There was once a time not so long ago in this rivalry when McNeese State was the hunted.

The Cowboys were the ones chasing Southland Conference championships and playoff berths. Not now.

Incarnate Word is the hunted with McNeese the hunter. They meet again at noon today at Cowboy Stadium.

It is the third meeting in eight months for the teams. The first two were not pretty for McNeese.

The Cardinals stomped McNeese both times on their way to a tie for the SLC lead. At 5-1, 3-0, UIW finds itself in a two-team race with Southeastern Louisiana for the title.

Ranked 16th in the nation, the Cardinals have become a national name, having beaten McNeese by a 79-20 count in those two meetings, including a 31-0 romp a month ago in San Antonio.

“We owe them one,” McNeese quarterback Cody Orgeron said.

Actually, the Cowboys owe them three. Over the last three meetings Incarnate Word owns a 124-37 scoring margin on McNeese (2-4, 1-2).

“They are a very good football team that has been tough on us here of late,” said McNeese head coach Frank Wilson. “We are going to have to be at our best to win.

“We don’t worry about what’s happened. We just have to find a way to win the game by one point. I don’t care if it ends up 56-55 or 15-14, we just got to finish with one more point.”

Either way McNeese can’t get off to the type of start it did the last time the teams met. The Cowboys were down 14-0 before the offense ever took a snap and never recovered.

“We have to start fast,” Orgeron said. “We have to go out there and kick them in the mouth, show we are here to play.”

The Cowboys will also have to at least slow down Incarnate Word quarterback Cam Ward. In the two previous games, the freshman has thrown for 658 and six touchdowns without an interception.

“You can’t give up the big plays,” said Cowboys defensive back Corione Harris. “They are going to make plays, catch balls, but we have to come up and hit them when they do. You have to make sure they have to work for the yards.”

McNeese may have found the right formula last week in its win at Northwestern State. Using an improved run game the Cowboys controlled the tempo and play in their 35-17 victory. Over their last six quarters, which includes the second half against Southeastern, McNeese has outscored its foes 63-31.

“We have found some chemistry that we have to keep using,” Orgeron said.

Freshman Josh Parker ran for 74 yards on 16 carries and scored the first two touchdowns of his career to lead the Cowboys.

But Orgeron also knows he will have to get the passing game going if he wants to keep the Cowboys in the game. Scoring points will have to be done to counter the Cardinals attack.

“We are going to have to score points and move the ball through the air,” Orgeron said. “We have to be able to do both to keep them off balance.”

That likely means he will have to get the ball to Mason Pierce, who is quickly becoming the club’s playmaker. Pierce has four of his five touchdowns in the last two games.