No. 12 ACU Sputters After Hot Start at No. 24 UIW

SAN ANTONIO - The No. 12 ACU football team's fast strike was stonewalled by No. 24 Incarnate Word in a 38-7 loss on Saturday night.

The Wildcats (2-3, 1-0 UAC) forced a punt by the Cardinals to start the game, and followed it up by going 88 yards in three plays and 1:09. On ACU"s first offensive play Rovaughn Banks, Jr., scampered 66 yards down the right sideline to UIW's 22-yard line. The rush was the Wildcats' longest play of the season. 

After a short completion, Stone Earle hit Dallas Dudley for a 21-yard touchdown less than 4:00 into the game.

But the next UIW drive started the night's overwhelming trend: lengthy Cardinal possessions with multiple third-down conversions which kept ACU's offense on the sideline.

UIW had six drives of at least nine plays, including touchdown drives of 12, 15 and 16 plays. The Cardinals ran 54 first-half plays compared to ACU's 21. UIW finished with 89 offensive snaps.

Cardinals quarterback E.J. Colson, a transfer from UCF, made life difficult for ACU's defense with his ability to escape pressure, keep plays alive and tuck and run when needed. Colson finished 17-of-30 through the air for 122 yards, and added 103 rushing yards with three total touchdowns.

Down 17-7 nearing halftime, ACU had a chance to double-up when they received the second-half kickoff. An 8-play, 69-yard drive was stopped on the 1-yard line when Stone Earle's pass was deflected by a blitzing UIW defender, bounced off an offensive lineman who was on the ground, and subsequently ricocheted four more times before UIW's Michael Pleas, Jr., snatched the ball for an incredible, and unfortunate, interception.

Banks finished with 110 yards rushing for his his third career 100-yard game, and his second in the past three contests. Banks also ran for 106 yards at TCU on Sept. 13.

Two ACU defenders set new career-highs for tackles in a single-game. Rashon Myles, Jr., was credited 14 stops, while Jordan Mukes had 11 tackles.

UP NEXT

The Wildcats return to Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 4, when they return to UAC play against North Alabama. Kickoff is a 3 p.m.