The Teams: Tarleton Texans (5-3, 1-1 WAC) vs. Abilene Christian Wildcats (5-3, 2-0 WAC)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+ (John Liddle, LaDarrin McLane, Kendra Sheehan)
Radio: Tarleton Sports Network on 90.5 FM (Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters, Keltin Wiens)
 
TEXAN FOOTBALL GAME DAY
For the first time in their long storied rivalry, Tarleton and Abilene Christian are matching up in Stephenville as NCAA Division I programs.
 
The game, set for 7 p.m. CT, will be broadcast on ESPN+, with John Liddle, LaDarrin McLane and Kendra Sheehan on the call. The game can be heard on Tarleton Sports Network at 90.5 FM in Stephenville and surrounding areas, with Byron Anderson, Kyle Masters and Keltin Wiens leading the broadcast.
 
GAME DAY FESTIVITIES
There will be lots of purple at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, with Tarleton hosting Abilene Christian from 90 miles down the road. This is Tarleton's Military Appreciation Night, where the Texans will honor our nation's heroes throughout the night. All active and military personnel will receive free entry to the game.
 
Texan Alley opens at 8 a.m. for tailgaters, and all parking lots open at 3 p.m. The Pointe-du-Hoc rally will be at 3:40 p.m. at Rudder Way Statue, not long before stadium gates open at 5 p.m.
 
From 5:30-6:30 p.m., "Happy Hour" will commence, with all beer for sale inside the stadium at half-price, including Texas Rider – Revolver Beer.
 
There will be an exclusive student entrance for this game that opens at 6 p.m. at the northeast gate of the stadium. At 6:49 p.m., the Sound and the Fury will have a special presentation. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m.
 
For maps of the area and complete tailgating policies, visit TarletonSports.com/TexanAlley.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• After not meeting since 2013, this makes back-to-back years that Tarleton and Abilene Christian match up, the 37th all-time meeting. The last time ACU traveled to Stephenville was Sept. 1, 2011.
• Tarleton and ACU are two of three teams in the WAC with winning conference records, along with Stephen F. Austin. They are Nos. 4 and 5 in the latest ASUN-WAC Power Rankings, respectively.
• ACU is 1-3 on the road this year, and an undefeated 4-0 at home.
• Each of ACU's last three games was decided by exactly three points, resulting in one win and two losses for the Wildcats.

 
QUICK HITS

• This is Tarleton's Military Appreciation game. There are 1,200 active military members from Fort Hood scheduled to attend the game and pack the recently opened north end zone bleachers. All active and retired military personnel will be able to attend the game free of charge.
• Tarleton is coming off of hosting a program record attendance of 20,237 at the homecoming game this past Saturday. It marked back-to-back years the Texans set a new program record for attendance at homecoming.
• With a win Saturday, Tarleton would lock up its third straight winning season to start its NCAA Division I era.
• The Texans are 8-2 over their last 10 home games, and haven't lost to a non-Sam Houston team in Stephenville since 2020-21. Saturday's game marks the end of a three-game homestand for the Texans.
• Over Derrel Kelley III's past three games he's rushed for 333 yards (111.0 per game) on 50 carries (6.7 yards per rush) and four touchdowns, including a three-touchdown, 117-yard night vs. Southwest Baptist on Oct. 22.
• After Darius Cooper's big night on Saturday (nine catches for 191 yards and two touchdowns), it's now a two-horse race for the lead receiver spot. Jaden Smith has 41 catches for 757 yards and eight touchdowns, with Cooper just behind him at 37 catches for 720 yards and seven touchdowns.

 
I-20 RIVALRY
Tarleton and Abilene Christian are clashing once again this Saturday, a battle of close in proximity programs on I-20, separated by about 90 miles. The two have rarely met over the past decade, matching up last year for the first time since 2013. Although ACU holds an advantage in the all-time series record, since 1998, this matchup has gone back-and-forth. There have been 17 meetings since 1998, with Tarleton holding a 9-8 record in those games.
 
This year, the two enter Saturday about as evenly matched as possible. Both are bringing in 5-3 records, and both are back-to-back in the latest ASUN-WAC Power Rankings, with Tarleton at No. 4 and ACU at No. 5. Both teams are fairly even in yardage across the board, both on offense and defense, but Tarleton's game have been higher scoring affair. The Texans average 30.1 points per game to ACU's 27.0, and Tarleton allows 29.6 PPG to ACU's 21.4.
 
