Saturday, September 12
Abilene
7 p.m.
Abilene Christian
vs
Stephen F. Austin
Photo by: Jonathan Sargent
ACU Puts 10-Game Home Winning Streak on the Line vs. SFA
9/11/2026 9:19:00 AM | Football
#23 ACU (0-2) vs. #9 Stephen F. Austin (2-0, 2-0 Southland)
Abilene, TX | Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium
Saturday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. CT
GAME LINKS
ABILENE – The No. 23 Abilene Christian football team plays its first home game of 2026 when the Wildcats welcome nonconference rival Stephen F. Austin, ranked No. 9 in the FCS, to Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m. for a Blackout presented by First Financial Bank.
The Wildcats have won 10 straight home games, which is the 3rd longest active streak in the FCS and 3rd longest in program history. During the stretch, ACU has defeated five ranked opponents, including two Top 5 teams, and won two playoff games. A win on Saturday would tie for the ACU record of 11 consecutive victories which has been done twice before from 1973-74 and 1977-79.
ACU will don black jerseys and pants, and a black helmet featuring the 'Abilene' script logo on either side. It is believed to be the first time for the Wildcats to ever wear a black helmet, and will be the first variation from traditional purple/white uniforms in Keith Patterson's five seasons as head coach. He joked he had "a weak moment and gave in" when players asked for him to order black uniforms.
The recent history between the Wildcats and Lumberjacks is incredibly even with 10 of the last 14 meetings decided by one-score, and six of those games by three points or fewer. Saturday's matchup will be the 7th in the last five seasons with the largest margin of victory in that span being a 13-point SFA win in 2024. The two teams played twice last season with ACU rallying to win 28-20 in the regular season, and SFA pulling off a 41-34 comeback in round two of the FCS Playoffs in December. During September's game in Abilene, the Wildcats trailed 14-0 by the midway point of the 2nd quarter before rattling off 28 straight points. The 14-point deficit is tied for the largest comeback win in ACU's Division I era with the 38-35 victory at Troy in 2014, which is the Cats' only win over an FBS opponent. Patterson has led ACU to four double-digit comeback victories.
The Jacks lead the all-time series, which dates back to 1973, 15-13. Add up the point totals from all previous 28 games and you'll see how tight the series has been with an average score of ACU 28, SFA 27.
The Wildcats (0-2) are coming off a 33-10 loss to Texas Tech, ranked No. 12 in the FBS at the time. There were several positives for ACU, including Alex Broome's 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter which earned him the United Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week award. It was the 5th longest kickoff return in ACU history, and the Wildcats' first for a touchdown since 2019.
After going down 14-0, the Wildcats kept the Red Raiders out of the endzone for the next 44:39 of game time. ACU's defense forced Tech to kick four field goals, including three once they entered the redzone.
Stephen F. Austin (2-0) opened its season with back-to-back Southland Conference wins over McNeese (38-27) and East Texas A&M (44-7). The Jacks won the league in 2025 and reached the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs, losing to eventual national champion Montana State. SFA has been balanced offensively with 240 yards passing and 197 on the ground through two games. Its defense has also already intercepted five passes and recovered two fumbles.
Saturday's game wil stream on ESPN+ with play-by-play broadcaster extraordinaire Andy Penney, former ACU running back De'Andre Brown joining the crew as color commentator, and sideline reporter Madisen O'Shields.
SERIES MATCHUP
AN ACU WIN WOULD...
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
LAST TIME OUT
CAREER NIGHTS
HERE COMES THE BROOME!
CATCH ME RIDIN' 30
Abilene, TX | Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium
Saturday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. CT
GAME LINKS
ABILENE – The No. 23 Abilene Christian football team plays its first home game of 2026 when the Wildcats welcome nonconference rival Stephen F. Austin, ranked No. 9 in the FCS, to Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m. for a Blackout presented by First Financial Bank.
The Wildcats have won 10 straight home games, which is the 3rd longest active streak in the FCS and 3rd longest in program history. During the stretch, ACU has defeated five ranked opponents, including two Top 5 teams, and won two playoff games. A win on Saturday would tie for the ACU record of 11 consecutive victories which has been done twice before from 1973-74 and 1977-79.
ACU will don black jerseys and pants, and a black helmet featuring the 'Abilene' script logo on either side. It is believed to be the first time for the Wildcats to ever wear a black helmet, and will be the first variation from traditional purple/white uniforms in Keith Patterson's five seasons as head coach. He joked he had "a weak moment and gave in" when players asked for him to order black uniforms.
The recent history between the Wildcats and Lumberjacks is incredibly even with 10 of the last 14 meetings decided by one-score, and six of those games by three points or fewer. Saturday's matchup will be the 7th in the last five seasons with the largest margin of victory in that span being a 13-point SFA win in 2024. The two teams played twice last season with ACU rallying to win 28-20 in the regular season, and SFA pulling off a 41-34 comeback in round two of the FCS Playoffs in December. During September's game in Abilene, the Wildcats trailed 14-0 by the midway point of the 2nd quarter before rattling off 28 straight points. The 14-point deficit is tied for the largest comeback win in ACU's Division I era with the 38-35 victory at Troy in 2014, which is the Cats' only win over an FBS opponent. Patterson has led ACU to four double-digit comeback victories.
