Wildcat football seems to have hit a groove with three straight wins ahead of its bye week, taking down North Alabama 31-28 on a walk-off field goal to improve to 3-0 in United Athletic Conference play and 4-4 overall after starting 1-4.

The dagger came from the guy who did it before: Brandon Perez, the senior kicker who connected on a 37-yard field goal as time expired, capping a 54-yard drive that began with 3:34 remaining. He did the same to secure a win over Tarleton State last season, which helped ACU become back-to-back UAC champions.

Head coach Keith Patterson said the team would get back to this point at some time. ACU also started 4-4 in 2025, then went on to win out the rest of the season before falling to Stephen F. Austin in the second round of the playoffs.

Patterson also said he had no problem trusting his guys late down the stretch.

“We have nothing but confidence in our specialists, and we have every year that I’ve been here,” Patterson said. “We feel very prepared and very comfortable in those situations. So I think the walk-offs are just a byproduct of it.”

A big reason the Wildcats were in this game was their redshirt sophomore quarterback, Tucker Parks.

Parks completed 21 of 25 passes for 264 yards, the highest total of his career, and two touchdowns without an interception. That has become normal lately, with no interceptions in the past three games after he threw five in his first three games.

A lot of his success came from the return of senior running back Alex Broome and redshirt senior wide receiver Cristian Driver, who had both been out for about a month.

Driver opened the game with a 76-yard touchdown and finished with five catches for 120 yards and a score. Broome was limited to 10 yards on seven carries but scored the Wildcats’ first third-quarter touchdown of the 2026 season.

Redshirt senior tight end Jayden York, who has become a top target for Parks recently, added five receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown. He also caught a special 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter, which began with a Parks pitch to freshman wideout Romelo Boykin, who dumped it off to York when a North Alabama defender came at him.

Offensive tackle Luke Roaten said the team remained confident heading into the final drive.

“We knew what we had to do, and we had to drive the ball down,” Roaten said. “I think the biggest thing was confidence.”

Linebacker Darius Moore emphasized the importance of the victory as ACU heads into its open week.

“We needed that one real bad,” Moore said. “You know, we’re going 3-0 in conference. It’s huge.”

The Wildcats will take advantage of the open week to continue to get better ahead of their Homecoming game against West Georgia on Halloween.

“This is just an open week, not an off week,” Moore said. “I don’t think we’re really approaching this week any differently than we would any other week. That’s our program, character, discipline, toughness at all times. So, I feel like it’s no different.”