2020 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team

2020 Abilene Christian Wildcats football
2020 Abilene Christian Wildcats football
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	1–5 (0–1 Southland)
Head coach	Adam Dorrel (4th season);
Offensive coordinator	Josh Lamberson (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Single set back
Defensive coordinator	Clint Brown (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium
	Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

2020 Southland Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Sam Houston State $^	6	–	0	10	–	0
No. 20 Southeastern Louisiana	4	–	2	4	–	3
No. 23 Nicholls	3	–	3	4	–	3
Incarnate Word	3	–	3	3	–	3
Lamar	2	–	4	2	–	4
McNeese State*	2	–	4	3	–	4
Northwestern State	1	–	5	1	–	5

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * – Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to NCAA sanctions Note: Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, Houston Baptist, and Stephen F. Austin played only in the fall and opted out of the spring season. Rankings from STATS Poll

2020 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Stephen F. Austin		–		6	–	4
Tarleton State†		–		5	–	3
Central Arkansas		–		5	–	4
Presbyterian†		–		4	–	3
Eastern Kentucky		–		3	–	6
Dixie State†		–		2	–	3
Houston Baptist		–		1	–	3
Abilene Christian		–		1	–	5
Campbell		–		0	–	4
North Alabama		–		0	–	4

Note: † – Dixie State, Presbyterian, and Tarleton State played only in the spring. All other teams listed played only in the fall. Presbyterian was in a scheduling agreement with the Pioneer Football League, which it fully joined in July 2021.

The 2020 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team represented Abilene Christian University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southland Conference. The Wildcats were led by fourth-year head coach Adam Dorrel and played their home games at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium. The Wildcats finished the season with a 1–5 overall record.

Preseason

Preseason poll

The Southland Conference released their original preseason poll in July 2020. The Wildcats were picked to finish seventh in the conference, prior to their schedule split from the rest of the league.^[1] In addition, four Wildcats were chosen to the Preseason All-Southland Team^[2]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Central Arkansas*	190 (12)
2	Sam Houston State	170 (4)
3	Nicholls	169 (6)
4	Southeastern Louisiana	157
5	McNeese State	113
6	Incarnate Word	104
7	Abilene Christian*	101
8	Stephen F. Austin*	60
9	Houston Baptist*	59
10	Northwestern State	49
11	Lamar	38

(*) These teams opted out of playing in the revised spring 2021 Southland schedule, and instead played as Independent in the fall of 2020.

Preseason All–Southland Teams

Offense

1st Team

Branden Hohenstein – Tight End/Halfback, SR

2nd Team

Bill McCrary – Running Back, SR
Kade Parmelly – Offensive Lineman, SR

Defense

1st Team

Kameron Hill – Defensive Lineman, SR

Schedule

Abilene Christian had a game scheduled against Texas A&M, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 19	8:00 p.m.	at UTEP*	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	ESPN3	L 13–17	6,056
October 3	12:30 p.m.	at Army*	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	CBSSN	L 23–55	5,306
~~October 17~~	~~6:00 p.m.~~	~~West Texas A&M~~*	~~Wildcat Stadium~~ ~~Abilene, TX~~	~~ESPN+~~	Canceled
October 24	12:30 p.m.	vs. Stephen F. Austin	Globe Life Field Arlington, TX	ESPN3	L 32–35 ^OT	5,211
October 31	2:00 p.m.	at Mercer*	Five Star Stadium Macon, GA	ESPN3	W 20–17	2,372
November 7	3:00 p.m.	Angelo State*	Wildcat Stadium Abilene, TX	ESPN+	L 21–34	4,787
~~November 14~~	~~3:00 p.m.~~	~~Arizona Christian~~*	~~Wildcat Stadium~~ ~~Abilene, TX~~	~~ESPN+~~	Canceled
November 21	3:00 p.m.	at Virginia*	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ESPN3	L 15–55	250
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Source: ^[4]

Game summaries

At UTEP

Abilene Christian at Texas–El Paso

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	0	3	3	13
• Miners	0	10	0	7	17

Date: September 19, 2020
Location: Sun Bowl
El Paso, TX
Game start: 7:05 p.m. MDT
Elapsed time: 3 hours and 1 minute
Game attendance: 6,056
Game weather: Temperature: 81 °F (27 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: NE 8 MPH
Referee: Anthony Perez
TV announcers (ESPN3): Erik Elken (play–by–play) and Trevor Vittatoe (analyst)

Pregame line	Over/under
UTEP –8.5	47.5^[5]

Statistics	Abilene Christian	UTEP
First downs	15	17
Total yards	308	293
Rushing yards	99	98
Passing yards	209	195
Turnovers	5	1
Time of possession	30:02	29:58

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Abilene Christian	Passing	Peyton Mansell	14/21, 202 yards
	Rushing	Tyrese White	11 carries, 41 yards
	Receiving	Taelyn Williams	2 receptions, 77 yards
UTEP	Passing	Gavin Hardison	15/25, 195 yards
	Rushing	Joshua Fields	17 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jacob Cowing	8 receptions, 110 yards

At Army

Abilene Christian Wildcats at Army Black Knights

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	3	7	13	23
Black Knights	7	16	15	17	55

at Michie Stadium, West Point, NY

Date: October 3, 2020
Game time: 1:30 p.m. EDT
Game weather: Temperature: 62 °F (17 °C) • Wind: W 7 mph • Weather: Sunny
Game attendance: 5,306
Referee: Jerry McGinn
TV announcers (CBSSN): Ben Holden (play-by-play), Ross Tucker (analyst) & Tina Cervasio (sideline)
ESPN – Jones accounts for 3 TDs, Army beats Abilene Christian 55–23^[6] /// Box Score, Abilene Christian at Army^[7] /// Pregame Notes^[8] /// Postgame Notes^[9]

