Raymond Donovan
    Video Coordinator
  • Jim "Doc" Murphy
    Director of Sports Medicine
  • Hunter Martin
    Assistant Athletic Trainer
  • Matthew Bonnette
    Assistant Athletic Director/Information Director
  • Alexandria Haley
    Director of Student Athlete Services

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster
Last update: March 22, 2020

Schedule[]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
February 136:00 p.m.at Tarleton State*
FSSW+W 40–37 2OT1,324
February 2712:00 p.m.Incarnate WordNo. 19
ESPN+L 20–482,394
March 66:00 p.m.at No. 24 Southeastern LouisianaESPN+L 20–253,050
March 1312:00 p.m.Lamar
ESPN+L 26–27 OT4,523
March 204:00 p.m.at Northwestern State
CSTW 21–76,577
April 312:00 p.m.No. 13 Nicholls
  • Cowboy Stadium
  • Lake Charles, LA
CSTW 43–315,289
April 104:00 p.m.at No. 5 Sam Houston State
ESPN+L 13–273,103

[7][8][9]

Game summaries[]

at Tarleton State[]

McNeese State at Tarleton State
1 234Total
Cowboys 10 0031 41
Texans 3 7147 31
  • Date: February 13, 2021
  • Location: Memorial Stadium
    Stephenville, TX
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CST
  • Elapsed time: 4 hours and 22 minutes
  • Game attendance: 1,324
  • Game weather: 28 °F (−2 °C) • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: 12 MPH
  • Referee: Vidal Jones
  • Television network: Fox Sports Southwest Plus
        
Over/under
TAR −3.0 51
Statistics McNeese State Tarleton State
First downs 27 25
Total yards 400 408
Rushing yards 230 180
Passing yards 170 228
Turnovers 0 2
Time of possession 33:32 26:28
Team Category Player Statistics
McNeese State Passing Cody Orgeron 14/34, 170 yards, 3 TDs
Rushing Cody Orgeron 19 carries, 180 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving Deonta McMahon 2 receptions, 35 yards
Tarleton State Passing Steven Duncan 22/39, 217 yards, 1 TD
Rushing Braelon Bridges 15 carries, 112 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving Tariq Bitson 5 receptions, 87 yards, 1 TD

Incarnate Word[]

Incarnate Word at McNeese State
1 234Total
Cardinals 14 17314 48
No. 19 Cowboys 3 0710 20
  • Date: February 27, 2021
  • Location: Cowboy Stadium
    Lake Charles, LA
  • Game start: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours and 43 minutes
  • Game attendance: 2,394
  • Referee: Ed Bourgeois
  • Television network: ESPN+
        
Over/under
MCNS −11.5 57
Statistics Incarnate Word McNeese State
First downs 22 24
Total yards 518 373
Rushing yards 209 171
Passing yards 309 202
Turnovers 0 0
Time of possession 25:24 34:36
Team Category Player Statistics
Incarnate Word Passing Cameron Ward 24/35, 306 yards, 4 TDs
Rushing Kevin Brown 10 carries, 117 yards
Receiving Jaelin Campbell 6 receptions, 93 yards, 1 TD
McNeese State Passing Cody Orgeron 18/32, 202 yards
Rushing Cody Orgeron 18 carries, 72 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Joshua Matthews 4 receptions, 65 yards

at Southeastern Louisiana[]

McNeese State at Southeastern Louisiana
1 234Total
Cowboys 3 377 20
No. 24 Lions 3 9103 25
  • Date: March 6, 2021
  • Location: Strawberry Stadium
    Hammond, LA
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CST
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours and 18 minutes
  • Game attendance: 3,050
  • Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C) • Weather: Fair • Wind: 9 N MPH
  • Referee: Scott Hardin
  • Television network: ESPN+
      
Over/under
SELA −11.5 62
Statistics McNeese State Southeastern Louisiana
First downs 20 26
Total yards 331 492
Rushing yards 166 191
Passing yards 165 301
Turnovers 4 1
Time of possession 30:59 29:01
Team Category Player Statistics
McNeese State Passing Cody Orgeron 13/20, 165 yards, 2 INTs
Rushing AJ Carter 15 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Severyn Foster 2 receptions, 75 yards
Southeastern Louisiana Passing Cole Kelley 21/39, 301 yards, 1 TD
Rushing Morgan Ellison 15 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Javon Conner 5 receptions, 104 yards

Lamar[]

Lamar at McNeese State
1 234Total
Cardinals 3 1007 20
Cowboys 13 007 20
  • Date: March 13, 2021
  • Location: Cowboy Stadium
    Lake Charles, LA
  • Game start: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours and 30 minutes
  • Game attendance: 4,523
  • Referee: Dan Lewis
  • Television network: ESPN+
     