As far as homegrown talent, both teams have a difference-maker at the linebacker position from the other's hometown. Tarleton has one of the top tacklers in the WAC at inside linebacker, Qua'Shawn Washington. Washington is a 2017 graduate of Abilene High School, where he played four years of varsity football, capped off by a unanimous 6A Defensive Most Valuable Player award as a senior, while also being named Second Team All-District at wide receiver. From 2017-19 he played 22 games at ACU, the first year as a running back and the last two years at linebacker, before transferring to Tarleton last season. On the other side, ACU has Reese Young from Stephenville High School at linebacker, who has the second most tackles on the team. Young helped SHS to a perfect record last season on the Yellow Jackets' way to the state championship.
 
JUST A WIN AWAY
With three games to play, Tarleton is in line to achieve their third straight winning season to start their NCAA Division I era. Sitting at 5-3, one more win would put them at six, and guarantee either an 8-3, 7-4 or 6-5 finish. The Texans went 5-3 in their first season as a D1 program, and concluded a 6-5 campaign last year.
 
There are two other programs who have also been reclassifying each of the past three years, as well -- Utah Tech and Merrimack. Neither team has yet to post a winning season. Utah Tech went 2-3 in 2020-21, 1-10 in 2021-22, and is 2-6 this year. Merrimack went 0-3 in 2020-21, 5-6 in 2021-22 and is 7-2 this season
 
SATURDAY'S SILVER LININGS
Despite falling 40-21 on Saturday against Sam Houston, the Texans had a lot to be proud of from that performance. Tarleton's six turnovers doomed any chance the purple and white had complete the comeback, although both sides of the football were giving each other opportunities.
 
On offense, Tarleton rushed 180 yards against the (at the time) No. 8 rushing defense in all of the FCS. The Bearkats were only allowing 89.5 rushing yards per game, and Tarleton doubled that. Derrel Kelley III had the majority of the success, going for 120 yards on 18 carries (6.7 yards per rush). He became just the third running back over Sam Houston's last 39 games played to hit the century mark on the ground. The other two? Montana State's Isaiah Ifanse in last year's FCS Playoffs quarterfinals, and South Dakota State's Isaiah Davis in the 2020-21 FCS Playoff Championship Game. Since taking the starting RB reins, Kelley has 333 yards and four touchdowns over his last three games, and 540 rushing yards over his last five. He leads all WAC rushers at 6.33 yards per carry, is averaging the third most rushing yards per game at 75.1, had the tied-third most rushing touchdowns (four) and has the tied-most 100+ rushing yard games (three).
 
Darius Cooper had a career-best performance on Saturday, recording nine receptions for 191 yards and two touchdowns. In eight games this season, he has 37 receptions for 720 yards and seven touchdowns. Entering the year, he had played in double the game (16), owning six receptions for 50 yards and one touchdown. Suddenly he's competing with Jaden Smith as being one of the top wide receivers in the WAC. Cooper has the tied-second most receiving touchdowns (seven), the fifth most receiving yards (719) and the fifth most receptions (37). He's third in yards per catch at 20.6.
 
RECORD CROWD IN COMPLETE STADIUM
Tarleton unveiled their recently completed stadium this past Saturday at their homecoming game against Sam Houston, and set a new program attendance record by seeing 20,237 fans through the turnstiles. They bested last year's program record of 16,216 who attended Tarleton's homecoming game against Midwestern State.
 
Tarleton's Memorial Stadium expansion project raised capacity from a temporary 16,600 to a permanent 24,000. Memorial Stadium underwent a $26 million renovation in 2019, and now with the 2022 expansion, towering bleachers with a new scoreboard cover the north end zone. Field suites have relocated to the south endzone underneath the video board to create an exciting, enclosed game day atmosphere.
 
OFFENSIVE PROWESS
Tarleton has shown to be explosive on the offensive side of the football, and throughout the year, has been one of the top units in the Western Athletic Conference. Overall, Tarleton averages the second most points per game (30.1). The Texans are also second in yardage per game at 429.4 and third in yards per play at 6.2 yards. After consecutive big games on the ground, Tarleton is now second in the WAC in rushing yards per game at 167.1.
 
