ACU returns to Wildcat Stadium to host No. 22 McNeese

ABILENE – What a difference once week can make in the life of a football team's season.

Just last week the ACU Wildcats were coming off a disappointing 20-10 loss to Stephen F. Austin and headed to San Antonio to take on a well-rested squad from Incarnate Word that had won two straight at home against the Wildcats.

But the Wildcats got themselves back together last Saturday with a dominant 45-20 win over the Cardinals that wasn't as close as the score would suggest. ACU's defense limited UIW to just 237 yards of total offense and 11 first downs, and UIW scored a garbage-time touchdown against the ACU backups to make the final score closer than the game appeared.

Now ACU returns to Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium to take on a McNeese football program that it has never beaten in four attempts, including all three games between the teams as Southland Conference foes (2004-16). The only time McNeese has ever played in Abilene was in 2015 when the Cowboys came away with a 15-13 win over the Wildcats in quarterback Dallas Sealey's first game as a starter.

The Cowboys are 4-1 overall and 2-1 in league play and have won four straight after a season-opening 37-35 loss at Nicholls. The Wildcats, meanwhile are 2-3 overall and 2-1 in the league after the win over UIW. That win for the Wildcats snapped a 14-game road losing streak that stretched back to the start of the 2015 season when ACU lost at Fresno State.

Saturday night's game will feature two of the top three defenses in the Southland with McNeese ranked No. 1 in the league in scoring defense (allowing just 19.4 points per game), rushing defense (allowing 55.8 ypg)and total defense (292.8 ypg) and ACU ranking No. 3 in scoring defense (23.8 ppg), passing defense (208.8 ypg) and total defense (373.2 ypg).

McNeese also leads the Southland Conference in sacks with 16, led by Ashari Goins, who has 3.5 sacks. Bryson Gates leads ACU with 2.5 sacks, although he missed last weeks' game with a slight injury. He should be back in the lineup Saturday against the Cowboys.

The two quarterbacks in the game – James Tabary of McNeese and Dallas Sealey of ACU – are two of the top signal-callers in the Southland Conference. Sealey leads the league in completions (129) and attempts (194) and is second in the league in completion percentage (66.5 percent behind the 68.6 mark posted by Hayden Hildebrand of Central Arkansas). He's also third in the league in passing yards per game (235.6) and second in yards (1,178), although he has only thrown four TD passes on the season.

Sealey's top target on the season is senior wideout Troy Grant, who leads the Southland Conference in receptions (29) for 304 yards (third in the league) and one score. He's fifth in the league in receiving yards per game (60.8 percent).

Tabary, meanwhile, is second in the league in completions (101) and attempts (162) and leads the league in TD passes (14). He's tied for the league lead with six interceptions and is third in the league inpassing yards (1,173) and fourth in the league in completion percentage (62.3 percent). Running back Justin Pratt is second in the league in rushing yards per game (77.2) with David Hamm tied for sixth in the league in yards per game (65.2).