Football | 10/8/2015 11:08:00 PM
Gameday CentralBEAUMONT – The ACU Wildcats will try to break a three-game losing streak against Lamar tonight when they take on the Cardinals in a Southland Conference contest at Provost Umphrey Stadium.
The game is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff and can be seen nationally on ESPN3. The game can also be heard locally on 98.1 FM The Ticket with "The Voice of the Wildcats"
Grant Boone calling the play-by-play action.
Lamar leads the all-time series against ACU, 10-7, including last year's 24-21 win over the Wildcats in Abilene. The Cardinals scored 14 points in the game's final 7:52 to pull out a win over the Wildcats. ACU hasn't played in Beaumont since a 31-10 loss to the Cardinals on Oct. 14, 1972. ACU, in fact, has lost three straight games to Lamar. The Wildcats' last win over Lamar was a 42-27 decision over the Cardinals in Beaumont on Oct. 17, 1970.
The Wildcats dropped a 42-14 decision at Central Arkansas last Saturday, a loss that dropped ACU to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in Southland Conference play. The game was ACU head coach
Ken Collums' first game as an opposing head coach against his alma mater on the field where he played from 1991-94.
The Wildcats fell behind 18-0 at the end of the first quarter and 32-0 at one point late in the first half on their way to the 28-point loss. ACU had just 272 yards of total offense in the game, while surrendering 469 to the Bears, including 259 on the ground.
ACU – which has had trouble against the run all season – will take on one of the best running backs in the conference in Lamar junior Kade Harrington, who is averaging a conference-best 121.5 yards per game on the ground. Harrington had 152 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries in last Thursday's 30-27 loss at Southeastern Louisiana. The 152-yard performance was Harrington's second 100-yard rushing performance of the season and the eighth of his career.
While Lamar has the league's fourth-best rushing offense (237.5 yards per game) and the league's leading individual rusher in Harrington, the Wildcats are ninth in the league in rushing defense, allowing 251.0 ypg. ACU hasn't allowed less than 225 yards on the ground in any of its four games this season.
The ACU offense is led by sophomore running back
De'Andre Brown, who is third in the league in rushing yards per game at 86.8. Junior quarterback
Parker McKenzie leads the league with seven touchdown passes and is second in the league in passing yards per game at 197.2 and passing yards (789).
