SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 ISSUE
ASU Football Hosts FCS Stalwart McNeese State Saturday
Team Learns from ECU Loss
Cortez Gilbert notched eight tackles in the 29-24 loss to ECU last Saturday, one of several impressive individual performances by ASU players in that game. Gilbert and the rest of the Mountaineers take on McNeese State at home this Saturday. Photo by James Fay
McNeese State isn’t a pushover home opener. If anything, it’s a great preview for the postseason.
ASU hosts the No. 16 Cowboys at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 12, and it will certainly be a challenge.
The Cowboys, from Lake Charles, La., have made the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs six times since 2000 and in two of the last three years.
“They’re a tough football team, a hard-nosed football team. They have a rich tradition of winning,” ASU coach Jerry Moore said. “They’ve been in the playoffs and in Chattanooga (to play for the national title) several times. They’re traditionally a very good football team.”
McNeese State made two appearances in the title game (1997 and 2002) and lost both times.
“They’re a championship-caliber team that is well coached,” wide receiver CoCo Hillary said. “They’re going to be tough, and they’re going to play hard. We know that we have a bull’s eye on our backs, and they’re going to come after us.”
The Cowboys bring in an offense that is led by quarterback Derrick Fourroux and tailback Toddrick Pendland.
Fourroux is a four-year starter who threw for 2,205 yards and 18 touchdowns last season. In last week’s season-opening win, he threw for 184 yards and one score in a 29-24 win over Henderson State (Arkadelphia, Ark.).
Pendland was a second team All-American last season after he ran for a school record 1,431 yards. Last week, he ran for 152 yards and two scores.
“They are two outstanding players obviously,” Moore said.
McNeese State coach Matt Viator said the offense “starts with those guys.” Though the offensive line is young, the skill position players are back this season.
ASU linebacker D.J. Smith said that the Cowboys run an offense similar to what East Carolina University ran last week against the Mountaineers.
“They look almost like ECU, so it won’t be much of a transition. We’ll just study them a lot more,” he said.
The Cowboys have a young defense, Viator said, and it’s gotten younger because of some injuries.
No matter, the Cowboys hope to have a good showing in Boone.
The ASU defense rallied in the second half of the season-opening loss to East Carolina University on September 5. Led by senior Jacque Roman (40), the defense will try to limit the production of the McNeese State Cowboys in this Saturday’s game at The Rock. Photo by James Fay
“It’s going to be a tremendous challenge for our players any time you go in there and try to beat them on their field. I have all the respect in the world for them. We all do here,” Viator said.
“They play hard, are well coached and are very talented and you put all those things together and it’s a tough combination when you look at it. We certainly have our work cut out for us.”
One difference in this game for the Mountaineers will be the return of star quarterback Armanti Edwards, who’s expected to start after missing preseason practices and last week’s opener.
Without Edwards on the field, the Mountaineers learned a lot about themselves at ECU. Down 24-0 at one point and trailing by 22 going into the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers mounted a comeback and had a chance to win the game.
A fourth-down pass sailed over Hillary’s hands with 16 seconds left and ended the chance of a comeback.
“It was a tough way to end it, but it felt better that we came back as a team and put ourselves in that situation for the game to come down to a last play,” Hillary said. “I’m sure everyone thought we were going to get blown out. We showed a lot of character and chemistry that no one thought we had this early in the season.”
Smith said that the defense learned it could be a dominant unit during the second half of the East Carolina game. After the Pirates rolled to 267 offensive yards in the first half, the defense held them to just 53 second half yards.
“It made us feel good that that’s the way we can play, but I wish we would have played that way from start to finish,” he said.
Moore also learned a lot about his team from their showing.
“I learned that we have a lot of heart. I think that anyone who saw them play would agree to that,” he said. “I don’t mean this in any negative way toward other teams, but probably 90 percent of the people who were in the situation we were in at halftime would have gotten beat 50-6 or something.
“We didn’t just come back and play good, we came back and had a chance to win.”
McNeese at ASU: Watch & Listen
If you can’t make it to Kidd Brewer on Saturday, September 12, you still have several options for viewing or listening to the Mountaineers take on the McNeese State Cowboys at 3:30 p.m.
TV: WMYA Channel 40 (Asheville, Greenville/Spartanburg)
Radio: WKBC 97.3 FM, WATA 1450 AM
Audio/Video:www.GoASU.com
In the Standings:
The Mountaineers dropped one spot in the Sports Network poll after their 29-24 loss to East Carolina on September 5, moving from the No. 1 spot to second.
This week’s opponent, McNeese State, also dropped a spot, moving from No. 15 to No. 16. The Cowboys dropped after they squeaked out a 27-24 win against Division II Henderson State.
Richmond, last year’s Football Championship Subdivision national champions, jumped into the top spot from No. 2 after beating Duke 24-16.
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