Return to form: UTRGV snaps 2-game skid, wins over McNeese
EDINBURG — It’s good to be home.
That was the sentiment here post-game after a tooth-and-nail contest against McNeese State (1-3, 0-2) here at the Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium with over 13,000 people in attendance.
The Vaqueros (2-2, 1-1) took the win, 27-10, to earn their first Southland Conference victory of the season.
Similar to Odysseus making his trek back to Ithaca in “The Odyssey” or “The Warriors” from the 1979 movie trying to make it back to Coney Island, the Vaqueros got their reprieve — albeit the Cowboys were waiting for them.
Two weeks ago, UTRGV got trounced against UTSA and then in Louisiana, they lost to Nicholls in a tough environment where the Colonels haven’t lost since 2024.
“We knew it was going to be hard, but really just challenged our guys,” Head Coach Travis Bush said. “... We know who we are. We saw how we play when the game’s on the line. And the challenge was that when we walked out of that tunnel, from the get-go, the game was on the line and that was the challenge to come out.”
The physicality from both teams was synonymous with the humidity that players and fans faced as it was thicker than a Southern accent.
Following an injury from starting quarterback Garret Rangel in the first quarter, Aidan Jakobsohn took the reins of the Vaqueros’ offense.
Jakobsohn was able to connect with Kyran Lee off of a 4-yard pass near the last leg of the first quarter for the first draw of blood in the game. McNeese didn’t make it easy for the junior quarterback to find any breathing room as on about 60% of the plays, he found himself scrambling and spinning for yardage, as well as breathing room.
UTRGV’s defense proved to steal the show though as they kept McNeese scoreless through the majority of the first half. The Cowboys were averaging about 34 points coming into this contest.
Then early in the second quarter, Jakobsohn answered the call on a 7-yard run into the end zone to give the Vaqueros a 14-0 cushion.
“Coming in, you really got to prepare, like a starter, and all the guys did that,” the junior quarterback said. “It starts from Monday, and just, you know, the game plan and I think they all came in and did a great job for us.”
The ‘Boys from Lake Charles, Louisiana were finally able to get on the board with a 28-yard field goal from Deaglan Camron. However, UTRGV answered right back before the break, Brysen Gardner connected on his own 28-yarder to make it 17-3 at the half.
The second half had the visiting squad playing catchup but for the most part, they really couldn’t get anything going.
McNeese’s Devin Lippold was disrupted by UTRGV’s secondary and threw himself two picks off of 12-for-29 passing.
Late in the third, Jakobsohn got his second rushing touchdown of the night off a 3-yard scramble into the end zone off of a sweep play to make it 24-3
He finished with three total touchdowns — two rushing and one passing — for 202 total yards.
Aside from him, TJ Dement and Brennan Carroll had a combined 26 carries for 239 yards.
At the start of the fourth quarter, it only took the Cowboys three plays to score as Lippold connected with Curtis Deville Jr. on a 75-yard touchdown pass.
However, with defensive stops and UTRGV’s time of possession, the Vaqueros were able to hold off McNeese from ever getting close to score.
Another highlight of the game was the defense’s three interceptions. Jaiden Haygood led the fray with 13 tackles and an interception. Then, Marcus Heard Jr. and TJ Neal had picks of their own.
UTRGV was able to ice the game after Gardner’s second field goal of the game — this one out of 23 yards out — for the 27-10 dub.
Offensively, UTRGV was able to garner 488 total yards on the night with 26 first downs. They also had an impressive 33:37 total time of possession compared to McNeese’s 26:23.
The Vaqueros now have a bye week and will not play until Oct. 3 for when they travel to Commerce to take on East Texas A&M in an SLC matchup. The next time UTRGV comes back to Edinburg will be Oct. 10 against Southeastern Louisiana — a team who they lost to last year.
“The goal is to keep fighting,” Head Coach Bush said. “You know, everyone plays good at home in the conference. And, you know, we’ve just got to find a way and really challenge our guys to attack and make sure we got a chance to win on the road, too.”