Box Score GRAND FORKS, N.D. – An ACU team that has grown accustomed to playing close games found itself in another Saturday afternoon at the Alerus Center. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, this one didn't go their way, as they dropped a 34-31 non-conference decision to the University of North Dakota.
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For the fourth time in eight games, the Wildcats played in a game decided by eight points or less, and for the second time, the Wildcats came up on the short end of the score. ACU beat Prairie View A&M (21-13) and Southern Utah (21-18) but lost to Stephen F. Austin (41-38) and North Dakota.
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The Wildcats battled back from a pair of 10-point deficits in the second half and had the game down to three points (34-31) after a Rovaughn Banks 1-yard touchdown run with 7:48 left in the fourth quarter. But the Hawks – who built their lead thanks to the right arm of quarterback Tommy Schuster (23 of 32 for 292 yards and two touchdowns) – ran out the final 7:48 off the clock.
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After receiving the kickoff, the Hawks embarked on a bruising 13-play, 49-yard drive that forced ACU to use all three of its timeouts and eventually took the rest of the time off the clock. Twelve of the 13 plays on the drive were runs, including three kneel-downs by Schuster to finish it. Tyler Hoosman – who had 112 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 20 carries – carried the ball five times for 30 yards on the drive that closed out the game.
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As they've done all season, the Wildcats played with resiliency, battling back from deficits of 27-17 in the third quarter and 34-24 in the fourth quarter to stay in the contest. Quarterback Maverick McIvor completed 21 of 32 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns, while receiver Tristan Golightly caught five passes for 82 yards and one score.
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Jermiah Dobbins – who had just one carry for two yards in the first half – finished with six carries for 85 yards, including a 59-yard run in the third quarter.
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GAME SUMMARY
How They Scored
1Q (8:37) – On their second drive, the Wildcats moved impressively to the first points of the game, moving 65 yards in just seven plays, with the key play coming on a third-and-1 run by Rovaughn Banks from the North Dakota 31. Banks gained five yards, and a few plays later, Maverick McIvor hit senior wideout Kobe Clark from five yards out for a touchdown.
 Scoring Play: Kobe Clark 5 pass from Maverick McIvor (Blair Zepeda PAT)
 Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, 3:06. Â
ACU 7, North Dakota 0
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1Q (4:56) – The Hawks' drive got off to a good start with a 44-yard kickoff return by Red Wilson that gave them the ball at ACU's 40-yard line. UND moved down to the ACU 3-yard line, but that's where the drive stalled, and the Hawks were forced to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Brady Stevens.
 Scoring Play: Brady Stevens 20 field goal
 Drive: 8 plays, 37 yards, 3:34. Â
ACU 7, North Dakota 3
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2Q (13:34) – The Hawks took their first lead of the game on the third play of the second quarter when Schuster hit Bo Belquist for a 4-yard touchdown pass. Those two hooked up for the drive's biggest play on the first quarter's final play; Schuster hit Belquist for a 37-yard gain down to the ACU 17-yard line to set up the go-ahead touchdown.
 Scoring Play: Bo Belquist 4 pass from Tommy Schuster (Brady Stevens kick)
 Drive: 8 plays, 76 yards, 4:28 Â
ACU 7, North Dakota 10
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2Q (3:45) – After a missed field goal by North Dakota, ACU took over on its 27-yard line and on the first play, Banks picked up 20 yards before McIvor hit him for a 30-yard gain on a pass play, moving the ball to the UND 16-yard line. On third-and-11 from the UND 11, McIvor hit Tristan Golightly for an 11-yard touchdown to give the lead back to the Wildcats.
 Scoring Play: Tristan Golightly 11 pass from Maverick McIvor (Zepeda kick)
 Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 3:13 Â
ACU 14, North Dakota 10
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2Q (1:12) – On the ensuing drive after ACU regained the lead, the Hawks put together a drive that saw them gouge the Wildcats' defense with some chunk plays. Schuster completed passes for 15, 12, 20, and 11 yards, and the Hawks ran the ball for a game of 13 yards on its only running play of the drive. Schuster capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Garregg Maag.
 Scoring Play: Garrett Maag 4 pass from Schuster (Stevens kick)
 Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 2:33 Â
ACU 14, North Dakota 17
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2Q (0:02) – The Wildcats ran just 16 seconds off the clock on its next drive, and a short punt gave the Hawks the ball at their 37-yard line. On the first play – with 13 seconds left in the first half – Schuster hit Jack Wright for 34 yards down to the ACU 19-yard line with seven seconds left in the first half. Instead of taking one shot into the end zone with seven seconds left in the half, the Hawks settled for a 34-yard field goal from Stevens to take a 20-14 lead into halftime.
 Scoring Play: Stevens 34 field goal
 Drive: 2 plays, 34 yards, 0:11 Â
ACU 14, North Dakota 20
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3Q (5:40) – The Wildcats started the drive inside their 1-yard line and got big runs of 18 and then 59 yards from Jermiah Dobbins. The Wildcats had first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, but a personal foul penalty wiped out a touchdown. The Wildcats were forced to settle for a 30-yard field goal from Zepeda.
