Abilene Christian at Tarleton State: Hundred-Mile Showdown

Abilene Christian and Tarleton State have played 41 times since 1920. Saturday's game is the first one under an official name.

No. 1 Tarleton State (9-0, 4-0 UAC) hosts No. 21 Abilene Christian (5-4, 4-0) at 6 p.m. CT Saturday, Nov. 7, at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville, Texas. It is the first "Hundred-Mile Showdown," and the winner takes sole possession of first place in the United Athletic Conference. Ranks are from our Week 9 FCS Top 25.

How to Watch Abilene Christian at Tarleton State

Kickoff is 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville. The game streams on ESPN+. It is Senior Day for Tarleton State.

What Is the Hundred-Mile Showdown?

ACU and Tarleton State announced the name on Nov. 2. Stephenville and Abilene are about 100 miles apart, and the "Showdown" part nods to the area's Western heritage. It is the series' first official name, replacing the informal nickname "I-20 Rivalry".

"Every good rivalry has a strong name," Tarleton State athletic director Steve Uryasz said in the joint announcement. He said the old name "created confusion geographically." ACU vice president for athletics Zack Lassiter said the series "has turned into one of the best rivalries in all of FCS football the last few years."

Abilene Christian vs. Tarleton State Series History

Abilene Christian leads the series 24-13-4. The first meeting, in 1920, ended in a 0-0 tie.

The Wildcats have won four of the last five. ACU won 29-3 in 2021 and 28-23 in Stephenville in 2022. Tarleton won 31-30 in Abilene in 2023, its only win in the last five meetings. ACU then won 35-31 in Stephenville in 2024 and 31-28 in Abilene last season. Each of the last two was decided in the final minute, as FloFootball's Ajay Shah noted.

Tarleton State's Season So Far

Tarleton is one of the few unbeaten teams left in the FCS. The Texans beat Prairie View A&M 49-30, won 20-13 at FBS Bowling Green and 27-24 at McNeese, and beat Merrimack 45-20 and Chicago State 56-21.

Their biggest win came on Oct. 10, a 40-32 win at Austin Peay in the first top-10 game in UAC history. Since then, Tarleton has beaten Central Arkansas 49-35, won 49-6 at West Georgia and beaten Eastern Kentucky 28-24 last Saturday.

That last one was close. Eastern Kentucky took a 24-21 lead with 3:18 left, and Kaden Anderson hit BJ Fleming for a 25-yard touchdown with 1:54 to play. "Even though we didn't play particularly well at times, we battled until the end and I'm proud of these guys for their effort," head coach Todd Whitten said after the game, as reported by Tarleton Athletics.

Tarleton scores 40.3 points per game and allows 22.8. It averages 513.1 yards per game, with 303.4 through the air and 209.7 on the ground, at 8.1 yards per play. The Texans have turned it over just six times and have forced 15 turnovers.

The weak spot is the pass defense. Opponents throw for 273.3 yards per game against Tarleton, and the Texans have just 10 sacks.

Abilene Christian's Season So Far

ACU started 1-4. The Wildcats lost 21-14 at Lamar, 33-10 at Texas Tech and 26-7 at home to Stephen F. Austin. They won 41-39 at Idaho, then lost 34-17 at home to Mercer.

They haven't lost since. Head coach Keith Patterson's team beat West Florida 35-7 and Central Arkansas 20-14, won 31-28 at North Alabama and beat West Georgia 59-0 on homecoming last Saturday. All four wins came in league play.

ACU scores 26.0 points per game and allows 22.4. It converts 46.2% of its third downs and holds opponents to 32.7%.

Where the Matchup Turns

Tarleton's offense runs through Wyoming transfer Kaden Anderson, who has thrown for 2,619 yards and 26 touchdowns with four interceptions, and Tylan Hines, who has 851 rushing yards at 7.3 per carry. Marquis Willis leads the receivers with 829 yards and seven scores. Chris Robinson's 65 tackles and Kaleb Brown's 5.5 sacks give the Texans a chance to disrupt ACU before the Wildcats can exploit Tarleton's soft pass defense, which allows 273.3 yards per game through the air.

Abilene Christian counters with dual-threat quarterback Tucker Parks, who has completed 70.8% of his passes for 1,285 yards and 11 touchdowns while adding 408 rushing yards. Cristian Driver and tight end Jayden York lead the catchers, and Rovaughn Banks Jr. tops the rushers with 485 yards. Dillon Williams' 77 tackles and Kansas transfer Jacoby Davis, who forced a fumble and intercepted a pass against West Georgia, are the pieces ACU needs to keep Anderson from pulling away.

Common Opponents

Both teams have played Central Arkansas and West Georgia. Tarleton beat Central Arkansas 49-35 at home, and ACU beat the Bears 20-14 in Abilene. Tarleton won 49-6 at West Georgia. ACU beat the Wolves 59-0 at home.

What Our FCS Ratings Say

Our FCS ratings see a closer game than the records do. Through Week 9, Tarleton State is No. 10 of 128 teams with a 15.0 power rating. Abilene Christian is No. 18 at 10.8.

Schedules explain much of the gap between the 9-0 and 5-4 records. ACU has played the 20th-toughest schedule in the FCS, while Tarleton's ranks 103rd. Tarleton still has the better résumé, at seventh in strength of record to ACU's 23rd. Tarleton State is a 10.5-point favorite, per FanDuel Sportsbook as of Nov. 4.

What's at Stake for the UAC Title and FCS Playoffs?

The 24-team FCS playoff field is announced Nov. 22, and the UAC champion gets an automatic bid. Our bracket projection after Week 9 has Tarleton as the No. 2 seed and the UAC's automatic qualifier. The interactive Week 9 projection shows the full field. As far as Redshirt Sports knows, the committee doesn't use our poll, but it can be a good indicator.

That projection still leaves ACU out of the field. The Wildcats are now 5-4 against Division I teams, but their clearest path to the playoffs is still the automatic bid, and that path goes through Stephenville.

A Tarleton win would give the Texans sole possession of first place and keep them in line for the top seed. They finish at West Florida on Nov. 14 and at North Alabama on Nov. 21. ACU plays at Austin Peay on Nov. 14 and hosts Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 21.