Saturday, October 17
Florence, AL
6 p.m.
Abilene Christian
at
North Alabama
Photo by: Kaylee Kahn
Battle of UAC Unbeatens for ACU at North Alabama
10/15/2026 10:09:00 AM | Football
(RV) ACU (3-4, 2-0) at (RV) North Alabama (4-2, 1-0)
Florence, AL | Bobby Wallace Field at Bank Independent Stadium
Saturday, Oct. 17, at 6 p.m. CT
GAME LINKS
FLORENCE, Ala. - The Abilene Christian football team hits the road for the first time in a month to tussle with the North Alabama Lions in a battle of teams with unblemished United Athletic Conference records. Saturday's game will kickoff at 6 p.m. from the brand-new Bank Independent Stadium, just north of the Tennessee River in scenic Florence, Ala.
The Wildcats are riding a two-game winning streak with victories over No. 17 West Florida, 35-7, and Central Arkansas, 20-14. ACU's defense pitched a 1st half shutout in both games, holding respective 28-0 and 17-0 halftime leads.
Last week ACU pieced together some of its longest drives by number of plays and time of possession to limit the Bears. The game started with a season-long 18-play drive taking 7:30 off the clock. The Wildcats finished the game by holding the ball for the final 8:11. ACU converted 10-of-14 (71%) 3rd downs, the most since moving the chains 12 times at TCU on Sept. 13, 2025.
For just the second time in 2026 ACU won the turnover battle as it was +2 against Central Arkansas with an interception by Santana Miller and a fumble recovery by Boone Morris. The other game where ACU was positive in the turnover margin (+2) was the win at Idaho on Sept. 19.
Tight end Jayden York surpassed the 100-yard mark, the first Wildcat in 2026,Â
ACU is in first place in the UAC as the only team with a 2-0 conference record. The Wildcats started 3-0 in the UAC in 2024 and 2025; both turned into championship seasons. North Alabama rallied to defeat Eastern Kentucky in its conference lid-lifter on Oct. 3, and then enjoyed an open week. The Lions have won three straight games and are 2-0 on their new on-campus home turf of Bank Independent Stadium, which ACU fans may notice is similar in appearance to Wildcat Stadium. North Alabama officials toured Wildcat Stadium when making design plans for Bank Independent Stadium.
Saturday's game will stream on ESPN+. Grant Boone and Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Reese have the call on the ACU Sports Network.
SERIES MATCHUP
NUMBERS TO KNOW
0 - Points allowed by ACU in the 1st half of its past two games. The Wildcats shut out both West Florida and Central Arkansas, holding halftime leads of 28-0 vs. UWF and 17-0 vs. UCA.
104 - Receiving yards by TE Jayden York last week (new career-high), becoming the first Wildcat to pass the 100-yard mark this season.
5th - Saturday is just ACU's 5th game in the state of Alabama. The Wildcats are 2-2 in the Yellowhammer State with two wins coming at Troy in 1975 and 2014.
79% - Keith Patterson's winning percentage in conference games as ACU's head coach. He holds a 22-6 record with 16 wins in the last 18 games.
AN ACU WIN WOULD...
LAST TIME OUT
(new) YORK, (new) YORK
SMOOTH BY SANTANA
MARCH AHEAD!
CLIMBING THEÂ LEADERBOARD
WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE
Â
Florence, AL | Bobby Wallace Field at Bank Independent Stadium
Saturday, Oct. 17, at 6 p.m. CT
GAME LINKS
- Watch on ESPN+Â | Listen on ACU Sports Network |Â Live Stats
- Weekly Press Conference | ACU Game Notes (PDF)
FLORENCE, Ala. - The Abilene Christian football team hits the road for the first time in a month to tussle with the North Alabama Lions in a battle of teams with unblemished United Athletic Conference records. Saturday's game will kickoff at 6 p.m. from the brand-new Bank Independent Stadium, just north of the Tennessee River in scenic Florence, Ala.
The Wildcats are riding a two-game winning streak with victories over No. 17 West Florida, 35-7, and Central Arkansas, 20-14. ACU's defense pitched a 1st half shutout in both games, holding respective 28-0 and 17-0 halftime leads.
Last week ACU pieced together some of its longest drives by number of plays and time of possession to limit the Bears. The game started with a season-long 18-play drive taking 7:30 off the clock. The Wildcats finished the game by holding the ball for the final 8:11. ACU converted 10-of-14 (71%) 3rd downs, the most since moving the chains 12 times at TCU on Sept. 13, 2025.
For just the second time in 2026 ACU won the turnover battle as it was +2 against Central Arkansas with an interception by Santana Miller and a fumble recovery by Boone Morris. The other game where ACU was positive in the turnover margin (+2) was the win at Idaho on Sept. 19.
