ACU (2-2, 0-1) struggled to get anything going Saturday night when the Wildcats lost 52-17 to Central Arkansas (2-2,1-0) in the teams first conference game of the season.
The Wildcats held their own through the first quarter but the Bears slowly began to run away with it as they extended their lead throughout the duration the game.
The Wildcats came into Saturday night following a tough week three loss to Incarnate Word in a game that slipped away from the Wildcats in the final quarter. The Bears were coming into Saturday night following a loss as well as UAC fell to North Dakota State in their previous matchup.
The Wildcats started the game off with the ball and quickly began moving the ball down the field. Junior running back Jermiah Dobbins had a couple of chain-moving runs and junior quarterback Maverick McIvor had a pair of nice throws as well, all leading to an eight-yard run from Dobbins, giving the Wildcats the early lead.
The Bears quickly responded with a drive of their own to tie the game up at 7-7.
The offense started another efficient drive as the Wildcats made it near the UCA redzone before settling for a 44-yard field goal from sophomore Kyle Ramsey.
The ACU defense would get a stop to get the ball back and that’s when tragedy struck for the Wildcats.
On the first play of the 2nd quarter, McIvor would fumble the ball in the ACU end zone and the Bears would fall on it to take a 14-10 lead and it wouldn’t get much better for the Wildcats as the night went on.
A quick three-and-out forced the Wildcats to give the ball back to the Bears who would drive down the field and put another seven points on the board to take a 21-10 lead.
The Wildcat offense got nothing else going in the first half and luckily the defense was able to come up with a big fourth down stop when Central Arkansas went for it on the ACU seven-yard line to keep the game at an eleven point lead going into halftime.
Not much changed for the Wildcats in the second half, as the offense would combine for -3 total yards through three drives in the third quarter and the defense would give up another 17 points
UCA scored twice more in the fourth including a 95-yard touchdown run from Central Arkansas running back ShunDerrick Powell. Powell finished with 258 yards on the ground including his one touchdown.
The Wildcats finally found the scoreboard again on their second drive of the quarter from a 25-yard throw from sophomore backup quarterback Quayde Hawkins to junior tight end Noah Caldwell.
After two stalled ACU drives late in the fourth, the misery for the Wildcats would end with a final score of 52-17.
The surprisingly major area for concern for the Wildcats came with the run game, an area that the Wildcats have mostly thrived in so far this season. ACU finished with only 43 rushing yards on 22 attempts while the Bears finished with 380 on 45.
Mcivor finished with 12-for-21 passing with 125 yards, while Hawkins finished the full fourth quarter 4-for-10 with 64 yards and a touchdown pass.
The Wildcats are back on the road this week when they head to Denton to take on The University of North Texas at 6 p.m. on Saturday with the game streaming live on ESPN+.
Quotes will be added following head coach Keith Patterson’s next press conference.
