The 2019 McNeese State Cowboys football team represented

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...

as a member of the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it ...

during the

2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season The 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The FCS Champion ...

. Led by

Sterlin Gilbert Sterlin Gilbert (born August 11, 1978) is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the offensive coordinator at Syracuse University, a position he assumed in January 2020. Gilbert played college football at Angelo State ...

in his first and only season as head coach, the Cowboys compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 5–4 in conference play, placing fifth in the Southland. McNeese State played home games at

Cowboy Stadium Cowboy Stadium is a 17,610-seat multi-purpose stadium in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It is home to the McNeese State Cowboys football team, and is affectionately referred to as "The Hole". It was transformed for the 2008 season to artificial turf ...

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasi ...

. On November 20, 2018, head coach

Lance Guidry Lance Guidry (born March 25, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He is the defensive coordinator for the Tulane Green Wave football program. Guidry served as the head football coach at McNeese State University from 2016 to 20 ...

was fired. He finished at McNeese State with a three-year record of 21–12. On December 5, the school hired

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...

offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert as head coach.

Preseason

Preseason poll

The Southland Conference released their preseason poll on July 18, 2019. The Cowboys were picked to finish in sixth place.

Preseason All–Southland Teams

The Cowboys placed three players on the preseason all–Southland teams. Offense ''1st team'' Grant Burguillos – OL Defense ''1st team'' Chris Livings – DL Colby Burton – DB

Schedule

Game summaries

Southern

At Oklahoma State

Alcorn State

At Abilene Christian

Sam Houston State

Southeastern Louisiana

At Central Arkansas

Houston Baptist

At Stephen F. Austin

Northwestern State

At Nicholls

At Lamar

Ranking movements

Roster

References

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McNeese State McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...

McNeese Cowboys football seasons

McNeese State Cowboys football The McNeese State Cowboys football program is the intercollegiate American football team for McNeese State University located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and a ...