It’s probably not what anyone had in mind when they drew up the TV schedule, but it’s happening nevertheless.

The two teams picked in the preseason to finish atop the Southland Conference football standings will instead be duking it out for pride when McNeese State (3-4, 2-2 SLC) visits Stephen F. Austin (2-5, 1-2) at 3 p.m. today.

Any disappointment over how their respective seasons reached this point has been whitewashed this week by both head coaches.

SFA coach J.C. Harper said his team is excited.

“This is the first time we’ve been home in four Saturdays,” Harper said. “It’s homecoming, plus the game being on TV, it’s the best time of year in Nacogdoches. McNeese is a really good football team.”

The Lumberjacks’ extended exile from Homer Bryce Stadium was the result of playing as the home team in the Battle of the Piney Woods against Sam Houston State at Reliant Stadium in Houston, a trade-off Harper said he gladly accepts.

On the McNeese side of the ledger, Cowboys head coach Matt Viator said his team will be properly motivated to snap a three-game losing streak that has crushed its hopes of a conference title run.

“I’d be disappointed if we weren’t excited to play,” Viator said.

For the Cowboys seniors, it will be the last shot at a team that has beaten them the last two years. The first of those losses resulted in McNeese sharing a conference crown with the Lumberjacks, while last year’s deprived the Cowboys of another.

“We’ve lost to them the past two years, and we’re playing them for their homecoming, so I’m hoping all of that will help,” Viator said.

It won’t just be the seniors gunning for a W.

“I haven’t beaten them yet since I’ve been here,” said junior safety Malcolm Bronson. “I’m trying to get this win. This is a big week for me.”

One major difference from the past two years will be the absence of quarterback Jeremy Moses, who won the Walter Payton Award as a senior. His replacement is sophomore Brady Attaway, who has thrown for 2,015 yards and 16 touchdowns but has also tossed 14 interceptions.

On offense, the Cowboys will attempt to jump-start themselves after grinding to a halt in October. McNeese has not scored more than 20 points in a game this month.