Wildcats Ready for Round 2 Playoff Game at Rival Stephen F. Austin

#13 ACU (9-4, 7-1 UAC) at #10 Stephen F. Austin (10-2, 8-0)
Presented by Alon DK, Barr Residential Roofing, First Financial and Fuzzy's Taco Shop
Nacogdoches, TX | Homer Bryce Stadium
Saturday, Dec. 6, at 1 p.m.

GAME LINKS

• Buy Tickets | Watch on ESPN+ | Listen on the ACU Sports Network | Live Stats | Playoff Program
• Weekly Press Conference | ACU Game Notes (PDF) 

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The ACU football team faces Stephen F. Austin, a team they've already defeated this season, with a spot in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs on the line Saturday afternoon in East Texas. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

The Wildcats beat the Lumberjacks 28-20 in week two of the season on Sept. 6. ACU trailed 14-0 in the second quarter, but rallied to score 28 unanswered, including a recovered fumble in the endzone for a touchdown by Kaghen Roach.

ACU advanced to round two of the Division I Football Championship with a 38-20 home victory over Lamar on Nov. 29. The Wildcats led 24-0, and the defense allowed just 95 rushing yards marking the fourth time in the past five games they've held their opponent to under 100 rushing yards.

Saturday's game will be a battle of teams with lengthy winning streaks. ACU has won five in-a-row, while SFA has won 10 straight and has not lost since the first meeting with the Wildcats in Abilene.

Senior Javon Gipson has recorded three consecutive 100-yard receiving games -- 100 at Eastkern Kentucky, 188 at Central Arkansas, and 164 vs. Lamar. He is the first Wildcat to string together three straight 100-yard receiving performances since Taylor Gabriel in the last three contests of the 2011 season.

The Lumberjacks boast one of the best defenses in the country. They allow 15 points per game (3rd in FCS), 253 offensive yards (2nd), and 78 yards on the ground (2nd).

Success on third down is always a key for ACU head coach Keith Patterson, and something will have to give on Saturday. The Wildcat offense converts on 47% of its third downs (15th in FCS), while the 'Jack defense stops its opponent 70% of the time (2nd).

SFA leads the all-time series with ACU 14-13. Nine of the last 13 meetings have been decided by one score with ACU winning five of those nine. This is the 5th straight year the Wildcats have traveled to play in Nacogdoches.

The winner advances to face either No. 2 Montana State, or unseeded Yale in the quarterfinals on either Friday, Dec. 12 or Saturday, Dec. 13 with a time and television network to be determined.








LAST MEETING vs. SFA

• ACU and Stephen F. Austin played in Abilene in week two this season with the Wildcats winning 28-20.
• ACU trailed 14-0 halfway through the 2nd quarter, but then scored 28 unanswered. It is tied for the largest comeback win in ACU's Division I era. HC Keith Patterson has four double-digit comeback wins in his four seasons.
• The defense forced three turnovers and cashed in with 14 points off those takeaways. DE Kaghen Roach recovered a fumble in the endzone for an ACU TD, and four plays later DL Chris Wright recovered another fumble, which led to a Jordon Vaughn TD.
• ACU had its 2nd longest drive by plays (16) and third longest by time (6:44) with an 82-yd TD drive.
• This will be the 6th time for Patterson to lead ACU against SFA in his four seasons.

BACK IN THE NAC

• ACU is traveling to play SFA in Nacogdoches for the fifth straight season.
• Following a game at SFA in 2021, the teams played a home-and-home series in 2022 due to the WAC only having five football members at the time.
• The series resumed in Nacogdoches in 2023, and then in the summer of 2024 SFA abruptly announced its departure from the WAC/UAC and return to the Southland Conference. The Wildcats and Jacks scrambled to stay on each other's nonconference schedule in 2024, but the venue flipped from Wildcat Stadium to Homer Bryce Stadium.
• In Sept. 2025, SFA played at ACU, and the Jacks will head back to West Texas against in Sept. 2026.
• Four times before ACU has played a road game against the same opponent in 5+ consecutive seasons.
• It happened twice in the 1930s (at North Texas, 1931-37, at Tarleton, 1930-34); once in the 1950s (at Chattanooga, 1955-60), and most recently with North Texas from 1989-94.
• Nine games between ACU and SFA in Nacogdoches have been one-score games (ACU: 4-5 in those games).

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

• Entering the FCS Playoffs, ACU has the 6th toughest strength of schedule of the 24 teams in the field.
• ACU's opponents went 71-70 in the regular season. 
• Stephen F. Austin has the 18th ranked SOS (or, 6th worst) at 57-74.

NUMBERS TO KNOW...

• 51 - Avg. number of rushing yards ACU has allowed in its last 3 games: 10 at EKU, 47 at Central Arkansas, 95 vs. Lamar.
• 452 - Receiving yards by Javon Gipson in the past three games. Gipson had 100 yards at Eastern Kentucky, a career-high 188 at Central Arkansas, and 164 vs. Lamar.
• 5-1 -  ACU's record vs. Top 25 opponents this season which includes the 28-20 win vs. Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 6. when the 'Jacks were ranked #25.

AN ACU WIN WOULD...

• Send the Wildcats to face either No. 2 Montana State or Yale in the FCS Quarterfinals next week.
• Be the Wildcats' first road win over a Top 10 team in 15 years (#5 ACU 31 beat #6 Texas A&M-Kingsville 24 on Oct. 2, 2010).
• Extend ACU's winning streak to 6 for the first time since 2010 when the Cats won their first 11 games of the season.
• Be the first time to win multiple playoff games in a season since the 1977 NAIA national championship team.
• Give ACU its first 10-win season since going 11-1 in 2010.