KEN COLLUMS INTERVIEW |
JUSTIN STEWART INTERVIEW
ABILENE The ACU Wildcats will close out their 2012 home schedule Saturday when they host the West Alabama Tigers in an intriguing non-conference matchup that's part of the First-and-10 Challenge between the Lone Star Conference and Gulf South Conference.
Saturday's game marks the Wildcats' final home game as an NCAA Division II member as the entire ACU athletics program will make the move to NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference beginning in 2013. On the football field, ACU is 158-155-3 all-time as a Division II?member and is assured of finishing its 30 years at the Division II level above .500.
Earlier this season, the Wildcats went to Cleveland, Miss., and knocked off the Statesmen of Delta State, 34-28, in their first game this season against a GSC opponent.
West Alabama's first game against an LSC opponent came back on Oct. 4 when the Tigers hosted Midwestern State in Livinston, Ala. The Tigers led the Mustangs, 24-14, at halftime before Midwestern rallied for a 42-27 road victory.
ACU enters today's game with a 5-4 record after last week's 24-17 come-from-behind win at Texas A&M-Commerce. Senior quarterback Mitchell Gale hit
Darian Hogg with an 85-yard touchdown pass with 1:20 left in the game to cap an ACU rally from a 17-3 third-quarter deficit. Gale needs 583 yards in his final two regular-season games to hit 12,000 career passing yards and become just the second passer in LSC and ACU history (Billy Malone) to hit that career yardage mark. Gale would need 596 yards to surpass Malone (12,012 yards from 2005-08) as the all-time leader in passing yards in both LSC and ACU history.
If Gale finishes with 12,000 yards, that would make ACU only the fifth school in NCAA history to feature two 12,000-yard passers in their record books, joining Hawai'i, Texas Tech, Houston and Weber State in that select club.
If Gale tops 12,000 yards, he and Malone will have topped that number as back-to-back starting quarterbacks, something only Houston (Kevin Kolb and Case Keenum from 2003 to 2011) and Hawai'i (Timmy Chang and Colt Brennan from 2000-2007) have done in NCAA history.
Saturday's opponent brings to Shotwell Stadium one of the nation's top running games and one of the best defensive units in NCAA?Division II?football.
The Tigers of head coach Will Hall – who clinched a share of the GSC?title last week with a 37-7 win at Delta State – are No. 1 in the nation in pass defense allowing just 104.4 yards per game through the air and the country's 15th-ranked rushing offense at 233.8 yards per game on the ground.
The running game suffered a blow in the season's fifth game when starting running back and Harlon Hill candidate Matt Willis was lost for the season with an injury after rushing for 535 yards and four touchdowns early in the year. But quarterback Gary Johnson – who splits time with Kyle Caldwell – now leads the team in rushing with 526 yards and seven touchdowns on 89 carries, while throwing for 357 yards. Caldwell has thrown for 1,191 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Tigers have picked off 17 passes on the season and rank No. 1 in the nation in pass efficiency defense.
