ACU (1-1, 1-0) @ Northern Colorado
Greeley, CO | Nottingham Field
Saturday, Sept. 14 at 3:00 p.m. (CDT)
GAME LINKS
GREELEY, CO. - The newly-ranked ACU football team tries to make it two wins in-a-row when they face Northern Colorado on the road on Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats defeated West Georgia 38-24 in both squads' United Athletic Conference lid-lifter. With the victory, ACU pushed into the FCS national rankings for the first time in school history. The Wildcats are slotted 25th in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, and are also receiving votes for the FCS Coaches Poll.
Northern Colorado has been mired in a 14-game losing streak dating back to the end of the 2022 season; however, they have posted two strong performances this season in road losses to ranked UIW, and Colorado State of the FBS.
Kick-off between ACU and Northern Colorado is scheduled for 3 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. in Greeley, CO) at Nottingham Field. As with every game this season, fans can watch the game on the
ESPN+ streaming platform (requires paid subscription), and also listen to the radio call on
106.3 The Raider.
MAKING HISTORY
- This week ACU cracked the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 -- coming in at #25. It's the first time the Wildcats are nationally ranked since their transition to Division I in 2013.
- ACU is also receiving votes in this week's FCS Coaches Poll.
- The last time ACU appeared in a national ranking was during the 2012 season, which was the Wildcats' last in Division II.
- Six of the remaining 10 opponents on the schedule are either ranked or receiving votes.
- Idaho is ranked #4/#5 and Central Arkansas is #7 in both polls. ACU will host the Vandals on Sept. 21 and the Bears on Oct. 5.
THEY DONE BLOCKED IT!
- Elijah Moffett blocked a FG in the win over West Georgia in week 2.
- It was ACU's first blocked FG since Oct. 24, 2020 against Stephen F. Austin. Jack Gibbens blocked the kick which was picked up by Ryan Stapp and returned 85 yards for an ACU touchdown.
SITTING IT OUT
- Starting DB Izaiah Kelley will sit out the first half of Saturday's game due to a targeting penalty during the 4th quarter of ACU's win vs. West Georgia. Dorian Plumley is expected to start in Kelley's place.
COMING HOME
- Only one ACU player is from the state of Colorado -- guard Jacob Thielen.
- Thielen is from Broomfield, CO, about an hour south of Greeley. He attended Faith Christian Academy in Avada.
MILESTONE AHEAD
- QB Maverick McIvor is just 13 yards from hitting the 5,000 passing yards mark of his ACU career.
- McIvor has started 22 games with the Wildcats, and his 39 career passing touchdowns ranks 8th most in program history.
- A win on Saturday would be ACU's 50th since moving up to Division I.
SERIES HISTORY
- ACU and Northern Colorado were very familiar with each other during some of the best seasons in each program's histories. They played six times in the 1970s and seven times in the 1980s.
- The series returned in 2015-2016.
- Saturday's game finishes a home-and-home agreement with ACU winning in Abilene in 2023.
- ACU leads the overall series 11-6-1
