With nowhere to go but up, the Cowboys get set to start a college football season that will decide the program’s direction.

Will it be a rebuild or a teardown?

That answer depends on what takes place over the 12 games this fall.

After four consecutive losing seasons, McNeese State football stands at a crossroads.

One path might lead to bright a future back to playoffs and title talks. The other could be a dark road to uncertainty and change.

“We know what is on the line,” said third-year head coach Gary Goff. “Going through tough times makes us all stronger and better. We know where we are coming from and we’re excited about the future.”

The immediate future has a lot of new faces on the roster.

Fifty-nine newcomers, including 21 from Football Bowl Subdivision programs, are on board ready to help McNeese attempt to get back into Southland Conference contention. However, this season won’t be easy.

Seven of the 12 games will be on the road, with McNeese’s five toughest opponents away from home. That includes trips to Texas A&M and Weber State, along with playing the top-two favorites in the Southland on the road on back-to-back weeks. Five opponents have received votes in national preseason polls.

“We have to play the schedule they give us,” Goff said. “It is a challenge we are excited about.”

The Cowboys are 1-10 in road games the last two seasons, which was also their record overall last season, the worst in program history. The lone win came via forfeit.

However, there is a belief among the coaching staff and players that this fall will produce a turnaround. This is a group who says they have something to prove.

“We want to right the ship,” said linebacker Micah Davey. “The main thing I’m excited about is redemption, proving everybody wrong and restoring McNeese to its former glory.”

Davey, a preseason all-American, is the old guard of the defense that was overmatched much of last season. His 15.3 tackles per game led Football Championship Subdivision last fall, but there were few other highlights from a last-in-the-league defense that allowed nearly 250 yards a game on the ground.

“We know we have to stop the run,” Goff said. “Our defense has to be better.”

With that, the Cowboys added depth, size, and experience on all three levels of defense, starting with five new linemen. Led by Myles Winslow (6-3, 275/Georgia Southern) and massive Auburn transfer Stephen Johnson (6-4, 330) Goff says his D-line is three deep at spots.

There is also the return to size of Phillip Bradford, who is back up to 280 pounds after playing last season at about 220 when he was diagnosed with diabetes. Sophomore Masey Lewis has also had a nice camp, Goff said, after putting on weight.

“I’m excited about the changes we have brought in,” defensive coordinator Tony Pecoraro said. “Fixing this is what matters for all the coaches. None of us want to go through another year like the last one.”

That should make Davey’s job easier, but so does the addition of two transfer linebackers. Marques White comes over from Dartmouth, where he was a two-time all-Ivy Leaguer, while Tristin Driggers moves down from Louisiana-Monroe.

But Davey, who said he stayed at McNeese because it is “home” and wanted to be here for the turnaround, is the key. He set the tone by calling this season the Cowboys’ “redemption tour.”

“We have dudes all over the field who can make plays,” White said. “We have the people to be a really good defense and shut people down.”

There are also a bunch of new faces in the secondary, where 15 players have started a college football game on some level. That includes preseason all-conference pick Levi Wyatt and safety Boogsie Silva, whose season was shortened last year by injury.

Tulsa transfer Reggie Ellis and St. Thomas transfer Yusef Leak will also be counted on to prevent big plays in the back end.

The story of the offense is quarterback Clifton McDowell, the Montana transfer who guided the Grizzlies to the FCS national title game last season. McDowell was named the Big Sky Newcomer of the Year in his lone season at Montana.

He completed 160 passes for 2,026 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also ran for an additional 753 yards and nine scores as Montana went 13-2.

He will have weapons in Purdue transfer Curtis Deville and tight end Logan Mauldin from Coastal Carolina. Improved Jer’Michael Carter could be a breakout player.

The running back room is loaded with a number of players. Tre’Vonte Citizen moves over from Miami to join a healthy D’Angelo Durham as power backs. Colby Hamm also is back after an injury last season.

Durham led the Cowboys in rushing last fall with 509 yards in nine games and Hamm had two scores in five games.

Bryce Strong and Joshon Barbie should provide speed. Strong comes over from Riverside City College in California while Barbie was a breakout player last fall.

Barbie didn’t play until the sixth game last season after starting the year as a walk-on who was fifth on the depth chart. He finished with 421 yards and earned a scholarship, picking up 138 of those on 22 carries in the season finale at Lamar. He had 117 yards against Incarnate Word as well.

The key though could be the offensive line, which beefed up and will be the biggest in program history. Led by tackles Cole LeClair and Dylan Dauzart, both listed at 6-foot-3, McNeese won’t be undersized.

Hayes Creel (6-7, 310) returns for his sophomore year. The Cowboys hope to get more out of Jamall Franklin, a 6-7, 350-pound sophomore. Greg Knox (6-6, 315) and William Bressie (6-6, 290) are among several other bigs on the line.

Freshman punter Finn Lappin comes from Australia with the reputation of being able to kick with both feet, though in camp he has been only using his right one. Tyler Larco takes over the kicking duties after transferring from Tennesse-Martin. He started his college career at Arkansas.

“We think we have the pieces here now, we have to put them all together,” Goff said.

McNeese opens the season at 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 24 at Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas. The game will be televised by ESPN2.

That’s when we will find out if the pieces fit and which direction the Cowboys are trending.