End of Q3: ACU 13, West Alabama 0

Ryan Owens kicked his second field goal of the game with 3:23 left in the third quarter, a 24-yarder that put ACU further ahead, 13-0.

The quarter ended with West Alabama driving into Wildcat territory.

End of Q2: ACU 10, West Alabama 0

ACU drove to the UWA 19 but a sack, a bad snap from center and a delay of game penalty pushed the Wildcats back to the 35, where they were forced to punt.

On their next drive, ACU advanced to the Tigers 10-yard line, but fell 1 yard short of a first down on fourth down and 4, turning the ball over to UWA on downs at the 7-yard-line with 4:41 left in the half.

UWA’s George Rowe ran 10 yards for a first down but Wildcat defensive back Angel Lopez forced a fumble that Justin Stewart recovered on the ACU 30-yard line with 1:47 remaining.

FIRST-HALF STATISTICS

First downs: ACU 10, UWA 6

Rushing: ACU 17 for 49 yards, UWA 17 for 38 yards

Passing: ACU 14 of 23 for 176 yards, UWA 7 of 9 for 91 yards

Total yards: ACU 225, UWA 129

Penalties: ACU 6 for 45 yards, UWA 3 for 23 yards

Time of possession: UWA 13:29, ACU 16:31

Third-down conversions: ACU 2 of 8, UWA 1 of 5

ACU passing: Mitchell Gale, ACU 14 of 23 for 176 yards

ACU rushing: Charcandrick West, 7 for 33 yards and 1 TD, Darrell Cantu-Harkless, 4 for 28 yards; Taylor Gabriel, 2 for 7 yards; and Mitchell Gale, 3 for -4 yards

ACU receiving: Darrell Cantu-Harkless, 5 for 70 yards; Taylor Gabriel, 3 for 46 yards; Demarcus Thompson, 2 for 31 yards; Darian Hogg, 2 or 11 yards; Drew Peters, 1 or 16 yards; and Eldon Crochran, 1 for 2 yards

ACU tackles: Mike Wallace, 5; Justin Stewart, 3 and 1 fumble recovery; L.B. Suggs, 3; Thor Woerner, 3; Angel Lopez, 3 and 1 forced fumble; Travis Tarver, 3; and Melvin Shead, 3

End of Q1: ACU 10, West Alabama 0

ACU opened the game with a 33-yard pass from quarterback Mitchell Gale, playing in the final home game of his career, to wide receiver Taylor Gabriel. The Wildcats successfully gambled on a fourth-down-and-1 from the West Alabama 22 yard line. Three plays later, Ryan Owens kicked a 34-yard field goal to put his team on top, 3-0 with 9:58 left in the first quarter.

West Alabama's first drive was stopped by the Wildcat defense, and Darrell Cantu-Harkless returned the Tiger punt 71 yards to the UWA 9-yard line. Three plays later, Charcandrick West barreled up the middle for a 1-yard TD. Owens’ successful PAT gave ACU a 10-0 lead with 5:50 remaining.

The quarter ended with ACU beginning its third drive of the game.

Final: MSU 35, ACU 31

Tight end Jamie Walker caught a 5-yard pass from Mitchell Gale with 5:43 left in the game. Ryan Owens’ successful PAT put ACU back on top, 31-28.

But the Mustangs answered right back on their next drive, with Brandon Kelsey wrapping up a 12-play, 75-yard drive by rushing for his fourth TD of the game, an 11-yarder with 1:27 remaining that put MSU back in the lead, 35-31.

A last-gasp drive by ACU started at the Wildcat 35-yard-line but ended six plays later when a pass from Gale, intended for Darian Hogg, landed out of bounds with 49 seconds on the clock.

MSU ran out the clock and the Wildcat upset bid ended.

FINAL STATISTICS

First downs: MSU 30, ACU 25

Rushing: MSU 53 for 389 yards, ACU 32 for 92 yards

Passing: ACU 26 of 38 for 335 yards and 3 TDs, MSU 12 of 16 for 121 yards and 1 INT

Total yards: MSU 510, ACU 427

Penalties: MSU 8 for 90 yards, ACU 5 for 43 yards

Time of possession: ACU 30:26, MSU 29:34

Third-down conversions: ACU 5 of 12, MSU 4 of 6

ACU passing: Mitchell Gale, ACU 26 of 38 for 335 yards and 3 TD

ACU rushing: Charcandrick West, 18 for 63 yards; Darrell Cantu-Harkless, 7 of 12; Marcel Threat, 2 for 9 yards; and Mitchell Gale, 5 for 8 yards

ACU receiving: Taylor Gabriel, 9 for 116 yards and 2 TDs; Darrell Cantu-Harless, 7 for 94 yards; Darian Hogg, 4 for 66 yards; Demarcus Thompson, 3 for 33 yards; Charcandrick West, 1 for 16 yards; Elton Crochran, 1 for 5 yards; Jamie Walker, 1 for 5 yards

ACU tackles: L.B. Suggs, 13; Angel Lopez, 12; Steven Ford, 10 and 1 INT, Justin Stephens, 9; and Mike Wallace, 8; 

End of Q3: MSU 28, ACU 24

MSU went back on top, 21-17, when Kelsey ran for his third TD of the game at the 9:23 mark, a 6-yard rush up the middle.

ACU responded with an 8-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Mitchell Gale's 20-yard TD pass to Taylor Gabriel with 5:24 left, putting the Wildcats back on top, 24-21.

MSU kept the ball on the ground for its next drive, moving 82 yards in eight plays. Lone Star Conference rushing leader Keidrick Jackson ran the final 8 yards for a TD to put his team back in the lead, 28-24, with 1:48 left.