Wildcats piece together 21-18 win over Southern Utah

ABILENE, Texas – ACU made plays in all three phases of the game when it needed them Saturday afternoon as the Wildcats pulled out a 21-18 win over Southern Utah in front of 10,229 satisfied Homecoming fans at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium.

The victory pushes the Wildcats to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the Western Athletic Conference, their best start to a season in the NCAA Division I era (since 2013) and the best overall start since the 2011 team started 5-2. Southern Utah, meanwhile, is now 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the WAC.

The Wildcats used a first-quarter fake punt and 46-yard run by Peyton Mansell, a couple of big plays on the offensive side of the ball, and a huge fourth-quarter interception by Elijah Moffett that led to a touchdown that pushed ACU's lead to 11 points.

But even with all of those plays, the Wildcats still had to survive the final three minutes when they gave up a blocked punt, a three-play touchdown drive, and a 2-point conversion pass that drew Southern Utah to within 21-18 with 2:41 to play in the game.

On third-and-4 from the 35-yard line, Maverick McIvor hit Tristan Golightly with a 7-yard pass to give the Wildcats a first down, sealing the win. ACU took a knee twice and the clock expires on the win, pushing ACU's record on Homecoming to 56-35-1 and running its winning streak to four games in the annual Homecoming contest.

McIvor finished the day 17 of 27 for 162 yards and one score, while Jermiah Dobbins – the two-time WAC Offensive Player of the Week – carried the ball 21 times for 81 yards and one score. Senior wide receiver Kobe Clark – who last week became ACU's all-time leader in receptions with 236 – had six more catches Saturday for 47 yards and one score.

GAME SUMMARY

How They Scored

1Q (12:53) – The Wildcats got the scoring started with a game-opening touchdown drive sparked by a fake punt run for a first down by quarterback-turned-safety Peyton Mansell. Facing fourth-and-8 on their own 39-yard line, the Wildcats dipped into their bag of tricks and had Mansell – who has not punted this season – drop back to punt. However, as soon as he received the snap, he took off to his right and found a huge lane, easily picking up the first down. Mansell ran over Southern Utah's Ethan Bolingbroke at the SUU 40-yard line and kept going until he was finally brought down at the SUU 15-yard line, finishing off a 46-yard run. Jermiah Dobbins – who had a 12-yard run on the first play of the game – finished off the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run, his seventh touchdown run of the season, all coming in the last three games.

  Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:07. Jeremiah Dobbins 15 run. Blair Zepeda PAT. 

ACU 7, Southern Utah 0

2Q (3:19) – The Thunderbirds got on the board late in the first quarter on a 28-yard field goal from Micah Pettit. SUU quarterback Justin Miiller was 6 for 8 for 50 yards on the 12-play drive. 

  Drive: 12 plays, 57 yards, 5:37. Micah Pettit 28 FG. 

ACU 7, Southern Utah 3

2Q (1:18) – The Wildcats responded to Southern Utah's drive for a field goal with a drive for a touchdown. On second down from the ACU 26, Maverick McIvor connected with Tristan Golightly for 38 yards to the SUU 36-yard line. After two runs and two passes got the Wildcats to the SUU 7-yard line, McIvor connected with Kobe Clark for a 7-yard touchdown pass to push ACU's lead to 14-3. 

Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 1:51. Maverick McIvor 7 pass to Kobe Clark. Blair Zepeda PAT. 

ACU 14, Southern Utah 3

3Q (5:42) – The Thunderbirds got right back into the game with a three-play touchdown drive with each play a pass play. After a 10-yard pass to open the drive, Justin Miiller completed a pass for 37 yards to Tim Patrick to the ACU 47-yard line. On the next play, Miller connected with Isaiah Wooden for a 47-yard touchdown pass that cut ACU's lead to 14-10. 

  Drive: 3 plays, 94 yards, 1:02. Isaiah Wooden 47 pass from Justin Miller. Micah Pettit PAT. 

ACU 14, Southern Utah 10

4Q (10:51) – The Wildcats' touchdown drive was set up by the first turnover of the game for either team when Elijah Moffett picked off a Justin Miller on the first play of a Southern Utah drive, returning the ball down to the SUU 15-yard line. On third-and-9, Maverick McIvor hit Kobe Clark for 13 yards and a first down at the SUU 1-yard line. On the next play, Rovaughn Banks Jr. strolled into the end zone for his third touchdown run of the season. 

  Drive: 4 plays, 15 yards, 1:19. Rovaughn Banks Jr. 1 run. Blair Zepeda PAT. 

