Football | 10/24/2014 11:52:00 AM
Gameday CentralHUNTSVILLE – The ACU Wildcats are back on the road this week, this time taking on perennial Southland Conference powerhouse Sam Houston State on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. from Bowers Stadium on the Sam Houston State campus.
The game can be heard on 98.1 FM The Ticket in the Big Country or on
www.the98x.com. Fans can also watch the game on the Sam Houston State
Web site.
The Bearkats appeared in the FCS national championship game in back-to-back seasons (2012 and 2013) and this year are under the direction of veteran head coach K.C. Keeler. Sam Houston is 3-4 overall and 2-1 in the Southland this season after suffering a 31-27 loss last week at Northwestern State.
After an 0-2 start, the Wildcats have four of their last six games and carry a 2-2 Southland Conference record into their game against the Bearkats. The Wildcats are 2-2 on the road this season and are 6-9 on the road since head
coach
Ken Collums took over in 2012.
Collums said junior outside linebacker
Lynn Grady and senior defensive end
Rob Boyd should both return from injuries that have kept them each out of the last two games. However, ACU will be probably be without defensive ends
Cameron Briscoe (leg injury) and
William Moore (concussion) for this Saturday's game against the Bearkats.
In 42 Southland Conference games (1964-72, 2014), ACU is 13-28-1 all-time, including 6-13-1 at home, 7-14-1 on the road and 0-1 in neutral-site venues. ACU leads the all-time series against Sam Houston State 12-7-1, but this will be the first meeting between the teams since 1984.
The teams played each year from 1972-84 with ACU posting a 10-3 overall record in those 13 meetings, including winning seven straight games from 1973-1979. The last time ACU and Sam Houston State met on the football field was Nov. 3, 1984, when the Bearkats knocked off ACU, 10-6, at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene. ACU's last trip to Huntsville on Nov. 5, 1983, resulted in a 27-20 Wildcat victory.
Despite struggling to move the ball last week against the top defense in the league in McNeese State, the Wildcats still go into Saturday's game in Huntsville with the league's top-ranked passing offense in terms of overall yards (2,319), yards per game (289.9), completion percentage (66.4) and efficiency (159.8). The Wildcats also have the league's third-best scoring defense (22.98 points per game) and are fifth in total defense (398.6 ypg).
Prior to Saturday night's 11-point loss at McNeese State (31-20), ACU had lost its three previous games this season by a combined 10 points (one-point loss at Georgia State, 6-point loss vs. Northern Arizona, and 3-point loss vs. Lamar). The 11-point loss, in fact, marks just the 10th times in their last 102 games (dating back to the start of the 2006 season) that the Wildcats have lost a game by double digits.
