# 2022 McNeese Cowboys football team

The 2022 McNeese State Cowboys football team represented McNeese State University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Gary Goff, the Cowboys compiled an overall record of 4–7 with a mark of 2–4 in conference play, placing sixth in the Southland. McNeese State played home games at Cowboy Stadium in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

## Preseason
### Preseason poll

The Southland Conference released its preseason poll on July 20, 2022. The Cowboys were picked to finish fourth in the conference.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Southeastern Louisiana | 90 (7) |
| 2 | Incarnate Word | 86 (7) |
| 3 | Nicholls | 79 (2) |
| 4 | McNeese | 61 |
| 5 | Northwestern State | 44 |
| 6 | Texas A&M–Commerce | 39 |
| 7 | Lamar | 25 |
| 8 | Houston Christian | 24 |

### Preseason All–Southland Teams
## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 4 Montana State* | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | ESPN+ | L 17–40 | 21,687 |
| September 10 | 6:30 p.m. | at Rice* | Rice StadiumHouston, TX | ESPN3 | L 10–52 | 18,629 |
| September 17 | 7:00 p.m. | Alcorn State* | Cowboy StadiumLake Charles, LA | ESPN3 | L 19–30 | 11,425 |
| September 24 | 7:00 p.m. | Mississippi College* | Cowboy StadiumLake Charles, LA | ESPN+ | W 32–17 | 10,105 |
| October 1 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 11 Incarnate Word | Gayle and Tom Benson StadiumSan Antonio, TX | ESPN+ | L 20–48 | 2,542 |
| October 15 | 7:00 p.m. | Texas A&M–Commerce | Cowboy StadiumLake Charles, LA | ESPN+ | L 15–40 | 9,202 |
| October 22 | 3:00 p.m. | at Nicholls | Manning Field at John L. Guidry StadiumThibodaux, LA | ESPN+ | L 35–40 | 5,788 |
| October 29 | 7:00 p.m. | Southeastern Louisiana | Cowboy StadiumLake Charles, LA | ESPN+ | L 27–28 | 8,068 |
| November 5 | 7:00 p.m. | Eastern Illinois* | Cowboy StadiumLake Charles, LA | ESPN+ | W 29–15 | 7,520 |
| November 12 | 2:00 p.m. | at Houston Christian | Husky StadiumHouston, TX | ESPN+ | W 21–10 | 1,355 |
| November 19 | 7:00 p.m. | Lamar | Cowboy StadiumLake Charles, LA (Battle of the Border) | ESPN+ | W 24–20 | 6,901 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At No. 4 Montana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| No. 4 Bobcats | 0 | 17 | 16 | 7 | 40 |

### At Rice

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Owls | 10 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 52 |
at Rice Stadium • Houston, TX
* Date: September 10th
* Game time: 6:30 P.M CST
* Game attendance: 18,629
* Referee: Ed Ardito
* TV: ESPN3
| Statistics | McNeese State | Rice |
| First downs | 14 | 26 |
| Plays–yards | 51–263 | 74–487 |
| Rushes–yards | 30–172 | 43–209 |
| Passing yards | 91 | 278 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 8–21–2 | 21–31–0 |
| Time of possession | 21:48 | 38:12 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| McNeese State | Passing | Know Kadum | 5/12, 65 yards, 1 INT |
| McNeese State | Rushing | Deonta McMahon | 5 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD |
| McNeese State | Receiving | Mason Pierce | 3 receptions, 37 yards |
| Rice | Passing | TJ McMahon | 20/29, 274 yards, 4 TD |
| Rice | Rushing | Ari Broussard | 17 carries, 71 yards, 1 TD |
| Rice | Receiving | Bradley Rozner | 3 receptions, 101 yards, 2 TD |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | McNeese State | Rice |
| 1st | 7:23 | 4 | -1 | 0:57 | Rice | 28-yard field goal by Christian VanSickle (#31) | 0 | 3 |
| 1st | 4:38 | 4 | 35 | 1:35 | Rice | Bradley Rozner (#2) 13-yard touchdown reception from TJ McMahon (#7), Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good | 0 | 10 |
| 2nd | 10:17 | 11 | 70 | 7:07 | Rice | TJ McMahon (#7) 9-yard touchdown run, Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good | 0 | 17 |
| 2nd | 6:59 | 1 | 91 | - | Rice | Interception returned 91 yards for touchdown by Gabe Taylor (#26), Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good | 0 | 24 |
| 2nd | 3:26 | 5 | 20 | 2:05 | Rice | Ari Broussard (#30) 2-yard touchdown run, Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good | 0 | 31 |
| 3rd | 14:31 | 2 | 77 | 0:23 | McNeese State | Deonta McMahon (#20) 62-yard touchdown run, Garrison Smith (#37) kick good | 7 | 31 |
| 3rd | 14:20 | 1 | 75 | 0:11 | Rice | Bradley Rozner (#2) 75-yard touchdown reception from TJ McMahon (#7), Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good | 7 | 38 |
| 3rd | 9:35 | 6 | 80 | 2:57 | Rice | Jack Bradley (#87) 17-yard touchdown reception from TJ McMahon (#7), Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good | 7 | 45 |
| 3rd | 3:10 | 7 | 60 | 1:41 | McNeese State | 23-yard field goal by Garrison Smith (#37) | 10 | 45 |
| 4th | 13:14 | 11 | 75 | 4:56 | Rice | Juma Otoviano (#8) 15-yard touchdown reception from TJ McMahon (#7), Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good | 10 | 52 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 10 | 52 |