#BEAUKNOWS
Beau Allen has matched the incredible hype he faced going into the season. Through eight games, Allen is looking like, and playing like, a star QB, leading the WAC in pass touchdowns (17), pass yards per completion (15.1) and pass yards per attempt (8.4). He's second in pass yards per game (256.5), and third in pass efficiency (141.8). He also has the most 400+ yard games (one) and the most 300+ yard games (four).
 
On Oct. 8 in Tarleton's 42-40 win at Southern Utah, Allen threw for a career-high 406 passing yards, adding three touchdowns, while leading the team in rushing with 55 yards on 11 attempts. His 406 yards passing are the 11th most in Tarleton Football history and the 12th 400+ yard game in program history. His 406 are also the most thrown by a WAC QB this year and the 20th most in a game at the FCS level this season.
 
In the game prior,  Tarleton's 43-28 win at North Alabama, Allen earned WAC Offensive Player of the Week honors after throwing for a then-career-high 316 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, while adding 32 yards on seven carries. His four touchdown passes are tied for the most TD passes by a WAC QB this season, and his 86-yard pass to Jaden Smith during the game is the longest pass in the conference this year.
 
In four of his first five games to start his Tarleton career, Allen threw for 300+ yards and multiple touchdowns. He already has the 10th most 300+ yard games in program history, and he is the first to have four 300+ yard performances in his first five Tarleton games.
 
In Allen's season debut, his 300 yards passing were the most in a Tarleton season-opener since Ben Holmes had 375 at SFA on Sept. 7, 2019, while his three touchdown passes were the most in a Tarleton season-opener since 2007, when Scott Grantham fired three scores against East Central. As for Texans making their first career start at QB, Allen is the first to throw for 300 yards since Zed Woerner (302) against Angelo State on Nov. 1, 2014.
 
Affectionally given the social media hashtag of #BeauKnows by his Kentucky Wildcat family, Beau Allen originally joined his hometown college as a four-star prospect by both ESPN and Rivals. At Lexington Catholic High School, he ranked as high as the No. 3 QB in Kentucky, and a top-15 QB across the nation overall. He won the Paul Hornung Award his senior year, given to the top high school player in Kentucky, starting all four years at the prep level, compiling 11,439 passing yards and 127 touchdowns, top-five marks in the state all-time. At Kentucky, he primarily spent his time in the No. 2 QB role, playing in five total games, completing 11-of-19 (.579) passes for 132 yards, plus a rushing touchdown. Allen chose Kentucky over offers from Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Maryland, Washington State, West Virginia, Marshall and Duke, among others. He said he picked Tarleton as his transfer school mostly because of the coaching staff, with ties to head coach Todd Whitten and pass game coordinator/QB coach Adam Austin, who was part of Eastern Kentucky's staff tasked to recruit Allen to Richmond.
 
TRIPLE THREAT
The overwhelming majority of Tarleton's passing attack has centered around three receivers -- Jaden Smith, Darius Cooper and Gabe Douglas. Of the 2,098 yards through the air, those three have accounted for 1,766 of those yards, 84.2 percent. All 18 of Tarleton's passing touchdowns have went to those three receivers.
 
Through eight games into Smith's Tarleton tenure, he has 41 receptions for 757 yards and eight  touchdowns. Through a national perspective, only 12 FCS players are averaging more receiving yards per game than Smith, who is at 94.6 YPG. Looking at TD's, only nine FCS players have more receiving touchdowns than Smith. Through a conference perspective, Smith has the most touchdown receptions, the second most receiving yards and the fourth most receptions. Through a team perspective, he's now reached the top-10 for Tarleton TD receptions in a season. He needs two more to have the tied-sixth most in program history in a single-season with four others. The most recent who had exactly 10 was Del'Michael High in 2016.
 
Cooper just had a career-best performance against Sam Houston, going for 191 yards and two touchdowns on nine catches. He has the tied-second most receiving touchdowns (seven), the fifth most receiving yards (719) and the fifth most receptions (37). He's third in yards per catch at 20.6.
 
Douglas had one of the best plays of the season on Oct. 8 at Southern Utah, out-maneuvering his defenders and overpowering the last one to get into the endzone. He had two catches for 55 yards and a score on the day. He's second in yards per catch at 20.6, tied-eighth in receiving touchdowns at three.
 
