There is playing on the edge and then there is playing over it.

The Cowboys are walking a fine line between the two. If they don’t watch out, it can prove costly.

Last Saturday, during the emotional final moments of a dramatic comeback victory, McNeese State players almost came unglued to the point of costing themselves a win.

Three unsportsmanlike penalties, two on quarterback Clifton McDowell, put a damper on a come-from-behind thriller.

Instead of focusing on the big win, they had to explain their messy actions. It was not an isolated incident this season. It has been a problem that needs correcting, and fast.

Last year the Cowboys could not figure out how to win games. This year they might need to figure out how not to lose them.

At 2-2, we are still learning what this edition of the Cowboys will become. There have been more than a few moments of hope and more than a few moments of head-scratching concern.

McDowell, who led the comeback with his arm and legs, playing a near-perfect fourth quarter, scored twice to erase a 10-point deficit in a 28-24 win over Stephen F. Austin.

 That’s exactly what the Cowboy faithful hoped for when McDowell signed to play his final season at McNeese. After taking Montana to the Football Championship Subdivision title game, he said he wanted to come here and help show the Cowboys how to win.

After doing just that, he let his emotions get the best of him, picking up a dumb penalty after each of his scores that led to his ejection. To McDowell’s credit, he stood up after the game and answered the questions, as a leader should.

“I can’t let that happen,” McDowell said. “I know that.”

McDowell was not alone in this but was the center of attention. 

McNeese has been flagged 31 times for 317 yards. 

“I’m upset about the emotional personal fouls,” said head coach Gary Goff, adding that those will be addressed. “There is a way to act and a way not to act.”

It is not the look McNeese football wants moving forward. The Cowboys program is better than that, or at least has been. Even in tough times, you have to be better, smarter, under more control.

OK, let’s give them a mulligan for last week. If this is the last we talk of the issue, then it was a lesson learned and we move past it and onward. 

If not, then we have a real problem. It’s on the players and coaches to decide which way they want it to go.

The Cowboys are trying to bounce back from four consecutive losing seasons. Their fans are restless and want to win, but they also want to win the right way.

This team seems to have a chance. At the very least it looks like a club that could be the foundation to better things to come. If only these Cowboys can get out of their own way.

“Imagine how good we could be if we eliminate some of that,” Goff said.

We have not seen much of this in Goff’s previous two seasons. They have been one of the least penalized teams over the years.

What we now have to hope for, as the Cowboys look to put the mistakes behind them, is that this is a learning moment and the players get the message. There is a lot at stake for a lot of people this year and it would be too bad if any good would be lost in some bad.

This McNeese team looks like it has learned how to win games. 

Now they have to show us they are smart enough not to lose some as well.

This team looks like it could be heading on the right track.

Let’s hope the Cowboys don’t derail themselves.

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Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese State athletics for the American Press. Email him at jimgazzolo@yahoo.com