PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – A year ago, Northwestern State's game against Prairie View A&M ended in heartbreak. 

An untimed down and a goal line play that was ruled short left the Demons with a painful reminder of how close they had come to finishing the job.

That memory has lingered for some, but for second-year head coach Blaine McCorkle and his team, Saturday night's rematch in Texas isn't about revenge. It's about proving how far they've come since that night.
"I think the guys will be excited to play this game," McCorkle said. "Not so much because it's about Prairie View and what happened last year but when that game rolls around you go back to the lessons you learned. What have we learned since that moment.

"Last year we were not a mature enough team. We did not have the culture, character or mindset to have earned the right to win that game. Now, we could have won that game, but had we done that it actually might have slowed down the progress of the growth of the program. Sometimes with success you relax a little. We might have done that and missed some of the lessons we needed to learn along the way.

"What this game does is allows us to reflect on all those lessons and go show it. What better opportunity to do that than against the same opponent. It's not about Prairie View. It's about us and how much we've grown and learned, and I think our guys will be excited to show the NSU faithful that on Saturday night."

The Demons (1-2) enter this year's matchup following back-to-back losses against Power 4 opponents from the Big 12 (Cincinnati) and Big Ten (Minnesota). 

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will air on SWAC TV with audio available through 100.7 KZBL FM in Natchitoches and through www.nsudemons.com.

While the scoreboards weren't kind to the Demons the past two weeks, team captain and offensive lineman Caleb Billiot's message as one of the leaders on the team is one of progress and forward motion.

"Don't get discouraged," Billiot said. "We played two really good opponents – Big 12 and Big 10 – and we knew what we were getting into but it's not that we didn't train hard or slacked off or anything. We played our game regardless of what the score was. So it's who do you want to be. We showed our fight and played our game."

Even with a return to FCS competition, that fight will be just as tested by a Prairie View squad that has been vulnerable on the ground, allowing 210 rushing yards per game. Rice's Wing-T attack piled up nearly 350 yards a week ago, but even Texas Southern and UTRGV found success with nearly 150 apiece in the other two games.

An exciting prospect for the senior lineman and the stable of hard-nosed Demon running backs, all of which will look to play within themselves on Saturday, not letting last year's ending dictate this year's approach.
"We have to have a healthy aggression," he said. "You can't over psych yourself and you can't underestimate any team. Last year's team is completely different from this year's team. 

"So we just have to go out and treat it like any other game, any other day of the week. Go out, work hard throughout the week and execute on Saturday. Last year was last year. We can't go back and change it. Have we had this game circled since then – yes. But it's still another game, another week and we have to go out and do our job. Play fast, physical and execute up front."

For the second straight week the Demons will face off with a dual-threat quarterback. Both signal callers that have seen action for the Panthers this season, Cameron Peters and Tevin Carter, ranked second and third on the team in rushing.

Linebacker Fernando Washington burst onto the scene against Alcorn State with his ability to combat a mobile quarterback, earning a Southland Conference Player of the Week honor in the process, and will look to rehash some of that again on Saturday.

"Running sideline to sideline and never quitting on plays because anything can happen when it comes to football," Washington said. "Playing whistle to whistle is how you stop mobile quarterbacks because if you get lazy that's when they really activate and get all those yards."

As kickoff approaches, the focus lies equally on the Xs and Os of producing a winning game plan and displaying the growth and maturation of a program than can be done in a year. One season ago, Prairie View slipped away with the win on the final play. This time, the Demons head to Texas ready to take the next step in the program's evolution.