Things have once again slipped from bad to worse for the Cowboys.

McNeese State has fallen to 0-3 for the second straight season with a loss to Alcorn State.

After winning 15 straight against teams from the SWAC the Pokes have now lost two in a row.

This time it was a fast start by the Braves (1-2) and McNeese miscues did the Cowboys in Saturday night in Lorman, Miss. The 17-3 loss leaves McNeese once again searching for answers at the start of a season.

The Braves jumped out to a 14-0 lead on their first two long drives, both ending in Jarveon Howard touchdown runs. Howard finished the night with 98 yards to lead all rushers.

McNeese did answer with Garrison Smith’s 51-yard field goal on the last play of the first half. It is the fourth-longest field goal in school history.

That, however, would be it for the McNeese scoring as the Cowboys, despite a better second half, self-destructed at key moments.

Three third-quarter turnovers blew any chance to take over the game. There were also dropped passes and a key holding penalty that wiped out a run to the one-yard line.

Alcorn quarterback Aaron Allen finished 13-of-18 for 98 yards to lead the Braves, who ran for 240 more. McNeese QB Nate Glantz was just 13-of-24 for 109 yards and two interceptions.

Glantz was sacked three times and had four passes dropped. He has been sacked 12 times over the first three games.

D’Angelo Durham led the McNeese run game with 41 yards, but the Cowboys managed just 199 yards of total offense. Poke linebacker Micah Davey has his third strong game, finishing with 15 tackles, 12 of them solo.

McNeese will finish their three-game road trip next week at Eastern Illinois. The Panthers (2-1) rallied to beat Illinois State 14-13 Saturday.

That gave Eastern as many wins it had all of last season. The Cowboys are 3-0 all-time against the Panthers and won last year’s contest in Lake Charles.