If ever a team needed a week off it is McNeese State.

The Cowboys finally get their first of two byes this week after playing seven straight weekends, one of just two teams in the country to do so at the start of this season. Only North Alabama shares such a stretch.

For the record, North Alabama is 2-5. 

Unfortunately, the Cowboys looked to have started their break a few days early last Saturday night in Houston.

When given the chance to make a statement, the Cowboys did so negatively against Houston Christian. Their statement was that McNeese football is still a work in progress. 

At 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the Southland Conference, they have played well at times and could have done better at others. So, the biggest head-scratcher is not the record but rather how they got to where they are.

“We have the talent to be a very good football team,” McNeese head coach Gary Goff said. “But we have to play smart.”

That has not always been the case for the Cowboys, who found themselves riding the emotion of a big upset win a week earlier when they took on HCU at Husky Stadium. Yet the Cowboys came out flat.

Dead flat.

And the Huskies took advantage with a 43-22 victory. HCU is now 3-3, 1-0 after beating a nationally ranked team for the first time in program history. McNeese entered the game ranked 24th and 22nd in the two major FBS polls. 

That was the first time McNeese was ranked in both polls since 2018. 

“Give them credit, they came out and took it right to us,” said Goff. “They were the more physical team.”

Now the Cowboys will rest, recover, and try to get healthy this week. Next week is for attempting to put the pieces back in place.

“We knew this was a trap game,” said Goff. “It is what it is and we have to use the off week to regroup and get healthy.”

Missing their top two tacklers, All-American linebacker Micah Davey and safety Boogsie Silvera, both out with injuries, the Cowboy defense put up little resistance to the Huskies. During the game, they also lost Tristan Driggers, the third of their top three defenders.

HCU ran for a program record 416 yards and finished with 622 overall, tied for second most in team history.  

“We can’t use any of that as an excuse,” said Goff. “Even with our best tacklers out, we are a good enough team to win this game.”  

HCU quarterback Eli Brickhandler led the way, rushing for 138 yards and throwing for another 159. Brickhandler earned SLC Offensive Player of the Week honors the league announced Monday.

“Their quarterback really hurt us,” said Goff. “They gave us a dose of our own medicine.”

Calvin Hill added 104 yards on the ground for the Huskies, who averaged 7.6 yards on their 56 runs.  

HCU kicker Dillon Fedor was named the league’s top special teams Player of the Week for making all nine of his kicks. Fedor connected on all four extra points and field goals from 20, 27, and 45 yards and a pair from 29. 

Meanwhile, McNeese was missing its quarterback, Clifton McDowell, who was trying to play with an injured ring finger on his throwing hand. McDowell had to be taken out in the second and third quarters.

He finished just 1 of 12 for 36 yards and an interception.

Sophomore Kamden Sixkiller threw for 200 yards on 16-of-25 passing. Jer’Michael Carter finished with five catches for a career-high 105 yards. 

“They played harder than us tonight,” said McNeese head coach Gary Goff. “We did not do well handling the success. We talked about it all week.

“We have to learn how to handle success. That’s on me.”

After this week off, McNeese will have a chance to make another statement when play resumes. The Cowboys will travel to Incarnate Word and Nicholls on successive weekends.

Those two teams, who play each other this week, were the preseason favorites to battle it out for the title. Neither one, along with Lamar, has started league play while McNeese and Stephen F. Austin have already played a pair of conference games.