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By ALEX HICKEY

SLU Adds Another Weapon

Posted September 1, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Filed Under Football, Southeastern Louisiana, Southland Conference | Leave a Comment

Southeastern Louisiana already has a pair of the best targets in the Southland Conference in Simmie Yarborough and Andre Cryer.

A third major player was added to that mix on Tuesday when the NCAA Clearinghouse approved the transfer of Brandon Collins from Texas to SLU. Collins was academically ineligible last year and had 35 catches for 430 yards as a freshman in 2008.

Interestingly enough, news of the NCAA’s approval of Collins’ transfer came on the same day that quarterback Jeremiah Masoli’s transfer from Oregon to Ole Miss was rejected. Like Masoli, Collins has some baggage as he was charged with aggravated robbery and engaging in organized criminal activity in January, leading to his dismissal from the Longhorns. A Texas grand jury later dropped the charges, but by that time he was not going back to Austin.

The news of Collins’ clearance comes a week after the Lions announced the addition of three other FBS players to this year’s roster.

Important Fan Stuff

Posted August 31, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Filed Under Football, McNeese State | Leave a Comment

With the field house under construction, there will be some changes in the parking and tailgating situation outside of Cowboy Stadium this season. The second part of this release from McNeese goes into detail about the specifics of the changes and how it might affect your particular arrangement.

Saturday’s game against Lamar has not yet sold out, though assistant athletic director Ryan Ivey said on Tuesday that people will be allowed to utilize the hills on the north and south sides of the stadium “if necessary” due to an overflow crowd. (The hills won’t be open if there is not an overflow crowd).

WAC-ked Out Sports

Posted August 25, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Filed Under Football, Southland Conference | Leave a Comment

Eventually, the dominoes that started falling with this summer’s movement between schools in the Big Ten, Big XII, Pac-10, et al., were bound to have some sort of peripheral effect on McNeese.

With the Western Athletic Conference currently hanging in the balance, ESPN’s Andy Katz says there has been talk of adding Southland Conference members Texas State and Texas-San Antonio into the WAC by 2014. (North Texas is also mentioned by Katz, and I have heard Montana’s name thrown around as well — though the Grizzlies have not seemed to make as much noise about a desire to move up to the FBS level as Texas State and UTSA).

If the departures do happen, they don’t figure to have a catastrophic effect on the SLC. With Lamar entering the fold next year in football, a Texas State departure would just bring things back to where they were the past several years with an eight-team league.

Obviously all of this is very theoretical right now. But by the time this year’s freshmen are seniors, there’s no telling how things may look.

Bower Named Starter

Posted August 24, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Filed Under Football, McNeese State | Leave a Comment

In a move that came as little surprise after a strong training camp, Jacob Bower was named McNeese State’s 2010 starting quarterback by coach Matt Viator on Tuesday afternoon.

Bower, a senior transfer from Tulsa, will be behind center for the Cowboys in the Sept. 4 season opener against Lamar. There is still competition for the role of Bower’s backup, as Cody Stroud and Zack O’Quinn will each have a chance to prove themselves in the No. 2 spot during Wednesday’s Cowboy Night scrimmage.

For more details, see tomorrow’s American Press.

Do Not Adjust Your Screen

Posted August 19, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Filed Under FCS Football | Leave a Comment

Are you curious as to what Eastern Washington’s new red football field looks like?

Here’s a glimpse at EWU’s live webcam of the installation.

Let’s just hope McNeese doesn’t have to go to a playoff game there.

Pokes Ranked 12th in Preseason Poll

Posted August 16, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Filed Under FCS Football, Football, McNeese State | Leave a Comment

The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS preseason Top 25 poll was released Monday, and McNeese State checks in at 12th. (Yes, that’s right. Fathead is now a co-sponsor of the Top 25 poll. Unfortunately they do not have any McNeese items currently in stock, although you can get a life-sized Dick Vitale for the wall in your den if you so desire).

