FLORENCE, Ala. (October 11, 2024) – Homecoming weekend has arrived in Florence, as an emerging University of North Alabama football team will play host to nationally-ranked Abilene Christian on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m.
Saturday's game will be a "Shine On, Gold" theme, as fans are encouraged to wear gold to the game. Fans can visit the UNA Bookstore this week on campus or at the home side concourse Saturday to purchase shirts promoting the "Shine On, Gold" campaign at UNA.
For a list of "things to know" for Saturday's game,
click here.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
North Alabama vs. No. 10/12 Abilene Christian
Date: Saturday, October 14
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Florence, Alabama
Stadium: Braly Stadium
Capacity: 14,215
TV: ESPN+ ("Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray, Bryan Neece)
Radio: WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM (Jordan Campbell, Jacob Tucker, Chase Glover)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Click Here
Social Media:
@UNAFootball
UNA Game Notes |
Opponent Game Notes |
UAC Website
NOTABLES
ABOUT THE LIONS: North Alabama has won back-to-back games following a tough 0-5 start, sitting at 2-5 overall and 2-1 in the United Athletic Conference following a 60-14 win over Utah Tech last week. The Lions are fifth of nine teams in the UAC for both scoring offense (22.7 PPG) and scoring defense (28.9 PPG). UNA is allowing the second-fewest yards in the conference with 347.1 per game allowed, while totaling 361.9 on offense. UNA also sports the top passing defense in the league with just 186.1 yards allowed per game.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS: Abilene Christian is enjoying its first top 10 ranking in the program's FCS history, coming in at No. 10 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and No. 12 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. The Wildcats are 4-2 this season with the only losses coming in overtime at Texas Tech and by a field goal against No. 4 Idaho. ACU picked up a landmark win over No. 5 Central Arkansas at home, 41-34, for its highest-ranked win in school history. ACU ranks second in the UAC with 38.8 PPG and sixth with 31.5 PPG allowed. The Wildcats have the most productive passing offense in the league and the second-most in FCS with an impressive 326 passing yards per game.
SERIES HISTORY: UNA and ACU, both former powerhouses at the NCAA Division II level, will meet for the third time on Saturday. The series is split 1-1. The first all-time meeting came in 2011 at Cowboy Stadium (now AT&T Stadium) in Arlington, Texas, where UNA won 23-17 in a battle of top five Division II teams. Twelve years later, the foes met again as Division I conference opponents in Abilene, where the Wildcats won 30-13 last season.
OUR QUARTERBACK: Expected to make his fourth straight start at quarterback for UNA is redshirt senior
TJ Smith. Over the last three weeks, Smith has totaled 609 yards through the air and on the ground, including 122 net rushing yards. The Fort Lauderdale native has contributed seven touchdowns and zero turnovers the last three weeks engineering the offense. For the season, he is 47-for-72 passing for 527 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions.
THEIR QUARTERBACK: Abilene Christian's starting quarterback is graduate Maverick McIvor, who ranks second in FCS for both passing yards and passing touchdowns. He has completed 146-of-237 passes for 1,956 yards, 16 touchdowns and two interceptions, equating to 326 passing yards per game. He is also fifth in the country with 98 points accounted for this season.
COMING HOME: The Lions will host a homecoming game at Braly Stadium for the 75th time in school history. The Lions are 52-21-1 on homecoming, winning 16 of the last 18 dating back to 2005. The Lions, who lost on homecoming in both 2022 and 2023, will look to avoid their first three-game homecoming losing streak since 1989.
FRESHMAN DYNASTY: UNA has won five of the seven UAC Freshman of the Week awards this season, as rookie running back
Jalen Fletcher took home the award this past Monday. The former West Morgan High School standout rushed nine times for 73 yards and added a 55 yard touchdown catch. He had 10 touches for 128 yards, averaging 12.8 yards per touch. Fletcher and defensive teammate
Josh Anglin are two-time UAC Freshmen of the Week, while
Fred Vili won the award in Week 1 at Memphis.
GETTING INVOLVED: The Lions had four players score a touchdown for the first time in their career last Saturday, including runs by Fletcher and redshirt junior
Ben Harris, a catch by junior tight end
Kaleb Heatherly and a 40-yard fumble return by sophomore
Jyheam Ingram. Another defensive lineman scored on Saturday, as senior
Marlon Krakue caught a two-point conversion. Krakue also forced a fumble two weeks ago at West Georgia.
A TEAM POSSESSED: Over the last three games against nationally-ranked Tarleton State, West Georgia and Utah Tech, the Lions have had at least 37 minutes of possession compared to 22 minutes or less for the opponent. All three games surpassed the previous FCS record for time of possession set last season at Austin Peay, with the new record at 43:16 against West Georgia. Currently, UNA ranks 11th in FCS with an average of 33:11 per game, just three seconds off EKU for the conference lead.
PURE DOMINATION: Last week against Utah Tech, the Lions took a 60-0 lead early in the fourth quarter and went on to win 60-14. This solidified just the eighth time in school history that UNA scored 60 or more points, while breaking the FCS school record of 53 set in 2022. UNA also had 39 points in the first half — another FCS school record. The 46-point win was also the largest margin of victory since UNA defeated West Florida 51-3 in 2016.
MOVING THE STICKS: UNA ranks 11th in FCS and third in the UAC for first downs with 133 this season. Central Arkansas is the league leader with 152, while Montana leads the nation with 158.
NEXT ON THE DOCKET: The Lions will go on bye next week and return to action on Oct. 26 at Central Arkansas. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. in Conway, Ark.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
