LAKE CHARLES — Over the next month there will be more than a little scoreboard watching going on at McNeese State.

The Cowboys, winners of two straight, are looking to make a late run at the FCS playoffs. At 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Southland Conference the path to the postseason is still very uphill. 

“We know and understand the situation,” said first-year head coach Sterlin Gilbert. 

The situation is pretty simple. The Cowboys must win all three of their remaining games and hope for some help. 

“It’s only natural to be looking at other scores and wonder what it means,” said Gilbert. “We have seen over the weeks the parity in college football and the Southland Conference. You just have to keep playing.”

The Cowboys have three games left for sure, starting with Saturday’s home finale against Northwestern State. The Demons, like McNeese, are trending upward despite a 1-7, 1-4 record. 

They are coming off a road victory at league-leading Incarnate Word in overtime last weekend.

“Our kids see what they have done over the last couple of weeks and see they have gotten better,” said Gilbert. “Every Saturday you have to show up and you have to play well.”

While Central Arkansas is control of the league right now, three teams have two losses and six clubs have a chance to finish second, including the Cowboys. McNeese has put itself in this position by winning three of its last four games as the offense has found its stride, scoring at least 33 points in each of those games.

Senior running back James Pratt has rushed for 233 yards in the last two games after being slowed early in the season with injuries. Pratt has rushed for 387 yards on 83 carries, good for a team-high 4.7 yards an attempt. 

“What (Pratt) has done for us the last two weeks is big,” Gilbert said. “He has running really hard and has worked hard. He has stayed with it.”

With the improved play of quarterback Cody Oregon, McNeese has started to deliver on its offensive promise. McNeese is averaging 167.8 yards a game on the ground and another 225 in the air. 

However, it’s McNeese’s defense that won last week’s game at Stephen F. Austin, keeping things close until the offense got going in the fourth quarter. That’s been a trend for the Cowboys, who early in the year had trouble putting games away.

The last two games McNeese has held the ball for almost 21 minutes in the two fourth quarters, outscoring their opponents 27-0 over that time.

“That goes to our guys up front,” Gilbert said. “Goes back into a huge part of our program’s growth.”

The Demons are led by quarterback Shelton Eppler, who is throwing for 295.6 yards a game and has 19 touchdowns. But Northwestern State averages just 2.9 yards a rush.

McNeese will try to put pressure on the Demons with junior Cody Roscoe leading the way with 6.5 sacks. Chris Livings has 4.5.

Last year the two teams battled into overtime before an Eppler touchdown pass won the game for the Demons, 37-34. He also threw for the tying TD with 27 seconds left.

Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set or 4:07 p.m. at Cowboy Stadium.