#19 ACU (3-3, 2-0) at #21 West Georgia (5-1, 1-1)
Carrollton, GA | University Stadium
Saturday, Oct. 11 at 1:00 p.m. CT
GAME LINKS
CARROLLTON, Ga. - The No. 19 Abilene Christian football team plays for a 3-0 conference record for the second year in-a-row when the Wildcats face No. 21 West Georgia on Saturday afternoon.
Kickoff is at 1 p.m. CT.
ACU plowed over North Alabama last week 52-23 -- marking the most points the Wildcats have scored against an FCS opponent at home in their Division I era. Quarterback
Stone Earle was completed his first 13 passes on his way to a 261-yard, 4-touchdown performance. Two of those scores went to Bryan "Itty" Henry, while
J.J. Henry and
Javon Gipson both hauled in TD on long pass plays. It's the second time in three games Earle has tossed four touchdowns, and he is now first in the United Athletic Conference in passing yards (1,411) and completion percentage (68%).
Running back
Jordon Vaughn entered the highlight reel with a 75-yard TD run which saw him first stiff-arm a defender, and then outpace the defense for ACU's longest offensive play of the season.
ACU's defense forced four takeaways -- all fumbles, with two recovered by redshirt senior
Colt Cooper. The Wildcats lead the FCS in fumble recoveries with nine for the season.
Rashon Myles, Jr., is first in the country with four recoveries himself.
Saturday is the second all-time meeting between ACU and West Georgia. The Wildcats dispatched the Wolves 38-24 in Abilene last season. A fourth-quarter,
Tyson Williams interception set up a touchdown pass from
Maverick McIvor to Itty Henry for the game-sealing touchdown. West Georgia in the second year of its transition period from Division II to Division I athletics.
ACU has won eight of its last nine UAC games dating back to the 2024 season when the Wildcats went 7-1 and won the conference championship.
LAST TIME OUT
- ACU forced North Alabama into four consecutive 3-and-outs to begin the game, and the Wildcat offense scored touchdowns on drives of 76, 67 and 85 yards to lead 21-0 by the 9:50 mark of the 2nd quarter.
- RB Jordon Vaughn's 75-yard TD run tied for the longest rush in the history of Wildcat Stadium, which opened in 2017.
- QB Stone Earle completed his first 13 of passes, throwing for 187 yards and 2 TD in that stretch. He finished 22-of-32 for 261 yards and 4 TD. It was his second time in the past three games to throw 4 TD.
- Six different ACU players scored TD with TE Itty Henry catching two passes. J.J. Henry and Javon Gipson also found the endzone. On the ground, Vaughn, E.J. Wilson and WR Grant Jones all ran for scores.
- DL Colt Cooper recovered two fumbles -- the first of his career. Cooper is ACU's only current student-athlete who has been at the university for five years. He was featured on this week's ACU Sports Podcast.
- DL Zion Fonua made his first college start and totaled 6 tackles, 2 TFL and his first career sack.
- Four defensive standouts made the 20th start of their respective careers at ACU: DL Kaghen Roach, LB Will Shaffer & Chris Wright, and CB Tyson Williams. Those four have started every game since the 2024 opener.
- The win improved HC Keith Patterson's home record to 15-4 (.789 winning percentage).
IN THE TOP 25
- Coming in at #19 in this week's Stats Perform Top 25, ACU has been nationally ranked for 19 consecutive weeks.
- That is the 11th longest active streak among FCS teams. Teams directly ahead of ACU include Tarleton State and Illinois State at 21 weeks, UC Davis at 24, and Villanova at 28.
- Defending national champion North Dakota State -- who ACU led 17-3 in the second round of last year's FCS Playoffs -- is in the Top 25 for a record-setting 210th straight week.
3-0 START TO CONFERENCE ON THE LINE
- ACU is playing for a second straight 3-0 start in conference play.
- The Wildcats have had a 3-0 conference record 9 times before -- 1973, 1986, 2006-11, and 2024.
- Eight of those teams made their respective playoffs (NAIA, Division II, or FCS).
- Four of those teams won conference championships, including the 2024 team which won the UAC with a 7-1 league record.
WILDCATS IN THE PEACH STATE
- This is the third ever game ACU has played in the state of Georgia. ACU split the first two games.
- 2014: at Georgia State, L 38-37; GSU kicked a last-second FG to beat ACU in Atlanta
- 2020: at Mercer, W 20-17; ACU won on a 38-yard FG by Blair Zepeda on final snap in Macon
NUMBERS TO KNOW...
- 72% - Keith Patterson's winning percentage against teams currently in the UAC (13-5 record).
- 5 - Number of explosive plays by ACU in last Saturday's win vs. North Alabama -- a new season-high. ACU had two 30+ yard passes, two 20+ yard runs, and a kickoff return of 36 yards. Two of those 5 explosive plays went for touchdowns.
- 3-0 - ACU's record when having a better offensive 3rd down conversion rate than their opponent in 2025.
AN ACU WIN WOULD...
- Make the Wildcats to 6-2 in their last eight games vs. Top 25 opponents.
- Improve ACU to 9-1 in their last ten UAC games.
- Give ACU a winning streak for the first time since Oct.-Nov. 2024 (won 4 straight).