Here’s the whole Top 25, with first-place votes, last year’s records and end-of-season ranking:

1. Villanova Wildcats (104) 14-1 3,112 1

2. Montana Grizzlies (9) 14-1 2,899 2

3. Appalachian State Mountaineers (8) 11-3 2,857 3

4. William & Mary Tribe (3) 11-3 2,631 4

5. Southern Illinois Salukis (1) 11-2 2,569 6

6. Richmond Spiders (1) 11-2 2,317 5

7. Elon Phoenix 9-3 2,243 9

8. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 10-3 2,041 10

9. South Dakota State Jackrabbits 8-4 1,863 11

10. New Hampshire Wildcats 10-3 1,837 7

11. South Carolina State Bulldogs 10-2 1,607 8

12. McNeese State Cowboys 9-3 1,475 12

13. Eastern Washington Eagles 8-4 1,422 3

14. Northern Iowa Panthers 7-4 1,269 18

15. James Madison Dukes 6-5 1,237 NR

16. Delaware Blue Hens 6-5 879 NR

17. Jacksonville State Gamecocks 8-3 833 16

18. Eastern Illinois Panthers 8-4 762 19

19. Weber State Wildcats 7-5 716 17

20. Prairie View A&M Panthers 9-1 709 15

21. Liberty Flames 8-3 633 22

22. Colgate Raiders 9-2 608 21

23. Penn Quakers 8-2 593 20

24. Montana State Bobcats 7-4 584 NR

25. Holy Cross Crusaders 9-3 560 14

I will be voting in this year’s poll, and most likely will choose to make my choices public once each week’s poll is released. (It seems like the right thing to do, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to deal with the deluge of complaints yet).

However, I passed on voting in the preseason poll. I feel that voting for teams without seeing them play a game is a bit like walking into a voting booth without having any idea what any of the candidates stand for. It can lead people to make totally uninformed, terrible choices.

For instance: somehow Northwestern State and Indiana State each received 12 points to land in the “others receiving votes” category. As any Cowboy fan knows, the Demons are coming off a winless season and not expected to be in the running for a Southland title. Indiana State went 1-10 last year, winning its first game since 2006.

This can only mean three things: 1. There is a prankster in the ranks. 2. I’ve finally found someone more delusional than Cubs fans in late March. 3. Some voter has made their protest of preseason polls a little more vocal than my abstention.

Mizzou Loses Top WR

Posted August 12, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Filed Under Cowboy Opponents, Football, Missouri | Leave a Comment

Jerrell Jackson, Missouri’s top returning wide receiver, is expected to miss the next four weeks after breaking a bone in his left wrist during practice this week. Based on that timeline, he would not be back for the Tigers’ Sept. 11 game with McNeese.

This Kansas City Star story talks about who the Cowboys might expect to see on the field instead, though for real entertainment value I’d advise you check out the bickering between Missouri and Kansas fans in the comments below the article.

How big of a loss is Jackson? Just check out this video of a catch he made against Colorado last season.

Carlese Franklin Feature

Posted August 7, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Filed Under Football, Former Cowboys, McNeese State | 2 Comments

For those wondering what former McNeese wideout Carlese Franklin is up to, here is a nice feature in the Tulsa World about his season with the Tulsa Talons of the re-started Arena Football League.

Franklin played at McNeese from 2004-07, and is sixth all-time on the school’s career list with 1,751 receiving yards.

Add another QB to SLC Derby

Posted August 4, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Filed Under FCS Football, Southland Conference | Leave a Comment

The unstable stable of quarterbacks in the Southland Conference received yet another jolt on Wednesday when former LSU quarterback Chris Garrett announced that he is transferring to Northwestern State. Garrett redshirted last season and was in line to be LSU’s fourth-stringer this year, but in Natchitoches he will presumably challenge Tyler Wolfe and Paul Harris for playing time.

Harris is the second-team quarterback on the SLC preseason team, but that is largely due to the fact that he is the only QB besides Stephen F. Austin’s Jeremy Moses who has accrued significant playing time at the collegiate level — and even that was only half a season worth of work.

As inferred by many on media day, the team that sees the quickest development behind center figures to be the one with the best chance to challenge SFA for the conference crown.

Cowboys To Visit A&M on New Year’s Eve

Posted July 23, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Filed Under McNeese State, Men's Basketball | 1 Comment

You can’t say that Dave Simmons doesn’t know how to keep his kids out of trouble on New Year’s Eve.

McNeese State men’s basketball will play at Texas A&M on the final day of the year with the game tipping off at 7 p.m. in College Station. The Aggies released their nonconference schedule on Friday.

Last year McNeese traveled to Lubbock to face Texas Tech on New Year’s Day, nearly pulling off the upset against the then-nationally ranked Red Raiders before falling, 76-75.

McNeese last visited A&M during the 2008-09 season, giving the Aggies quite a fight in a 57-52 loss.

McNeese has not yet released its full basketball schedule, but we now know of two games for sure. Washington will be hosting the Cowboys in its season opener in Seattle on Nov. 13. Washington and Texas A&M both won in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

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