A claim on the United Athletic Conference (UAC) Football Championship is up for grabs in the selections on the penultimate Saturday of the regular season with several squads looking to stay in the hunt for their title share and postseason dreams.
WEEK 12 SCHEDULE
SATURDAY SLATE | Nov. 16
Eastern Kentucky vs Austin Peay
1:00 P.M. CT Clarksville, Tenn. (Conf.)
TV: ESPN+
West Georgia vs Utah Tech
2:00 P.M. MT Cedar City, Utah (Conf.)
TV: ESPN+ Radio: The Fan Sports Network
Southern Utah vs Central Arkansas
4:00 P.M. CT Conway, Ark. (Conf.)
TV: ESPN+ Radio: The Bear 91.3 / The Point 94.1
Abilene Christian vs Tarleton State
6:00 P.M. CT Stephenville, Texas (Conf.)
TV: ESPN+
OPENING KICKOFF
GAME OF THE WEEK: It will be a “Texas Shootout” as No. 12 Tarleton State (5-1 UAC) welcomes Lonestar State rival No. 14 Abilene Christian (6-1 UAC) in a battle for an UAC Championship. A win for the Wildcats would secure sole possession of the crown and the AQ bid to the playoffs. With a victory, the Texans would claim at least a share of the title with one game remaining and give them the inside track to the AQ bid. TSU features the FCS’ second ranked rusher in Kayvon Britten (1,494 yards rushing) while ACU counters with the FCS passing leader, Maverick McIvor (3,213 yards passing)
HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE
-Headed into the final games of 2024, a trio of UAC squads are still undefeated on their home fields as Central Arkansas (4-0) and EKU (5-0) have successfully defended their homes all year, while Abilene Christian (4-0) went undefeated at home in league contests
BORN TO RUN
-The UAC is home to the TOP THREE running backs in FCS rushing with SUU’s Targhee Lambson (1,597 yds), TSU’s Kavyon Britten (1,494 yds) and UCA’s ShunDerrick Powell (1,236 yds) … In all of Division I Football (FCS & FBS) only Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty (1,734 yards) of Boise State has more yards
NOTEWORTHY
– Ten UAC league games have been decided by one score including four in the past two weeks
– 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, UCA and TSU were all recognized. The Texans were listed 12th (AFCA)/13th (STATS), the Wildcats were 14th (STATS)/15th (AFCA) and the Bears were 24th (STATS)/RV (AFCA)… EKU & SUU received votes in a poll this week
– In the Sept. 30 STATS Ranking, Central Arkansas 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 nine consecutive weeks … Three teams ranked in one week is a league high benchmark
– Including the Preseason Poll, eight of the nine teams in the conference have received votes for the Top 25 in one or both of the National Rankings (STATS Preform & AFCA)
WHAT TO LOOK FOR…
– A longstanding rivalry gets week 12 started as Austin Peay (3-4 UAC) hosts EKU (4-2 UAC) at “The Fort” in the 56th renewal of this series. The Govs nearly pulled off the upset vs ACU last weekend, coming up just a point short, while the Colonels collected their second consecutive win versus a ranked foe after taking down UCA. EKU leads 47-8 all-time but APSU has won four of the last six including a thrilling 33-30 OT win last season.
– West Georgia (0-7 UAC) closes out its inaugural DI season with a trip to the St. George, Utah, for a first-time meeting with Utah Tech (1-5 UAC). The Trailblazers are coming off a bye week that followed their surprising upset of then No. 9 Central Arkansas for their first win of the season. The Wolves hope to earn their first conference win in their season finale having been highly competitive in their league games with several games decided by single scores.
– Southern Utah (4-2 UAC) seeks to stay in the hunt for a conference title as they visit “The Stripes” for a match-up with No. 24 Central Arkansas (3-3 UAC). The Bears have dropped back-to-back games while the T-Birds look to build on their solid victory over North Alabama last week at home. The game features two of the nation’s top running backs with SUU’s Targhee Lambson leading the country with 1,597 yards rushing and UCA’s ShunDerrick Powell is third with 1,236 yards.
Some familiar faces were joined by two first time honorees when United Athletic Conference (UAC) Football handed out its weekly awards as announced by the league office on Monday. North Alabama’s Josh Anglin (Freshman) collected his third recognition of the season while Abilene Christian’s Maverick McIvor (Offensive) added a second selection to his resume. Southern Utah’s Kameron Rocha (Defensive) and West Georgia’s Reilly Mason (Specialist) each earned their first honors of the season.
McIvor, a graduate student quarterback, was 25-of-41 passing for 355 yards in the Wildcats comeback win at Austin Peay. He had three touchdown passes including the game-winning toss with three minutes to go on a 4th down and 9 at the APSU 15-yard line. The 355 passing yards are the third-most in McIvor’s career and pushed him over 3,000 passing yards for the season. McIvor remains top ranked in the FCS in passing yards.
A redshirt-junior defensive back, Rocha had a major impact on the Thunderbird’s victory over North Alabama. He tallied four tackles, including a critical assisted tackle for a loss. Rocha also picked off a pass in the fourth quarter that he returned 48 yards for a touchdown, extending the T-Bird lead down the final stretch en route to the win.
Mason, a junior punter, averaged 53.6 yards per kick over five punts and was a vital weapon for the Wolves in keeping things close against a ranked Tarleton State squad. Four of his five punts were downed inside the 20-yard line including two inside the five Mason saw three punts sail over 50 yards highlighted by a long punt of 70 yards that was downed at the one-yard line.
A true freshman linebacker, Anglin tallied a game-high and career-best 14 tackles against Southern Utah. His performance matched the Lions’ FCS single-game school record. Anglin had five solo stops and added 1.5 sacks and a QB hurry to his performance.
UAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK | Week 11
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Maverick McIvor
(Abilene Christian)
– McIvor was 25-of-41 passing for 355 yards in the Wildcats comeback win at Austin Peay. Had three touchdown passes including the game-winning toss with three minutes to go on a 4th-and-9 at the APSU 15-yard line. The 355 passing yards are the third-most in McIvor’s career and pushed him over 3,000 passing yards for the season. McIvor remains top ranked in the FCS in passing yards
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kameron Rocha
(Southern Utah)
– Rocha had a major impact on the Thunderbird’s victory over North Alabama. He tallied four tackles, including a critical assisted tackle for a loss. Rocha also picked off a pass in the fourth quarter that he returned 48 yards for a touchdown, extending the T-Bird lead down the final stretch en route to the win
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Reilly Mason
(West Georgia)
– Mason averaged 53.6 yards per kick over five punts. Four of his five punts were downed inside the 20-yard line including two inside the five Mason saw three punts sail over 50 yards highlighted by a long punt of 70 yards that was downed at the one-yard line. His efforts also garnered him the FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week honor
FRESHMAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Josh Anglin
(North Alabama)
– Anglin tallied a game-high and career-best 14 tackles against Southern Utah. His performance matched the Lions’ FCS single-game school record. Anglin had five solo stops and added 1.5 sacks and a QB hurry to his performance
