From the frying pan, it’s into the fire for the Cowboys.

Coming out of its bye week, McNeese State will face its first ranked opponent of the season on Saturday night inside Cowboy Stadium.

No. 5 Incarnate Word comes to Lake Charles as the clear Southland Conference front-runner now.

At 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the league, the Cardinals may be a half-game behind Lamar in the standings but are the clear top dog in the SLC.

“They are a very good football team,” said McNeese head coach Gary Goff. “They are explosive on offense and they can score.”

The Cowboys can’t worry about how good UIW is, they have to be concerned about themselves. McNeese is suffering through its first 0-6 start in the program’s history and is 0-2 in conference play.

“This is about the Cowboys,” said Goff. “We have to come in and play clean football. We have to figure out how we want this to end.”

The Pokes believe they still have plenty to play for with three of their final five games at home. Ending strong and showing improvement would go a long way in helping set the stage for next season.

“There are still a lot of games left,” said Goff. “We want to finish strong. We have to retain the roster.”

A few wins could help do that as McNeese has just 35 players still on the team from the end of last season. With a lot of young guys getting their shot this year, keeping them in town will be a big key to the future.

A lot of those kids have gotten their first chance at playing college ball this fall.

“They have brought excitement and energy to the field,” Goff said. “They are excited to get the opportunity to play.”

One of those McNeese fans is still waiting to get a look at is true freshman quarterback Kamden Sixkiller. The gunslinger with the name straight out of central casting is expected to make his college debut sometime over the last five games.

Players get four games from the NCAA to play before losing their year of eligibility. Goff said he will play the 6-foot-5 Sixkiller but won’t jeopardize his redshirt status.

“Sixkiller will play at some point,” said Goff. “We increased his reps last week. We gave him a lot of work.”

Sixkiller is expected to get more looks this week, but Nate Glantz will still be the starter with Ryan Roberts the likely backup. Roberts got his first chance at playing in McNeese’s last game, a 41-10 loss at Texas A&M-Commerce.

Glantz has struggled this season, completing under 50 percent of his pass attempts (71-144) for 861 yards. He has just three touchdown passes, all to Jon McCall, while throwing five interceptions. Three of those have come in the last two games when Glantz was also sacked seven times.

“We can’t turn the ball over,” Goff said.

McNeese will get some help back for the offense as running back Coleby Hamm is expected to return from a leg injury. Hamm and starting running back D’Angelo Durham both missed the last game against Commerce.

Durham is trending toward playing right now but a final decision on his status won’t be expected until later in the week.

“D-Low wants to play,” said Goff. “He is doing everything he can to get back on the field.”

Durham suffered a shoulder injury against Nicholls back on Sept. 30 after gaining 45 yards on nine carries. Durham leads the Pokes in rushing with 391 yards on 74 attempts.

Goff said he wants the Cowboys to play to their strengths moving forward and under composure. He said that during the last two losses, he felt his team “hit the panic button way too fast.”

He wants to see the team mature and fight through the tough moments.
“We got to get over that hurdle,” said Goff. “We have got to be mentally tougher. We have to fight to the end.”

For McNeese the beginning of the season’s end starts with its toughest foe.