ABILENE – The toughest schedule in the history of ACU football awaits the Wildcats in 2019 as they prepare to face a slate unlike any other in the previous 97 seasons of ACU football.
Of the 12 teams on the 2019 schedule, two were NCAA Division I FBS bowl teams in 2018, three were NCAA Division I FCS playoff teams and nine of the 12 teams posted winning records. While all 12 teams posted a combined record of 72-66 (55-50 in conference play), the nine teams that had winning records were a combined 65-41 overall and 49-29 in conference play. And for the first time in program history, the Wildcats will play a team in Mississippi State coming off a New Year's Day bowl game.
"This is certainly a very challenging schedule, especially with the two FBS programs we're playing," ACU head coach
Adam Dorrel said. "Both of those teams will probably be preseason Top 25 teams, and we open and close the regular season with them. And in between we've certainly got a very tough Southland Conference schedule to contend with each week."
The Wildcats open the season Aug. 31 in Denton against a North Texas team that was 9-3 in the regular season before falling to Utah State in the New Mexico Bowl. The Mean Green return Mason Fine, who should be one of the top quarterbacks in the nation in 2019.
The first of six home games at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium is set for Saturday, Sept. 7, when the Wildcats host Arizona Christian of the NAIA Sooner Conference. Aside from the home game between the only two ACU's in intercollegiate football, the Wildcats will also host McNeese (Sept. 21), Houston Baptist (Oct. 12), Stephen F. Austin (Homecoming contest on Oct. 19), Sam Houston State (Nov. 9) and Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 16) at their home stadium, which will be in its third season of use in 2019.
"I'm excited about the game between the two ACU's," Dorrel said. "It's a good opportunity for their team and I'm glad we were able to get them to come out here from Phoenix."
After the Arizona Christian home game, the Wildcats will be in Conway, Arkansas, on Sept. 14 to open Southland Conference play against the Bears of Central Arkansas. The Wildcats' first four conference games are against what might be four of the five best teams in the league in 2019: at Central Arkansas (Sept. 14), at home vs. McNeese (Sept. 21), and then back-to-back road games at two FCS playoff teams from last year in Incarnate Word (Sept. 28 in San Antonio) and Lamar (Oct. 5 in Beaumont).
"The start of our conference season is extremely tough, so we'll have to be ready to go from the get-go," Dorrel said. "We'll be tested early and often. We lost Northwestern State off our schedule, but we picked up a playoff team in Lamar, so nothing gets easier."
After the Lamar game, ACU is home for two games before going to Thibodaux, Louisiana, on Oct. 26, to take on the third 2018 FCS playoff team on this year's schedule: Nicholls. The Colonels beat ACU, 29-20, two years ago on their home field before dropping a 28-12 decision at ACU last season. After the two home games in November, the Wildcats will close the season at Mississippi State on Nov. 23 in what will be the Bulldogs' Homecoming contest.
ACU's game on Nov. 23 against the Bulldogs is sandwiched between's State's game against Alabama (Nov. 16) and the Egg Bowl against Ole Miss on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 28).
Fans wanting to renew Wildcat Club membership, season tickets, parking and ticket upgrades must do so by Friday, May 24. The deadline for season-ticket-holder seat re-location and upgrades is in early June and in mid-August, season tickets and parking passes will be mailed and a single-game tickets will go on sale to the general public.
Here's a brief look at each of the Wildcats' 2019 opponents:
Saturday, Aug. 31 at North Texas – North Texas enters 2019 coming off back-to-back 9-win seasons and three consecutive bowl appearances. The Mean Green scored 34.6 points per game and lowered their points allowed by 10.8 per game (to 24.2) from 2017. Quarterback Mason Fine threw for 3,793 yards with 27 touchdowns and just five interceptions in 2018, becoming the program's all-time leading passer and earning his second-straight Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year honor. Fine was also an all-academic performer and semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Awards.
