After taking the weekend off, the Cowboys got back to work with practice Monday morning.

After 11 straight weeks of football, including seven games in a row, McNeese State used its first of two byes to get rested and as healthy as possible.

“We needed that week,” said McNeese head coach Gary Goff Monday at his weekly press conference. “We needed a break. We needed to get healthy.”

How healthy the Cowboys got with the time off won’t be fully known until later in the week, but one big name is for sure coming back Saturday night in San Antonio.

All-American linebacker Micah Davey, who led the country in tackles per game last season, has been fully cleared and is expected to start when the Cowboys travel to play Incarnate Word. Davey has missed the last four games with an injury to his ribs he suffered at Texas A&M.

“He has been chomping at the bit to play,” said Goff. “We have been ready for him to play.”

Davey will be needed as the Cardinals, ranked 13th and 15th in the top FCS polls this week, are coming off an impressive dismantling of co-Southland Conference favorite Nicholls last week. The 55-10 shellacking sent a clear message that the 4-2, 1-0 Cards are the team to beat in the SLC.

“That was impressive,” Goff said of UIW’s recent win. “This is a big-time game because they are the conference frontrunner. It is the next challenge for our program.”

The Cardinals are led by quarterback Zach Calzada, who was 25 of 33 for 270 yards and five touchdowns last weekend. That earned him SLC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Calzada is seventh in passing yards (1,663) on the FCS level and sixth in total offense (293.2 a game). He is also second in TD passes with 18, two behind the leader who has played an extra game.

For good measure, junior linebacker Dune Smith was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week for UIW.

“They are a very talented team on both sides of the football,” said Goff. “They are as good as advertised.”

If the Cowboys (4-3, 1-1) are to pull off their second straight upset of a Top-25 team, they will have to play the way they did when they toppled No. 25 Weber State just two weeks ago.

“It is about us going out there and playing the way we are capable of playing,” said Goff. “We are capable of playing so much better than we have already.”

The Cowboys have had their ups and downs, playing better against better competition so far. UIW will be their third FCS-ranked opponent with the McNeese already 1-1 against such foes. It will also be the third of four straight road games for the Cowboys.

McNeese will try to get the stink off of their last performance. The Cowboys were thumped by Houston Christian 43-22 the week after knocking off Weber State. 

“We were just a tired, beat-up team,” said Goff. “We are excited to put that game behind us. There is still a lot of football to be played.”

With five conference games remaining, the Cowboys hold the key to their futures. Winning four of those could mean a playoff spot while running the table would lead to a conference title.

That’s a tall task for a team that has already won as many games this season as it has since 2019. For now, the attention is on the Cardinals.

“That is the next challenge for our program,” said Goff.

It won’t be an easy one.