Football | 11/6/2015 12:02:00 PM
Gameday CentralNATCHITOCHES, La. – The ACU Wildcats will try to get back into the win column Saturday night in Louisiana when they take on Northwestern State in a Southland Conference game at Turpin Stadium.
The Wildcats – who have lost five straight games for the first time since 2001 – are playing at Turpin Stadium for the first time since Sept. 22, 1984, when the Demons knocked off the Wildcats, 26-7. ACU leads the all-time series 5-4, but is 2-3 in Natchitoches, and has lost two straight against the Demons, including last year's 34-10 loss at Shotwell Stadium.
Kickoff Saturday is set for 6 p.m., and the game can be heard locally on 98.1 FM The Ticket with
Grant Boone calling the play by play action. ACU enters the game at 2-6 overall and 2-5 in the Southland, while the Demons are 2-6 and 2-4.
ACU goes into the Northwestern State game coming off one of its best performances of the season, even though it ended in a 15-13 home loss to seventh-ranked McNeese State. The Wildcats limited the Cowboys to just 306 yards of total offense and 15 points, both of those numbers well below their season averages.
The defensive effort by the Wildcats was their best of the season, and one of the best in the last decade. ACU forced five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles), allowed just 13 first downs, and held McNeese to just 5 of 18 on third down conversions.
The ACU offense – led by redshirt freshman quarterback
Dallas Sealey, who got his first career start – played well in spots against the league's best defense. The Wildcats put up 320 yards of offense against a team that entered the game allowing just 276 yards per game, and the offensive line helped keep Sealey fairly clean, giving up just two sacks to a team that entered the game with 20 sacks in seven games.
Sealey completed 22 of 42 passes for 284 yards and one scored, a 24-yarder to
Carl Whitley late in the fourth quarter that cut the McNeese lead to 15-13. Whitley finished with eight catches for 100 yards, while
Cedric Gilbert had three catches for 122 yards, the first time since since Nov. 19, 2011, against Washburn in an NCAA Division II playoff game that the Wildcats have had two players with 100 yards receiving in the same game (Taylor Gabriel with 119 yards, Daryl Richardson with 115 yards and Darrell Cantu-Harkless with 117 yards).
Northwestern State started the season 0-5, but is 2-1 in its last three games with a 48-35 win over Lamar and last Saturday's 37-21 road win over Nicholls. The Demons are led by quarterback Stephen Rivers – the brother of San Diego Chargers' quarterback Phillip Rivers – who has started each of the last three games for the Demons. Rivers has completed 53 of 87 passes for 662 yards and four touchdowns on the season, but is 40 of 63 for 529 yards and four touchdowns and four interceptions in his three starts. De'Mard Llorens had 166 yards and four touchdowns rushing against Nicholls, leading a Northwestern team that ran for 348 yards in the game.
Northwestern State's defense is last in the Southland in total defense (allowing 504.8 yards per game), scoring defense (allowing 42.1 points per game) and rushing defense (allowing 292.2 yards per game).