The Jacks lead the all-time series, which dates back to 1973, 15-13. Add up the point totals from all previous 28 games and you'll see how tight the series has been with an average score of ACU 28, SFA 27.
The Wildcats (0-2) are coming off a 33-10 loss to Texas Tech, ranked No. 12 in the FBS at the time. There were several positives for ACU, including Alex Broome's 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter which earned him the United Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week award. It was the 5th longest kickoff return in ACU history, and the Wildcats' first for a touchdown since 2019.
After going down 14-0, the Wildcats kept the Red Raiders out of the endzone for the next 44:39 of game time. ACU's defense forced Tech to kick four field goals, including three once they entered the redzone.
Stephen F. Austin (2-0) opened its season with back-to-back Southland Conference wins over McNeese (38-27) and East Texas A&M (44-7). The Jacks won the league in 2025 and reached the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs, losing to eventual national champion Montana State. SFA has been balanced offensively with 240 yards passing and 197 on the ground through two games. Its defense has also already intercepted five passes and recovered two fumbles.
Saturday's game wil stream on ESPN+ with play-by-play broadcaster extraordinaire Andy Penney, former ACU running back De'Andre Brown joining the crew as color commentator, and sideline reporter Madisen O'Shields.
SERIES MATCHUP
- Stephen F. Austin leads 15-13, but ACU is 8-4 when playing in Abilene
- Ten of the last 14 meetings, and five of the last six, have been one-score games
- The two sides have played six times in the last four seasons
AN ACU WIN WOULD...
- Be the Wildcats' third win over a Top 10 opponent in the past three seasons. ACU defeated #5 Central Arkansas in 2024 and #2 Tarleton State in 2025.
- Be ACU's 11th straight win at home, tying the longest streak in program history (done twice before).
- Avenge last season's loss to SFA in round 2 of the FCS Playoffs.
- Make ACU 9-1 in home openers at Wildcat Stadium, and 5-0 during Keith Patterson's tenure.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
- ACU has won 10 straight games at Wildcat Stadium, dating back to Sept. 2024 when they lost 27-24 to #4 Idaho.
- The streak is the 3rd longest active streak in the FCS, tied with defending national champion Montana State and trailing only Rhode Island (W15) and South Carolina State (W11).
- During the stretch, ACU has defeated five ranked opponents, including two Top 5 teams, and won two playoff games.
- Over the 10 games, the Wildcats have an average margin of victory of 14 points (35-21).
- The 10W streak is also tied for the 3rd longest in ACU history. The school record of 11 consecutive home victories has been done twice, and both started during NAIA national championship seasons (1973-74; 1977-79).
- Head coach Keith Patterson is 18-4 at Wildcat Stadium with all four losses coming by 7 or fewer points.
LAST TIME OUT
- ACU held its own against FBS #12 Texas Tech in Lubbock, 33-10, last Saturday.
- The Wildcats trailed 14-0 near the end of the 1st quarter, but then did not allow a touchdown for the next 44:39 of game time.
- ACU forced the Red Raiders to kick four field goals, including three once inside the redzone.
- The Wildcats also limited TTU to three drives of 6 yards or fewer, including two 3-and-outs.
- ACU did clean up its penalties. After incurring 106 penalty yards in week 0 at Lamar, the Cats were only flagged 4 times for 17 yards at Texas Tech.
CAREER NIGHTS
- Several Wildcats posted career-highs at Texas Tech:
- WR Cristian Driver hauled in 8 catches for 93 yards, which is more than he recorded in his first 4 college seasons combined at Penn State and Minnesota.
- DB Dillon Williams, brother of secondary coach DJ Williams, had a 2.5 TFL.
- LB Gabe Brown notched 9 tackles.
- S Deangelo Ponder had 7 tackles.
- S Javeon Wilcox snatched his first career interception.
HERE COMES THE BROOME!
- RB Alex Broome, who transferred after earning his bachelor's at Boston College, returned a 4th quarter kickoff 98 yards for a TD.
- Broome was named the UAC Special Teams Player of the Week for ACU's first weekly award of 2026.
- The return was ACU's first for a score since 2019 (which was on a surprise onside kick), the first on a deep kickoff since 2016, and the longest KOR since 2009.
- Only four other KOR in ACU history have traveled farther than Broome's 98-yarder. Three Wildcats have recorded 100-yard KOR for TD, and Dennis Hagaman and Bubba Brown combined for 99-yard return against UT Arlington in 1964.
CATCH ME RIDIN' 30
- The Wildcats have been nationally ranked in the FCS for 30 consecutive polls dating back to week 2 of the 2024 season.
- ACU has climbed as high as #10 in the rankings during that span.
- The streak is the 8th longest currently in the FCS.
- As a ranked team, ACU is 17-11 overall, and 8-5 vs. other ranked FCS opponents.
Players Mentioned
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