Over/under
MCNS −14.0 48
Statistics Lamar McNeese State
First downs 21 18
Total yards 330 399
Rushing yards 223 321
Passing yards 107 78
Turnovers 0 1
Time of possession 38:15 36:45
Team Category Player Statistics
Lamar Passing Jalen Dummett 8/11, 100 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing Marcellus Johnson 6 carries, 86 yards
Receiving Kirkland Banks 4 receptions, 41 yards
McNeese State Passing Cody Orgeron 9/16, 78 yards, 1 INT
Rushing Carlos Williams 16 carries, 90 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving Jamal Pettigrew 1 reception, 31 yards

at Northwestern State[]

McNeese State at Northwestern State
1 234Total
Cowboys 7 0140 21
Demons 7 000 7
  • Date: March 20, 2021
  • Location: Harry Turpin Stadium
    Natchitoches, LA
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours and 6 minutes
  • Game attendance: 6,577
  • Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C) • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: SW 6 MPH
  • Referee: Ed Bourgeois
  • Television network: CST
  
Over/under
NSU −3.5 48
Statistics McNeese State Northwestern State
First downs 20 21
Total yards 416 394
Rushing yards 110 33
Passing yards 306 361
Turnovers 1 2
Time of possession 30:36 29:24
Team Category Player Statistics
McNeese State Passing Cody Orgeron 17/22, 306 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing Josh Parker 16 carries, 77 yards
Receiving Trevor Begue 8 receptions, 165 yards, 1 TD
Northwestern State Passing Kaleb Fletcher 13/18, 171 yards, 1 TD
Rushing Scooter Adams 8 carries, 37 yards
Receiving Javon Antonio 6 receptions, 103 yards

Nicholls[]

Nicholls at McNeese State
1 234Total
No. 13 Colonels 14 377 31
Cowboys 3 21712 43
  • Date: April 3, 2021
  • Location: Cowboy Stadium
    Lake Charles, LA
  • Game start: 12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours and 40 minutes
  • Game attendance: 5,289
  • Referee: Vidal Jones
  • Television network: CST
        
Over/under
NICH −13.5 60
Statistics Nicholls McNeese State
First downs 29 21
Total yards 562 541
Rushing yards 273 187
Passing yards 289 354
Turnovers 3 2
Time of possession 35:26 24:34
Team Category Player Statistics
Nicholls Passing Lindsey Scott Jr. 26/53, 289 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing Lindsey Scott Jr. 28 carries, 137 yards
Receiving K. J. Franklin 4 receptions, 76 yards
McNeese State Passing Cody Orgeron 20/27, 354 yards, 4 TDs
Rushing Deonta McMahon 11 carries, 111 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Joshua Matthews 7 receptions, 147 yards, 2 TDs

at Sam Houston State[]

McNeese State at Sam Houston State
1 234Total
Cowboys 3 037 13
No. 5 Bearkats 7 10100 27
  • Date: April 10, 2021
  • Location: Bowers Stadium
    Huntsville, TX
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours and 18 minutes
  • Game attendance: 3,103
  • Game weather: 78 °F (26 °C) • Weather: Clear & Sunny • Wind: 9 N MPH
  • Referee: Dan Lewis
  • Television network: ESPN+
    
Over/under
SHSU −15.0 59
Statistics McNeese State Sam Houston State
First downs 19 19
Total yards 328 392
Rushing yards 37 190
Passing yards 291 202
Turnovers 1 3
Time of possession 30:02 29:58
Team Category Player Statistics
McNeese State Passing Cody Orgeron 27/42, 291 yards, 1 TD
Rushing Cody Orgeron 18 carries, 18 yards
Receiving Joshua Matthews 6 receptions, 95 yards, 1 TD
Sam Houston State Passing Eric Schmid 12/24, 202 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Rushing Eric Schmid 15 carries, 92 yards
Receiving Jequez Ezzard 3 receptions, 87 yards

References[]

  1. ^ "Frank Wilson hired as McNeese head football coach". www.msn.com. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  2. ^ "McNeese postpones all fall sports competition". McNeese State University Athletics. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Gilbert resigns as McNeese FB coach to take Syracuse OC position". The Daily Iberian. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Frank Wilson announces signing class, introduces coaches". McNeese State University Athletics. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Nicholls Favored to Win Southland Football Spring Season". www.southland.org. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Southland Announces 2020 Preseason All-Conference Football Teams". www.southland.org. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  7. ^ "2020 McNeese State Cowboys Football Schedule". Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  8. ^ "McNeese State Cowboys". ESPN. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Southland Conference Postponed Spring Football Schedule Announced". www.southland.org. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
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