Football | 10/12/2016 6:22:00 PM
Gameday Central
HUNTSVILLE – The ACU Wildcats hit the road again Saturday afternoon looking for their fist win of the season after an 0-6 start.
But the task will not be easy as they take on the Sam Houston State Bearkats, the No. 2-ranked team in the country and the possessor of one of the nation's best offensive units. Sam Houston State enters Saturdays's contest at 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the Southland Conference. ACU, meanwhile, is 0-6 and 0-4 and looking to snap a seven-game losing streak overall and a nine-game losing skid on the road.
Kickoff from Bowers Stadium on the Sam Houston campus in Huntsville is set for 3 p.m. The game can beard on 98.1 FM The Ticket, and it can be seen on ESPN with Randy McIlvoy (play by play) and John Harris (analyst) calling the action.
The Wildcats will have the services of starting quarterback
Dallas Sealey, who missed last week's game after suffering a head injury in the first quarter of ACU's Oct. 1 home game against Central Arkansas. In his place last week, the Wildcats threw for only 119 yards against Lamar
Despite the 0-6 start, the ACU offense still ranks 26th in NCAA Division I FCS football in passing yards per game (274.5), and its 408.0 yards per game is 38th in FCS football. Meanwhile,
Dallas Sealey – who was knocked out of the Oct. 1 game against Central Arkansas in the first quarter with a head injury – is 17th in the country in passing yards per game (272.0 ypg).
Defensively, junior linebacker
Sam Denmark – who has moved back to the middle the last two weeks where he played so well in 2015 – leads ACU in tackles with 58 and is second in the Southland Conference and tied for sixth in FCS football in that category.
The Wildcats have lost nine straight games away from Shotwell Stadium with an 0-6 record in 2015 and 2016 road losses at Air Force, Houston Baptist and Stephen F. Austin entering Saturday's contest at Sam Houston State. The Wildcats' last road win came on Nov. 15, 2014, when they beat 24th-ranked Stephen F. Austin, 37-35, on a field goal by then-sophomore kicker
Nik Grau, whose 31-yard effort with less than six minutes to play provided the Wildcats with the game-winning points.
Sam Houston State is led by quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe, who is among FCS leaders in passing yards per game (335.2), total passing yards (1,676), and passing touchdowns (20.). Yedediah Louis has caught 30 passes for 457 yards and four touchdowns, while Corey Avery has rushed for 473 yards and eight TDs on 60 carries. The Bearkats are averaging 611.8 yards of offense and 56.2 points per game.
