ABILENE – Abilene Christian heads to Kyle Field in College Station on Saturday to finish off the 2023 season at Texas A&M.
Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. on the SEC Network and also will be carried locally on 106.3 FM The Raider.
ACU comes in at 5-5 after a tough 31-30 loss to Tarleton State.
Texas A&M is 6-4 after a 51-10 win over Mississippi State.
ACU Storylines
STILL THE GUY: Kyle Ramsey is the lone FCS kicker still perfect in field goal attempts. He's 13 of 13 including four field goals of 50 or more yards. He's also the only kicker in the FCS with three converted field goal attempts of 54 yards or more. He's 15
th in the FCS with 1.3 field goals per game.
JOLLY PICKINS: Cornerback
Patrick Jolly is third in the FCS with four interceptions this season. He also has defended 1.3 passes per game (nine passes broken up, four interceptions) and is 12
th in the FCS in that category. He also has forced and recovered a fumble this season. Two of his interceptions occurred in the end zone.
GRANTED: Punter
Grant Nickel is 11
th in the FCS in yards per punt at 43.4 yards. ACU's coverage team has been strong as well, allowing 2.22 yards per return and producing a 42.04 net – ranking third in the FCS in both categories.
SECURITY: Abilene Christian has been strong a protecting the football. The team is sixth in the FCS with three fumbles lost this season and two of those came in the same game – a loss at Central Arkansas. ACU also is 19
th in the FCS and leads the UAC with 10 turnovers this season. Starting quarterback
Maverick McIvor is responsible for only five of the team's seven interceptions this season.
MOFFETT SHOW: ACU safety
Elijah Moffett is 12
th in the FCS with his two fumble recoveries this season. He's been under a helmet you can count on seeing around the ball. Moffett leads ACU with seven tackles for loss and is second on the team with 70 tackles and seven passes broken up. He also has a team-leading 49 tackles for loss.
MOORE TO THE POINT: Linebacker
Darius Moore leads the team with 75 tackles this season, including 42 assists. He also has six tackles for loss, half a sack and two hurries.
O-LINE: The Wildcats have done a good job keeping quarterback
Maverick McIvor on his feet. ACU ranks 20
th in the FCS in sacks allowed per game at 1.20.
RUNNING GAME: Jordon Vaughn, who started the season on defense, ran for 79 yards and two touchdowns last week against Tarleton State. ACU has had 100-yard rushing games by three different backs:
Jay'Veon Sunday (147 vs. Stephen F. Austin and 140 against North Texas),
Jermiah Dobbins (106 vs. Incarnate Word) and Vaughn (108 at Southern Utah).
PASSING GAME: Maverick McIvor has 17 touchdowns against five interceptions this season and has completed 56 percent of his 260 passes for 1,823 yards. He eclipsed the 4000-yard mark in his two seasons at ACU last week.
Blayne Taylor has been the go-to receiver with 34 catches, 543 yards, 15.97 yards per catch and seven touchdowns – leading the team in each of those categories.
TRYING TO END WELL: Abilene Christian plays its season finale at Texas A&M. The Wildcats will be trying to snap a nine-year stretch of losing the last game of the season. Since beating Stephen F. Austin to close the 2014 season, the Wildcats have fallen victim to Northern Colorado, Southeastern Louisiana, Central Arkansas twice, Mississippi State, Virginia, Sam Houston and SFA.
Scouting Texas A&M
- Texas A&M this week named defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson as its interim head coach after buying out the contract of Jimbo Fisher. Fisher had gone 45-25 in six seasons at A&M.
- Texas A&M's Edgerrin Cooper was named a Chuck Bednarik Award Semifinalist, the Maxwell Football Club announced Monday morning. Cooper is one of 20 players up for the award, which is presented annually to the most outstanding defensive player in college football. Cooper leads the SEC and ranks eighth nationally with 16.0 tackles for loss on the season, while his 7.0 sacks are good for 24th in the country and are tied for third in the league.
- The Aggies lead the nation in sacks (3.9) and tackles for loss (8.8) per game.
- Randy Bond is second in the nation with 2.1 field goals per game.
- Ainias Smith is sixth in the nation with 17.1 yards per punt return. He also has taken one punt back for a touchdown.
