STEPHENVILLE – Saturday night’s game between the top two teams in the United Athletic Conference, No. 13 Tarleton State and No. 14 Abilene Christian, lived up to the billing at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville. The battle between the two heavyweights went in favor of the Wildcats on a last-minute touchdown.
The Texans (8-3, 5-2 UAC) kicked a go-ahead field goal with under two minutes to play, but the Wildcats (8-3, 7-1 UAC) drove 75 yards in 1:29 of game time to score a touchdown with 19 seconds to play to win 35-31. Tarleton had a decent chance at a Hail Mary attempt as time expired, but the ball knocked around and hit the turf. Abilene Christian won an outright conference championship and locked up the automatic qualifier FCS Playoff bid with the win.
This was the 39th all-time meeting between Tarleton and ACU, the tied-most games Tarleton has played against a single opponent (McMurry). This year’s installment of the I-20 Rivalry featured the conference’s top two teams, with the winner clinching at least a share of the conference championship. The two teams entered with a combined winning percentage of .750, the best combined mark entering a meeting since 2013. It was also the ninth game in the FCS this year featuring two top-15 nationally ranked teams.
The game lived up to the hype, with six lead changes and two ties. It was a one-possession game through the entirety, and turnover free. The two quarterbacks combined for 695 passing yards and six touchdowns, and the top two running backs combined for 238 rushing yards. ACU had the advantage in total yardage 544-486 and time of possession 35:54 to 24:06.
Texan QB Victor Gabalis completed 15-of-20 for 304 yards and three touchdowns, a 75-yard strike to Darius Cooper, a 58-yard connection to Cody Jackson, and a 22-yard find to Cooper again. Kayvon Britten rushed for 101 yards on 22 carries (4.6 YPC) and Braelon Bridges rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown on eight carries (9.1 YPC). Cooper finished with six catches for 140 yards and two touchdowns, and Jackson had three catches for 85 yards and a score.
ACU QB Maverick McIvor completed 35-of-55 for 391 yards and three touchdowns. Sam Hicks rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries (5.7 YPC). Blayne Taylor had 10 receptions for 168 yards, and three different Wildcats caught a touchdown; Nehemiah Martinez, Hicks and Javon Gipson.
Defensively, Caden Holt had a sack for the Texans, while Bam Smith (one FF) and Blake Smith each had a team-high nine tackles.
It was a terrific crowd at Memorial Stadium for Tarleton’s Legends Game, as the Texans honored the 2003 Texan Softball team. Tarleton State also announced the five 2025 Tarleton Athletic Hall of Fame members throughout the contest.
The first five drives of the game resulted in points, between four touchdowns and a field goal. ACU got the ball first and marched 75 yards on nine plays, with McIvor finding Martinez from five yards out for the score. Tarleton responded quickly, scoring in just four plays, with Gabalis finding Britten for a 31-yard connection, then a Gabalis 58-yard touchdown to Jackson.
ACU put together another long drive on its next possession, this time 15 plays for 60 yards, but Tarleton hung tough late and forced a 32-yard field goal. On Tarleton’s very first play of its next possession, Gabalis hit a streaking Cooper for a 75-yard touchdown, and Tarleton had its first lead 14-10 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Abilene Christian scored to open things on a McIvor-Gipson 29-yard touchdown connection to put ACU back in front 17-14. That ceased the scoring until the third quarter, with four punts and a field goal block by Tarleton’s Vililami Wolfgramm making it a three-point game at the break.
Tarleton scored quickly on its second half opening drive, going 75 yards in four plays, 55 yards by Cooper and 17 by Britten, with a Gabalis throw from 22 yards out to Cooper for the touchdown to make it 21-17 Tarleton State. The Texans then forced a turnover on downs, but punted shortly after. ACU went 87 yards on 14 plays on its next drive, but again, Tarleton held firm late and forced a 27-yard field goal to make it a 21-20 game.
The Texans ran it all eight plays on their next drive, with Bridges breaking one for 49 yards to the 1-yard line. He promptly cashed in the 1-yard touchdown to put Tarleton ahead 28-20. The Wildcats tied things up on their next drive on a Hicks 12-yard touchdown rush, then a successful two-point conversion.
On Tarleton’s next possession, the Texans ran it 13 straight times, part of 21 straight running plays for the Purple and White. Tarleton made it as far as the ACU 5-yard line before stalling out. Stephenville native Corbin Poston came up clutch by splitting the uprights on a 25-yard field goal with 1:48 remaining to put Tarleton ahead 31-28. ACU answered with no timeouts left, driving the distance in 12 plays (75 yards), finishing with a Hicks 1-yard touchdown reception from McIvor. The Texans gave themselves a chance at the end, racing to the ACU 39-yard line and launching a Hail Mary pass as time expired that just fell incomplete.
Britten finished with 101 rushing yards in the contest, making it his ninth 100-yard rushing game of the year. Now at 1,596 rushing yards on the season, Britten has broken the single-season rushing program, surpassing Derrick Ross’ mark that had stood for 20 years (1,560 in 2004).
Despite ACU locking up the conference, Tarleton State is still in great shape for its push to the FCS Playoffs. The Texans host their regular season finale at home on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 2 p.m. on Senior Day against Central Arkansas.
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