2018 Record: 9-4 (5-3 in Conference USA)
2018 Postseason: Lost to #23 Utah State, 52-13, in New Mexico Bowl
Series: North Texas leads 15-8-1
Last game: UNT 48, ACU 0 (Sept. 1, 1994)
Last UNT win: UNT 48, ACU 0 (Sept. 1, 1994)
Last ACU win: ACU 20, North Texas 6 (Nov. 2, 1963)
Last game in Denton: UNT 48, ACU 0 (Sept. 1, 1994)
Last game in Abilene: ACU 28, North Texas 20 (Oct. 12, 1957)
Saturday, Sept. 7 vs. Arizona Christian – First meeting between the only two ACU's in college football: Abilene Christian University and Arizona Christian University. The 2019 season will be just the sixth intercollegiate football season for the Firestorm, which belongs to the NAIA Sooner Conference. Arizona Christian has compiled a cumulative 30-19 record in the previous five seasons, including four straight winning seasons. The Firestorm won Golden State Athletic Conference championships in both 2015 and 2016 with unbeaten 6-0 league marks. Arizona Christian was 8-3 overall and 6-3 in the Sooner Conference in 2018.
2018 Record: 8-3 (6-3 in NAIA Sooner Conference)
2018 Postseason: None
Last game: N/A
Last ACU win: N/A
Last game in Phoenix: N/A
Last game in Abilene: N/A
Saturday, Sept. 14 at Central Arkansas – The Wildcats open Southland Conference play at their person House of Horrors: Estes Stadium in Conway, Arkansas. The Wildcats are 0-5-1 in Conway dating back to 1939 and had to give back a 1974 win because of a forfeit. In their last four games in Conway, the Wildcats have been outscored by a cumulative 171-42, including a 34-0 loss to the Bears in in the 2017 season-finale.
2018 Record: 6-5 (5-4 in Southland)
2018 Postseason: None
Series: UCA leads 9-1-1
Last game: UCA 16, ACU 7 (Nov. 17, 2018)
Last UCA win: UCA 16, ACU 7 (Nov. 17, 2018)
Last ACU win: ACU 52, UCA 35 (Nov. 1, 2014 / Plano)
Last game in Conway, Arkansas: UCA 34, ACU 0 (Nov. 18, 2017)
Last game in Abilene: UCA 16, ACU 7 (Nov. 17, 2018)
Saturday, Sept. 21 vs. McNeese – The Cowboys become the first team to make two appearances at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium as they come calling in ACU's first home conference contest of the season. While the Wildcats still haven't played the league's perennial powerhouse, they've gotten closer each of the last two seasons. Two years ago in Abilene, the Cowboys pulled out a hard-fought 13-7 win and last year in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the Wildcats gave up a late punt return for a touchdown that led to a 24-21 McNeese victory. The Cowboys enter the season with a new head coach as Sterlin Gilbert takes over for Lance Guidry. Gilbert is no stranger to football fans in the Big Country as he served as the offensive coordinator at Abilene Cooper High School from 2006-07 before returning to his hometown of San Angelo and serving for three seasons as the head coach at his alma mater, San Angelo Lake View High School. He was the quarterback at Angelo State from 1999-2002 and played against ACU when both were members of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference.
2018 Record: 6-5 (5-4 in Southland)
2018 Postseason: None
Series: McNeese leads 6-0
Last game: McNeese 24, ACU 21 (Oct. 6, 2018)
Last McNeese win: McNeese 24, ACU 21 (Oct. 6, 2018)
Last ACU win: never
Last game in Lake Charles, Louisiana: McNeese 24, ACU 21 (Oct. 6, 2018)
Last game in Abilene: McNeese 13, ACU (Oct. 7, 2017)
Saturday, Sept. 28 at Incarnate Word – The Wildcats are back at Benson Stadium in San Antonio for the sixth time in the series and for the first time they visit San Antonio to take on the defending co-champion of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals enjoyed a remarkable season under first-year head coach Eric Morris in 2017 as they won a share of the league title, had the Coach of the Year in Morris, the Freshman of the Year in quarterback Jon Copeland and reached the FCS national playoffs for the first time in program history. Their road win over ACU last season (44-34 in September) might have been the difference in UIW getting a playoff nod over the Wildcats. Former ACU running back
Herschel Sims joined the UIW coaching staff this offseason as the defensive quality control coach after spending the last two seasons at North Texas. He is married to former ACU softball standout Courtney (Flanary) Sims.
