For the last nine months, Texas A&M athletics has seen nothing but success against its Louisiana neighbors at McNeese State. A&M baseball secured a clean sweep against the Cowboys in February while A&M volleyball won its matchup against McNeese on Aug. 31.
Now, all eyes will be on the gridiron as Aggie football hopes to keep the streak alive when the Cowboys come to Kyle Field on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Those odds of keeping the streak alive are in A&M’s favor as McNeese’s football program struggled mightily in its 2023 campaign. The Cowboys won just one game, and even then, it was due to unforeseen circumstances: Northwestern State forfeited the matchup, and though it was a win in conference play, NCAA ruled it a no-contest. Officially, the Cowboys had zero wins last year.
A new page has turned for the Cowboys, though — their winless drought officially ended on Aug. 31 as they took the win against Southern University, 21-7, with all of McNeese State’s points coming in the fourth quarter. Though the team had quarterback issues last season, Montana transfer Clifton McDowell has given it life.
The dual-threat senior quarterback has propelled the Blue and Gold, showcasing his playmaking in each of McNeese State’s games. In spite of a loss to Tarleton State, he went 14-for-20 and ended the game with two passing touchdowns.
McDowell’s wheels have made early appearances as well, rushing for back-to-back touchdowns against Southern. Though he only had four total passes against the Jaguars, the Montana transfer rushed for 65 yards on 10 carries.
While McNeese State has seemingly found the answer to its quarterback problem, A&M looks to do the same after sophomore QB Conner Weigman had his worst collegiate game to date. Though the Cypress native had high expectations before the season, the mix of bad throws and Notre Dame’s daunting secondary resulted in a 12-for-30 performance with two interceptions.
However, despite all the backlash and through the negative reception, Weigman still has his chin up.
“I don’t back down from anything,” Weigman said. “I’ll face [the criticism] head-on. I’ll be the first one to tell you that I didn’t play the way I’m supposed to play. Point blank, period, I’ve got to be better.”
Coach Mike Elko also isn’t worried about Weigman’s off game and restated his confidence in his quarterback.
“I think [Weigman’s] going to respond great,” Elko said. “I think he’s a competitor, a winner. The [players] are confident in him, I’m confident in him, he’s confident in himself and he’s going to go out and have a great week in practice and become the quarterback we know he can become.”
Though A&M’s offensive struggles were apparent, the defense shined under the bright lights of Kyle Field and combined for seven tackles for loss and four quarterback hurries. Led by new defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, Elko heralded praise to how the secondary played.
“We didn’t give up any balls over our head in the secondary,” Elko said. “I think the longest pass play [Notre Dame] completed on the night was an extremely contested catch where their [player] made a phenomenal catch on their sideline, and that stuff’s going to happen.”
After a stout showing against one of its toughest opponents of the year, and with Weigman looking for redemption, the Maroon and White’s chances of winning their first game for Elko is secured on paper against McNeese State; now, the team just needs to execute it on Saturday.
