ACU, the lone undefeated Western Athletic Conference team, heads into the final game of the regular season taking on Stephen F. Austin for the WAC Championship in Wildcat Stadium.
The Wildcats move into this game with a 7-3 overall record and a 3-0 conference record, holding the top spot in the conference. This is the first time ACU has reached seven wins in Div. I program history.
“I mean, I think we’re glad to be where we are with our team,” head coach Keith Patterson said. “But we’re not satisfied yet because we’ve talked about this all year long. We set our goals and our goals were to go 5-0 at home and we have an opportunity to finally do that.”
Last weekend, the Wildcats traveled to Huntsville to take on the 2020 FCS National Champions, Sam Houston State University. This was a crucial game for the Wildcats for gaining momentum heading into the final game to grab the title. ACU was able to pull away early on in the game, leading them to secure the victory over Sam Houston State, 45-28.
With his second start of the season, quarterback Ethan Long, junior from West Linn, Oregon, had a strong performance coming right off the kickoff. Long completed 30-48 passes for 262 yards, creating four touchdowns for the Wildcats, eventually earning him WAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Three of the four touchdowns occurred in the first quarter of the game, creating a solid deficit early on.
“I was proud of the way they came out of the gate and started fast,” Patterson said. ” That is something that we haven’t done consistently this season so that was good to see the fast start and to see the confidence grow from there.”
Running backs Anthony Smith, senior from Fort Worth, and Rovaughn Banks, freshman from Tulsa, Oklahoma, were leaders in rushing for ACU. Smith carried the ball 11 times for 59 yards, while Banks recorded 14 carries for 56 yards. The Wildcats tallied 136 rushing yards out of their 398 total yards, compared to the Bearkats’ 362 total yards.
Stephen F. Austin is coming into this matchup with a 5-5 overall record and a 2-1 conference record. SFA is currently on a two-game losing streak coming in. The Lumberjacks hosted Utah Tech, receiving the close loss, 44-47, and Central Arkansas, 7-34. Earlier in the season, the Wildcats faced SFA in a nonconference matchup, falling 38-41 after the Lumberjacks scored a field goal on a untimed down as the game ended.
“I talked to our guys,” Patterson said. “It’s not about revenge and you know, they beat us the first time. So the focus is really for us continuing to improve and I think we’re hitting our stride as a team at the right time. We’re playing well on both sides of football right now.”
In their recent game against Central Arkansas, SFA recorded a total of 258 yards, with only 73 being passing yards. Despite the loss, the Lumberjacks and Central Arkansas both tallied 17 first downs, yet the Bears recorded no fourth downs compared to SFA’s 2-7.
With focusing one game at a time, the Wildcats have carried their home field advantage momentum with them continuously throughout their season, prepared to use it striving for an undefeated conference record on Saturday.
“It’s been our focus to be focused on the process of trying to get 5-0,” Patterson said. “Each and every week, just winning the day and doing everything that it takes. Then ultimately, you’ll play meaningful football in November. It hasn’t been about winning the Championship or making the playoffs, it’s really been on improving every single day and developing our team.”
The Wildcats host Stephen F. Austin for the WAC Championship game Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Anthony Field in Wildcat Stadium, streaming on ESPN+.
