BEAUMONT, Texas – The 2022 football season will draw to a close Saturday evening when Lamar University travels east to take on McNeese in the annual Battle of the Border rivalry game. After a one-year hiatus due to LU moving to the WAC, the rivalry is back with the Cardinals' transition back to the league during the summer.
 
The Cardinals (1-9/1-4 SLC) look to end the season on a high note as they take the field where Blane Morgan recorded his first victory as LU head coach. After defeating Nicholls, the Cardinals have struggled down the stretch falling to Southeastern Louisiana and last week at New Mexico State in non-conference play.
 
After a tough start to the season, McNeese seems to have found its rhythm. The Cowboys (3-7/1-4 SLC) dropped seven of their first eight games to open the year but have bounced back in the final week of the season with consecutive wins over Eastern Illinois and Houston Christian.
 
Both teams enter the week tied for sixth in the league standings so a victory Saturday will be more than just bragging rights. The two schools will be fighting for a higher spot in the standings.
 
The Cardinals trail the all-time series to McNeese, 11-27-1 (.397), a mark that includes a 7-11 (.389) record in Lake Charles. The series between the two schools dates back to the 1951 season with the Cardinals winning two of the last three matchups, including a 27-26 overtime thriller in Lake Charles (2020). That game saw Big Red rally from a double-digit deficit during head coach Blane Morgan's first season. The Cardinals have had a great deal of success in the series lately, in Lake Charles. Since the program's return, the Cardinals have won three games on the other side of the border posting a 3-3 (.500) record during that stretch. In fact, the Cardinals have won each of the two previous games on the road.
 
Saturday's game is slated to kick off at 7 p.m. from Cowboy Stadium. It will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 KLVI and streamed live on ESPN+.