Well, it’s safe to say the season did not start the way the team – or Wildcat football fans – wanted it to.

ACU’s last win of 2025 came in a 38-20 blowout against, you guessed it, Lamar. This time around, the Wildcats lost despite outgaining the Cardinals 358-278 in total offense, including a 156-109 advantage on the ground.

Two turnovers and 12 penalties for 106 yards erased that advantage.

Here are my top observations from the loss.

Two-quarterback move is not it

If you have multiple quarterbacks, you don’t have a quarterback.

Head coach Keith Patterson spent the offseason looking for a starter, found multiple options and entered the season without naming one.

“We didn’t name a starting quarterback and obviously for that very reason of what just happened,” Patterson said. “We had to put another young man in there, and I just felt like right or wrong, indifferent, that if I’d have named a starter last week that could have destroyed the confidence of someone that may have to go into the game.”

I feel that. Fair point, coach. But Saturday made it look like the decision may have done more damage than good.

On the note of confidence, game “starter” Tucker Parks, a redshirt sophomore quarterback from Spring, didn’t look too confident down the stretch of his playing time Saturday, throwing interceptions on back-to-back possessions.

You know who did look comfortable Saturday?

Tarleton’s quarterback Kaden Anderson, who threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns and got to sit early in the Texans’ blowout win against Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Prairie View A&M.

John David Black, a redshirt sophomore quarterback from Flower Mound, played better but did not by any means make all things look perfect for ACU.

The Wildcats struggled to move the ball consistently, but Black led both TD drives and almost had another one to tie it and send the game into overtime, recovering heavily from two turnovers by Parks.

But to his credit, Patterson acknowledged that using multiple quarterbacks can affect the pace of an offense because each quarterback has a different cadence and sense of urgency. Co-offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said establishing rhythm starts with simply extending drives.

“I think the key is just get that first first down,” Harrell said. “To me that’s how you get in rhythm. … We had too many three-and-outs the other day.”

Four of ACU’s 11 drives were three-and-outs, while others were stopped shortly after gaining momentum.

One game can’t completely decide a QB position, especially going into Tech week, but if ACU wants an offensive identity, it has to figure out something soon and get the flow down for the offense as a whole.

And if Patterson truly believes any guy could be starting come the end of the year, it’s already bad enough. Just pick one or play them all.

Penalties kill

You can’t talk about ACU’s offensive struggles without talking about the flags.

The Wildcats were penalized 12 times for 106 yards, including four false starts.

Wait.

When you don’t know who the quarterback is, you’re prone to more false starts. Makes sense.

On ACU’s second possession, the offense drove from its own 10 to Lamar’s 37. But on fourth-and-3, a delay-of-game penalty turned it into fourth-and-8 and forced a punt.

That became the story of the night.

“It was so hard to get into a rhythm offensively,” Patterson said. “It’s hard to play with pace when first-and-10, you know, a false start or a holding penalty.”

ACU gained 80 more yards than Lamar. The Wildcats didn’t need a different offense to win. They needed to stop beating themselves.

That definitely won’t work against the Red Raiders’ Power Four defense.

Gonna need Broome to pull out the brooms

If ACU is looking for something that worked, for me it starts with Boston College transfer and senior running back Alex Broome.

Broome rushed 14 times for 75 yards and caught a 21-yard pass, totaling 96 yards from scrimmage on 15 touches.

“If it weren’t for a couple penalties, he would have gone for over 100 the other day,” offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said.

Rovaughn Banks Jr. added 50 yards on eight carries as ACU averaged 5.2 yards per rush.

If Patterson believes what he claimed – that this is the best running back room he has had at ACU – it’s time to lean into it.

Look at the final drive.

With ACU down seven, Broome caught a 21-yard pass and later took a third-and-6 carry for 22 yards to the Lamar 13.

Then, facing another third down inside the 10, ACU went back to him, and he gained four more yards, helping put the Wildcats within striking distance of tying the game.

And to look back, the last time ACU went against Tech and nearly won – and had arguably the most successful season in Wildcat history – that team rushed for 165 yards per game.

ACU’s biggest rushing total that year was 41 rushes against West Georgia.

Against Texas Tech, ACU has to figure out who’s steering the ship, clean up the penalties and hammer down on the run game.

Otherwise, it could be a very long night in Lubbock, which, by the way, will be aired on national TV for the world to see.