ABILENE – The ACU Wildcats will tackle another challenging football schedule in 2010 as the Wildcats seek a fifth straight trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs.
The Wildcats' 2010 schedule features three 2009 playoff teams, one 2009 bowl team, six teams that finished with a winning record and four teams that were ranked in the final American Football Coaches' Association Top 25.
For the third straight year the Wildcats will open their season against a Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association opponent, but this time it won't be familiar foe Northwest Missouri State. Instead, the Wildcats will travel to Topeka, Kan., to take on Washburn at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Set. 4.
The Ichabods finished 8-3 last season, just missing out on a playoff bid in NCAA Division II Super Region IV. That playoff spot, in all likelihood, went to the Wildcats, who went two rounds into the post-season.
"Washburn will be a very good opponent to get the season started with," said ACU head coach Chris Thomsen, who will be entering his sixth season as head coach in 2010. "We're looking forward to the challenge of going up to their place and getting the season started."
The trip to Kansas is the first of six road games on the Wildcats' 11-game schedule, and the shortest trip of those six is the 246-mile trip to San Antonio for the Wildcats' Oct. 16 game at new LSC South Division member Incarnate Word.
The Wildcats' six road games will see them cover 2,229 miles and play in three states and two time zones. ACU will also play at Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Okla., on Sept. 11; at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Oct. 2; at Incarnate Word in San Antonio on Oct. 16; at Eastern New Mexico in Portales, N.M., on Oct. 23; and at West Texas A&M in Canyon on Nov. 6.
"We've got some extremely long road trips ahead of us in 2010, and we'll have to be mentally tough to get through those," Thomsen said.
The Wildcats' home opener will be against East Central on Sept. 18, and they'll also host Tarleton State (Sept. 25), Midwestern State (Oct. 9), Angelo State (Oct. 30) and Southwestern Oklahoma State (Nov. 13).
For the first time since 2004 the Wildcats won't have to run the gauntlet of West Texas A&M, Tarleton State, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Midwestern State to end their season. In the last five years, the Wildcats are a combined 12-8 against those four teams, including a 4-0 mark in 2008.
Instead, the Wildcats will open LSC South Division play against the Texans at 6 p.m. on Sept. 25 at Showell Stadium and they will close out division play against West Texas A&M at 6 p.m. on Nov. 6 at Kimbrough Stadium in Canyon. The Wildcats' first three division games will be against Tarleton State, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Midwestern State, an opening stretch that could go a long way to determining the Wildcats' post-season fate.
"The thing that sticks out to me is that we're starting against a great Washburn team and that four of our first six are against teams that finished in the top 25 last year," Thomsen said. "I also know that Northeastern State, East Central, Eastern New Mexico and Southwestern Oklahoma State will all be much-improved. And Incarnate Word did a really good job last year, and they were able to add some good players to their group on signing day.
"The schedule sets up much differently this year than it has the last several year, but it's going to be another tough schedules," he said, "one of the toughest in Division II football."
2010 ACU WILDCAT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date |
Opponent |
Site |
Time |
| Saturday, Sept. 4 |
at Washburn |
Topeka, Kan. |
6 p.m. |
| Saturday, Sept. 11 |
* at Northeastern State |
Tahlequah, Okla. |
7 p.m.
|
| Saturday, Sept. 18 |
* East Central |
Abilene |
6 p.m. |
| Saturday, Sept. 25 |
# Tarleton State |
Abilene |
6 p.m. |
| Saturday, Oct. 2 |
# at Texas A&M-Kingsville |
Kingsville |
7 p.m. |
| Saturday, Oct. 9 |
# ! Midwestern State |
Abilene |
2 p.m. |
| Saturday, Oct. 16 |
# at Incarnate Word |
San Antonio |
7 p.m. |
| Saturday, Oct. 23 |
* at Eastern New Mexico |
Portales, N.M. |
7 p.m. (CST) |
| Saturday, Oct. 30 |
# Angelo State |
Abilene |
2 p.m. |
| Saturday, Nov. 6 |
# at West Texas A&M |
Canyon |
6 p.m. |
| Saturday, Nov. 13 |
* SW Oklahoma State |
Abilene |
2 p.m. |
| Saturday, Nov. 20 |
NCAA II playoffs (first round) |
|
|
| Saturday, Nov. 27 |
NCAA II playoffs (second round) |
|
|
| Saturday, Dec. 4 |
NCAA II playoffs (quarterfinals) |
|
|
| Saturday, Dec. 11 |
NCAA II playoffs (semifinals) |
|
|
| Saturday, Dec. 18 |
NCAA II Championship |
Florence, Ala. |
Noon |
* LSC crossover game
# LSC South Division game
! Homecoming
Home games in bold
