ABILENE, Texas (October 13, 2023) – A critical game awaits the University of North Alabama football team out of its bye week, as the Lions head to Texas for a second time this season for a conference matchup against Abilene Christian on Saturday, Oct. 14.
Kickoff from Abilene, Texas is set for 3 p.m.
Both teams enter Saturday seeking their first win early in United Athletic Conference play. The two squads enter with two wins apiece this season and are both coming off bye weeks. Furthermore, Saturday is Abilene Christian's Homecoming.
For a list of "Things to Know" for Saturday's game,
click here.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama vs. Abilene Christian
Date: Saturday, October 14
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Abilene, Texas
Stadium: Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium
Capacity: 12,000
TV: ESPN+
Radio: WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Click Here
Social Media:
@UNAFootball
UNA Game Notes |
Opponent Game Notes |
UAC Website
ABOUT THE LIONS
- North Alabama is 2-4 overall and 0-2 in UAC games coming off the bye week.
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The Lions played its 800th all-time game last time out against Eastern Kentucky, owning a 482-302-16 all-time record.
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Two weeks ago, EKU spoiled UNA's Homecoming with a 32-22 win at Braly Stadium. Despite trailing 29-7 at one point, the Lions began to surge back in the second half but were hurt by a pair of red zone turnovers.
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The Lions totaled 560 yards against EKU two weeks ago, including 425 passing yards. This is the highest single-game passing total for UNA since 2019 against Gardner-Webb, where the Lions threw for 446 yards and set an FCS era program record.
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Turnovers have defined UNA's season so far, as the 'Purple Swarm' defense has produced 14 turnovers in six games. This ranks third in the nation and first in the UAC. This also marks the most turnovers through the first six games since the 2017 season.
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UNA has 11 opponents on this season's schedule. Currently, four of those are ranked in a major FBS or FCS poll, while five additional teams have received votes from one of the two major FCS polls this season. Among those teams is Chattanooga, who UNA defeated 41-27 earlier this season. Chattanooga is currently ranked No. 20 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 25 in the Stats Perform FCS Media Poll.
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UNA's strength of schedule for all opponents this season is ranked 20th of 128 teams in FCS, based on win percentages, while ranking 28th in the Massey Ratings.
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The Lions are among the top 10 teams in FCS for first down conversions, ranking ninth with 132 first downs this season for an average of 22 per game. UNA also ranks 20th in total offense with 423 yards per game, including 251 yards passing and 172 rushing. Both passing and rushing totals rank top 30 nationally.
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Sophomore quarterback Noah Walters ranks 15th in the nation with 1,368 passing yards this season — also good enough for third in the UAC. His primary target, Takairee Kenebrew, ranks 15th nationally with four receiving touchdowns to go with 413 receiving yards.
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Kenebrew currently ranks third on the all-time career receiving touchdowns list at UNA with 21 trips to the end zone. He needs two more to tie Jason Messing (2004-07) for second and four more to tie Dre Hall (2014-17) as the all-time leader.
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Sophomore running back Demarcus Lacey, who moved over from wide receiver this fall, is leading the Lions with 418 rushing yards. He averages 4.9 yards per carry. He became the starter after fellow sophomore Jalyn Daniels exited the game with a season-ending injury against Tarleton State. Daniels was on pace to break UNA's yards per carry record set in 1993 by Kenyatta Jones, as Daniels was averaging 13.9 yards per carry on 16 attempts.
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On defense, the Lions are led by redshirt sophomore safety Edwin White Schultz with 61 tackles, including 11 last time out against EKU. White Schultz ranks 18th nationally with 10.2 tackles per game and has tallied double-digit totals in four of six games.
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Another key player for the defense is senior defensive lineman Philip Ossai, who recovered a pair of fumbles at Tennessee Tech. Ossai has 38 tackles, a team-best 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, three quarterback hurries and a pass break up.
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The Lions are in their 75th season of football in 2023 with an all-time record of 482-302-16.
