WAC Championship to be decided in Abilene this weekend

ABILENE, Texas – The ACU football team is back at home to close out the regular season this week, with the 2022 senior class being recognized ahead of Saturday's WAC Championship game against SFA. Saturday will mark the second time the two teams have seen one another in six weeks, as the Purple and White will look to avenge a last-second 41-38 loss in Nacogdoches from Oct. 8. 
 
The Game: 
Parking Lots: 10:30 a.m.
Wildcat Walk: 12:00 p.m.
Tailgate: 12:30 p.m. 
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m.
Promotion: Rally Cats Kids Day
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: ACU Sports Network
Tickets
Live Stats
 
The Wildcats: (7-3, 3-0 WAC)

• ACU dominated Sam Houston from the jump last weekend in Huntsville, scoring 44 seconds into the game after forcing the first of four Bearkat turnovers on the first play from scrimmage. 
• Dorian Plumley and Chike Nwankwo each scooped up a fumble, while Elijah Moffett and Patrick Jolly came away with an interception apiece. ACU added a fourth down stop and also recovered a kickoff that inadvertently ended up as an onside kick.
• Quarterback Ethan Long turned in a solid day for the Purple and White, tossing for 262 yards and four touchdowns in the win. His 30 completions are the most for an ACU passer since Luke Anthony in a 45-20 win over Houston Baptist in 2019. 
• The win gives the Wildcats a 14-13-1 edge over the Bearkats, who are playing in their final season at the FCS ranks. 
• Anthony Smith and Rovaughn Banks Jr. each found the endzone on the ground last week, giving ACU a rushing score in seven consecutive games. 
• Last week's win gave the Wildcats their seventh win of the season, the program's highest total in the Division I era. A win this week would mark the best ACU season since the 2011 campaign. 

 
The Lumberjacks (5-5, 2-1 WAC)

• SFA is coming off a 34-7 loss to Central Arkansas last Saturday, marking the Jacks' biggest loss to an FCS opponent since 2018, when they lost a road game to 16th-ranked Nicholls by a tally of 47-14. 
• Running back Miles Reed rushed for a career-high 149 yards in his final career game at Homer Bryce Stadium, and he has now cleared the century mark three times in his last four games. 
• SFA signal caller Trae Self continues to be one of the best quarterbacks in the WAC, throwing for 17 scores with just four picks so far this fall. He is completing just under 60% of his passes and averages 218.0 yards per game, and Saturday snapped his six-game streak with a touchdown pass. 
• 2021 All-American Xavier Gipson enters play as one of the league's premier wideouts, and he is likely to clear 1,000 yards for the season this weekend. Gipson and Moe Wedman have combined for 11 touchdown grabs and 75 total catches this season, making the passing game a huge weapon for the Jacks. 
• Safety Myles Heard is one of the surest tacklers in the conference, racking up 76.0 total tackles so far to go with an interception and a pair of pass breakups. 
• Chris Campos is making a run at the WAC Special Teams Player of the Year Award, making 77% of his field goal attempts. He also claims the longest field goal in the WAC this fall, a 51-yarder with no time left to beat ACU in Nacogdoches earlier this season. 

 
The Series

• The two long-time rivals have each won 11 games in the all-time series, but ACU has won just once since 2016.
• The Wildcats have never defeated the Lumberjacks at Wildcat Stadium. 
• The lone neutral site matchup in the series came in Arlington in 2019, when SFA came away with a 34-31 victory in the second overtime. 

 
The Playoff Picture 

• Either team would win the outright conference title with a win, though an automatic berth to the FCS Playoffs is not guaranteed regardless of the winner. 
• The WAC winner will be compared against the winner of the Atlantic Sun Conference, with a predetermined formula to determine which of those two teams will receive the auto bid. 
• Jacksonville State, currently in first place in the ASUN standings, is ineligible for postseason due to their pending move to FBS. Central Arkansas is currently in second place and in the driver's seat for the ASUN crown. The two play each other on Saturday. 
• An at-large bid remains possible for the conference winner that does not receive the auto bid. 

 
This Week's WAC/ASUN Schedule (all times Central)

• Austin Peay at Alabama – 11:00 a.m. 
• Southern Utah at Sam Houston – 12:00 p.m. 
• North Alabama at Memphis – 1:00 p.m. 
• Kennesaw State at Eastern Kentucky – 2:00 p.m. 
• Houston Christian at Tarleton – 2:00 p.m. 
• Jacksonville State at Central Arkansas – 4:00 p.m. 
• SFA at ACU – 2:30 p.m. 
• Utah Tech at BYU – 2:30 p.m. 

 
How to Watch

• Head to plus.espn.com
• Log in or create an account
• Click NCAAF at the top of the page
• Find SFA at ACU and click play 

 
How to Listen 

• Head to acusports.com/listen and click play 

 
- OR –

• Go to the App Store/Google Play on your mobile device
• Download The Varsity Network app
• Create a free account or choose to skip
• Search for Abilene Christian
• Find SFA at ACU and click play 

 
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