ACU (5-4, 3-2) grabbed its fifth win of the season after a 24-7 route of Utah Tech (2-7, 1-3) on Saturday.
The Wildcats came into Saturday’s matchup after struggling in a 52-14 loss to Southern Utah the previous week. The Trailblazers entered Saturday coming off a close loss to Eastern Kentucky in their last outing.
“We want to be a program who wins games when things get hard,” head coach Keith Patterson said. “We’re moving that direction. Maybe not as fast as I would like for us to get there but we are winning games.”
To start off Saturday’s contest, both teams would trade quick offensive drives in the first two possessions and the Trailblazers began to get something going on their second drive, until they were shut down on fourth and two in ACU territory.
The Wildcats would take advantage of the stop and proceed to go on a 13-play, 67-yard scoring drive. The drive was highlighted by five 10+ yard completions from junior quarterback Maverick McIvor, as well as a 13-yard scramble from the QB. The drive ended with McIvor taking it into the endzone himself on a 4-yard run to give ACU the 7-0 lead.
“After losing like that last week everybody was so motivated to just come out here and play,” McIvor said. “So it was good for the team, good for the receivers and good to just get a groove going.”
Utah Tech would respond on the very next possession however and even up the game on a wide-open touchdown pass.
On the next Wildcat drive, the offense would once again take all the time they needed to make their way down to the endzone. Different from their last scoring drive, only one play of 10+ yards was completed, which was a pass to sophomore wide receiver Cooper McCasland to get it within the 6-yard line. The six and a half minute drive was capped off by a 6-yard pass to junior wide receiver Blayne Taylor.
The Trailblazers would once again make their way down the field into ACU territory, but this time would come up short on a 48-yard field goal try. After a half that saw only three full ACU offensive drives, the Wildcats took a 14-7 lead into halftime.
Unlike the first half, the beginning of the third quarter began much differently. The quarter began with three three-and-outs followed by a 6-play UT drive that ended in a short punt.
The Wildcats, already with great field position, moved down the field a bit more but would settle for a field goal, as sophomore kicker Kyle Ramsey sank one from 47 yards, which keeps his record still a perfect 12-12 on FGA this season.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Wildcat offense would start their longest drive in the game taking up a near eight minutes of gametime. During the 15-play drive, senior wide receiver Taelyn Williams accounted for 43-yards, including the 5-yard touchdown reception to make it 24-7.
“It takes 11, every play,” McIvor said. “The coaches have always instilled that into us, so you do your job and count on the other 10, then good things will happen.
The Trailblazers would have one last chance in the fourth to make the score more respectable, but sophomore safety T.J. Marshall would snag an interception to put the game on ice and give the Wildcats the 17-point win.
McIvor ended the game 19-for-32 with 167 yards passing and three total touchdowns. Sophomore running back Jay’Veon Sunday led the way on the ground with 84 yards and McIvor had 36 on the ground as well. Williams led the Wildcat receivers with 5 receptions for 50 yards followed by Taylor who had 4-for-43.
“We set goal five weeks ago, we wanted to go 5-0 and win the next five games,” Patterson said. “We stubbed our toe last week and have won three out of the last four. We have one more opportunity to win another conference game and we still have not seen the best football from this group of young men.”
The Wildcats play their final conference game of the season next week when they host Tarleton State and look to guarantee a winning record this season. The Wildcats take on the Texans at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium with the game streaming live on ESPN+.
