What: McNeese (6-0, 5-0 SLC) vs. Northwestern State 1-5, 1-3)
When: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015
Time: 6:07 p.m. kickoff
Where: Cowboy Stadium; Lake Charles, La.
Rankings (Coaches/STATS: McNeese (9/12); Northwestern State (NR/NR)
TV: CST (Channel 57 Suddenlink in Lake Charles); ESPN3 (Blacked out in CST territory); ESPN College Extra (792 DirecTV, 618 AT&T Uverse, 325 Verizon Fios)
Radio: 92.9 FM The Lake; 960 AM The Gator in Lafayette
 
LAKE CHARLES – McNeese will look to take one step closer to the Southland Conference championship at its Homecoming game on Saturday when it hosts Northwestern State for Homecoming.
 
Kickoff is slated for 6:07 in Cowboy Stadium.
 
Ranked 9/12 in this week's FCS Top 25 polls, the Cowboys (6-0, 5-0 SLC) are coming off a come-from-behind 28-13 win at Central Arkansas to take over sole possession of first place in the league standings. Meanwhile, NSU (1-5, 1-3) scored its first win of the year in an impressive fashion by handling Lamar 48-35 last week.
 
The Demons, who were picked among the top six teams in preseason polls, played a tough schedule to start the season that included games at FBS opponents Louisiana-Lafayette and Mississippi State.
 
"They (NSU) were 0-5 with a really tough schedule," said McNeese head coach Matt Viator who with one more conference win will tie Sam Houston State's Ron Randleman as the all-time league leader with 51 league victories. "That was a 'Murderer's Row' there to start the season.
 
"They really handled Lamar. It wasn't close. They executed on both sides of the ball. They changed some things up on defense during their open week going to a 3-3 Stack. On offense, they've played four quarterbacks this year but stuck with (Stephen) Rivers the entire game (against Lamar).
 
"What I love and don't love about this league is you have a team that's not playing so well, and then they start playing well, and here we go."
 
Regardless of the records, Saturday's game is expected to be a typical McNeese-Northwestern State rivalry grudge match.
 
"Every game between us seems to be a physical and hard fought game," said Viator. "They're fun games and the kids really like it."
 
McNeese has won 10 straight in the series and has not lost in Lake Charles since 1988, a streak of 12 straight wins in Cowboy Stadium. In that 10-game winning streak, seven of the games were decided by seven points or less. The Cowboys lead the overall series by a 43-20-1 margin and won last year's game 35-28 in Natchitoches after holding off the Demons late in the game.
 
The Cowboys will enter the game with the nation's No. 1-ranked scoring defense (7.8 ppg allowed), No. 2 in rushing defense (68.5) and third in total defense (255.3). The Cowboys' DWA has allowed just six touchdowns on the season, two of those rushing, and have yet to have an opponent score more than 14 points in a game.
 
Senior free safety Wallace Scott, who was recently added to the STATS FCS National Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, has scored two touchdowns on fumble recoveries this year and has three recoveries overall.
 
Sophomore DB Dominique Hill leads the team with 38 total tackles and 10 tackles for a loss while senior linebacker Bo Brown tops the team with four sacks. As a team, the Cowboys have recorded 21 sacks on the season and 57 tackles for a loss.
 
Offensively, sophomore running back Ryan Ross leads the team and is ranked fourth in the league with 79.2 yards per game rushing. He's also sixth in the FCS with a 7.4 yards per carry average and has rushed for 100 or more yards in two straight games.
 
Senior quarterback Daniel Sams is fifth in the league in rushing (72.7 ypg) and is third in total offense (215.3).
 
The Demons' running game is paced by De'Mard Llorens (66.7 ypg) while Rivers has completed 28 of 45 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns on the season. J.D. Almond, who is also expected to see some action, has completed 40 of 69 passes for 528 yards and three scores.
 
Regardless of who will quarterback the Demons, their primary target will the all-American wide receiver Ed Eagan (25 catches for 292 yards). Last season against the Cowboys, Eagan caught 10 passes for a school record 238 yards.