McNeese Survives a Northwestern State Rally, 24-21
Northwestern State lost four fumbles, threw an interception, and still scored with 17 seconds left to make it a three-point game. Keep that in mind when you look at the 0-5 record. McNeese won 24-21, and it was a lot closer than 24-7 looked.
McNeese had the early lead on a Deaglan Camron field goal in the second quarter, and then Zach Wilcke hit Amaaz Eugene from 34 yards to give Northwestern State a 7-3 lead. McNeese then took over in the third quarter: Omiri Wiggins ran in from 6 yards, Jake Strong threw 37 yards to Kevin Rideau, and Hutch Swilley added a 2-yard run for a 24-7 lead early in the fourth. Wilcke scored from 12 yards with 9:12 left to cut it to 24-14. His 28-yard touchdown pass to Camryn Davis with 17 seconds left made it 24-21.
McNeese outgained Northwestern State 400 yards to 369, 282 of them through the air. Both teams threw one interception, but Northwestern State also lost four fumbles to McNeese's one. Wilcke was responsible for two of those himself. McNeese sacked him twice, and Northwestern State never got to Strong.
McNeese goes to 2-3 and Northwestern State stays at 0-5, after trailing by 17 in the fourth quarter and losing by three. Four fumbles lost is a lot to give away in a game that close, and for McNeese it is a win that was a lot easier to get at 24-7 than at 24-21.
Fantasy takeaway: Wilcke scored 33.5 Promethium points in a loss, even with the two lost fumbles, and Rideau got 18.1 out of just two catches.