2018 Record: 6-5 (6-2 in Southland)
2018 Postseason: Lost to #23 Montana State, 35-14, in 1st round of FCS playoffs
Series: ACU leads 7-3
Last game: Incarnate Word 44, ACU 34 (Sept. 29, 2018 / Abilene)
Last UIW win: Incarnate Word 44, ACU 34 (Sept. 29, 2018 / Abilene)
Last ACU win: ACU 45, UIW 20 (Sept. 30, 2017 / Abilene)
Last game in San Antonio: ACU 45, UIW 20 (Sept. 30, 2017)
Last game in Abilene: Incarnate Word 44, ACU 34 (Sept. 29, 2018 / Abilene)
Saturday, Oct. 5 at Lamar – The Wildcats and Cardinals didn't play in 2017 or 2018, but Lamar returns to the Wildcats' schedule in 2019 and they do so coming off a 7-5 overall record and a berth in the FCS playoffs. The Cardinals have won five straight games over ACU dating back to the 1971 season and have won all three matchups against the Wildcats since ACU re-joined the Southland Conference in 2014.
2018 Record: 7-5 (6-3 in Southland)
2018 Postseason: Lost to Northern Iowa, 16-13, in 1st round of FCS playoffs
Series: Lamar leads 12-7
Last game: Lamar 38, ACU 10 (Oct. 8, 2016)
Last Lamar win: Lamar 38, ACU 10 (Oct. 8, 2016)
Last ACU win: ACU 42, Lamar 27 (Oct. 17, 1970)
Last game in Beaumont: Lamar 44, ACU 28 (Oct. 10, 2015)
Last game in Abilene: Lamar 38, ACU 10 (Oct. 8, 2016)
Saturday, Oct. 12 vs. Houston Baptist – The Huskies were ACU's first opponent at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium with the Wildcats taking a 24-3 win over HBU on Sept. 16, 2017. The Wildcats have thoroughly dominated this series, having won five of six games with the only loss a 27-24 overtime defeat in Houston in 2016. ACU is allowing 15 points per game to the Huskies in the six previous matchups while scoring almost 44 points per game themselves.
2018 Record: 1-10 (0-9 in Southland)
2018 Postseason: None
Series: ACU leads 5-1
Last game: ACU 48, HBU 13 (Sept. 15, 2018)
Last HBU win: HBU 27, ACU 24, ot (Sept. 17, 2016)
Last ACU win: ACU 48, HBU 13 (Sept. 15, 2018)
Last game in Houston: ACU 48, HBU 13 (Sept. 15, 2018)
Last game in Abilene: ACU 24, HBU 3 (Sept. 16, 2017)
Saturday, Oct. 19 vs. Stephen F. Austin (Homecoming) – A couple of familiar faces to Wildcat fans will be on the visitor sideline for the Wildcats' annual Homecoming contest in 2019 when Stephen F. Austin rides into town. Former ACU assistant coach Colby Carthel — who also served as the defensive coordinator at West Texas A&M and was most recently the head at Texas A&M-Commerce where he won an NCAA Division II national championship in 2017 — is in his first season as the head coach at SFA. Earlier this year he hired former ACU All-American offensive line and offensive coordinator Nathan Young as his offensive line coach after Young spent the previous two seasons as the offensive coordinator at San Antonio Madison High School. The Wildcats are 54-35-1 all-time on Homecoming, including last year's 28-12 win over then-No. 11 Nicholls. ACU is 2-1 vs. Stephen F. Austin on Homecing with a loss in 1979 and wins in 1981 and 1983.
2018 Record: 2-8 (2-7 in Southland)
2018 Postseason: None
Series: ACU leads 10-9
Last game: SFA 24, ACU 21 (Sept. 22, 2018)
Last SFA win: SFA 24, ACU 21 (Sept. 22, 2018)
Last ACU win: ACU 35, SFA 32 (Sept. 26, 2015)
Last game in Nacogdoches: SFA 24, ACU 21 (Sept. 22, 2018)
Last game in Abilene: SFA 20, ACU 10 (Sept. 23, 2017)
Saturday, Oct. 26 at Nicholls – The Wildcats head to Louisiana to take on the defending co-Southland Conference champion and the team that could be picked as the preseason favorite in 2019. Head coach Tim Rebowe — who has done one of the more remarkable jobs in college football the last three seasons — returns a bevy of talent, including the league's reigning Player of the Year in quarterback Chase Fourcade. The senior signal-caller led the Colonels to a 9-4 finish last season, a first-round FCS playoff win over San Diego and a trip to the second round where their season ended with a loss at Eastern Washington.
