2012 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team

The 2012 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team represented Abilene Christian University as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) during the 2012 NCAA Division II football season. Led by first-year head coach Ken Collums, the Wildcats compiled an overall record of 7–4 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for fifth place in the LSC. The team played home games at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene, Texas.

Abilene Christian became just third program to have three consecutive 12,000-yard passers after Hawaii and Houston.^[1] The Wildcats had also the best punt returning in college football averaging 25.2 yards per return.^[2]

Preseason[edit]

Abilene Christian was ranked No. 10 in the American Football Coaches' Association pre-season poll and No. 13 by Lindy's magazine.^[3][4] The ACU Wildcats were picked to finish 2nd in the conference behind Midwest State.

Mitchell Gale was not only awarded Lone Star Conference pre-season player of the year but also chosen pre-season NCAA DII offensive player of the year by Lindy's. Mitchell Gale and Morgan Lineberry (placekicker) were selected first team All-American and Taylor Gabriel (WR) made the third-team.^[5]

Transfers[edit]

Will Latu, offensive lineman, transferred from Oklahoma.

Recruiting[edit]

Abilene Christian signed 13 new players on national signing day^[6]

Schedule[edit]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	6:00 p.m.	McMurry*	No. 10	Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX		W 51–0	11,337	[7][8]
September 7	6:00 p.m.	No. 24 Texas A&M–Kingsville	No. 9	Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX (Action Sports Champions Classic)	KRBC-TV	L 13–16	7,435	[9]
September 15	4:00 p.m.	vs. Tarleton State	No. 20	AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX		W 34–31	19,134	[10]
September 22	6:00 p.m.	at Angelo State	No. 19	San Angelo Stadium San Angelo, TX		L 23–28	7,320	[11]
September 27	6:36 p.m.	at Delta State*		McCool Stadium Cleveland, MS		W 34–28	5,123	[12]
October 6	6:00 p.m.	Eastern New Mexico		Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX		W 59–17	3,576	[13]
October 13	6:00 p.m.	at No. 20 West Texas A&M		Kimbrough Memorial Stadium Canyon, TX	FoxSportsSouthwest.com	L 0–36	13,019	[14]
October 20	2:00 p.m.	No. 12 Midwestern State		Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX		L 31–35	7,212	[15]
October 27	2:00 p.m.	at Texas A&M–Commerce		Memorial Stadium Commerce, TX		W 24–17	5,224	[16]
November 3	12:00 p.m.	No. 13 West Alabama*		Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX		W 22–16	3,517	[17]
November 10	7:00 p.m.	at Incarnate Word		Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium San Antonio, TX		W 24–12	2,649	[18]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the game

^[19][20][21]

Game summaries[edit]

McMurry[edit]

In the season, opener Abilene Christian played the NCAA Division II-newcomer and crosstown-rival McMurry Warhawks. It was the first game as head coach for Ken Collums. The wildcats enter the season ranked No. 10 ranked team while McMurry had one of the best offenses in NCAA Division III the previous season.^[23]

Defensive end Nick Richardson tied the school record with six sacks in Abilene Christian's first shutout since 2006.^[24][25]

Mitchell Gale completed 19 out of 28 passes for 290 yards and one touchdown. Marcel Threat ran for 88 yards on 14 carries, averaging 6.3 yards per carries, and scored two touchdowns. Taylor Gabriel caught seven passes for 108 yards and one touchdown.

Stats

Texas A&M–Kingsville[edit]

Both team enter the game ranked, ACU 9th and Texas A&M-Kingsville 24th, and with 1–0 record. ACU had won 8 straight against Javelinas. The Wildcats were without starting outside linebacker Chris Summers who suffered a right knee injury against McMurry and was out for the season.^[27]

Mitchell Gale arguably had his worst game in his college career with only 13 completed passes out of 31 for only 137 yards and his 23-game streak with a least one touchdown throw was snapped. A touchdown and three field goals was enough for Texas A&M-Kingsville to come away from Shotwell Stadium with a victory. This was the first time the Wildcats lost a home game in the regular season since 2009.^[28][29]

Darr. Cantu-Harkless rann for 70 yards in only 4 carries while catching 4 passes for 36 yards.^[30]

Tarleton State[edit]

ACU had won six of the last eight meetings between the teams. The Wildcats enter the game 0–1 in the conference and 1-1 overall while Tarleton was still unbeaten after a win on opening day against Midwest State.^[32]

Despite being down 10 at half, the Wildcats clawed themselves back into the game and were able to take the lead late in the third quarter thanks to some great puntreturns and kept it for the rest of the game.^[33] ACU became only fourth team from the state of Texas to have won both in the Cowboys Stadium and the Cotton bowl. ACU and Gale have the most passing yards of any college teams and players in the Cowboys Stadium and Taylor Gabriel is the leading college wide receiver in the stadium in points (24).^[34]

Mitchell Gale was 27 out of 42 for 279 yards and 2 touchdowns. Mitchell Gale rushed for 38 yards in 11 carries and Darian Hogg did catch 8 balls for 67 yards.

Angelo State[edit]

The first true road trip waited No.19 ACU (2-1) when they visited Angelo State in San Angelo, Texas. ACU had won 9 out 10 last meetings against the Rams.^[36]

Abilene Christian was held to only 9 rushing yards the whole game while giving up 7 sacks in the 23–28 loss to Angelo State.^[37]

Personnel[edit]

Coaching staff[edit]

^[38][39]

Roster[edit]

Weekly awards[edit]

Week 1 defensive player of the week: Nick Richardson. He had six sacks against McMurry.

Week 1 honorably mention: Mitchell Gale completed 68 percent of his passes for 290 yards.^[40]

Week 3 offensive player of the week: Taylor Gabriel (WR), who had 5 catches for 50 yards and two touchdowns.

Week 3 honorable mention: L.B. Suggs tipped the ball that ended in the first half, preventing Tarleton State being more than 10 points up at the half. He had also a game-high 11 tackles.^[41]

References[edit]