Gameday
ABILENE – The 12th-ranked ACU Wildcats close out the 2011 regular season Saturday by hosting Incarnate Word, and they do looking for a win that would likely clinch their sixth straight berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Kickoff from Shotwell Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
ACU junior quarterback Mitchell Gale directed the fourth fourth-quarter comeback of his career last Saturday as the Wildcats rallied for a 42-34 win at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
ACU trailed 34-28 entering the fourth quarter, but Gale directed two touchdown drives, one that ended with a
Daryl Richardson scoring run and the other on a 39-yard touchdown pass to
Taylor Gabriel.
The 42-34 win over the Javelinas pushed the Wildcats to 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Wildcats – the defending LSC champion – will finish second in the league in 2011 after Midwestern State clinched the league title with last Saturday's 35-21 win over West Texas A&M.
Despite that, however, the Wildcats are still playing for a sixth straight berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs. ACU is one of five programs in all of NCAA Division II football to have appeared in the five previous tournaments with Grand Valley State (Mich.), North Alabama, Albany State (Ga.) and Northwest Missouri State being the other four programs.
ACU is ranked fifth in NCAA Division II Super Region Four again this week, making a win over the Cardinals imperative to its chances of reaching the playoffs in 2011. The playoff pairings will be announced Sunday and if ACU is either the fifth or sixth seed the Wildcats will be on the road next Saturday for the first round of the playoffs. If they are the third or fourth seed, they will be at home next Saturday for the first round of the playoffs.
