ABILENE, Texas (October 3, 2025) – The University of North Alabama football team is starting hot in United Athletic Conference play this weekend, opening the conference slate against defending league champion and nationally-ranked Abilene Christian on Saturday in Abilene, Texas.
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. from Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium.
For a list of "things to know" for Saturday's game,
click here.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
North Alabama vs. No. 19/23 Abilene Christian
Date: Saturday, October 4
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Location: Abilene, Texas
Stadium: Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium
Capacity: 12,000
TV: ESPN+ (Andy Penney, Jim Reese)
Radio: Roar Lions Productions ("Voice of the Lions"
Benjamin Ray, Bryan Neece,
Mike Ezekiel)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Click Here
Social Media:
@UNAFootball
UNA Game Notes |
Opponent Game Notes |
UAC Notes
NOTABLES
ABOUT THE LIONS: North Alabama enters with a 1-3 record following a challenging non-conference schedule that included FBS Western Kentucky, nationally-ranked FCS opponent Illinois State and Big South-OVC contender SEMO — all on the road. The Lions did, however, win 49-21 against Northeastern State at Braly Stadium. UNA enters off a bye week and will play eight straight weeks against United Athletic Conference opponents.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS: Abilene Christian owns a 2-3 record in a schedule that includes only FBS and ranked FCS opponents so far. This includes road losses to Tulsa and TCU at the FBS level and a loss to FCS No. 24 Incarnate Word last week. The defending UAC champion does own home wins over No. 25 Stephen F. Austin and No. 18 Austin Peay, starting 1-0 in league play. ACU has won six straight home games dating back to Sept. 21, 2024.
SERIES HISTORY: This will be fourth all-time meeting. UNA leads the series with a 2-1 record, including wins over a nationally-ranked ACU in 2011 and 2024. The Wildcats won in Abilene in 2023 — the first and most recent matchup in West Texas. UNA's win in 2011 came in a neutral site game at Cowboys Stadium (now AT&T Stadium) by a 23-17 final in a battle of top-five teams. The Lions also won in 2024 with a 47-34 win at Braly Stadium, marking the school's first win over a ranked FCS opponent in program history.
ALL ABOUT THE U-A-C: Coming out of the bye week, UNA will be in UAC play for the final eight weeks of the season. The slate starts with a trip to the defending UAC champions, followed by home games against Central Arkansas and Eastern Kentucky. The Lions have back-to-back road games at Austin Peay and Utah Tech at the turn of the month, then turn attention to the current unbeatens of the league — West Georgia (home) and Tarleton State (away). The regular season ends on Nov. 22 at home against Southern Utah.
RUNNING WILD: UNA ranks seventh in all of FCS in rushing, averaging 219.5 yards per game. This also leads the UAC ahead of West Georgia at 213.8 yards per game and Tarleton State with 211.8 yards per game. Four Lions are among the top 20 rushers in the league, including quarterbacks
Ari Patu and
Destin Wade and running backs
Jayvian Allen and
Jalyn Daniels.
PASS GAME IMPROVING: UNA has improved its passing yardage in all four games this season, including a season-high 265 yards in the last game at No. 4 Illinois State. That game also marked the first time UNA recorded more passing than rushing yards. Graduate quarterback
Ari Patu threw for a career-high four touchdowns.
TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF: A point of emphasis for the Lions this year has been ball protection, and according to NCAA statistics, UNA is the most improved team in FCS when it comes to turnover margin. Last year, UNA had a minus-13 turnover margin to rank 117 of 123 teams. This year, UNA ranks 21st of 126 with a plus-three margin. UNA has six takeaways and just three giveaways through four games. The three turnovers ranks as the 14th-fewest in FCS.
NO FLY ZONE: Senior defensive back
Jermaine Ray Jr. had five pass breakups against No. 4 Illinois State two weeks ago, marking a new career-high. As of this week, Ray is the only player in FCS football this season to record five breakups in the same game.
DENIAL FROM THE D-LINE: In the Illinois State game, junior captain
Jyheam Ingram blocked a 39-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter to keep the game tied at 27-27. This marked UNA's first blocked field goal since 2023 and the first for Ingram in his career.
FIELDING CATCHES: Junior
KJ Fields has seen an uptick in production each season since 2023, including seven catches for 94 yards and a touchdown at Illinois State. His touchdown catch came with 33 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, tying the game and eventually forcing overtime. The catch was not easy, as it came from 25 yards to the left pylon near the UNA sideline. Fields bodied up with the defensive back, batted it up to himself one-handed and came down with an acrobatic catch to tie the game.
JUSTIN TIME: Senior
Justin Pegues has been a highlight in the wide receiver room, leading the Lions with 22 catches for 234 yards and three touchdowns. All of those totals lead the team, and the 22 receptions are double all other players.
TACKLE TANDEM: The Lions are led in tackles by both starting linebackers — senior
Demarcious Robinson and junior captain
Seth Hampton. Robinson, a transfer from Georgia Southern, has 28 tackles over four games to average seven per game. He also has a forced fumble, one recovery, a QB hurry, three tackles for loss and two sacks. Hampton has 24 tackles with 2.0 for loss and a sack. Both have 15 solo stops.
KICKING IT WITH IAN: UNA kicker
Ian Vachon was named the UAC Specialist of the Week following his performance in a 49-21 win over Northeastern State. The redshirt junior connected on all three of his field goals in his Braly Stadium debut, including a 22, 27 and 55-yarder. The 55-yard field goal broke the all-time school record last set in 2014 by Taylor Pontius, who kicked a 54-yarder as time expired to defeat Valdosta State. The Auburn transfer also made a 42-yarder in overtime against Illinois State.
WATCH OUT FOR WATFORD: Junior punter
Adam Watford leads the UAC with 45.3 punt yards per game, maintaining his average back-to-back weeks against Northeastern State and Illinois State. This total ranks 10th in FCS football. Of his punts, seven have cleared 50 yards and five have landed inside the 20 compared to just two touchbacks.
HIGHLY ATTENDED: UNA and Abilene Christian currently rank second and third in the conference in attendance average at over 9,000 per game. UNA's home opener drew 9,739 fans, while ACU has averaged 9,088 over its first two home games. Tarleton State leads the league with a reported 22,531 average attendance. All other schools are averaging under 8,000 fans.
UAC ROUNDUP: Conference play is in full swing this week, as UNA becomes the final team to play against a UAC opponent this Saturday. UNA and No. 19 ACU kick off the day at 2 p.m. in Abilene, followed by No. 16 West Georgia at No. 21 Austin Peay at 3 p.m. The afternoon fun continues in Conway at 4 p.m. as Utah Tech battles Central Arkansas on The Stripes. The night concludes in Stephenville as No. 3 Tarleton State hosts Southern Utah at 6 p.m. EKU is on bye this week.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
