McNeese State head coach Gary Goff spent the early portion of his weekly press conference Monday on two major completely different subjects, injuries and weather.

First the injury front.

“I am not going to address any injuries,” Goff said. “We hope to have everybody ready to roll by Saturday.”

The Cowboys suffered several injuries last Saturday against SEC power Texas A&M. The concern is the status of All-American linebacker Micah Davey. 

The redshirt sophomore missed a portion of last week’s game with injured ribs. Davey entered the game leading the Southland Conference in tackles with 31 in the first two games. 

He had eight early against the Aggies including a sack. However, he was hurt in the middle of the second quarter and did not return. 

The timing of Davey’s injury comes as the Cowboys get set to host Stephen F. Austin to open league play. The Lumberjacks return to the SLC after three seasons in the Western Athletic Conference.

If Davey can’t play or is limited, more playing time could go to sophomore Payton Lemarie from Sulphur or redshirt freshman A.J. Thomas, a Tulane transfer.

Then there is the weather.

With Tropical Storm Francine brewing just off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico, the Cowboys must keep an eye on the sky as they prepare for SFA.

“It is going to be a bit of a challenge, it looks like,” said Goff. “Wednesday will be the strong day. This is a big week for us, I didn’t envision a hurricane in the middle of it.

“Just hope it isn’t too bad.”

The storm is tracking to the east of Lake Charles with landfall expected sometime Wednesday night. McNeese will practice Tuesday morning and then adjust accordingly for the rest of the week. 

Not all the injury news was bleak for McNeese. Quarterback Clifton McDowell, who missed the Aggie game with an ankle injury, will be back for Saturday night’s game against the 1-1 Lumberjacks. That is if all goes right this week at practice.

“I expect him (Clifton) to be full go tomorrow (Tuesday) at practice,” said Goff. “He was doing a lot better at the end of last week. I expect him to be 100 percent.”

The Cowboys (1-2) did have some good things happen during their 52-10 loss to the SEC power Aggies.

“The guys didn’t quit, they continued to fight,” said Goff. “There is a lot to build off.”

McNeese did manage to run the ball, finishing with 180 yards on 38 carries, a 4.7 average. Bryce Strong had six carries for 64 yards and Tre’Vonte Citizen added 59 yards on 14 rushes to lead the Cowboys. 

And the offensive line didn’t allow a sack on 21 pass attempts.

“Both sides of the ball did about the best as they could,” said Goff. “I thought the offensive line did a lot of good things in the running game. They held their own.”

McNeese also managed their longest drive of the season in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys drove 75 yards on 19 plays and ate up 10:30 on the way to their touchdown.

They ended the game with an 11-play, 89-yard march that led to a field goal. 

“If we can have a 19-play drive on an SEC school, we should be able to do that against anybody,” said Goff.

Now they get ready for the Southland Conference.