#24 ACU Goes for 8th Straight Homecoming Win on Saturday

#24 ACU (4-4, 3-0) vs. West Georgia (1-7, 0-3)
Abilene, TX | Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium
Saturday, Oct. 31, at 3 p.m.

GAME LINKS

ABILENE - The Abilene Christian football team returns to Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium for a tilt against West Georgia during Homecoming presented by Texas Ford Dealers at 3 p.m. Saturday.

The Wildcats are riding a three-game winning streak, and have won four of their last five. Before enjoying the open week, ACU defeated North Alabama on a 37-yard field goal on the final play, earning kicker Brandon Perez the United Athletic Conference Specialist of the Week award for the second time this season. Perez made all three of his attempts against the Lions and is now 9/12 on the season.

The victory pushed ACU to 3-0 in conference, which puts them tied for 1st place with Tarleton State. The Wildcats and Texans meet in Stephenville on Nov. 7. It is the third straight year ACU has started conference play with a 3-0 record.

West Georgia lost to Tarleton State 49-6 last week, and starting quarterback Colton Fitzgerald was knocked out of the game and did not play in the second half. The Wolves are optimistic he will play against ACU. In the 2025 meeting between the teams in Carrollton, Ga., Fitzgerald threw for 279 yards and one touchdown as he filled in for UWG's injured starting signal-caller.

ACU head coach Keith Patterson is now in sole possession of 5th place in program history for most wins with 34, surpassing Ted Sitton in the Wildcats' last game.

A win over West Georgia would finish a perfect 4-0 October, which ACU has not done since 2010 when it rolled through the regular season to an unblemished 11-0 record.

This will be ACU's first game on Halloween since 2020 when Blair Zepeda drilled a walkoff field goal to upend Mercer in Macon, Ga. The Wildcats are 7-6 all-time on Oct. 31, but have won six of their last eight on Halloween.

Saturday's game will stream on ESPN+ with Grant Boone, Voice of the Wildcats, and former ACU running back De'Andre Brown on the call.

SERIES MATCHUP

Saturday will be the third overall meeting with ACU leading the series 2-0
On Oct. 11, 2025, ACU won 30-13 in a Top 25 matchup where the Wildcats scored 21 unanswered points
The first meeting was in 2024 in Abilene one week after ACU took Texas Tech to overtime. The Wildcats defeated the Wolves 38-24.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

37 - -yard field goal made by Brandon Perez on the game's final play to beat North Alabama two weeks ago. It is ACU's third win on a walkoff field goal in the past three years.
57 - Number of ACU Homecoming victories in school history. The Wildcats are 57-35-1 all-time on Homecoming, and are 10-2 since moving to Division I in 2013.
72% - QB Tucker Parks' completion percentage, which leads the UAC and ranks 4th in the FCS.
10 - Number of consecutive conference wins at Wildcat Stadium dating back to the start of the 2024 season. ACU has gone 4-0 at home in UAC play each of the past two years.

AN ACU WIN WOULD...

Give the Wildcats a 4-0 start to conference for the first time in the Patterson era. The last time ACU had a 4-0 conference record was when they did it in 6 straight seasons from 2006-11.
Be the Wildcats' 18th win in their last 20 conference games.
Extend ACU's winning streak on Homecoming to 8 straight.
Keep the Wildcats in 1st place in the United Athletic Conference.

LAST TIME OUT

ACU trailed at halftime and the end of the 3rd quarter, but rallied to defeat North Alabama on a last-play, 37-yard FG to win 31-28 before enjoying an open week.
Tied at 28 with 3:34 left, the Wildcats used 10 plays to drive 54 yards to set up Brandon Perez for the winning kick.
WR Cristian Driver returned to the lineup for the first time in a month and caught a 76-yard TD pass on ACU's first offensive snap.
Carson Finney partially blocked a North Alabama punt, which led to a 45-yard FG by Perez. It was ACU's first blocked punt since Nov. 12, 2022 vs. Sam Houston.
ACU scored its first 3rd quarter touchdown all season with a 7-play, 75-yard drive to start the second half. It was also the first time the Wildcats have scored on their first possession of the second half this year.

THE DRIVER'S SEAT

WR Cristian Driver had the best game of his career with 6 catches for 133 yards and TD at North Alabama.
His 76-yard pass from Tucker Parks was ACU's longest pass since Nov. 5, 2022 when Maverick McIvor hit Davion Johnson for an 80-yard score.
It marked the second straight game with a Wildcat recording a 100-yard receiving game.
TE Jayden York had 104 yards vs. Central Arkansas on Oct. 10.

HOMECOMING

ACU is 57-35-1 all-time on Homecoming, including a 10-2 record in the Division I era.
The Wildcats have won 7 straight years on Homecoming (last loss was in 2017).
ACU has had 13 games at Wildcat Stadium with an attendance of at least 10,000. Six of those 13 have been Homecoming games.

HALLOWEEN HISTORY

ACU is 7-6 all-time when playing on Halloween with the last game a 20-17 win on a final-play FG at Mercer in 2020.
The Wildcats have won 6 of their last 8 games on Halloween.
One of ACU's best passing performances came on Halloween 1970 when JIm Lindsey threw for 402 yards in a 33-13 win at Drake.

WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE

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Players Mentioned

Cristian Driver

Carson Finney

Tucker Parks

Brandon Perez

Jayden York

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