LAKE CHARLES – It's been six years since the McNeese football team has been able to call itself Southland Conference champions.
 
A program that dominated the 1990s and first 10 years of the new millennium and has won a league-record 13 titles, last hoisted the conference trophy in 2009.
 
That drought could end on Saturday when the No. 5/9 Cowboys (8-0, 7-0 SLC) host No. 9/7 Sam Houston State (6-2, 5-1) at 6 p.m. in Cowboys Stadium. A win for McNeese will clinch the conference championship and the league's automatic berth into the FCS playoffs.
 
"It's been a long five years," said senior free safety Wallace Scott. "We've had a lot of injuries since I've been here. This has been one of the very few years where we've had a lot of people healthy. When you're a good team that's healthy, this is really where you're supposed to be."
 
The Cowboys are 8-0 for the fifth time in school history (1963, 1979, 1995, 2007) and at 7-0 in league play, is one win away from becoming the first team in conference history to win eight league games in a season. But it won't come easy as the Cowboys will be facing their toughest challenge yet in the Bearkats who rank No. 2 in the nation in both total offense and scoring offense.
 
"Without a doubt this is the most talented football team we've played this year across the board," said head coach Matt Viator who, last Saturday, became the Southland Conference all-time wins leader in terms of league games with 52 victories. "They've got good players, a good coach and it will be a challenge. We'll have to be hitting on all cylinders."
 
Saturday's game will feature the league's top defense against the top offense.
 
In addition to the top billing in the conference in total, rushing and scoring defense, the Cowboys are ranked No. 1 in the nation in rushing defense (67.9 ypg), No. 3 in scoring defense (10.9 ppg) and No. 5 in total defense (281.5 ypg).
 
Only once this year has a team scored more than 14 points in a game against the Cowboys and that was Northwestern State who put up 27 points, 20 of those against the defense.
 
On offense, the Cowboys will be looking at getting back to form after last Saturday's performance in a 15-13 win at Abilene Christian. McNeese turned the ball over a season-high five times and scored the least amount of points since being held to nine at Southeastern Louisiana last season.
 
For the season, the Cowboys are averaging 213.5 yards per game rushing, led by Ryan Ross (83.6) and Daniel Sams (76.1). Sams is second in the conference in total offense (230.6) while Kent Shelby is fifth in the league with 57.9 receiving yards per game.
 
Sam Houston's offense has been just as dominant as McNeese's defense.
 
The Bearkats are averaging 46.4 points per game along with 549.3 yards per contest, ranking them second in the nation in both categories. SHSU is also 10^th in the country in rushing offense (259.6 ypg).
 
SHSU has not been held under 30 points this season and has scored 40 or more five times.
 
Running backs Cory Avery (71.0) and Jalen Overstreet (70.9) lead the running attack while quarterback Jared Johnson is averaging 223.2 total yards per game (177.8 passing, 45.5 rushing). Johnson is responsible for 18 touchdowns on the season, five rushing and 13 passing.
 
Saturday will be the 37^th meeting in the series with the Cowboys holding a 25-10-1 advantage. SHSU won last year's game 38-22 in Huntsville. The home team has won the last three meetings.
 
WORTH NOTING: 14 McNeese seniors will be recognized in a pregame ceremony. Those recognized will be Kelvin Bennett, Jean Breaux, Bo Brown, David Bush, Jordan Craft, Nick Gorman, Gabe Hamner, Ben Jones, Quentin Marsh, Derrick Milton, Daniel Sams, Wallace Scott, Cameron Smith, and Brent Spikes.