Baton Rouge - The Southern Jaguars begin their season this Saturday as they take on the McNeese St. Cowboys in Lake Charles.

This is the first game of the season for Southern, but the second for McNeese as they lost their week zero game against Tarleton St. 

The Cowboys caught up to a nearly 20 point deficit and nearly won, but a missed field goal gave them the loss.

Terrence Graves is entering his first season as the head coach of the Jaguars and he made it clear that if something similar happens on either end of the field on Saturday, his team needs to stay poised and focused on their job. 

"We live in a precious present, and we understand that the game is going to have ebbs and flows. It's a momentum game, so regardless of how the game is going, we are going to stay the course, and so as long as we stay the course, we'll be fine. There's no need, you know if we get out to a big lead or what have and they'll they may, they may or may not, make a run, but we just got to continue to do. You start fast and finish strong," Graves said at his weekly press conference Tuesday.

Southern also enters this game with a new starting quarterback. The offensive staff naming Noah Bodden as the starter for week one, and he's the only quarterback on the roster that has ever started in a college game. 

Southern and McNeese kick off from Cowboy Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be streaming on ESPN+.