ACU 21, Southern Utah 10

4Q (2:41) – The Thunderbirds' first blocked punt of the season resulted in a touchdown and 2-point conversion that drew them to within a field goal of the Wildcats. After Quadir Lockett-Smith blocked Logan Burke's punt, SUU's Malachi Harrison recovered the ball at the ACU 26-yard line. Steven Jenkins ran for 20 yards on the first play of the drive, and two plays later, Justin Miller found Ethan Bolingbroke in the back corner of the end zone from 5 yards out to cut the lead to 21-16. The Thunderbirds then went for 2 and converted when Miller hit Marcus Phillips to make it a 21-18 game. 

  Drive: 3 plays, 26 yards, 1:05. Ethan Bolingbroke 5 pass from Justin Miller. Miller pass to Marcus Phillips 

ACU 21, Southern Utah 18

KEY STAT

Senior Peyton Mansell had a big part in Saturday's win with a 46-yard run on a fake punt on ACU's opening drive, a run that kept the Wildcats' scoring drive alive, and he had a 10-yard kickoff return on a pooch kick in the third quarter. And after the game, he and his wife, former ACU softball pitcher Sidney Mansell, learned on the field through a video and a gender reveal prop that their first child will be a girl.

TURNING POINT

Elijah Moffett – who didn't play many snaps because of an injury – came up with the Wildcats' biggest defensive play when he intercepted a Justin Miller pass with 12:30 left in the ballgame. He intercepted the pass at the ACU 48 and returned it 37 yards to the Southern Utah 15-yard line. Four plays later, Rovaughn Banks Jr. scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to push ACU's lead to 21-10 with 10:51 to play.

QUOTING COACH PATTERSON

On piecing together a win: "That's how I felt like it would be all week long with our injuries. There were a lot of moving parts. And on the field, it was like we were putting together a jigsaw puzzle. We had to manufacture points. The rugby punt early with Peyton Mansell got us going, and then the (Moffett) interception early in the fourth was huge and got us going again." 

On bouncing back from tough loss last week: "I was proud of the kids; we had very spirited practices on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I knew that this game was going to be a rough 60-minute game that would come down to the end the way it did. I can't say enough about the way our kids dug down and found a way to win, and they did."

On Homecoming atmosphere: " Typically it's about managing everything that's going on outside of the football game. So many people are coming in, and a lot of times you're easily distracted. But I thought our guys had a good week of preparation."

WHAT IT MEANS

The Wildcats improved to 4-0 at home this season with Saturday's victory, but are on the road for three weeks (Oct. 29 at North Dakota, Nov. 5 at Tarleton State, and Nov. 12 at Sam Houston State) before playing the regular-season finale on Saturday, Nov. 19, at home against Stephen F. Austin. The last time ACU was unbeaten at home was 2013 when ACU was 4-0 at Shotwell Stadium.

POST-GAME NOTES

• For the first time this season, the ACU defense didn't allow a first-quarter point. Before Saturday, the Wildcats had been outscored 59-20 in five previous opening quarters this season.

• The Wildcats scored a touchdown on their opening possession Saturday for only the second time this season and the first time since the season-opening win over Lamar. Since that opening-drive touchdown against Lamar, the Wildcats had punted on their opening drive in their last five games.

• The Thunderbirds turned down opportunities for points on each of their first three drives by going for first downs on fourth-down plays deep in ACU territory, and each time they were turned away by the Wildcats' defense. The Thunderbirds' first drive ended at the ACU 30, the second at the ACU 9, and the third at the ACU 31.

• In last week's 41-38 loss at Stephen F. Austin, Jeremiah Dobbins topped 1,000 career yards, finishing the night with 1,005 career yards. After Saturday's effort (21 carries for 81 yards and one touchdown), Dobbins has 1,086 yards and 13 touchdowns on 13 career carries. He has 639 yards and seven touchdowns this season on 130 carries, the sixth-best single-season rushing season of ACU's NCAA Division I era (since 2013). The single-season leaders since 2013 are:
    > De'Andre Brown, 962 yards (2014)

     > Charcandrick West, 906 yards (2013)

     > Tracy James, 817 yards (2019)

     > Tracy James, 792 yards (2018)

     > De'Andre Brown, 735 yards (2015)

     > Billy McCrary, 724 yards (2018)

     > Jermiah Dobbins, 639 yards (2022).

UP NEXT

The Wildcats are off next week but will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 29, when they travel to Grand Forks, N.D., where they will take on the University of North Dakota. Kickoff from the Alerus Center is set for 3 p.m. This will be the first time the Wildcats have ever played a game in the Peace Garden State. The Alerus Center is an indoor facility, marking the fourth time the Wildcats have played indoors. The others were the 1977 NAIA Division I national championship at the Kingdome in Seattle; 1989 and 1995 at the Northern Arizona Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Ariz.; and 2014 against Georgia State at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.