While the 2024 United Athletic Conference (UAC) Football Championship has found its home in Abilene, Week 13 contests still provide several teams with the opportunity to join the Wildcats in the FCS Playoff field. In addition, the regular season finale slate boasts a pair of intriguing non-conference clashes.
Saturday, November 23, 2024
Chattanooga vs Austin Peay
1:00 P.M. CT Clarksville, Tenn.
Radio: Govs Sports Network
North Alabama vs Eastern Kentucky
2:00 P.M. ET Richmond, Ky. (Conf.)
TV: ESPN+ Radio: 98.3 & 103.5 FM
Utah Tech vs Southern Utah
1:00 P.M. MT Cedar City, Utah (Conf.)
TV: ESPN+ Radio: The Fan Sports Network
Central Arkansas vs Tarleton State
2:00 P.M. Stephenville, TX (Conf.)
TV: ESPN+
Abilene Christian vs Stephen F. Austin
2:00 P.M. CT Nacogdoches, Texas
TV: ESPN+
OPENING KICKOFF
GAME OF THE WEEK: “The Battle for the Axe” headlines the regular season’s final Saturday of action in the UAC as in-state rivals Utah Tech (1-6 UAC) and Southern Utah (5-2 UAC) meet at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City. Coming off its first ranked win of the season, the Thunderbirds look to claim a second straight victory over Tech having earned a 24-16 decision last year. The Trailblazers, coming off a bye, hope to reclaim the Axe and end the campaign with their second win of the season and in the series (SUU leads 4-1 in all-time series).
WILDCATS CLAIM CROWN & PLAYOFF BID
With a thrilling last minute rally, Abilene Christian topped Tarleton State and captured their first UAC Football Championship along with the AQ bid to the FCS Playoffs… The Wildcats were picked to finish 6th in the preseason poll… ACU heads into the playoffs looking to earn the league’s first victory
PLAYOFF FIELD ANNOUNCED ON SUNDAY
The FCS Playoff Committee will announce the 24-team field for the 2024 Championship chase Sunday, Nov. 24 at 11:30 AM CT as part of an NCAA Playoff selection show televised on ESPN2. UAC Champion Abilene Christian has secured a place in the bracket but are looking to earn a home game to start postseason competition. Tarleton State, EKU and Southern Utah are all holding out hope of collecting an at-large invitation to the championship field.
BORN TO RUN
-The UAC is home to the TOP THREE running backs in FCS rushing with SUU’s Targhee Lambson (1,757 yds), TSU’s Kavyon Britten (1,596 yds) and UCA’s ShunDerrick Powell (1,243 yds) … In all of Division I Football (FCS & FBS) only Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty (1,893 yards) of Boise State has more yards
NOTEWORTHY
– 14 UAC league games have been decided by one score including all four last Saturday and eight in the last two weeks
– EKU is undefeated (5-0) at home this year while ACU boasted a perfect 4-0 mark at home in UAC play
– UCA’s David Walker was awarded and accepted an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Feb. 1 in Mobile, Ala.
– APSU’s Chandler Kirton was named a finalist for the FedEx Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award
– Stats Perform named a trio of UAC rookies to the “Watch List” for the Jerry Rice Award, presented to the FCS Freshman of the Year… Honorees: UNA’s Josh Anglin and Jalen Fletcher, SUU’s Jayden Robertson
– Oct. 5 clash between #5 Central Arkansas and #16 Abilene Christian was just the second head-to-head UAC battle of ranked squads in league history… UCA has been part of both competitions, having faced #12 Austin Peay, ranked 20th last season
– With Southern Utah’s 27-24 OT win over UTEP on Sept. 7, the T-Birds secured the league’s first victory against an FBS foe… Abilene Christian (52-51 loss at Texas Tech) and Central Arkansas (34-31 loss at Arkansas State) both nearly accomplished the feat as well this season
– UCA’s 34-14 victory over #19 Lamar (Sept. 29) marked just the second UAC win against a ranked non-conference foe… EKU topped #16 Southeast Missouri, 41-38, last year
– Thunderbirds head coach DeLane Fitzgerald earned the 100th of his career with SUU’s victory over EKU… Fitzgerald joined TSU’s Todd Whitten (135 wins) in the Century Win Club
HOW DO WE STACK UP?
