HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana University football team officially opens Southland Conference play on Saturday when it travels to Lake Charles to face No. 18-ranked McNeese State at Louis Bonnette Field at Cowboy Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net.

Southeastern (1-2) opens its seventh year in the Southland Conference and is 3-3 in openers, including its last two in games against Texas State. The Lions face a McNeese State (1-1) team that opened the season with a loss at FBS member Kansas before defeating Division II program Sioux Falls, 31-17, last week at home.

“Watching them on video after the first two games, they're kind of difficult to assess at some of their positions,” Southeastern head coach Mike Lucas said of McNeese State. “We know that their running back corp is very strong and are a different type of running back than the ones we faced last week at Southern Miss.”

The Lions, who lost at Southern Miss last week, are averaging 417.0 yards total offense and 85 plays in their first three games. Quarterback Brian Young, who is fourth in the Southland Conference in passing, has completed 49 of 87 passes for 553 yards with Nathan Stanley going 21-for-37 through the air for 224 yards.

Brandon Collins, the Southland Conference's leading receiver, has 20 receptions and a pair of touchdowns for Southeastern with Simmie Yarborough fifth in the league with 15 catches and a TD. Yarborough, who is 156 yards shy of passing former Lion Felton Huggins (2,345 yards) as the school's all-time leader in receiving yardage, caught a season-high seven passes last week against USM.

Sam Fairley has paced the Lions on the ground with 130 yards and a touchdown while Zeke Jones and LaTruan Weary highlight a rushing attack that ranks fourth in the Southland Conference with 148.7 yards per game.

Freshman Marice Sutton leads Southeastern in tackles (21) with Tay Alford (20), Avery Crooks (16), Robert Alford (14) and Westlake native Ricky Irvin (14) following.

McNeese (No. 18 in FCS Coaches' Poll, No. 19 in Sports Network Poll), which was picked to win the Southland Conference in a vote by the league's head coaches, rank second in the conference in passing yardage (304.0 yards) and are third in total offense (416.5). The Cowboys picked up a pair of touchdowns each from Darius Carey and Andre Anderson in last week's victory and recorded 413 yards total offense.

Cody Stroud and North Texas transfer Riley Dodge have shared duties at quarterback for McNeese State with Stroud completing 38 of 51 passes for 444 yards and two touchdowns. Dodge, the Cowboys' leading rusher after two games, has completed 13 of 20 passes for 164 yards and a TD.

Carey, a New Orleans native and UNT transfer, leads McNeese State with 13 receptions followed by Texas Tech transfer Ernest Celestie (7), Wes Briscoe (6) and Damion Dixon (6). Anderson, Marcus Wiltz, Javaris Murray and Champlain Babin form one of the top rushing quartets among FCS schools.

Preseason All-America candidate Malcolm Bronson leads the Cowboys with 18 tackles while Desmund Lighten (17), Joe Narcisse (16) and Ford Smesny (14) are next.

“Defensively, they're very good up front and run well,” Lucas said. “They are also very good in the secondary, led by Malcolm Bronson at free safety, and can lock you down in man coverage and bring a lot of pressure on the quarterback.”

McNeese State leads the all-time series between the schools, 21-15, and have won the last five meetings dating back to 2006. The previous two encounters between the in-state rivals have been decided in the final minute, including a 36-35 come-from-behind victory by the Cowboys in 2009 when Derrick Fourroux hit Richard Conner with a 5-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds remaining.

In last year's contest in Hammond, Josh Lewis kicked a 52-yard field goal on the game's final play to give the Cowboys a 13-10 victory.

After facing McNeese State, Southeastern will return home to host Lamar (2-1) on Oct. 1 in a 3 p.m. contest that will be televised on the Southland Conference Television Network.

NOTES -
Southeastern fans making the trip to Lake Charles can tailgate at the Lion Athletics Association Hospitality tent located at Lot E near Cowboy Stadium ... The tailgate party is expected to start at 4:30 p.m. ... fans getting to Lake Charles early can catch the Southeastern volleyball team, which faces McNeese State in a 2 p.m. match at Memorial Gym on the McNeese State campus.

GAME DAY STORY LINES
• Southeastern and McNeese State meet for the 37th time on the gridiron with MSU holding a 21-15 lead. McNeese State has won the last five meetings - the longest win streak by either school since the series began in 1951.
• The McNeese series is tied with Louisiana Tech for the fourth-longest in Southeastern history behind Northwestern State (54 games), Louisiana-Monroe (47) and Louisiana-Lafayette (38).
• Tonight's game marks the earliest meeting between the schools since 2004 (SLU, 51-17 on Sept. 11 in Lake Charles)
• Southeastern has lost 13 of the last 16 meetings between the schools since a 15-7 victory in 1970.
• The Lions are 5-14 all-time in Lake Charles with their last victory coming in 2004 (51-17).
• The previous two contests have been decided in the final minute by a combined four points. McNeese State scored the game-winning TD with 40 seconds remaining in a 36-35 victory over the Lions in 2009 before Josh Lewis kicked a 52-yard field goal on the final play of last year's 13-10 win.
• Wide receiver Simmie Yarborough (183 receptions, 2,189 yards, 28 TDs) holds school records for receptions and TD receptions and enters today's game 156 yards shy of passing former Lion Felton Huggins as the school's all-time leader in yardage.
• Yarborough enters tonight's game tied for fifth in school history in points scored (170), and with his next touchdown will tie former Lion Jerry Butler (1981-84) for fourth in scoring and third in career touchdowns.
• Running back Zeke Jones is fifth in school history with 18 rushing touchdowns and is four shy of tying Jay Lucas (22, 2006-08) for fourth place.
• Quarterback Brian Young enters tonight's game ranked ninth in school history in completions (135) and 10th in passing yardage (1,565). Young needs 19 completions to tie Seth Babin for eighth place and 142 yards to tie Robbie Mahfouz for ninth.