PLANO, Texas – Redshirt freshman quarterback
Kade Munden ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns and threw for three others in his first collegiate start to lead Abilene Christian University to a 52-35 upset win Saturday over the University of Central Arkansas in a neutral-site game in John Clark Stadium.
ACU recorded its lowest passing total – 53 yards – in five years but rushed for 286 yards and rode a ball-hawking defense to even its record to 3-3 in the Southland Conference and 5-5 overall. The Bears came into the game as co-leaders of the conference but fell to 4-2 and 5-5 overall.
De'Andre Brown rushed 28 times for 171 yards to lead the Wildcat ground attack, and he also threw a touchdown pass on a halfback option pass. Munden completed only 6 of 8 passes for 49 yards as ACU was held below 100 yards passing for the first time since a 19-14 win over Northwest Missouri State on Aug. 27, 2009. Defense, however, was the key to ACU's game, with the Wildcats recording five sacks, four interceptions and recovering three of four UCA fumbles in building a first-half lead it never relinquished.
The win was ACU's first over UCA in seven tries, and marked a homecoming of sorts for Wildcat head coach
Ken Collums, who was a former record-setting quarterback for the Bears from 1991-94 and led them to a NAIA national title as a freshman. He later served on UCA's coaching staff. Collums left UCA for Abilene in 2005 and became its head coach in 2011.
Munden's first three scoring passes of this game went to tight ends as the Wildcats built a 21-7 first-quarter and 31-14 first-half lead. ACU forced turnovers on five of the Bears' first seven drives and converted three of them into touchdowns.
UCA running back Willie Matthews put the Bears on the scoreboard first, capping their 12-play, 73-yard opening-game drive with a 14-yard run up the middle at the 11:40 mark.
Munden drove the Wildcats to a game-tying score, moving the Wildcats 75 yards with some clutch running and then a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end
Jonathan Parker with 8:01 left. Munden's 31-yard sprint on third-and-1 from the UCA 41-yard line was the key play.
ACU defensive tackles stymied UCA on the ensuing drive when
Rishaad Wimbley sacked quarterback Ryan Howard on first down and
LaMarcus Allen forced Howard to fumble on third down, with linebacker
Justin Stephens recovering the ball at the Bears' 37-yard line. Five plays later, Munden threw his second scoring pass of the quarter on a 7-yarder to tight end Noah Chessier at the 4:48 mark.
The Bears' turnover problems continued on the next series when
Terry Ausborne stripped the ball from UCA wide receiver Damien Watts and recovered it at the 42-yard line. Munden's third scoring pass was a 19-yarder to
Jamie Walker with 2:51 left.
On UCA's next drive, the Wildcats allowed Howard to move his team deep into ACU territory, but the turnover bug struck again when Stephens intercepted the ball in the end zone. The Bears' defense finally stopped the Wildcats, forcing them to punt for the first time in the half.
Central Arkansas pulled to within 21-14 on its next drive when running back Dominique Thomas caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Howard at the 6:37 mark. Following an ACU punt, Wimbley recorded his second sack of the half, forcing a fumble that linebacker
Nick Richardson recovered at the Bears' 19-yard line.
Following a false-start penalty, Munden then ran for 21 yards to the Bears' 3-yard line, and 2 yards for a touchdown to put the Wildcats up 28-14 with 2:31 remaining in the half.
ACU defensive back
Jonathan Epps intercepted quarterback Hayden Hildebrand on the ensuing drive, and his 29-yard return put the Wildcats in UCA territory. Munden advanced his team to the 21-yard line, where a pass interference call made it possible for
Nik Grau's 23-yard field goal with two seconds left to give ACU a 31-14 halftime lead.
UCA needed just two plays to open its third quarter with a score when Dezmin Lewis caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Howard at the 12:48 mark. But the Wildcats roared back to take a 38-21 lead six minutes later when
De'Andre Brown took a pitch from Munden and tossed a four-yard touchdown pass to Walker. Brown set up the score with a 56-yard run as the centerpiece of ACU's five-play, 73-yard drive.
ACU committed its first turnover via a bad snap on an attempted punt, giving UCA possession at the Wildcat 36-yard line with 13:36 on the clock in the fourth quarter. The Bears converted the opportunity into points, pulling to within 10 points when Howard tossed his second touchdown pass of the game, a 3-yarder to Watts that made the score 38-28.
But the Wildcat defense rose to the occasion again when Epps came up with ACU's sixth turnover – and his second interception of the game – returning a Howard pick 68 yards for a touchdown with 7:50 left to give his team a 45-28 lead.
Central Arkansas answered back with a quick five-play, 51-yard drive capped by Howard's 31-yard touchdown pass to Lewis with 6:38 remaining that made the score 45-35.
Munden sealed the win with a 10-yard scoring run, his second of the day, with 2:12 left to give ACU a 52-35 final margin. Osborne recorded the Wildcats' fourth interception of the game with 17 seconds left.
Walker was ACU's leading receiver with three catches for 22 yards. The Wildcats held UCA to 55 yards rushing on 34 carries.
The Bears outgained the Wildcats 451-339 in total yards. Howard completed 35 of 47 passes for 392 yards and four touchdowns, but threw three of his team's four interceptions. Lewis led UCA with 10 catches for 154 yards and two scores.
ACU hosts Northwestern State next Saturday in Shotwell Stadium. Kickoff will be at 2 p.m. in Shotwell Stadium.
