LAKE CHARLES, La. – Tarleton stood toe-to-toe with the No. 9-ranked team in NCAA Division I FCS for the first quarter but offensive struggles ultimately hurt the Texans in a 33-3 loss to McNeese State.
 
Head coach Todd Whitten made his return debut in the game, and his experience against Southland Conference opponents showed in the first 12 minutes of action. Tarleton (0-1) forced McNeese State into two first-quarter punts and the Cowboys missed a 35-yard field goal that the Texans capitalized on that resulted in a 35-yard field goal by Sergio Sroka. The 9-play, 62-yard scoring drive was set up by quarterback Garrett Simpson finding Del'Michael High for a 17-yard completion and the following play connecting with senior Bubba Tandy for a 51-yard pass down the sideline.
 
"I'm proud of our guys. They played hard all night," said Whitten in his postgame comments on the Tarleton Sports Network. "We tackled much better tonight and I think we only had one turnover. We learned a lot tonight as a coaching staff and as a team. We got out relatively healthy and we saw a lot of really good things to build on."
 
McNeese State had the ball for 43 of the 60 minutes, which led to little opportunity for the Texan offense to get things going. Tarleton had 134 yards of total offense in the game. Tandy had 91 of the yards on five receptions to lead all receivers in the game. Simpson went 7-of-18 passing for 120 yards to lead the Texan quarterbacks. Simpson split time under center with Zed Woerner, who finished 5-of-13 passing for 19 yards.
 
Tarleton trailed 17-3 midway through the second quarter and appeared to be on its way a scoring drive, but a fumble at midfield gave the ball back to McNeese State, who kicked a 24-yard field goal to end the first half with a 20-3 lead.
 
McNeese State would add a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter while Tarleton held the Cowboys scoreless in the final frame.
 
Cody Burtscher, the leading returning tackler in the Lone Star Conference, picked up where he left off last season by coming up with a game-high 10 tackles and two sacks. Basil Jackson, Jordan Smith and EJ Speed each had seven tackles, with Speed adding a sack.
 
The Texans will host Southwest Baptist for their home opener on Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.