2018 Record: 9-4 (7-2 in Southland)
2018 Postseason: Defeated #18 San Diego, 49-30, in 1st round of FCS playoffs; lost to #4 Eastern Washington, 42-21, in 2nd round of FCS playoffs
Series: Tied 1-1
Last game: ACU 28, Nicholls 12 (Oct. 13, 2018)
Last Nicholls win: Nicholls 29, ACU 20 (Oct. 14, 2017)
Last ACU win: ACU 28, Nicholls 12 (Oct. 13, 2018)
Last game in Thibodaux, Louisiana: Nicholls 29, ACU 20 (Oct. 14, 2017)
Last game in Abilene: ACU 28, Nicholls 12 (Oct. 13, 2018)
Saturday, Nov. 9 vs. Sam Houston State – The Bearkats saw their string of FCS playoff appearances snapped at seven straight seasons last year with an uncharacteristic 6-5 finish. Head coach K.C. Keeler's program added 18 players during the national signing period, including four mid-year transfers from Division I FBS programs. That quartet is led by former University of Texas running back Toneil Carter, along with former Baylor offensive lineman Ylijahh Hall, former UTEP defensive lineman Trace Mascorro and former Oregon State cornerback Dwayne Williams. ACU beat Sam Houston State, 17-10, in Huntsville last season to snap a five-game losing streak to the Bearkats that stretched back to 1984. ACU's last win Ove the Bearkats in Abilene was a 36-10 win on Nov. 6, 1982.
2018 Record: 6-5 (5-4 in Southland)
2018 Postseason: None
Series: Tied 12-12-1
Last game: ACU 17, Sam Houston 10 (Nov. 10, 2018)
Last Sam Houston win: Sam Houston 44, ACU 35 (Nov. 11, 2017)
Last ACU win: ACU 17, Sam Houston 10 (Nov. 10, 2018)
Last game in Huntsville: ACU 17, Sam Houston 10 (Nov. 10, 2018)
Last game in Abilene: Sam Houston 44, ACU 35 (Nov. 11, 2017)
Saturday, Nov. 16 vs. Southeastern Louisiana – The last time the Lions were in Abilene was Oct. 21, 2017, when they strolled into Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium and punked the Wildcats to the tune of 56-21. ACU returned the favor last year by going to Strawberry Stadium in Hammond, Louisiana, and whipping the Lions, 48-27, behind 200-plus yards on the ground from running back
Billy McCrary..
2018 Record: 4-7 (4-5 in Southland)
2018 Postseason: None
Series: Tied 3-3
Last game: ACU 48, SE Louisiana 27 (Oct. 20, 2018)
Last SLU win: SLU 56, ACU 21 (Oct. 21, 2017)
Last ACU win: ACU 48, SE Louisiana 27 (Oct. 20, 2018)
Last game in Hammond, Louisiana: ACU 48, SE Louisiana 27 (Oct. 20, 2018)
Last game in Abilene: SLU 56, ACU 21 (Oct. 21, 2017)
Saturday, Nov. 23 at Mississippi State – The Bulldogs return over 50 letterwinners and several key names, including All-Southeastern Conference performers linebacker Erroll Thompson and cornerback Cameron Dantzler, in addition to running back Kylin Hill and offensive lineman Darryl Williams, who is projected as one of the top lineman in college football in 2019. Hill put up 82.7 all-purpose yards per game last season and returns as the starter. After former quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, second-year head coach Joe Moorhead will have several talented faces to work with under center led by junior quarterback Kenton Thompson, who is 2-0 as a starter with 18 career touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Jalen Hayden and true freshman Garrett Shrader – both four-star prospects when they arrived – will also work extensively this spring. Defensively, the Bulldogs allowed a nation-best 263.1 yards per game and only 4.13 yards per play. Four out of the top eight tacklers return from a year ago led by Erroll Thompson's 87 tackles.
2018 Record: 8-5 (4-4 in Southeastern Conference-West)
2018 Postseason: Lost to Iowa, 27-22, in Outback Bowl
Series: First Meeting
Last game: N/A
Last Mississippi State win: N/A
Last ACU win: N/A
Last game in Starkville, Mississippi: N/A
Last game in Abilene: N/A
