Following four non-conference games, ACU (3-1) starts Western Athletic Conference play this Saturday at Utah Tech (1-3).
Prior to the year, ACU was slotted at second out of five in the WAC preseason polls. Utah Tech, formerly known as Dixie State, was predicted to finish fifth. ACU is coming off a 34-7 win over Western New Mexico while the Trailblazers are coming off a 31-17 loss at Southern Utah. The last time ACU and Utah Tech went head to head was in a 6-0 Trailblazers win in 1933. New and first time head coach Keith Patterson said he is looking forward to what conference play has to offer.
“I’m excited to go on the road and it’s conference play,” Patterson said. “What you see on film sometimes is not always what you get. People raise their level of play when you get into conference because now you’re playing for a championship. Every game is important and to be able to win those championships, you have to go on the road and win.”
Last Saturday, ACU won 34-7 over Western New Mexico, a Div. II program out of the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs took the lead in the first quarter but never saw the end zone again as the Wildcats scored 34 unanswered points. ACU’s defense racked up nine tackles for loss for the second consecutive week and held the Mustangs to two rushing yards.
Running backs Rovaughn Banks, freshman out of Tulsa, Okla., and Jermiah Dobbins, sophomore out of Lubbock, shined as they combined for 39 carries and 250 rushing yards against the Mustangs. Patterson said he was proud of his offensive line for leading the way after battling a sickness all week in practice.
“The biggest takeaway was I was proud of the way we did run the ball,” Patterson said. “When you have two rushers gain over 100 yards, that was very impressive and I just liked the mentality that Jermiah and Rovaughn both had. I was very excited to see that and that was good for us to maintain that kind of balance where you have 200 plus yards rushing and 200 plus yards passing.”
Currently, Utah Tech is 1-3 with their lone win coming against Div. II program, Chadron State, 56-10 behind 561 yards of offense. Trailblazers running back Quali Conley leads the WAC in rushing yards directly above Banks and Dobbins. Conley has 309 rushing yards on the year and four touchdowns on the year.
“The biggest thing for me is, ‘Let’s go out and play a complete game, both sides of the football,’ and then obviously come out of the gate faster,” Patterson said. “We got to get started in the first quarter and we’re going to look at the way we’re doing some things to try to help correct that.”
Wide receiver Kobe Clark, senior from Sweetwater, is a dozen catches away from tying the all-time reception record set by current running backs coach Jerale Badon. Last Saturday, Clark brought in seven receptions to bring his total to 222 for his career.
Arizona State transfer quarterback Ethan Long, junior from West Linn, Ore., stepped in on Saturday and went 22-34 for 251 yards and two touchdowns. Texas Tech transfer quarterback Maverick McIvor, sophomore from San Angelo, started 0-4 on Saturday before Long came into the game.
“We had already gone into the game planning on playing Ethan in the third series of the game and it just happened to work out,” Patterson said. “He came in, got the ball moving, so we rode the hot hand. I’m very proud of him for being ready when his number was called.”
Patterson is yet to name a starting quarterback for this Saturday’s matchup. McIvor and Long will once again battle it out this week for the job.
“You reward performance and that’s just the nature of the business,” Patterson said. “We’ll look at it hard, we’ll make a decision and move forward.”
The Wildcats and Trailblazers kick off at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Greater Zion Stadium and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
