Interview with Ken Collums l
Interview with Mike Wallace
CLEVELAND, Miss. – When the 2012 schedule was announced, most fans probably thought the game on Thursday, Sept. 27, between ACU and Delta State would feature two of the top teams in NCAA Division II football.
Instead, it features two teams scuffling to find an identity and get things going in the right direction.
Kickoff is set for 6:36 p.m. Thursday night and the game can be viewed on
espn3.com and can be heard locally on Mix 92.5 FM. The game will also be carried on local TV on KTXS affiliate ThisTV (channel 12.3 over the air, channel 126 on Suddenlink and channel 40 on Dish).
This is the first meeting ever between the two teams and the second meeting this season in the GSC-LSC 1st and 10 Challenge tween the two leagues. Neither team is ranked in this week's American Football Coaches' Association poll (the first time ACU hasn't been ranked since Sept. 19, 2006, snapping a streak of 80 straight poll appearances), and both are coming off losses last week.
ACU was in San Angelo, Texas, where it lost to Angelo State, 28-23, while the Statesmen were at home where they lost to old rival, North Alabama, 20-12. ACU enters the game at 2-2 overall, while the Statesmen are 1-2 with both losses coming on their home turf at Parker Field at McCool Stadium.
The Wildcats are in desparate need of some blocking up front. Their offensive line – which has three new faces and all five starters playing in different positions than the ones they played in 2011 – hasn't yet come together as evidenced by the fact that they gave up seven sacks and ACU rushed for just nine yards against the Rams.
Defensively, meanwhile, the Wildcats are giving up better than 420 yards per game and have been on the field for at least 82 games in each of their four games. ACU has really struggled at times on third downs, and last week allowed the Rams to convert 8 of 18 third-down plays into first downs, extending drives and keeping the defense on the field.
The Rams won the time of possession battle last week, holding the football for 39 minutes, 52 seconds to just 20:08 for the Wildcats.
OTHER ACU NOTES
• ACU head coach
Ken Collums said Tuesday that the offensive line will undergo a makeover prior to Thursday night's game with two new starting guards. The left tackle will be
Will Latu, and he'll line up next to the new left guard in
Tyler McIntosh.
Josh Perez is still at center and
Blake Spears is at right tackle. Between them will be new starting right guard
Garrett Langthorp, who transferred to ACU in the spring.
• Running back
Charcandrick West (groin) practiced with the team on Monday and will work out again Tuesday. Collums said West "looked good" in practice and is expected to make the trip to Mississippi and play against the Statemen.
• Quarterback Mitchell Gale -- who has been sacked 11 times in the last two games -- underwent some tests on Monday, but practiced later that night and threw the ball well.
• Safety
Lynn Grady (shoulder) will not make the trip to Cleveland, Miss., and will miss his third straight game since twice separating his right shoulder in the Wildcats' loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sept. 8.
• The Wildcats haven't played a game in Mississippi since 1989 when they traveled to Lorman, Miss., to take on Alcorn State.