BEST IN TEXAS
Since the start of the 2018 season, there has not been a better scholarship football program in the entire state of Texas than Tarleton State University. The Texans enter Saturday's game with a .750 winning percentage since the start of 2018, the tied-highest mark across all of the NCAA Division I and II programs in the state (Sam Houston).  The Texans have 38 wins since the start of 2018, the tied-most wins in the state by an NCAA Division I or II program (Sam Houston). Tarleton is one of three Texas D1 or D2 schools with all four winning seasons since 2018, along with Texas A&M and Sam Houston. The Texans have the fewest amount of losses among Texas D1/D2 schools since 2018 at 12.  The list of the top scholarship programs in Texas over that span are as follows:
 

#	School	Conf.	Win Pct.
1.	Tarleton	WAC	.750
	Sam Houston	WAC	.750
3.	Angelo State	LSC	.720
4.	Texas A&M-Commerce	LSC	.717
5.	Texas A&M	SEC	.661
6.	Baylor	Big 12	.638
7.	SMU	AAC	.618
8.	Texas	Big 12	.614
9.	Midwestern State	LSC	.605
10.	West Texas A&M	LSC	.604

 

#	School	Conf.	Wins
1.	Tarleton	WAC	39
	Sam Houston	WAC	39
3.	Texas A&M	SEC	37
	Baylor	Big 12	37
5.	Angelo State	LSC	36
6.	Texas	Big 12	35
7.	SMU	AAC	34
8.	Texas A&M-Commerce	LSC	33
9.	UTSA	C-USA	32
	Incarnate Word	SLC	32

 
TURNAROUND TODD
Tarleton head coach Todd Whitten is in his 13th season at the helm of the Texans. He's already the winningest head coach in program history, with opportunities this season to keep building on his historic career. Since joining the purple and white, Whitten has taken his Texan teams to a 95-48 (.664) record. In its senior college history, Tarleton is now above .500 all-time at 320-318-3. So, Whitten has boosted the Texans from a .455 winning percentage to .502, a hard feat to manage since the senior college sample size is 600+ games deep.
 
Across the college landscape, Whitten is one of the top coaching minds, and has been for a while. Among active NCAA Division I coaches (both FBS and FCS), Whitten has the tied-37th most total wins at 120, tied with Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher.
 
NICE TO BE RECOGNIZED
On Oct. 10, Tarleton took home their fourth WAC weekly award of the year, with Donovan Banks named the WAC Defensive Player of the Week after his vital 41-yard interception return for a touchdown in Tarleton's win at Southern Utah. This was Banks' first career weekly award, as the senior scored his first career touchdown. Through nine weeks of the season, Tarleton has won four awards.
 
In Week 4 after Tarleton's 43-28 win at North Alabama, Beau Allen won Offensive Player of the Week and Adrian Guzman took Special Teams Player of the Week. This marked Allen's first career weekly award, and for Guzman his third, the second of the season. Allen completed 18-of-29 (.621) passes for a career-high 316 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, while adding 32 yards on seven carries. Guzman was perfect on the day, going 2-for-2 on field goals from 35 and 20 yards out, plus 5-of-5 on extra points.
 
In Week 2, Guzman brought home Tarleton's first WAC weekly honor of the season, named WAC Special Teams Player of the Week following his efforts at TCU. Guzman made his lone field goal attempt, a career-long 47-yarder, and both of his extra points in Fort Worth. His 47-yard successful try made back-to-back weeks for Guzman setting new career-longs in field goals.
 
