STEPHENVILLE – Two top-15 teams played a game Saturday night worthy of conference championship contenders. Back and forth. Big play after big play. Each team made great plays on both sides of the ball and in the kicking game. Neither team giving an inch for a full 60 minutes.
It was a game deserving of its championship billing.
After standing in the middle of the ring trading blows for four quarters, 14th-ranked ACU delivered the knockout punch. The Wildcats walked out of Memorial Stadium with a 35-31 win over 13th-ranked Tarleton State, which earned them a United Athletic Conference championship and an automatic berth into the FCS playoffs.
The championship is the Wildcats' first conference football title in the Division I era (since 2013) and the first since the 2010 team won the Lone Star Conference championship. This will be ACU's first appearance in the NCAA playoffs since 2011 (NCAA Division II postseason) and the first at the Division I level.
"(The win) hasn't had time to soak in, to be honest," ACU head coach
Keith Patterson said. "I understand the game's magnitude, and how we won makes it even more special. I might have a clearer perspective of what we accomplished on Sunday or Monday. Winning the conference championship was one of our goals. Another goal was to make the playoffs and compete for a national championship."
Both goals were teetering on the brink with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter after Tarleton responded to ACU's game-tying touchdown drive with a scoring drive of its own. The ACU defense forced Tarleton to settle for a field goal after it stood up on three plays from the five, forcing a 25-yard field goal that gave the Texans a 31-28 lead.
On the sideline, ACU quarterback
Maverick McIvor recalled the work the Wildcats do on a two-minute drill each week during practice.
"Every Thursday, we do a two-minute drill," he said, "and it's just going back to what we know and are good at doing. We run the 'Air Raid' offense and are comfortable in the offense, especially in a two-minute situation. I was just thinking about Thursday's practice and going through everything in my mind. That last drive was all about not skipping steps and trusting the guys around me."
What resulted from that was the most clutch drive by an ACU offense since quarterback Mitchell Gale drove the Wildcats down the field to a go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes against West Texas A&M in 2010. That drive led to a 41-34 win over the Buffs, and the following week, the Wildcats clinched the 2010 Lone Star Conference title, the last time before Saturday that an ACU team won a conference football championship.
The drive McIvor led in the waning stages of Saturday's game weighed heavier. Without a touchdown, the Wildcats wouldn't have claimed either the conference title or a playoff berth. And the odds of an at-large bid to the postseason would have been astronomical.
But McIvor was in a zone on the final drive, completing 9 of 12 passes for all 75 yards. The drive's three incompletions were clock-killing spikes to save precious game time. McIvor converted two short third-down plays into first downs, and on the drive's most crucial play, he hit
J.J. Henry with a 24-yard pass down to the 1-yard line with 25 seconds to play. After a spike to kill the clock on first down, McIvor found running back
Sam Hicks in the end zone with 19 seconds left to give ACU the lead.
Ritse Vaes banged home the all-important PAT, and ACU had a 35-31 lead.
Tarleton moved quickly to the ACU 39-yard line before calling its final timeout with six seconds left. Patterson said he thought Tarleton might try to throw short and set up a shorter throw into the end zone, but the Texans went for the bundle on the final play. The pass into the north end zone by Victor Gabalis toward a trio of Texan receivers was knocked down by
Izaiah Kelley, setting off a wild celebration by the ACU team and staff and the sizable ACU crowd seated in the stands behind the north end zone.
The Wildcats and Texans battled back and forth throughout the game, with ACU going to halftime and leading 17-14. The Texans responded in the third quarter and carried a 21-20 lead into the fourth quarter. The lead went to 28-20 with 12:27 left in the game on a 1-yard touchdown run by Braelon Bridges.
But the Wildcats responded.
Trailing by eight points, the Wildcats drove 77 yards to a touchdown and game-tying 2-point conversion, knotting the game at 28-28. On third-and-7 from the ACU 26 early in the drive, McIvor went over 300 yards passing on the night when he found
Blayne Taylor near the sideline with a first-down throw. Taylor – phenomenal with 10 catches for 168 yards – pulled in the pass with one hand despite being interfered with, turned, and sprinted up the sideline for a 51-yard gain to the Tarleton 23-yard line.
