Texans Blitz ACU Early in 40-27 Win - Abilene Christian Athletics

Saturday, November 7

Stephenville, TX

6 p.m.

Abilene Christian

5-5 , 4-1

Tarleton State

10-0 , 5-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Abilene Christian	10	3	7	7	27
Tarleton St.	21	7	0	12	40

Brandon Johnson celebrates a touchdown run in the 4th quarter against Tarleton State on Nov. 7, 2026

Photo by: Kevan Albright

11/7/2026 10:51:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Lance Fleming

STEPHENVILLE — The ACU Wildcats turned their season around last month, thanks to a gritty, grind-it-out offensive style and the top-ranked defense in the United Athletic Conference. That style helped the Wildcats win five of six, go undefeated in October and carry a 5-4 overall record and a 4-0 mark in the UAC into Saturday night's Hundred-Mile Showdown against Tarleton State in front of 23,986 fans at Memorial Stadium.

The Wildcats, however, couldn't withstand the offensive show the top-ranked Texans put on in the first quarter. Tarleton scored on each of its first two offensive plays and three times on its first six plays to take a 21-10 lead on its way to a 40-27 win over the 22nd-ranked Wildcats.

Tarleton State is now 10-0 overall and 5-0 in the UAC and has the inside track to both the conference title and the No. 1 overall seed in the FCS playoffs. The loss snaps ACU's four-game winning streak, dropping the Wildcats to 5-5 and 4-1. ACU is at No. 7 Austin Peay next Saturday and at home against Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 21 to close out the regular season. The Wildcats must win out, which will leave their playoff fate up to the FCS selection committee.

Tarleton State, which boasts the top overall offense and fifth-ranked scoring offense in FCS football, scored on the first play of the game on a 75-yard touchdown run by Tylan Hines. After ACU answered with a 10-play, 49-yard drive to a 43-yard field goal by Brandon Perez, the Texans answered with another 75-yard touchdown play, this time on a pass from Kaden Anderson to Marquis Willis.

Another 10-play ACU drive followed, but this time the Wildcats punched it into the end zone with quarterback Tucker Parks carrying the ball four yards to make it a 14-10 game. But the Texans' high-flying offense struck quickly again, this time needing four plays to score on a 41-yard pass from Anderson to Willis to push the lead back to two scores at 21-10.

Each team would score again before the end of the first half, and the Texans carried a 28-13 lead into the break.

ACU got the ball to start the second half and methodically got back into the game with a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took 8:04 off the third-quarter clock and was punctuated with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Parks to Dallas Dudley. At 28-20 with 6:56 left in the third quarter, it seemed the Wildcats had all the momentum, and this game seemed likely to become another in a long line of fourth-quarter nail-biters between the teams.

But just as quickly as the Wildcats got back into the game, a series of mistakes — the kind they had managed to stay away from over the previous five weeks — short-circuited their comeback.

Two third-quarter personal-foul penalties and an interception overturned on a defensive holding call, a blocked field goal attempt and a fumble in the fourth quarter all led to the Wildcats' demise.

ACU had a chance to cut the Tarleton lead to 28-23 with 9:45 left in the fourth quarter, but Fredd Adams blocked Perez's 33-yard attempt. The Texans needed just four plays to score as Anderson hooked up with Willis for a 50-yard gain before Hines capped the drive with a six-yard touchdown run to make it 34-20 with 7:37 left.

On ACU's ensuing drive, tight end Jayden York fumbled after catching a short pass from Parks, and Omar Tar Emmons recovered the ball on the ACU 13-yard line. Hines capped his big night and the contest with a 13-yard run on the first play of the drive — the Texans' third one-play scoring drive in the game — to make it 40-20. ACU's Brandon Johnson capped the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run with 1:59 left, his first touchdown of the season.

The trio of Anderson, Hines and Willis was deadly as Anderson completed 7 of 9 passes for 213 yards and two scores while rushing for 33 yards on four carries. Hines had 145 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries, and Willis caught three passes for 166 yards and two scores.

ACU outgained the Texans, 427-419, thanks to a ground game that chewed up 212 yards on 49 carries, led by Alex Broome, who had 10 carries for 95 yards and Parks, who finished with 44 yards and one touchdown on 19 bruising carries. Cristian Driver led the Wildcats with 71 yards on four catches. Parks completed 25 of 30 passes for 215 yards and one touchdown, completing a pass to 10 different receivers.

STAT PACK

The Texans needed only six plays to rack up 225 yards and 21 points in the first quarter, but were limited to just 194 yards the rest of the way.
ACU ran off 79 plays to 34 for Tarleton, had 25 first downs to 14 for the Texans, pounded out 427 total yards to 419 for Tarleton and held the ball for 43 minutes, 25 seconds.
Alex Broome's 95 yards rushing were a career high for the ACU transfer from Boston College.
Tucker Parks — third in the country in completion percentage entering the game — completed 83.3 percent of his throws Saturday night against Tarleton State, finishing the game 25 of 30.
The Wildcats' drive to open the third quarter took 8:04 off the clock, the team's third drive of more than eight minutes this season (8:14 against Idaho and 8:11 against Central Arkansas).
The last time ACU had a field goal blocked before Tarleton blocked the 33-yard effort by Brandon Perez in the third quarter Saturday was Nov. 16, 2024, when Tarleton State's Villami Wolfgramm blocked an attempt by Ritse Vaes.

UP NEXT

ACU will put its playoff hopes on the line Saturday in Clarksville, Tennessee, when the Wildcats take on No. 7 Austin Peay at 1 p.m. on ESPN+. The Wildcats are 2-0 against the Governors, including a 35-34 win in Clarksville in 2024. ACU rallied from a 27-13 halftime deficit to win.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE