Box Score ABILENE – Quarterback Eric Schmid threw three touchdown passes and running back Noah Smith scored three times to give defending FCS national champion Sam Houston a 35-9 win over Abilene Christian University in a Western Athletic Conference game Saturday afternoon in Wildcat Stadium.
The Bearkats (10-0, 5-0) won the WAC title and registered their college football record 20
th game of the calendar year after going 10-0 in the pandemic-created 2020-21 spring season and rolling 10-0 through the 2021 fall season.
For the second straight week, ACU (5-6, 2-2) got three field goals by
Blair Zepeda, who hit 13 of 17 this season in addition to all 33 of his PAT kicks.
Few teams have played SHSU as tough as Abilene Christian in recent years: The Wildcats won 17-10 in Huntsville in 2018 and lost a 24-10 game in Abilene in 2019 after taking a 10-0 first-quarter lead. The Bearkats and Wildcats did not meet last season; ACU played a Fall 2020 schedule and SHSU a Spring 2021 one that included winning the FCS national title.
On this day, however, the unbeaten Bearkats allowed no letdown to take place, forging a 28-0 halftime lead and coasting the rest of the way.
Sam Houston opened the game with a pair of 6-yard scoring plays: a pass from Schmid to wide receiver Ife Adeyi and a run by Ramon Jefferson to take a 14-0 lead.
The Bearkats added another pair of TDs in the second quarter, both by running back Noah Smith: a 28-yard pass from Schmid and a 1-yard run.
ACU got on the scoreboard with 18 seconds left with a 48-yard field goal by
Blair Zepeda to cap a 12-play, 47-yard drive.
The Wildcats took over after Sam Houston turned the ball over on downs on its first drive of the second half. Zepeda again rose to the occasion, kicking a 43-yard field goal to cut the SHSU lead to 28-6.
After forcing the Bearkats to punt, Mansell was intercepted by Kame Alexander at the ACU 38-yard line and returned it to the Wildcat 25. Four plays later, Smith scored his third TD of the day, this time on a 4-yard pass from Schmid.
Zepeda gave the Wildcats another three points with his third field goal of the day and sixth of the last two weeks, a 36-yarder that made the eventual final score 35-9.
Peyton Mansell completed 20 of 35 passes for 130 yards and one interception for the Wildcats, who were led in rushing by
Davion Johnson's 36 yards on three carries.
Anthony Smith caught six passes for 49 yards and
Denver Holman added five for 39 yards.
Bearkat leaders on offense included Schmid (18 of 32 passes for 244 yards), Jefferson (14 carries for 89 yards) and Jequez Ezzard (five catches for 106 yards).
SHSU outgained ACU 424 to 265 in total yards.
ACU linebacker
Brian Bullock had a Wildcat season-best 14 tackles in the game, 11 of them solo.
PLAYS THAT MATTERED
1Q – Ife Adeyi caught a 6-yard TD pass from Eric Schmid with 10:41 left, and Seth Morgan kicked the PAT to put Sam Houston ahead, 7-0. Scoring drive: 6 plays, 57 yards, 2:39
1Q – Ramon Jefferson ran 6 yards for a TD with 6:57 left to grow the SHSU lead to 14-0. Scoring drive: 7 plays, 55 yards, 2:06
2Q – Noah Smith caught a 28-yard TD pass from Schmid with 12:38 left to put Sam Houston up 21-0. Scoring drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 2:33
2Q – Smith ran 1 yard for a TD with 3:45 left to make the new score 28-0. Scoring drive: 12 plays, 78 yards, 4:16
2Q –
Blair Zepeda kicked a 48-yard field goal with 18 seconds left to make the halftime score 28-3. Scoring drive: 12 plays, 47 yards, 3:21
1Q – Zepeda kicked a 43-yard field goal to cut the Bearkat lead to 28-6. Scoring drive: 9 plays, 39 yards, 2:50
1Q – Smith caught a 4-yard TD pass from Schmid to give the Bearkats a 35-6 lead with 6:02 left. Scoring drive: 4_ plays, 25 yards, 1:03
1Q – Blair kicked a 36-yard field goal to pull ACU closer, 35-9. Scoring drive: 9 plays, 58 yards, 2:33
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- ACU outgained SHSU in total yards in the second half, 171-146, but couldn't make a dent in the Bearkats' 28-0 halftime lead on the scoreboard.
- With three today, Blair Zepeda finished his season kicking six field goals in the last two games.
- Freshman quarterback Hayden Anderson saw his first action of the season today in relief of Peyton Mansell. Stone Earle, ACU's 2021 starter and leading passer, has been out since Game 7 with a season-ending leg injury.
STAT CORNER
- Linebacker Brian Bullock had a personal and ACU season-best 14 tackles.
- After one quarter, Sam Houston led in rushing yards (67-15), passing yards (61-27), total yards (128-42) and on the scoreboard (14-0). ACU led in time of possession (9:18 to 5:42). Each team had five first downs.
- At the half, Sam Houston led in first downs (14-9), rushing yards (89-25), passing yards (61-27), total yards (278-94) and on the scoreboard (28-3). ACU led in time of possession (15:44 to 14:16).
NOTABLE
- The Wildcats played their 100th season in 2021. Abilene Christian did not play football from 1943-45 because of World War II.
- Sam Houston leads this series, 14-12, which began in 1926. ACU won 10 of 11 between 1973 and 1983, with SHSU winning six of last seven since. The Wildcats won, 17-10, in 2018 in Huntsville.
- The Bearkats are 21-1 since rallying to beat ACU 24-10 in their last appearance at Wildcat Stadium in 2019. In that game, Abilene Christian took a 10-0 first-quarter lead only to have SHSU score 24 unanswered points for a 24-10 win.
- Sam Houston and ACU have three times been members of the same conference. ACU and SHSU were regular rivals while their membership overlapped in the Lone Star Conference (1973-1984), Southland Conference (2013-21) and WAC (2021-22). SHSU recently announced it will be joining the Football Bowl Division-affiliated Conference USA in 2023.
- SHSU, which spent its last 34 years as a NCAA Division I program in the Southland, will begin the transition to FBS football immediately following the conclusion of the 2021 FCS playoffs. The Bearkats are ranked No. 1 in the nation in FCS and won the national championship in Spring 2021.
#GoWildcats