Two passes moved the ball to the 8-yard line, and after a penalty pushed the ball back to the 13,
Sam Hicks went for one yard and then scored on a 12-yard run to bring ACU to within 28-26. ACU went for the 2-point conversion to tie the game and got it when McIvor hit Taylor on a wide receiver screen. He stepped into the end zone behind two blockers to knot the game at 28-28.
As they did on their previous drive when they ran the ball on every play of the touchdown drive, the Texans stayed exclusively on the ground on the ensuing drive, moving 58 yards on 14 running plays. Kayvon Britten – held in check most of the night – had 41 yards on the drive, helping the Texans get to first-and-goal at the ACU 5. But the Wildcat defense stood up, dropping Braelon Bridges for back-to-back losses of two yards and forcing a field goal attempt when Britten was stopped at the 7-yard line. Poston then drilled a 25-yard field goal to give the Texans a 31-28 lead with 1:48 to play.
That set the Wildcats up for the game-winning drive that sealed a championship.
"This means the world to the guys in the locker room, the coaches, and the university," McIvor said. "This is the first time we've won a conference title in the Division I era, and it's just such a great feeling to see the hard work we've all put in pay off."
GAME SUMMARY
How They Scored
1Q (10:52) – ACU opened the game with one of its best drives of the season, converting two third-down plays and a red-zone opportunity into a quick touchdown. On the game's third play,
Maverick McIvor hit
J.J. Henry for five yards and a first down on third-and-3, and three plays later, that combination clicked again for 11 yards on third-and-4. On the next play,
Sam Hicks broke out of a scrum at the line of scrimmage and moved to the left, found the sideline, and sprinted 41 yards to the 5-yard line to set up first-and-goal. ACU wasted no time finding the end zone as McIvor connected with Nehemiah Martinez on a pass into the flat, and Martinez split two tacklers and reached the end zone for the game's first score.
Scoring Play: Nehemiah Martinez 5 pass from Maverick McIvor (Ritse Vaes kick)
Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:08
ACU 7, Tarleton State 0
1Q (8:50) –ACU's defense squeezed Tarleton State running back Kayvon Britten to gains of 2 and 1 yards on the first two plays, and, after a false start penalty moved the ball back to the 11, the Texans were starting at third-and-14. But then the thing that has hurt the ACU defense more than anything this season – the big play – bit the Wildcats again as quarterback Victor Gabalis found Britten for a 31-yard catch-and-run to the ACU 42, and on the next play, he hit Cody Jackson for a 58-yard touchdown pass to get the Texans on the board.
Scoring Play: Cody Jackson 58 pass from Victor Gabalis (Corbin Poston kick)
Drive: 4 plays, 85 yards, 1:59
ACU 7, Tarleton State 7
1Q (0:21) –ACU's offense responded to Tarleton State's touchdown drive with a field goal drive to regain the lead at 10-7. The Wildcats were 3 of 4 on third-down plays, as
Maverick McIvor and
Blayne Taylor connected for 12 yards on third-and-10 early in the drive, Jordan Vaughn ran for three yards on third-and-1, and the Texans jumped offsides on third-and-1 from the Tarelton 11-yard line. But the Wildcats stalled inside the 10, forcing
Ritse Vaes to bang home a 32-yard field goal.
Scoring Play: Ritse Vaes 32 field goal
Drive: 15 plays, 60 yards, 8:29
ACU 10, Tarleton State 7
1Q (0:09) – One play after the Wildcats' 15-play field goal drive ended, the Texans went back in front on another big play against ACU's secondary. On first down, Victor Gabalis threw deep down the right side and connected with a wide-open Darius Cooper, who gathered the ball in at the ACU 40 and coasted into the end zone for the go-ahead score.
Scoring Play: Darius Cooper 75 pass from Victor Gabalis (Corbin Poston kick)
Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:12
Tarleton State 14, ACU 10
2Q (12:17) – The ACU offense answered once again, moving 75 yards in seven plays to the touchdown that put the Wildcats back in front.