LEADING THE WAC
Several Texans are atop WAC leaderboards this season...
Beau Allen:
  - 1st in pass touchdowns (17)
  - 1st in yards per completion (15.1)
  - 1st in yards per attempt (8.4)
  - 2nd in total passing yards (2052)
  - 2nd in passing yards per game (256.5)
  - 2nd in total completions (136)
  - 3rd in pass efficiency (141.8)
Jalen Carr:
  - T-4th in pass breakups (6)
Darius Cooper:
  - T-2nd in receiving touchdowns (7)
  - 3rd in yards per catch (19.4)
  - 5th in total receiving yards (719)
  - 5th in total receptions (37)
  - 5th in receiving yards per game (89.9)
  - 5th in receptions per game (4.6)
Gabe Douglas:
  - 2nd in yards per catch (20.6)
Adrian Guzman:
  - 2nd in field goal percentage (80.0)
  - 4th in total field goal makes (8)
D.J. Harris:
  - 2nd in tackles per game (9.3)
Segun Ijiyera:
  - T-8th in total sacks (2.5)
Michael Irons:
  - T-2nd in pass breakups (7)
Patrick Jones:
  - T-2nd in interceptions (2)
  - T-5th in total sacks (3)
  - 8th in tackles per game (6.6)
Derrel Kelley III:
  - 1st in yards per rush (6.3)
  - 2nd in total rushing yards (601)
  - 3rd in rushing yards per game (75.1)
  - T-3rd in rushing touchdowns (4)
Jaden Smith:
  - 1st in receiving touchdowns (8)
  - 2nd in total receiving yards (767)
  - 3rd in receiving yards per game (95.9)
  - 4th in total receptions (42)
  - 4th in receptions per game (5.3)
  - 5th in yards per catch (18.3)
Kyle Taylor:
  - 10th in tackles per game (5.1)
Qua'Shawn Washington:
  - 1st in tackles per game (9.5)
  - 2nd in tackles for loss per game (1.3)
 
CHANGE IN SCHEME
With new personnel comes fresh ideas and different habits. The Texans have a brand-new defensive coordinator, Tyrone Nix, who has incorporated a 3-4 defensive formation, different from Tarleton's 4-3 defense last year.
 
Nix has been a Division I coach for over 25 years, serving as the defensive coordinator for five previous D1 programs, including Ole Miss and South Carolina. He has spent 17 years as a defensive coordinator at the D1 level, holding that title at UTSA (2020), Middle Tennessee (2012-16), Ole Miss (2008-11), South Carolina (2005-07) and Southern Miss (2001-04). His other titles and stops include outside linebackers coach at Ole Miss (2019), safeties coach at Virginia Tech (2018), defensive analyst at Texas A&M (2017), and numerous defensive position titles among his full tenure at Southern Miss from 1995-2004. In all, Nix has coached at seven different Division I programs, spending 15 years in Conference USA, nine years in the Southeastern Conference, one year in the Atlantic Coast Conference and one year in the Sun Belt Conference. He's a former Broyles Award finalist, given to the nation's top assistant coach.
 
NATIONAL LEADER
Across the country, only 13 NCAA Division I teams (eight FBS, five FCS) have a better winning percentage than Tarleton since 2018 (Cincinnati, Georgia, Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Appalachian State, Kennesaw State, North Dakota State, James Madison, Princeton, Dartmouth). So among some of the other elite programs, Tarleton has a higher W% than the likes of Michigan, Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Oregon, Iowa, USC, LSU, etc.  
 

#	School	Conf.	Win Pct.
1.	Princeton	Ivy	.919
2.	Ohio State	Big 10	.912
3.	Alabama	SEC	.906
	North Dakota State	MVFC	.906
5.	Clemson	ACC	.905
6.	Georgia	SEC	.869
7.	Cincinnati	AAC	.847
8.	Notre Dame	Ind.	.831
9.	Oklahoma	Big 12	.817
10.	James Madison	SBC	.810
11.	Appalachian State	SBC	.787
12.	Dartmouth	Ivy	.784
13.	Kennesaw State	ASUN	.774
14.	Tarleton	WAC	.750

 
6: Only six D1 teams (five FBS, one FCS) averaged more points than Tarleton (38.0 PPG) from 2018-21 (Ohio State, Alabama, Oklahoma, Clemson, UCF, Eastern Washington).
 
10: 10 D1 teams (five FBS, five FCS) allowed fewer points than TAR (18.3) from 2018-21 (Georgia, Clemson, Cincinnati, Iowa, San Diego State, North Dakota State, Dartmouth, James Madison, Princeton, Kennesaw State).
 
5: Not considering reclassification rules on leaderboards, Tarleton was one of five D1 teams in both top-15s of scoring and defense from 2018-21 - (Clemson, James Madison, Princeton, Kennesaw State).
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will play their last road game of the season at Utah Tech in St. George, Utah, on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 2 p.m. CT. Last year in St. George, Tarleton rolled the Trailblazers 42-21, although Utah Tech has shown great fight recently, nearly beating Sam Houston before knocking off Stephen F. Austin last week in Nacogdoches.