The NDSU Football team spent Thanksgiving week resting and recovering, and now the job is to digest the turkey along with a big scouting report on Abilene Christian. The FCS Playoffs kicked off on Thanksgiving week with eight first round matchups. The top 8 seeded teams had first-round byes. Teams seeded 9-16 hosted the first-round games against at large opponents. Most games went according to schedule but there were two upsets, including 9 th seeded Richmond.
(12) Illinois State 35, Southeast Missouri State 27
(10) Rhode Island 21, Central Connecticut State 17
UT Martin 41, (16) New Hampshire 10
Lehigh 20, (9) Richmond 6
(11) Villanova 22, Eastern Kentucky 17
(15) Abilene Christian 24, Northern Arizona 0
(13) Tarleton State 43, Drake 29
(14) Montana 41, Tennessee State 27
This sets up the second-round schedule:
2 p.m. | No. 11 Villanova at No. 6 Incarnate Word
2 p.m. | No. 10 Rhode Island at No. 7 Mercer
2 p.m. | No. 14 Montana at No. 3 South Dakota State
3 p.m. | UT Martin at No. 1 Montana State
3 p.m. |No. 15 Abilene Christian at No. 2 North Dakota State
3 p.m. | No. 13 Tarleton State at No. 4 South Dakota
4 p.m. | No. 12 Illinois State at No. 5 UC Davis
9 p.m. | Lehigh at No. 8 Idaho
If NDSU were to win Saturday at home to 9-4 Abilene Christian, the Bison would face the winner of the Mercer – Rhode Island game in the national quarterfinals on December 14th. Saturday’s game will be the first time NDSU has played ACU.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Abilene Christian (TX) is the champion of the United Athletic Conference, which was created in January of 2021 when the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) and the ASUN (Atlantic Sun Conference) merged to create a conference that would play football at the FCS level. The UAC has schools located in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. Abilene Christian went 8-4 in the regular season, with losses at FBS Texas Tech (52-51 in OT), at home to Idaho, at North Alabama, and at Stephen F. Austin. The Wildcats topped the 30-point mark in 8 of their 12 games, and are among the national FCS leaders in several offensive categories:
Yards per game – 479.2 (3rd)
Plays per game – 72.3 (3rd )
Points per game – 34.0 (18th)
Defensively is where the Wildcats have struggled, giving up 403.9 yards per game, 87th among FCS programs and 6.0 yards per play which ranks 80th. But ACU delivered its best defensive performance in years, shutting out Northern Arizona 24-0 last week in their first ever FCS playoff game. It was a stunning turnaround for the Wildcats defense against a Top-25 NAU offense.
According to ACU Sports Information:
• Northern Arizona entered the game averaging 413.8 yards and 30.7 points per game. The ACU defense limited the Lumberjacks to a meager 194 yards of offense and pitched the program’s first shutout since Sept. 25, 2021, when the Wildcats beat Lamar 56-0.
• NAU quarterback Ty Pennington was averaging 230.1 yards of total offense entering the game (193.0 passing and 37.1 rushing) but finished with just 170 against the Wildcats (165 passing and five rushing).
• NAU was averaging 192.8 rushing yards entering the game but could muster only 29 yards on 24 attempts. The Lumberjacks ran the ball 13 times for 20 yards in the first half and 11 for nine yards in the second half.
• NAU was 3 for 14 on third-down conversions and 0 for 2 on fourth-down conversion attempts. That resulted in the Lumberjacks putting up just 11 first downs in the contest.
• Northern Arizona ran just 14 plays on ACU's end of the field, only four in the second half, the last four offensive plays the Lumberjacks ran in the game.
In addition, ACU won the game without star quarterback Maverick McIvor, who was injured in the regular season finale against Stephen F. Austin. His status for Saturday’s game at NDSU is unknown as of press time.
COACHSPEAK
“Northern Arizona had a top-25 offense in the country coming into the game, but I knew we would play well," said ACU head coach Keith Patterson, who directed the Wildcats to their first playoff win at any level since a 2009 victory over Midwestern State in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. "I've been saying for the last six weeks that if we can eliminate the big plays on defense, we could go from being a solid defense to a really, really good defense. We were able to do that on Saturday, and I’m so proud of our defense. Those guys played with great effort, and I think everyone saw what we can achieve when we play without giving up big plays.”
WHO TO WATCH
ACU’s two players who wear jersey No. 1 — QB Maverick McIvor and LB Will Shaffer — were both named finalists for their respective FCS player of the year awards this week. McIvor is one of 35 finalists for the Walter Payton Award, given to the FCS offensive player of the year and nicknamed “The FCS Heisman.” McIvor averages 306.3 passing yards per game, which ranks #4 among FCS signal-callers.
Shaffer is one of 35 finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award which is given to the FCS defensive player of the year.
ABOUT COACH PATTERSON
Keith Patterson is in his third season at ACU after serving three seasons as Texas Tech’s Defensive Coordinator. Patterson has been named one of 15 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award, which is given to the most outstanding coach at the FCS level. ACU is one of just six schools to have a finalist for National Offensive Player, Defensive Player and Coach of the Year. Patterson was named the 2022 WAC Coach of the Year when he led the Wildcats to a 7-4 record in his first season at ACU.
NDSU PLAYERS RECEIVE HONORS
North Dakota State University has three football team members up for national player of the year awards in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Quarterback Cam Miller is among the finalists for the Walter Payton Award, presented to the FCS Offensive Player of the Year. The senior from Solon, Iowa, has completed 190 of 256 passes for 2,340 yards with 23 touchdowns and one interception while rushing for 370 yards and seven TDs. He leads the FCS in passing efficiency (179.9) and ranks second in completion percentage (.742).
Defensive Tackle Eli Mostaert is a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented to the FCS Defensive Player of the Year. The senior from Lakeville, Minn., is NDSU’s second leading tackler with 44 total stops including 9.5 tackles for loss and ranked third in Missouri Valley Football Conference play with 5.0 sacks.
Running Back CharMar Brown is a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, presented to the FCS Freshman of the Year. Brown, from Omaha, Neb., leads all FCS freshmen with 965 rushing yards, fifth most overall in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. He has four 100-yard rushing games including a season-high 126 against Towson.
Winners are selected by a national voting panel and will be recognized at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet on Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.