### Vs. Alcorn State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Braves | 0 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 30 |
| Cowboys | 0 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 19 |
at Cowboy Stadium • Lake Charles, LA
* Date: September 17th
* Game time: 7:00 P.M CST
* Game attendance: 18,629
* Referee: Ed Ardito
* TV: ESPN3

### Vs. Mississippi College

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 8 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 32 |
| Choctaws | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
at Cowboy Stadium • Lake Charles, LA
* Date: September 24th
* Game time: 7:00 P.M CST
* Game attendance: 10,105
* Referee: Gary Leeper
* TV: ESPN+

### At No. 11 Incarnate Word

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
| No. 11 Cardinals | 14 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 48 |
at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium, San Antonio, TX
* Date: October 1
* Game time: 6:05 p.m.
* Game weather: Temperature: 88 • Wind: E 8 mph • Weather: Clear
* Game attendance: 2,542
* Referee: Craig Helser
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Paul Alexander (play-by-play), Karl Schoening (analyst) and Sam Kaman (sideline)
* Box Score
Game information :
First Quarter
UIW – 12:10 Lindsey Scott Jr. 7 yard run, Carson Mohr kick UIW 7–0 Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:50
UIW – 0:44 Lindsey Scott, Jr. 7 yard run, Carson Mohr kick UIW 14–0 Drive: 6 plays, 19 yards, 3:05
Second Quarter
MSU – 10:04 Garrison Smith 39 yard field goal UIW 14–3 Drive: 13 plays, 53 yards, 5:40
MSU – 2:12 Deonta McMahon 3 yard run, Garrison Smith kick UIW 14–10 Drive: 10 plays, 42 yards, 4:52
UIW – 0:04 Taylor Grimes 11 yard pass from Lindsey Scott Jr., Carson Mohr kick UIW 21–10 Drive: 8 plays, 62 yards, 2:00
Third Quarter
MSU – 10:58 Garrison Smith 47 yard field goal UIW 21–13 Drive: 10 plays, 45 yards, 4:02
UIW – 3:40 Taylor Grimes 33 yard pass from Lindsey Scott Jr., Carson Mohr kick UIW 28–13 Drive: 8 plays, 81 yards, 2:31
Fourth Quarter
MSU – 12:13 Josh Parker 1 yard run, Garrison Smith kick UIW 28–20 Drive: 12 plays, 56 yards, 6:17
UIW – 8:20 Lindsey Scott, Jr. 5 yard run, Kevin Nguyen run failed UIW 34–20 Drive: 12 plays, 74 yards, 3:45
UIW – 2:22 CJ Hardy 23 yard pass from Lindsey Scott, Jr., Carson Mohr kick UIW 41–20 Drive: 10 plays, 61 yards, 3:08
UIW – 0:40 Taylor Grimes 6 yard pass from Lindsey Scott, Jr., Carson Mohr kick UIW 48–20 Drive: 3 plays, 32 yards, 1:03
Passing
MSU – Knox Kadum 13/26, 144 YDS
UIW – Lindsey Scott Jr. 25/35, 347 YDS, 4 TD
Rushing
MSU – Deonta McMahon 17 ATT, 88 YDS, 1 TD
UIW – Marcus Cooper 25 ATT, 135 YDS
Receiving
MSU – Mason Pierce 5 REC, 60 YDS
UIW – Taylor Grimes 8 REC, 115 YDS, 3 TD :

### Vs. Texas A&M-Commerce

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 7 | 10 | 3 | 20 | 40 |
| Cowboys | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 15 |

### At Nicholls

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 0 | 22 | 7 | 6 | 35 |
| Colonels | 7 | 7 | 20 | 6 | 40 |
at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium, Thibodaux, LA
* Date: October 22
* Game time: 3:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 5,788
* Referee: Nolan Dumas
* TV: ESPN+

### Vs. Southeastern Louisiana

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Cowboys | 6 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
at Cowboy Stadium, Lake Charles, LA
* Date: October 29
* Game time: 7:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Cloudy
* Game attendance: 8,068
* Referee: Gary Leeper
* TV: ESPN+

### Vs. Eastern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 15 |
| Cowboys | 10 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 29 |

### At Houston Christian

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Huskies | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |

### Vs. Lamar

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
| Cowboys | 0 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
Statistics
| Statistics | Lamar | McNeese |
| First downs | 19 | 13 |
| Total yards | 369 | 314 |
| Rushing yards | 219 | 268 |
| Passing yards | 150 | 46 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 35:47 | 24:13 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Lamar | Passing | Nick Yockey | 19-27; 150 total yards; long 18 yards |
| Lamar | Rushing | Major Bowden | 11 attempts; 92 total yards; long 30 yards |
| Lamar | Receiving | Major Bowden | 2 receptions; 35 total yards; long 18 yards |
| McNeese | Passing | Ryan Roberts | 6-14; 46 yards total; long 14 yards |
| McNeese | Rushing | Deonata McMahon | 20 attempts; 241 total yards; long 79 yards |
| McNeese | Receiving | Jon McCall | 2 receptions; 22 total yards; long 14 yards |