 Scoring Play: Zepeda 30 field goal
 Drive: 11 plays, 87 yards, 4:48 Â
ACU 17, North Dakota 20
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3Q (5:40) – The Hawks answered ACU's field goal drive with a touchdown drive, a short six-play drive built on big plays in both the running and passing game. Schuster completed a pass of 19 yards to Jack Wright before Tyler Hoosman gained 20 yards on the ground. Schuster then hit Caden Dennis with a 31-yard pass to the ACU 2-yard line. Tyler Hoosman scored on the next play to give the Hawks a 10-point lead.
 Scoring Play: Tyler Hoosman 2 run (Stevens kick)
 Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:02 Â
ACU 17, North Dakota 27
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3Q (1:13) – Davion Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards to the North Dakota 4-yard line. Before the Wildcats could snap the ball, they were whistled for delay of game, moving the ball back five yards. The ACU sideline erupted, believing the clock hadn't been set properly, and the argument resulted in a personal foul on the ACU bench, moving the ball back to the 24-yard line. Tristan Golightly picked up eight yards on a reverse and, after a false start penalty on ACU, McIvor hit Kobe Clark for nine yards to the UND 12-yard line. On third-and-goal, McIvor hit Blayne Taylor for a touchdown to cut the UND lead to 27-24.
 Scoring Play: Blayne Taylor 12 pass from Maverick McIvor (Zepeda kick)
 Drive: 3 plays, 4 yards, 1:11 Â
ACU 24, North Dakota 27
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4Q (9:49) – After ACU forced a North Dakota punt, the Hawks got the ball right back when Malachi Buckner picked off a McIvor pass that was a bit too high for Kobe Clark over the middle. Buckner returned the ball 16 yards to the 11 ACU, and four plays later, Tyler Hoosman bulled in from five yards out to give the Hawks a 10-point lead.
 Scoring Play: Tyler Hoosman 5 run (Stevens kick)
 Drive: 4 plays, 11 yards, 1:51 Â
ACU 24, North Dakota 34
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4Q (7:48) – The Wildcats put together a must-have touchdown drive to get back to within a field goal, covering 57 yards in just five plays and 1 minute, 54 seconds. The drive's two biggest plays came on back-to-back snaps when McIvor hit Golightly for 17 yards to the UND 26, then Davion Johnson for 25 yards to the UND 1-yard line. Rovaughn Banks capped the drive by stepping in from one yard to cut the lead to just three points.
 Scoring Play: Rovaughn Banks 1 run (Zepeda kick)
 Drive: 5 plays, 57 yards, 1:54Â
ACU 31, North Dakota 34
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KEY STAT
The 59-yard run by Jermiah Dobbins in the third quarter was not only the longest run of the season by Wildcat, but it was also the longest play from scrimmage by an ACU player in 2022. The longest previous run by a Wildcat was a 46-yarder by Dobbins against Stephen F. Austin, and the previous longest play from scrimmage was a 49-yard pass from Maverick McIvor to Blayne Taylor vs. Missouri.
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POST-GAME NOTES
• The Wildcats average 170.0 yards per game on the ground but had just five carries for 24 yards in the first half. Jeremiah Dobbins – who leads the Western Athletic Conference in rushing at 89.1 yards per game and has twice been the WAC Offensive Player of the Week – carried the ball just once in the first half for two yards.
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• Davion Johnson's 91-yard kickoff return in the third quarter was the 20th kickoff return of at least 90 yards in the 101 years of ACU football, and the second-longest return that didn't result in a touchdown since Darrel Cantu-Harkless vs. Washburn in the 2010 season-opener in Topeka, Kan.
• Before Saturday's game at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, N.D., the Wildcats had previously played indoors just three times in their history:
     • Dec. 10, 1977 – ACU 24, SW Oklahoma Stat 7 (NAIA DI championship game; Kingdome; Seattle, Wash.)
     • Sept. 2, 1989 – Northern Arizona 42, ACU 13 (NAU Walkup Skydome; Flagstaff, Ariz.)
     • Sept. 16, 1995 – Northern Arizona 62, ACU 0 (NAU Walkup Skydome; Flagstaff, Ariz.)
     • Aug. 27, 2014 – Georgia State 38, ACU 37 (Georgia Dome; Atlanta, Ga.)
UP NEXT
The Wildcats are back on the road next Saturday for a big game at Tarleton State. The Texans and Wildcats will kick off at 7 p.m. from Memorial Stadium, where the Wildcats are 11-7-3 all-time. ACU hasn't played in Stephenville since a 27-24 win on Sept. 1, 2011. ACU has won five straight games in Stephenville, dating back to a 31-14 win on Sept. 18, 2014. Last year was the first time the teams have met as NCAA Division I foes, with the Wildcats taking a 29-3 win at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium. The Wildcats lead the all-time series over the Texans – now a member of the Western Athletic Conference – 20-12-4 in a series that dates back to Oct. 25, 2020, when the teams tied 0-0 in the Wildcats' second season of intercollegiate football.
#GoWildcats