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This season is the sixth for UNA since transitioning to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and the second as a full-fledged FCS member. UNA has an all-time record of 18-38 versus FCS opponents.
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The Lions are charter members of the newly-formed United Athletic Conference, along with Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, EKU, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State, Utah Tech and UTRGV, who will be joining in 2025. Former Gulf South Conference rival West Georgia announced its move to NCAA Division I and will join the league in 2024.
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The Lions are led by first year head coach Brent Dearmon, an Alabama native and offensive guru who made stops at Kansas, Middle Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic. Prior to those places, Dearmon was the head coach at Bethel University (TN), where he led the team to a 10-1 record and a top-five NAIA national ranking in 2018.
- North Alabama remains the second-winningest program in the state of Alabama since 1990 with 255 wins in the last 33 years, ranking second only to the University of Alabama with 300 wins. The Lions boast 21 NCAA playoff appearances, 17 conference championships and three national championship victories.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
- ACU enters Saturday with a 2-3 overall record and an 0-1 mark in league play following a 52-17 loss to Central Arkansas.
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Much like UNA, the Wildcats are coming off their bye week. ACU opened 2-0 with wins over Northern Colorado and Prairie View A&M, but have since lost three straight with losses to No. 9 Incarnate Word (27-20), UCA and FBS opponent North Texas (45-31).
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Quarterback Maverick McIvor leads the Wildcats as one of four captains, ranking 13th in the FCS with 14.38 passing yards per completion. He has completed 74 of 132 passes for 1,064 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions.
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Blayne Taylor is the leading receiver for ACU with 13 receptions, 296 yards and four touchdowns, ranking seventh in the FCS with 22.8 yards per reception.
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The Wildcats have two primary rushers in Jermiah Dobbins and Jay'Veon Sunday. The former has 54 carries for 299 rushing yards, while Sunday is not far behind with 50 carries for 263 yards.
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Darius Moore leads the defense with 37 tackles, while Izaiah Kelley and Elijah Moffett each have 35 tackles. Moffett leads the crew with 6.0 tackles for loss and four pass breakups.
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Tackles Reese Moore and Rafiti Ghirmai, guards Jacob Thielen and Alan Hatten and center Tay Yanta have provided the Wildcats with a solid offensive line, allowing just four sacks over four games this season. The Wildcats are 25th in the FCS in sacks allowed at 1.2 per game.
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The Wildcats are led by second year head coach Keith Patterson, who led ACU to a 7-4 record in his debut season. Patterson was the defensive coordinator at Texas Tech before taking the reigns at ACU, where he faced Dearmon twice while Dearmon was the OC at Kansas.
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday will be the second all-time meeting between UNA and ACU
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The first meeting happened in 2011 while both UNA and ACU were perennial powers at the NCAA Division II level. The Lions won that battle by a 23-17 final inside Cowboys Stadium — now known as AT&T Stadium and home to the Dallas Cowboys.
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In that game, the Wildcats were ranked No. 3 and the Lions were ranked No. 4 in the Division II polls.
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The final touchdown for UNA in that game came courtesy of a 49-yard fumble return by Janoris "Jackrabbit" Jenkins. Jenkins went on to become a second round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams and enjoyed a long NFL career that ended in 2022 with the San Francisco 49ers.
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Jenkins was not the only NFL prospect from that game, as he battled ACU wide receiver Taylor Gabriel in that game. Gabriel signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2014 and later played for the Falcons and Bears. Gabriel and Jenkins scored the final two touchdowns of that star-studded game.
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Other noteworthy UNA players in that game were quarterback Lee Chapple and wide receiver Tristan Purifoy, who connected for a touchdown in the win. Kicker Nathan O'Jibway also nailed a 45 yard field goal for UNA that day, which stands as one of 43 made field goals of at least 45 yards in UNA history.
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The 23-17 score in that last meeting was a "Scorigami" moment for UNA, as the 23-17 score was not recorded before and has not been recorded since in UNA's 800 games. The Lions have had three Scorigamis this season (Chattanooga, Tarleton State, EKU).
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
