#14 ACU (1-2, 0-0) vs. #18 Austin Peay (2-1, 0-0)
Abilene, TX | Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium
Saturday, Sept. 20 at 7:00 p.m.
GAME LINKS
ABILENE - The No. 14 ACU football team welcomes another nationally ranked opponent to Wildcat Stadium as No. 18 Austin Peay comes to town for a Saturday night clash to begin United Athletic Conference play.
This is the Wildcats' third straight Top 25 matchup at home. ACU defeated Northern Arizona in the first round of the 2024 FCS Playoffs, and rallied to topple Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 6 at Wildcat Stadium.
Saturday's game is also a contest between the last two UAC champions. The Governors won the league in 2023, and ACU took the crown in 2024.
The Wildcats are coming off a 42-21 loss at Big 12 member TCU last Saturday. ACU had four second-half scoring drives and outscored the Horned Frogs 21-14 after halftime. Quarterback
Stone Earle set a new career-high with 276 passing yards, while completing 22-of-29 throws for two touchdowns.
Rovaughn Banks, Jr., had his second career 100-yard rushing game as he gained 105 yards against the Frogs. Receiver
J.B. Mitchell III (88 yards, TD), tight end Bryan "Itty" Henry (4 catches, 50 yards, TD), and cornerback
Tyson Williams (team-high 10 tackles) all had standout performances.
ACU is 7-10 all-time vs. ranked FCS teams, but is 4-1 in their last five dating back to the 2024 season.
Austin Peay has impressed with a season-opening 34-14 win over FBS member Middle Tennessee, a good showing in a 28-6 loss at Georgia, and a 56-7 blowout victory versus Morehead State.
The Governors have the sixth best total defense in the FCS with just 251 yards allowed per game, and only 80 yards on the ground.
Third downs are always a key for ACU head coach
Keith Patterson, and this Saturday's game expects to be an incredible matchup when ACU has the ball. The Wildcats convert 54% of the time on 3rd down (6th in FCS) while Austin Peay's defense forces a stop 73% of the time (8th in FCS). Last week at TCU, the Wildcats converted 12-of-17 3rd downs which tied for the 3rd most conversions in a single-game in ACU's Division I era (since 2013).
Before the game, ACU football lettermen and Brown Family Club Level ticket-holders are invited to a meet-and-greet with former Wildcat offensive line John "Bradshaw" Layfield ('89). Layfield is more widely known as JBL from his WWE Hall of Fame career. The event will be from 4:30-6:00 p.m. on the Brown Family Club Level.
Stick around after the game for a spectacular drone show in the sky over the eastside stands starting approximately 10 minutes after the final whistle.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
ALL ABOUT THE BALL
- ACU did not turn the ball over against TCU, and finished +1 in the turnover margin.
- The Wildcats last time to accomplish those two things against an FBS team was the 2023 season finale at Texas A&M.
- In 2024, ACU was 6-0 when either winning or tying the turnover battle (4-0 winning; 2-0 when tied). The Wildcats went 3-0 when they did not turn the ball over.
OUT OF THE LOCKER ROOM
- The Wildcat offense has scored touchdowns on its first drive of the second half in back-to-back games.
- On Sept. 6 vs SFA, ACU's defense forced a three-and-out, and the offense drove 63 yards for a TD to give them 28 consecutive points against the 'Jacks.
- On Sept. 13 at TCU, the Wildcats received the second-half kickoff and used 9 plays to go 75 yards and score their first points of the game. Stone Earle's 42-yard pass to Itty Henry on 3rd down and 7 was the big play which propelled the drive forward.
MONEY DOWN
- ACU refers to 3rd down as the "money down" to emphasize the importance of converting on offense, and getting stops on defense.
- On Sept. 13 at TCU, the Wildcats converted 12-of-17 3rd downs which tied for the 3rd most conversions in a single-game in ACU's Division I era (since 2013).
- The 71% conversion rate is the Wildcats' highest since converting 10-of-15 (75%) in the UAC championship victory at Tarleton State on Nov. 16, 2024.
- ACU has had two games with 13 conversions since 2013: a 52-27 win vs. UIW in 2016, and a 52-35 win vs. Central Arkansas in 2014.
DISCIPLINED FOOTBALL
- Through three weeks, ACU is leading the United Athletic Conference in average fewest penalties and penalty yards per game.
- The Wildcats are averaging five flags per game for 38 yards in 2025.
- Those numbers are both improvements over 2024 when ACU was flagged 7 times per game for an average of 60 yards.
AN ACU WIN WOULD...
- Make the Wildcats 8-3 in conference openers since joining the FCS, and 3-1 in conference lid-lifters under head coach Keith Patterson.
- Be ACU's fifth win in their last six Top 25 matchups dating back to last season.
- Extend the Wildcats' UAC winning streak to five. ACU lost only one conference game in 2024.
- Make ACU 7-1 in their last 8 home games.
