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Football hosts 10th-ranked ACU for Homecoming

Football hosts 10th-ranked ACU for Homecoming

© Joseph Romans



football


The Lions are looking for their first three-game winning streak since 2018




FLORENCE, Ala. (October 11, 2024) – Homecoming weekend in Florence is just around the corner as an up-and-coming University of North Alabama football team will host nationally ranked Abilene Christian on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m

Saturday’s game will have the theme “Shine On, Gold” as fans are encouraged to wear gold at the game. Fans can visit the UNA Bookstore on campus this week or at the home team hall on Saturday to purchase t-shirts promoting the “Shine On, Gold” campaign at UNA.

Click here for a list of “things to know” for Saturday’s game.



MATCHDAY INFORMATION
North Alabama vs. No. 10/12 Abilene Christian

Date: Saturday, October 14th

Time: 6:00 p.m

Location: Florence, Ala

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 statistics: StatBroadcast

Tickets: Click here

Social media: @UNAFootball


UNA game notes | Opponent’s game notes | UAC website





NOTEWORTHY



ABOUT THE LIONS: North Alabama has won two straight games after a difficult 0-5 start and is 2-5 overall and 2-1 in the United Athletic Conference after a 60-14 win over Utah Tech last week. The Lions are fifth out of nine teams in the UAC in both offense (22.7 PPG) and defense (28.9 PPG). UNA allows the second-fewest yards in the conference at 347.1 per game while allowing 361.9 total offense. UNA also boasts the league’s best pass defense, allowing just 186.1 yards per game.



ABOUT THE WILDCATS: Abilene Christian is enjoying its first top-10 ranking in the program’s FCS history, landing 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 their only losses coming in overtime at Texas Tech and by a field goal against No. 4 Idaho. ACU picked up a breakthrough win over No. 5 Central Arkansas 41-34 at home, the largest victory 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 highest in the FCS with an impressive 326 pass yards per game.



HISTORY OF THE SERIES: UNA and ACU, both former NCAA Division II powerhouses, will meet for the third time on Saturday. The series is tied 1-1. The first meeting ever took place in 2011 at Cowboy Stadium (now AT&T Stadium) in Arlington, Texas, where UNA won 23-17 in a battle of the top five teams in Division II. Twelve years later, the opponents met again as Division I conference foes in Abilene, where the Wildcats won 30-13 last season.



OUR QUARTERBACK: The redshirt senior is expected to start at quarterback for UNA for the fourth straight year 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 to direct the offense over the last three weeks. This season he completed 47 of 72 passes for 527 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions.



YOUR QUARTERBACK: Abilene Christian’s starting quarterback is graduate Maverick McIvor, who ranks second in the FCS in both passing yards and passing touchdowns. He completed 146 of 237 passes for 1,956 yards, 16 touchdowns and two interceptions, a total of 326 passes per game. He is also fifth in the country with 98 points scored this season.



RETURN HOME: For the 75th time in school history, the Lions will host a home game at Braly Stadium. The Lions have a 52-21-1 homecoming record and have won 16 of their 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 home losing streak since 1989.



Freshman Dynasty: UNA has won five of the seven UAC Freshman of the Week awards at rookie running back this season Jalen Fletcher took home the award last Monday. The former West Morgan High School star ran nine times for 73 yards and added a 55-yard touchdown catch. He had 10 touches for 128 yards, an average of 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 in Memphis.



Get involved: The Lions had four players score a touchdown for the first time in their careers last Saturday, including runs from Fletcher and redshirt junior Ben Harrisa catch by the junior tight end Caleb Heatherly and a 40-yard fumble return by the sophomore Jyham Ingram. Another defensive lineman scored as a senior on Saturday Marlon Krakue scored a two-point conversion. Krakue also forced a fumble two weeks ago at West Georgia.



ONE TEAM OWNED: In the last three games against nationally ranked teams Tarleton State, West Georgia and Utah Tech, the Lions have had at least 37 minutes of possession, compared to 22 minutes or less for their opponents. All three games surpassed the previous FCS record for time of possession, set last season at Austin Peay, with a new record of 43-16 against West Georgia. Currently, UNA is ranked 11th in the FCS with an average of 33:11 per game and is just three seconds behind 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 confirmed only 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 victory was also the largest margin of victory since UNA’s 51-3 win over West Florida in 2016.



MOVING THE STICKS: UNA ranks 11th in the FCS and third in the UAC with 133 first downs this season. Central Arkansas is the league leader with 152, while Montana leads the nation with 158.



NEXT ON THE DOCKET: The Lions will have a bye next week and return to action on Oct. 26 at Central Arkansas. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Conway, Arkansas.



For more information about North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and keep following UNA Athletics Facebook, Twitter And Instagram.