Game Highlights
TROY, Ala. – FCS member Abilene Christian University twice rallied from 14-point deficits and used a 27-yard field goal from
Nik Grau to stun Troy University 38-35 Saturday night in Veterans Memorial Stadium, its first victory over an FBS-level opponent in 55 years.
The Wildcats' last win over a team that was at the time playing at the highest level of college football and is currently an FBS member was Nov. 14, 1959, when the Wildcats went to El Paso and knocked off UTEP, 28-22, at the Sun Bowl. ACU had a chance to knock off FBS member Georgia State two weeks ago in the season-opener, but couldn't finish the game in a 38-37 loss.
But Saturday night on a rainy, muggy night in the deep South, the Wildcats finished a huge win over a team that has made five bowl appearances in the last 10 full seasons. And they did it by overcoming a 21-7 halftime deficit and 28-14 third-quarter hole.
"We've talked about finishing games, and we were able to put things together tonight to get it done," said ACU head coach
Ken Collums, the first ACU head coach since N.L. Nicholson to direct the Wildcats to a win over an FBS program. "We probably should have had one of these FBS wins last year (a 34-29 loss at New Mexico State) and let another one slip away at Georgia State. But this is a huge win because this team (Troy) has won a lot of games at this level."
The Trojans spotted ACU a 7-0 lead in the game, which started an hour late because of two lightning delays. The Wildcats gave up big third-down plays to help Troy log three straight touchdowns and take a 21-7 lead just before half. But ACU roared back, accumulating 237 yards of offense and three touchdowns in the third quarter, finally tying Troy with 1:49 left.
Grau's field goal with 6:10 remaining in the game proved the deciding points, and the Wildcats employed a fake 47-yard field goal to set up a 9-yard touchdown run by sophomore third-string running back
Adrian Duncan with 1:17 left. On the fourth-down play, the Wildcats lined up for a field goal only to see the holder (quarterback
Parker McKenzie) pick up the ball and roll right, firing for tight end
Jonathan Parker beyond the first-down marker. The ball fell incomplete, but Troy was whistled for pass interference, giving the Wildcats an automatic first down. Duncan scored a few plays later to make it 38-28. Troy rallied for a touchdown with 25 seconds left to close the score to 38-35, but lost an onside kick and ACU ran out the clock.
Duncan was forced into the game after fourth-quarter injuries to both
Herschel Sims (20 carries for 96 yards) and
De'Andre Brown (eight carries for 72 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown run). Duncan came into the game shortly after the fake field goal and ran for a big first down and then capped the Wildcats' scoring with the 9-yard touchdown run.
Despite the late touchdown by Troy, the Wildcats were able to walk out of the stadium with the biggest win of Collums' three-year tenure and one of the biggest regular-season wins in the 93-year history of the program.
The director of the comeback was McKenzie, who finished the game 25 of 34 for 312 yards and two scores, including going 13 for 18 for 218 yards and one touchdown in the second half.
"I'm just proud of our guys for sticking with it and coming together in the second half," McKenzie said. "We had some hiccups in the second quarter, but we just kept battling and finally finished a game."
The Wildcats (1-2) begin Southland Conference play next Saturday after three close games, including losses against Georgia State and Northern Arizona. The Trojans (0-3) lost to Alabama-Birmingham and Duke to open the season and had a 14-0 record over FCS teams since moving to FBS membership in 2001.
ACU forced Troy to punt on its first drive, then marched 85 yards in 11 plays – largely behind the running of Sims – to take a 7-0 lead on a 12-yard touchdown pass McKenzie to wide receiver Monte Avery-Green with 8:26 left in the quarter.
Troy evened the score at 7-7 just before the end of the first quarter when Brandon Silvers ran 5 yards on a quarterback keeper. A 53-yard pass play from Silvers to running back Brandon Burks was the key play in the 90-yard, eight-play drive.
The Trojans converted a third-and-18 situation on their way to taking their first lead when Silvers ran for his second short-yardage touchdown of the night, a 1-yarder with 3:13 on the clock. Troy struck again with 1:39 left in the half, capitalizing on an interception deep in ACU territory when Silvers hit Burks for a 12-yard TD pass.
ACU bounced back to start the second half, breaking out a big-play offense and scoring on three of hits first four drives of the third quarter. The first was set up by a 49-yard pass play from McKenzie to Green-Avery and capped with
Demarcus Thompson's 3-yard reverse at the 12:25 mark.
After Troy scored on an eight-play, 80-yard drive to go back up 28-14, the Wildcats struck again three plays later when wide receiver Cedrick Gilbert took a pass from McKenzie and raced 63 yards for his third TD of the season with 8:06 left in the third quarter. ACU finally evened the score at 28-28 when freshman runningback
De'Andre Brown raced 47 yards for a TD with 1:49 left in the third quarter.
ACU opens Southland Conference play next Saturday at Shotwell Stadium when the Wildcats host Incarnate Word at 3:05 p.m. in a game broadcast on Southland Conference TV. Troy plays Southeastern Conference member Georgia in Athens, Ga.
