What to know when No. 25 BYU kicks off against FCS foe McNeese State

PROVO — BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes is plenty familiar with the Cougars’ next opponent, McNeese State from the FCS Southland Conference.

And it’s not just because the former offensive line coach at Louisiana State was employed at a two-hour drive away from the Lake Charles, Louisiana campus.

The Cowboys were scheduled to open the season in Baton Rouge, when LSU was ranked No. 13 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25.

The Tigers got one offensive series into the contest, though, and the game was delayed by weather. The two teams eventually decided to cancel the contest, and both parted ways amicably.

But Grimes had a lot of notes from the game.

“I watched an entire season’s worth of film on them, and I know they have a lot of great athletes and a great tradition on defense,” Grimes said.

McNeese (3-0) has proven to be one of the top programs in the Football Championship Subdivision, currently ranked ninth in the STATS FCS media poll and No. 10 nationally by the American Football Coaches Association.

The Cowboys have won 19 conference titles, with 16 FCS playoff appearances, hold an all-time record of 498-286-23, including a 53-21 win over South Florida in 2013 and a close loss to Nebraska, 31-24 in 2014.

They’re also coming off a 20-10 win over Nicholls State, a team that won at Big 12 foe Kansas earlier in the season and dropped six spots to No. 18 nationally as a result of the loss to McNeese.

Here’s why the Cougars shouldn’t take the Cowboys lightly before Saturday’s 4 p.m. MT kickoff on BYUtv and KSL Newsradio.

McNeese offense

The Cowboys have a more aggressive passing game than the Cougars, with James Tabary having thrown for 694 yards in three games, including 11 times to Cyron Sutton for a team-high 153 yards.

The Cowboys run the ball through a quarter of running backs in seniors Ryan Ross and David Hamm, junior Justin Pratt and redshirt freshman Mac Briscoe. The foursome have combined for 335 yards on 94 carries in the past three games, but Ross seems to be an unquestioned leader; he ranks 11th all-time in school history with 2,154 career rushing yards, just 304 shy of moving into the top 10.

“They’ve got a big offensive line and a tough running back, with excellent skill position players. It’s pretty typical of the FCS and the Southland Conference, in particular,” BYU assistant head coach Ed Lamb said of the Cowboys.

McNeese State averages 29.3 points per game while holding opponents to 19.3 points in 2018. A recent addition to the FCS top 10 in both the coaches’ poll and STATS media poll, the fast-starting Cowboys have out-scored its first three opponents 38-7 in the first quarter.

“One of the messages I sent was that when we knocked off FBS teams, it was because they were watching the size of our stadiums or the color of our uniforms or how many stars we have in recruiting,” said Lamb, who spent eight seasons in charge of FCS Southern Utah and three more years at San Diego. “Really, if you take most of these FCS teams and put a Power Five uniform on them, it’s hard to tell the difference — especially in the first unit that is out on the field. They’ve got big, strong, fast guys who can play football.”

McNeese defense

Through three games under new offensive coordinator Grimes, the Cougars have been balanced but with a heavy emphasis on the run game. BYU is averaging 155 yards per game on the ground, led by senior Squally Canada’s 5.2 yards per carry for 265 yards and five touchdowns.

That may not be a surprise coming from Grimes, a long-time offensive line coach. But it also happens to meet up with the Cowboys’ biggest strength. McNeese has allowed just 96.7 yards per game in three wins over Northern Colorado (17-14), Houston Baptist (51-34) and Nicholls (20-10).

“They led the nation in a lot of defensive categories last year, but the big one was rush defense; they do a great job of stopping the run,” Grimes said.

The Cowboys are led on defense by senior linebacker B.J. Blunt, who won Southland Conference defensive player of the week honors after pouring in nine tackles, three sacks, four tackles for loss and a fumble recovery in the win over Nicholls.

“They play aggressive, fast defense, and I think it will be a big challenge for us,” Grimes said.

X-Factor: ‘It’s a trap’

A week after its upset over then-No. 6 Wisconsin and a week before traveling to No. 10 Washington, the Cougars host their only FCS opponent of the season.

Many would call that a "trap game."

Grimes used that exact phrase when describing the Cowboys in the Cougars’ first prep meeting on Monday. He then noted two reasons to not overlook McNeese — respect for BYU, and respect for the opponent.

“You should have respect for them because they have a lot of good players,” he said after Wednesday’s practice. “I went through the list of FBS teams that they have played and either beaten or played very closely over the last 10 years and showed them their statistics. When you watch them on field, it validates what I was saying.”

BYU is 11-0 all-time against FCS teams in the last 30 years, including last year’s 20-6 win over Portland State in the 2018 season opener.

But the Cougars know that last week’s win over the Badgers and subsequent national ranking will make them a target for any team looking to prove a point on the season.

“We took the target off Wisconsin, and now the target is on us,” defensive end Corbin Kaufusi said. “So we believe that (the Cowboys) will be coming full-steam-ahead after us. We’ve got to come out on top of our game this week.”

The 'O' factor

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron has twin sons playing at McNeese State in junior wide receiver Parker Orgeron and sophomore quarterback Cody Orgeron. Parker Orgeron has played since his true freshman season, while the quarterback Cody did not play football until his senior year of high school.

He was a standout tennis player before moving to the gridiron full time.

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