Tight end Jayden York surpassed the 100-yard mark, the first Wildcat in 2026,Â
ACU is in first place in the UAC as the only team with a 2-0 conference record. The Wildcats started 3-0 in the UAC in 2024 and 2025; both turned into championship seasons. North Alabama rallied to defeat Eastern Kentucky in its conference lid-lifter on Oct. 3, and then enjoyed an open week. The Lions have won three straight games and are 2-0 on their new on-campus home turf of Bank Independent Stadium, which ACU fans may notice is similar in appearance to Wildcat Stadium. North Alabama officials toured Wildcat Stadium when making design plans for Bank Independent Stadium.
Saturday's game will stream on ESPN+. Grant Boone and Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Reese have the call on the ACU Sports Network.
SERIES MATCHUP
- Series tied 2-2
- In Florence - North Alabama leads 1-0
- Last Meeting - Oct.4, 2025: ACU won 52-23. The Wildcats scored the first 21 points and extended the lead to 45-10 in the 3rd quarter. TE Itty Henry caught 2 touchdowns, and ACU had 499 total yards of offense.
- Last Time in Florence - Oct. 12, 2024: North Alabama won 47-34 when ACU was ranked #10 in the country
NUMBERS TO KNOW
0 - Points allowed by ACU in the 1st half of its past two games. The Wildcats shut out both West Florida and Central Arkansas, holding halftime leads of 28-0 vs. UWF and 17-0 vs. UCA.
104 - Receiving yards by TE Jayden York last week (new career-high), becoming the first Wildcat to pass the 100-yard mark this season.
5th - Saturday is just ACU's 5th game in the state of Alabama. The Wildcats are 2-2 in the Yellowhammer State with two wins coming at Troy in 1975 and 2014.
79% - Keith Patterson's winning percentage in conference games as ACU's head coach. He holds a 22-6 record with 16 wins in the last 18 games.
AN ACU WIN WOULD...
- Give the Wildcats a 3-0 start to conference for the 3rd straight season. The last time ACU has had a 3-0 conference in 3 straight seasons was 2009-11.
- Bring their overall record to .500 for the first time this season.
- Be the Wildcats' 17th win in their last 19 conference games.
- Push HC Keith Patterson to 5th place in ACU's all-time coaching leaderboard, passing Ted Sitton.
LAST TIME OUT
- ACU held the ball for 12 more minutes than Central Arkansas as the Wildcats grinded out a 20-14 win at home.
- For the second straight game, ACU's defense pitched a 1st half shutout as the Cats held a 17-0 halftime lead.
- ACU converted 10-of-14 3rd downs (71%) -- their most conversions in 2026. Last season, ACU had two games with double-digit 3rd down conversions: 12-of-17 in a loss at TCU, and 10-of-15 in a win at West Georgia.
- QB Tucker Parks scored a rushing touchdown for the third time in his past four games.
- WR Dallas Dudley, a preseason All-UAC selection, caught his first TD of the season. Dudley was hindered early in the year with injuries.
- ACU kept the same starting 11 on defense for the second game in-a-row, but went with a 4-WR formation to begin the game on offense, a first this season. Freshman JC French-Love made his first career start.
(new) YORK, (new) YORK
- TE Jayden York became the first Wildcat to go over 100 receiving yards this season as he hauled in 8 passes for 104 yards vs. Central Arkansas.
- On back-to-back plays, the Houston transfer had catches of 29 and 32 yards on short passes where he broke tackles and displayed his eye-popping speed for a 6-5, 240-lbs player.
- Two weeks ago against West Florida, York recorded his first career TD catch.
SMOOTH BY SANTANA
- LB Santana Miller was a part of his third takeaway. During Central Arkansas' first drive on a 4th and 1, Miller jumped in the passing lane, tipped the ball to himself and returned the interception 29 yards to set up a touchdown.
- Miller missed the first 3 games of the season, but made his debut at Idaho where he had a forced fumble.
- He also recovered a fumble vs. West Florida.
- Miller was feared to be out for the season, but team doctors opted for a different surgery which allowed him to return to the field.
- The JUCO national champion has recorded 17 tackles and 4 TFL in his 4 games.
MARCH AHEAD!
- ACU went on several lengthy drives, draining the clock and limiting the Bears to just 7 possessions the entire game.
- ACU had 4 drives of at least 4:45, and 3 drives of 5:00+
- 18 plays, 66 yards, 7:30, FG
- 10 plays, 75 yards, 5:53, TD
- 7 plays, 61 yards, 4:46, FG
- 15 plays, 57 yards, 8:11, end of game
- Central Arkansas was held to 47 offensive plays (23 in 1st half, 24 in 2nd half).
CLIMBING THEÂ LEADERBOARD
- HC Keith Patterson is currently tied for 5th place in ACU history for most coaching wins.
- His next victory will push him to 34, surpassing Ted Sitton who went 33-28-1 in six seasons from 1979-84.
- Patterson ranks 4th in wins per season with 6.6, trailing only Dewitt Jones (9.0 wins), Chris Thomsen (7.2) and Wally Bullington (6.9).
WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE
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Players Mentioned
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