BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University football team looks to make it consecutive wins Saturday when it travels to Abilene, Texas to take on Abilene Christian (0-5/0-3 Southland) from Shotwell Stadium. It will be the last time LU faces the Wildcats in Shotwell as ACU plans to open its new on-campus facility in 2017.
 
The Wildcats enter Saturday looking to follow the same path as LU, and the Cardinals (1-3/1-1 SLC) previous opponent Southeastern Louisiana. The week before traveling to Beaumont, the Lions picked up their first win of the season – a conference game – against Northwestern State. Last week Big Red defeated Southeastern for its first win of the season. The Cardinals, on the other hand, would like to postpone an ACU victory for at least one more week.
 
"We've got nothing but tough conference opponents left on our schedule, and this week is no exception," said LU head coach Ray Woodard. "Abilene Christian is a very tough team to play at their place. They have a very young, improving team and you can see it every week on film. This is going to be a very tough game.
 
"The best team we ever had here was our 8-4 season, and that year we went to Abilene and had to fight for our lives to get the win. We had to rally late to pick up a three-point win. I expect something very similar Saturday. Our challenge this week is to win one on the road. ACU is going to get that win soon, I only hope that we can put that off for one more week," added Woodard.
 
ACU brings one of the league's top offenses into the contest, which includes the Southland fourth-best pass attack. The Wildcats are one of only four league schools averaging better than 300 yards per game (305.6). ACU has ridden the arm of sophomore quarterback Dallas Sealey who ranks third in the conference averaging 272.0 passing yards per game to go along with eight touchdowns, but left last week's game early with an injury.
 
Normally the loss of a starter would be a huge negative for a team, but ACU has quality depth at the quarterback position. The Wildcats simply turned to 2015 starter Parker McKenzie. An honorable mention All-Southland athlete in 2014, McKenzie completed 14 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown last week against Central Arkansas.
 
The Cardinals were in a similar situation at quarterback this past week as well. Senior Carson Earp was given the starting nod over Andrew Allen, and Earp recorded his best game of the season. Earp completed 60 percent of his passes for 130 yards, and carried the ball 11 times for 79 yards and two scores while guiding LU to its first win.
 
"Carson is a competitor, and he didn't want to be on the bench," said Woodard. "He took great advantage of his opportunity. He had two good weeks of practice. He was further along and seemed to be handling what we were doing much better. We knew by middle of the week that it was going to be Carson, and I thought he played a heck of a football game."
 
The Cardinals also bring the Southland's leading rushing into the contest. Reigning Southland Conference Player of the Year, Kade Harrington, leads the league averaging 112 yards per game, to go along with three rushing touchdowns. It was a home contest last season that saw Harrington set a Southland single-game rushing record of 347 yards against ACU.
 
"Any time you have a Kade Harrington your team you always have a chance to be explosive," said ACU head coach Ken Collums. "He is always going to find a crease. He is running the ball well, and he fit's (Lamar's) scheme really well. We're going to have to do a solid job against their run, but also against their tight ends. Our defensive versus their offense – we have to do a better job of tackling than what we have done recently."
 
The city of Abilene has served as a home away from home for the Cardinals in the all-time series against ACU. Big Red leads the series, 11-7, but six of those wins have come in Abilene. The Cardinals are 6-2 (.750) against ACU in Abilene, and a mere 5-5 (.500) at home. LU has won four consecutive in the series, and has not lost a game in Abilene since the 1963 season.
 
Saturday's contest is key for both teams. The Wildcats – one of two Southland schools still without a win – are looking for their first win, while the Cardinals are looking to get back in the hunt in the SLC standings. Despite just the one win, the Cardinals are currently tied with five other schools with only one conference win. A victory Saturday would keep the Red and White in the hunt with the four teams ahead of them in the standings – with the two undefeated schools (Sam Houston State and Central Arkansas) still to play each other. The Cardinals also showdown with UCA later this year.
 
Saturday's game is slated for a 6 p.m. kick off from Shotwell Stadium. The game can heard live on Newstalk 560 KLVI.
 
-LU CARDINALS-