Football | 9/17/2015 5:34:00 PM
Gameday CentralABILENE – The ACU Wildcats will open the 2015 home season Saturday when they host Houston Baptist in a Southland Conference contest at Shotwell Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., and the game can be heard on
98.1 FM The Ticket with the "Voice of the Wildcats"
Grant Boone calling the play-by-play action.
The Wildcats are 2-0 all-time against Houston Baptist and have outscored the Huskies by a combined 128-26 in those two games (69-12 in the first game between the two teams in 2013 and 59-14 last season). Both games have been played in Houston, so this will mark the first time the Huskies – in just their third season of football – have played in Abilene.
The Wildcats are 0-1 on the season after dropping their season-opener, 34-13, at Fresno State on Sept. 3. The Bulldogs – who play in the Mountain West Conference and have reached a bowl game in 13 of the last 15 seasons – scored 27 unanswered points to turn a 7-7 game in the first quarter into a 34-7 lead in the fourth quarter. ACU scored on a 1-yard run by
Herschel Sims in the first quarter, and on a 6-yard touchdown pass from redshirt freshman backup quarterback
Dallas Sealey to redshirt freshman wide receiver
Byron Proctor on the game's final play.
The Wildcats – already hit hard in the off-season with season-ending injuries to starting right tackle
Riley Mayfield and starting cornerback
Keith Barnett – were hit hard earlier this week when it was learned that junior placekicker
Nik Grau would miss the rest of the 2015 season with a lower back injury that could require surgery to repair. True freshman
Zach Lehr of Abilene Cooper is first in line to replace Grau, who ranks in the top five in ACU history in field goals, PATs and kicking points after just two seasons.
Defensively, the Wildcats could also be without starting outside linebacker
Travis Tarver II after he suffered a foot injury against Fresno State. And on the offensive line, true freshman
Dakota Laws moves into the starting spot at right guard in place of
Hayden Wall, who moves to the backup spot behind center
Austin Hisler.
The Huskies enter Saturday's game at 1-1 on the season after a season-opening 51-7 win over Bethany (Kan.) College and then dropping a 34-10 decision last Saturday at home against Northern Colorado.