Maverick McIvor hit Nehemiah Martinez for a 12-yard gain, then connected with
Blayne Taylor on a 19-yard pass on third-and-12, pushing the ball to the Tarleton 30. After a one-yard gain on third down by
Sam Hicks, McIvor connected with
Javon Gipson down the seam for a 29-yard touchdown pass. Gipson took a big hit in the end zone but hung onto the ball for his second TD catch of the season.
Scoring Play: Javon Gipson 29 pass from Maverick McIvor (Ritse Vaes kick)
Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:52
ACU 17, Tarleon State 14
3Q (13:35) – The Texans wasted no time getting into the end zone to start the second half. On the second play of the half, Victor Gabalis hit Darius Cooper for 33 yards deep down the middle of the field, the Texans' fourth pass play of at least 30 yards in the game. After a 17-yard run by Kayvon Britten to the ACU 22, Gablis and Cooper hooked up again on another touchdown pass, this time on a shot to the post from 22 yards away.
Scoring Play: Darius Cooper 22 pass from Victor Gabalis (Corbin Poston kick)
Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:35
Tarleton State 21, ACU 17
3Q (1:23) – ACU's defense forced a punt, and the Wildcats took over on their 3-yard line, which almost immediately faced a third-and-9. But Tarleton was flagged for pass interference on a deep ball to
Blayne Taylor, and ACU was in business.
Maverick McIvor completed passes of 10 yards to
Sam Hicks and 11 yards to
Blayne Taylor on consecutive plays before Nehemiah Martinez went 13 yards on a reverse. McIvor and Martinez hooked up on a 13-yard pass play, and then he hit
Trey Cleveland for nine yards. Hicks ran for five yards before McIvor found
Jed Castles over the middle for 14 yards to the Tarleton 15-yard line. Hicks went for five yards on first down, but then a pass to
Hut Graham was dropped, and a throw into the front corner of the end zone to Taylor appeared to have been caught and was ruled a touchdown, which would have given the Wildcats the lead. But the replay officials ruled that not only was it not a touchdown, but it wasn't a catch, setting up fourth-and-5 for the Wildcats.
Ritse Vaes banged a 27-yard field goal through the uprights to cut Tarleton's lead to one point.
Scoring Play: Ritse Vaes 27 field goal
Drive: 14 plays, 87 yards, 7:14
Tarleton State 21, ACU 20
4Q (12:27) – The Texans took the ball after the field goal and went 83 yards in eight plays, all on the ground. The biggest play early in the drive was a three-yard run on third-and-2 from its 25-yard line. Five plays later, Braelon Bridges broke up the middle and sprinted 49 yards before
Elijah Moffett dragged him down at the 1-yard line. Bridges scored standing up on the next play to stretch Tarleton's lead to eight points.
Scoring Play: Braelon Bridges 1 run (Corbin Poston kick)
Drive: 8 plays, 83 yards, 3:51
Tarleton State 28, ACU 20
4Q (9:25) – The Wildcats got off the mat after the touchdown that was waved off and the touchdown that Tarleton scored to drive 77 yards in seven plays to the game-tying score. On third-and-7 from the ACU 26,
Maverick McIvor went over 300 yards passing on the night when he found
Blayne Taylor near the sideline with a first-down throw. Taylor pulled in the pass with one hand despite being interfered with, turned, and sprinted up the sideline for a 51-yard gain to the Tarleton 23-yard line. Two passes moved the ball to the 8-yard line, and after a penalty pushed the ball back to the 13,
Sam Hicks went for one yard and then scored on a 12-yard run to bring ACU to within 28-26. ACU went for the 2-point conversion to tie the game and got it when McIvor hit Taylor on a wide receiver screen. He stepped into the end zone behind two blockers to knot the game at 28-28.
