By Daniel Johnson, Sports Editor
The ACU football team is No. 23 in the nation and on top of the Lone Star Conference defensive rankings after dominating one of the league’s best rushing offenses.
But if the Wildcats want to be 5-0 for the first time since 1969, they must find a way to stop the LSC’s best receiver, Northeastern Oklahoma State’s Jarrett Byers.
“A player like him will get his catches no matter what,” head coach Chris Thomsen said. “We just have to figure out how to limit their explosive offensive players.”
Byers came out big in the Northeastern Redmen’s 40-29 win over East Central University on Sept. 30 with five catches for 95 yards and two receiving touchdowns. He leads the LSC in catches, yards and touchdowns and is third in Division II football with 573 yards, an average of 114.6 yards-per-game and nine touchdowns.
Byers’ main source, quarterback Joe Hogan, will not be in the Redmen lineup, instead backup William Cole will receive snaps for the second week in a row. Cole is no slouch and was named LSC North Division Offensive Player of the Week after going 11 of 15 for 208 yards and two touchdowns against ECU. But Byers, Cole and the rest of the Redmen have not yet faced a defense like ACU.
The Wildcat defense is sixth in the nation and leads the LSC in almost every major category. In addition to having the LSC’s best rushing, passing and red zone defense, ACU has forced the most fumbles and has not been scored on in its last 10 quarters of play. Individually, defensive end Travis Carpenter leads the conference with four sacks and three forced fumbles.
“We just need to play how we’ve been playing,” free safety Landon Kinchen said. “Our coach has confidence in us and he’ll just let us do our thing.”
The other side of the ball has been just as consistent as ACU has outscored its opponents 127-32. Quarterback Billy Malone is in the nation’s top 30 for passing efficiency and total offense.
ACU’s offense is third in the LSC behind the only other two undefeated teams in the LSC South, Midwestern State and West Texas A&M. Both of which defeated Northeastern.
Malone is coming off of a consistent performance in the Wildcats’ last win, completing 19 of 29 passes for 255 yards and one touchdown. He mainly connected with wide receiver Jarale Badon, finding him seven times for 148 yards. And although Badon has not yet scored a touchdown, the former all-LSC player is ranked 20th in receiving yards per game.
Malone and Badon will have their shot at another productive game against one of the least productive defenses in the LSC. Northeastern is near the bottom of the league in almost every category except interceptions.
But no matter how much national recognition and attention the Wildcats have gotten after their unexpected 4-0 start, Thomsen is still reluctant to let his team get ahead of themselves.
“We’re still finding out what kind of team we have,” Thomsen said. “It’s hard to say if we’re contenders because there is still a lot of football to be played.”