– A trio of UAC teams were again ranked in the Top 25 nationally as ACU, TSU and EKU were all recognized. The Wildcats were 11th (STATS)/12th (AFCA), the Texans were listed 16th in both polls while the Colonels jumped into the STATS poll in 25th… UCA & SUU received votes in a poll this week
– In the Sept. 30 STATS Ranking, Central Arkanasas was listed No. 5, marking the highest ever rank for a UAC program
– The league has seen three teams ranked in the Top 25 for 10 consecutive weeks … Three teams ranked in one week is a league high benchmark
WHAT TO LOOK FOR…
– No. 25 EKU (5-2 UAC) looks to make a final impression on FCS Playoff Committee members when they host North Alabama (3-4 UAC). The Colonels, who made a return to the Top 25 this week, ride a four-game win streak into the contest and are looking to finish the season undefeated at home for the first time since 2010. The Lions are looking to win a fourth conference game in a season for the first time in their DI Era as well as collect their first win over EKU in series (EKU leads 2-0)
– No. 16 Tarleton State (5-2 UAC) hopes to rebound from a tough loss to ACU last week and keep their playoff dreams intact when they welcome Central Arkansas (3-4 UAC) to Stephenville. The Texans are 8-2 versus FCS foes this season and a win would mark the most season wins in their DI Era. Key injuries have seen the Bears drop three straight games heading into the season finale match-up on the road.
– A playoff rematch from 2023 pits Austin Peay (4-7, 3-5 UAC) against Chattanooga at “The Fort” to close out the season. Last season the Govs fell 24-21 on a walkoff FG in the opening round of the FCS Playoffs. The Mocs hold a 7-1 advantage in the all-time series and are 3-0 in game played in Clarksville
– Abilene Christian (8-3, 7-1 UAC) vists former UAC member and in-state rival Stephen F. Austin as its precursor to playoff competition. The Wildcats will be visiting Nacogdoches for the fourth consecutive season. SFA leads the overall series 13-12 and in their 11 meetings as Division I programs, eight games have been decided by one score with the Wildcats and ‘Jacks each winning four of those eight
UAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK | Week 12
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
SAM HICKS Abilene Christian RB | RS-SR
– tallied 137 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown in the Wildcats championship victory. He also had seven catches for 38 yards and the game-winning touchdown with 0:19 remaining. Hicks touched the ball 31 times (including 1 KOR). He caught three passes on the Wildcats’ final drive and capped it with a 1-yard TD catch out of the backfield to put ACU in front for good.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
WILL SHAFFER Abilene Christian LB | RS-SR
– Shaffer posted a team-high 13 tackles, including nine solo stops and one tackle for loss to help ACU earn its first conference championship since moving up to Division I in 2013. Four of Shaffer’s tackles came on Tarleton’s next-to-last drive where ACU’s defense was able to limit them to a field goal
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
JAYDEN ROGERS Southern Utah K | JR
– Rogers was consistent on Saturday against Central Arkansas going a perfect three-for-three kicking field goals against the Bears. His field goals split the uprights from 21, 33, and 37 yards out. Adding to his impressive point total, Rogers was also perfect in PAT opportunities, hammering through all three attempts to account for 12 of the T-Birds 38-point total
FRESHMAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
CALEB KOGER UCA | QB | RS-FR
MARCUS CALWISE JR. EKU | WR | FR
– Koger completed 21 of 34 passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns. He led UCA’s offense to 498 yards of total offense vs SUU. Koger notched TD passes of 38, 6, 12 and 79 yards.
– Calwise Jr., was EKU’s top receiver versus rival Austin Peay. He hauled in six receptions for 83 yards including a pivotal touchdown that cut the deficit to one score early in the fourth quarter. Calwise Jr., also had a 19-yard reception that set up EKU for it’s game-tying score getting the Colonels down to the one
