#19 ACU Faces #4 Idaho in Wildcat Stadium's First Top-25 Match-Up

Saturday, September 21

Abilene

7:00 p.m.

Abilene Christian

Idaho

Buy Tickets

Dorian Plumley celebrating during ACU's win at Northern Colorado

#19 ACU Faces #4 Idaho in Wildcat Stadium's First Top-25 Match-Up

9/19/2024 1:21:00 PM | Football

Wildcats, Vandals Kick-Off on Saturday at 7 p.m.

By: Evan Nemec

#19 ACU (2-1, 1-0) vs. #4 Idaho (2-1, 0-0)
Abilene, TX | Wildcat Stadium
Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7:00 p.m.

GAME LINKS

Buy Tickets | Watch on ESPN+ | Listen on 106.3 The Raider | Live Stats | Weekly Football Press Conference | ACU Game Notes (PDF)

ABILENE - Wildcat Stadium will host its first-ever top 25 match-up on Saturday night with #19 ACU welcoming in Idaho, the #4 ranked team in the FCS.

The Wildcats are coming off an exhilarating victory in Greeley, Co. where kicker Ritse Vaes nailed a game-winning 54-yard field goal on the final snap to complete the 24-22 comeback against Northern Colorado.

ACU climbed up to #19 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, and also made its first appearance in the FCS Coaches Poll at #23.

The Idaho Vandals have looked impressive this season with a 24-14 loss at Oregon, a 17-13 win at Wyoming and a 41-13 takedown of UAlbany, which was ranked #17 at the time.

Tickets are still available for Saturday's showdown in Abilene, including in the Brown Family Club Level.

Kick-off between ACU and Idaho is scheduled for 7 p.m. 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.

THE MAV-MAN

Three-year starting QB Maverick McIvor went over 5,000 career passing yards in last week's win at Northern Colorado.
McIvor has started 23 games coming into Saturday's match-up vs. Idaho.
McIvor has also been careful with the football. He has not thrown an interception in 6 straight games dating back to the 2023 season (220 total attempts).

ROACH KILLER

Redshirt senior DL Kaghen Roach was named the UAC Defensive Player of the Week.
Roach totaled 13 tackles, including three for losses, and one sack in the win at Northern Colorado.
His teammate on the line, Jerry Lawson, had a team-high 15 tackles.

NICK AT NIGHT

Associate HC Nick Holt spent 10 total seasons coaching at Idaho, including as head coach for the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
Holt was Idaho's DL coach from 1990-1993, and was elevated to defensive coordinator from 1994-1997.
He returned in 2004 to be the Vandals' head coach. His teams had a combined 5-18 record in two seasons.
Idaho's current head coach Jason Eck was an assistant during Holt's tenure as head coach.

STATS TO WATCH

One of coach Keith Patterson's stats to watch each week is how many yards per play his defense allows. ACU is 2-0 when giving up less than 5 yards per play (4.4 vs. West Georgia, 3.4 at Northern Colorado).
QB Maverick McIvor is 2nd in FCS in passing yards with 1,032, and 3rd in completions per game with 26.
ACU is 6th in points per game at 37.7.

ACU vs. RANKED OPPONENTS

This is the first Top 25 match-up at Wildcat Stadium. The last time ACU was ranked and played a ranked opponent was in Sept. 2012 -- ACU's final season in Division II.
ACU is 3-8 vs. ranked teams since joining the FCS. The last win was in 2019 at #15 Nicholls.

AN ACU WIN WOULD...

Push ACU's win streak to 3 games for the first time in the Keith Patterson era. ACU's last 3-game winning streak was during the 2021 season (Louisiana College, UT Permian Basin, Lamar). This would be ACU's first where all 3 wins were vs. FCS opponents since 2019 (Houston Baptist, SFA, Nicholls).
GIve ACU a 3-1 start for the third time in the past four seasons. The Wildcats also started 3-1 in 2021 and 2022.