RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros football team bounced back from its first consecutive losses Saturday with a 27-10 Southland Conference (SLC) win over the McNeese Cowboys in front of 13,492 fans at Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium.
UTRGV (2-2, 1-1 SLC) totaled 488 yards of offense, including a season-high 315 on the ground in its first game with 300+ rushing yards since a Sept. 2025 win over Langston. Junior running back
TJ Dement had a career-high 144 yards on 13 carries and tabbed the longest run of his career with a 53-yard carry. Junior quarterback
Aidan Jakobsohn scored a career-best two rushing touchdowns on a career-high 65 yards while going 10-for-20 with 137 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and one interception. Junior receiver
Jaydon Smith had a game-high 81 receiving yards on four catches. Junior receiver
Kyran Lee had one receiving touchdown with 37 yards.
UTRGV's defense tallied four turnovers as fifth-year defensive back
Marcus Heard Jr. and junior linebacker
Jaiden Haygood both notched their first career interceptions and fifth-year defensive back
TJ Neal hauled in his first interception of the season. Junior linebacker
Jackson Waid tabbed his first fumble recovery and a career-high eight tackles.
McNeese (1-3, 0-2 SLC) was held to 279 yards of offense.
Devin Lippold went 12-for-29 with two interceptions, 141 yards and one touchdown while finishing as the team's leading rusher with 45 yards on nine carries.
Curtis Deville Jr. had 71 receiving yards on three catches with one touchdown.
The Vaqueros defense came to play early. UTRGV forced punts on McNeese's first four drives and limited the Cowboys to 55 yards of offense in the first quarter. Heard was active in the secondary, locking up targets and knocking away a deep shot by McNeese. Graduate student defensive lineman and Harlingen High alum
Nathan Huerta and Haygood got into the backfield with ease to stop the run, and junior defensive end
Ja'Marcus Anderson drove through and spun off a block to tab a quarterback hurry. Junior defensive back
Alijah Prosser added a pass breakup to keep the Cowboys quiet.
UTRGV's offense had big bursts through its first two drives but was slowed down by penalties. Jakobsohn took over at quarterback on the third drive after starter
Garret Rangel was banged up. Jakobsohn assimilated quickly and found Smith on the sideline as he rolled out to his left for a 15-yard gain to create momentum. He hit Smith again to get inside the 10, then connected with Lee for a four-yard touchdown pass in the left front corner of the end zone for the 7-0 lead in the final minute of the first quarter.
Jakobsohn and Co. continued to roll in the second. The young quarterback showed his athleticism on a nice scramble out of pressure, then delivered a 27-yard pass to Lee. The Ingleside connection came through again as Jakobsohn hit Smith, who tacked on good yards after the catch to get into the red zone. Jakobsohn scored on a seven-yard keeper, spinning by a defender and diving to break the plane for the 14-0 lead with 9:38 remaining in the first half.
McNeese got on the board with a 28-yard field goal by
Deaglan Camron with 4:59 on the clock. Senior kicker
Brysen Gardner answered with a 28-yard field goal to extend UTRGV's lead to 17-3. Waid recovered a Lippold fumble late in the half to give the Vaqueros a look at a 50-yard field goal, but it was wide right.
UTRGV's defense set the tone in the third quarter. Neal snagged an interception on McNeese's first drive of the frame, then UTRGV forced a punt on the second. Senior defensive end
Connor Carrigan had a batted pass at the line and Haygood burst through the Cowboys o-line for a third-down stop.
The offense cashed in on the stops with an eight-play touchdown drive. A 39-yard pass-and-catch between Jakobsohn and Smith, along with penalties against McNeese, got the Vaqueros in business. The UTRGV offensive line gave Jakobsohn a massive gap to cruise into the end zone from three yards out, making it 24-3 at the end of the third quarter.
McNeese opened the fourth quarter with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Lippold to Deville. But McNeese's next possession resulted in an interception by Heard.
Amyrion Mingo tabbed an interception for McNeese on the next drive. The Cowboys changed quarterbacks, putting
Jake Strong under center, to try and generate some offense. Haygood made a great read on a QB keeper to get the stop and force 3rd & 10. McNeese went on fourth down and forced two shots to the end zone but both passes sailed long to result in a turnover on downs.
Gardner tacked on a 23-yard field goal inside of the two-minute warning, making it 27-10. Haygood brought in an interception to put a stamp on the big win.
The Vaqueros will enjoy their bye week next week before an Oct. 3 conference meeting at East Texas A&M.
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