Scoring Play: Sam Hicks 12 run (Ritse Vaes kick)
Drive: 7 plays, 77 yards, 2:56
Tarleton State 28, ACU 28
4Q (1:48) – Once again, the Texans stayed exclusively on the ground, moving 58 yards on 14 plays to the go-ahead 25-yard field goal from Corbin Poston. Kayvon Britten – held in check most of the night – had 41 yards on the drive, helping the Texans get to first-and-goal at the ACU 5. But the Wildcat defense stood up, dropping Braelon Bridges for back-to-back losses of two yards and forcing a field goal attempt when Britten was stopped at the 7-yard line. Poston then drilled a 25-yard field goal to give the Texans a 31-28 lead.
Scoring Play: Corbin Poston 25 field goal
Drive: 14 plays, 58 yards, 7:37
Tarleton State 31, ACU 28
4Q (0:19) – The never-say-die Wildcats did what they've done all season: put together a clutch drive when they needed it most. Staring at the end of their dream of a conference championship and a berth in the FCS playoffs, ACU came up with the program's biggest touchdown drive of its Division I era (since 2013), moving 75 yards in 12 plays and taking up just 1:29. Aside from killing the clock twice with three clock-killing spikes,
Maverick McIvor completed 9 of 9 passes for 75 yards including a 24-yard pass to
J.J. Henry down to the 1-yard line. On second down after McIvor killed the clock, he found
Sam Hicks in the front of the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
Scoring Play: Sam Hicks 1 pass from Maverick McIvor (Ritse Vaes kick)
Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 1:29
ACU 35, Tarleton State 31
POST-GAME NOTES
• ACU quarterback
Maverick McIvor continued to climb program career passing charts in touchdown passes and completions. With his 35 completions, he has 625 career completions, which moves him into fifth place in program history, passing Rex Lamberti, who had 595 from 1984-86, 1993. He also finished the game with three touchdown passes, which ties him for fourth all-time with Jim Lindsey, who had 61 from 1967-70.
• McIvor's 35 completions are a career-high and are tied with Luke Anthony (vs. Incarnate Word in 2018) and Loyal Proffitt (vs. Stephen F. Austin in 1983) for the third-most in a game in ACU history. His 55 attempts are also a career-high and are tied with Anthony (vs. Incarnate Word and Angelo State in 2018) and Mitchell Gale (vs. Midwestern State in 2011) for the sixth-most in a game in ACU history.
• Saturday's game marked McIvor's 33rd game as the ACU quarterback, and he has thrown at least two touchdowns in 21 of those games, including in the three against Tarleton State. He has thrown one touchdown in six other games, giving him touchdown passes in 27 of 33 career games. He has eight multi-touchdown games in 2024 and has thrown one touchdown pass in the other three games this season.
• Running back
Sam Hicks finished the game with 137 yards on 24 carries, giving him 986 yards on 163 carries for the season, the most yards in a season by an ACU running back in the program's Division I football era (since 2013). De'Andre Brown recorded 962 yards in 2014 – ACU's second season in DI – the previous high mark. He needs 14 yards to become the first ACU back to run for 1,000 yards since Bernard Scott had 2,156 yards in 2008. If Hicks tops 1,000 yards, he would be only the ninth player in program history to run for 1,000 yards in a season. It would be the 11th 1,000-yard rushing season (Anthony Thomas and Scott each did it twice).
•
Blayne Taylor's big night pushed him to season totals of 61 catches for 951 yards and six touchdowns, sending him closer to a 1,000-yard receiving season. If he reaches that mark, he'll be just the ninth player in program history to top 1,000 yards receiving in a season. Only one player – Taylor Gabriel, with 1,060 yards in 2013 – has topped 1,000 receiving yards in a season in the program's Division I era.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will finish the regular season against old Lone Star Conference, Southland Conference, and Western Athletic Conference rival Stephen F. Austin next Saturday (Nov. 23) in Nacogdoches. Kickoff from Homer Bryce Stadium is at 2 p.m. The Wildcats and Lumberjacks have played 23 times in a series that dates back to 1973, when both teams were in the LSC. The Lumberjacks lead the series 12-11 and have won four straight games over the Wildcats since a 31-24 ACU win in double overtime at Wildcat Stadium in 2019. The day after the contest against SFA (Sunday, Nov. 24), the Wildcats will learn the identity of their first FCS playoff opponent and where that game will be played.
