The first half of this much-anticipated and talked-about football season could not have gone any worse for the Cowboys.

As the bye week hits, McNeese State finds itself nowhere close to where it or anybody else figured it would be.

The Cowboys are still searching for their first victory after opening the season with six straight losses, a program record. They are 0-2 in Southland Conference play and have been outscored in those two games 72-20.

They have been blown out, blown big leads, and found just about every way possible to shoot themselves in their own feet.

“We have been our own worst enemy,” second-year head coach Gary Goff has said.

The biggest problem for the Pokes is they look an awful lot like last year’s team, which finished 4-7. They were supposed to be better.

Last fall McNeese was much more competitive in the early going, playing teams close for a half or so before a lack of depth proved too much to overcome.

This year only once have the Cowboys not been beaten by at least two touchdowns, that was when they let a 21-point lead slip away at Eastern Illinois. They have been outscored this season 222-92, an average of 21.7 points per game.

Like last year they have struggled with turnovers and sacks. McNeese has coughed the ball up 11 times while only getting back six. They have also been sacked 20 times for 143 yards in losses while getting just six sacks on defense.

Last season McNeese quarterbacks were sacked 41 times and threw 17 interceptions.

The Pokes are last in the Southland on defense, especially against the run. They are allowing 229 yards a game on the ground, which has limited the amount of time they have had to run their offense.

Once again they are having a hard time converting third downs. McNeese is turning less than one out of every four of those chances into first downs.

The Cowboys are just 17-for-69 on third down, 24.6 percent. They are allowing first downs 53.7 percent of the time (43-of-75).

“We have to stay on the field and we have to find a way to get off the field on defense,” said Goff.

That is one of the reasons opponents have run 82 more plays this year than the Cowboys. It is hard to keep up when you have the ball that much less than your foe.

McNeese has also struggled in the passing game like last season, connecting on just 51.7 percent of its passes, second to last in the Southland. Nate Glantz, the transfer from Iowa State, hasn’t gotten into any rhythm but has shown some improvement working with a lot of young receivers.

The Cowboys remain a work in progress, but the progress has been slower than expected. With five games remaining the season isn’t over but it won’t be a winning one either. The Cowboys will have their fourth straight losing season in 2023, all since the hurricanes of the 2020 year. The recovery continues for the program, but more was expected this fall.

Last year the Cowboys were able to finish strong by winning their final three games, that would be a positive step heading into next season. But right now any win would be nice for a program struggling still to find its footing.