Game information

First Quarter

(08:20) ARMY TD – Sandon McCoy 1-yard rush, Landon Salyers kick
Drive: 10 plays, 45 yards, 5:19; Army 7–0

Second Quarter

(14:55) ARMY FG – Landon Salyers 43-yard field goal
Drive: 6 plays, 39 yards, 3:37; Army 10–0
(12:37) ARMY TD – Jemel Jones 3-yard rush, Landon Salyers kick failed
Drive: 2 plays, 16 yards, 0:16; Army 16–0
(10:15) ARMY TD – Jakobi Buchanan 3-yard rush, Landon Salyers kick
Drive: 5 plays, 58 yards, 2:18; Army 23–0
(07:59) ACU FG – Blair Zepeda 31-yard field goal
Drive: 6 plays, 62 yards, 2:08; Army 23–3

Third Quarter

(13:27) ARMY TD – Michael Roberts 33-yard pass from Jemel Jones, Artice Hobbs IV rush
Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:33; Army 31–3
(04:18) ACU TD – Kobe Clark 2-yard pass from Peyton Mansell, Blair Zepeda kick
Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards, 4:04; Army 31–10
(02:56) ARMY TD – Jemel Jones 49-yard rush, Landon Salyers kick
Drive: 3 plays, 68 yards, 1:15; Army 38–10

Fourth Quarter

(11:12) ARMY FG – Quinn Maretzki 40-yard field goal
Drive: 11 plays, 55 yards, 4:25; Army 41–10
(08:29) ACU TD – Kobe Clark 45-yard pass from Peyton Mansell, Blair Zepeda kick
Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 2:35; Army 41–17
(04:29) ARMY TD – Anthony Adkins 3-yard rush, Quinn Maretzki kick
Drive: 8 plays, 76 yards, 3:58; Army 48–17
(03:01) ACU TD – Branden Hohenstein 61-yard pass from Peyton Mansell, Blair Zepeda kick failed
Drive: 3 plays, 74 yards, 1:23; Army 48–23
(00:37) ARMY TD – Anthony Adkins 28-yard rush, Quinn Maretzki kick
Drive: 5 plays, 46 yards, 2:24; Army 55–23

Passing

ACU – Peyton Mansell: 23/37, 279 yards, 3 TD
ARMY – Jemel Jones: 4/7, 52 yards, 1 TD

Rushing

ACU – L.J. McConnell: 2 carries, 59 yards
ARMY – Jemel Jones: 14 carries, 138 yards, 2 TD

Receiving

ACU – L.J. McConnell: 11 receptions, 101 yards
ARMY – Michael Roberts: 2 receptions, 38 yards, 1 TD

Defense

ACU – Jordan Paup: 8 total tackles (3 solo, 5 assisted)
ARMY – Marquel Broughton: 8 total tackles (7 solo, 1 assisted), 1 forced fumble

Statistics	ACU	ARMY
First downs	19	24
3rd down efficiency	1–10	3–11
4th down efficiency	1–3	2–3
Plays–yards	62–388	67–493
Rushes–yards	23–86	60–441
Passing yards	302	52
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	25–39–0	4–7–0
Penalties–yards	6–48	4–27
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	28:15	31:45

West Texas A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
~~Buffaloes~~					0
~~Wildcats~~					0

Vs. Stephen F. Austin

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Wildcats	7	7	0	15	3	32
Lumberjacks	0	7	6	16	6	35

At Mercer

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	0	3	10	20
Bears	0	10	7	0	17

Angelo State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	14	14	0	6	34
Wildcats	0	7	14	0	21

Arizona Christian

	1	2	3	4	Total
~~Firestorm~~					0
~~Wildcats~~					0

At Virginia

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	7	0	8	15
Cavaliers	14	14	14	13	55

References

^ "Nicholls Favored to Win Southland Football Spring Season". www.southland.org. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
^ "Southland Announces 2020 Preseason All-Conference Football Teams". www.southland.org. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
^ Talty, John. "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
^ "2020 Abilene Christian Football Schedule". Retrieved February 16, 2020.
^ "Abilene Christian Wildcats vs UTEP Miners". Odds Shark. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
^ "Abilene Christian at Army – Game Summary – October 3, 2020". ESPN. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
^ "Scoring Summary (Final) Abilene Christian at Army West Point (Oct 3, 2020 at West Point, N.Y.)". USMA Athletic Department. October 3, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
^ "Abilene Christian at Army – Game Notes" (PDF). USMA Athletic Department. October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
^ "Army Bounces Back with Big Win over ACU". USMA Athletic Department. October 3, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

[1] "Nicholls Favored to Win Southland Football Spring Season". www.southland.org. Retrieved August 8, 2021.

[2] "Southland Announces 2020 Preseason All-Conference Football Teams". www.southland.org. Retrieved August 8, 2021.

[3] Talty, John. "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.

[4] "2020 Abilene Christian Football Schedule". Retrieved February 16, 2020.

[5] "Abilene Christian Wildcats vs UTEP Miners". Odds Shark. Retrieved November 13, 2020.

[6] "Abilene Christian at Army – Game Summary – October 3, 2020". ESPN. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

[7] "Scoring Summary (Final) Abilene Christian at Army West Point (Oct 3, 2020 at West Point, N.Y.)". USMA Athletic Department. October 3, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

[8] "Abilene Christian at Army – Game Notes" (PDF). USMA Athletic Department. October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.

[9] "Army Bounces Back with Big Win over ACU". USMA Athletic Department. October 3, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.

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