A claim on the United Athletic Conference (UAC) Football Championship is up for grabs in the selections on the penultimate Saturday of the regular season with several squads looking to stay in the hunt for their title share and postseason dreams. 

SATURDAY SLATE | Nov. 16
1 PM CT  | EKU at AUSTIN PEAY* (ESPN+)
2 PM MT  | WEST GEORGIA at UTAH TECH* (ESPN+)
4 PM CT  | SOUTHERN UTAH at #24 CENTRAL ARKANSAS* (ESPN+)
6 PM CT | #14 ABILENE CHRISTIAN at #12 TARLETON STATE* (ESPN+)
* UAC Conference Game

GAME OF THE WEEK: It will be a "Texas Shootout" as No. 12 Tarleton State (5-1 UAC) welcomes Lonestar State rival No. 14 Abilene Christian (6-1 UAC) in a battle for an UAC Championship. A win for the Wildcats would secure sole possession of the crown and the AQ bid to the playoffs. With a victory, the Texans would claim at least a share of the title with one game remaining and give them the inside track to the AQ bid. TSU features the FCS' second ranked rusher in Kayvon Britten (1,494 yards rushing) while ACU counters with the FCS passing leader, Maverick McIvor (3,213 yards passing)

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE
-Headed into the final games of 2024, a trio of UAC squads are still undefeated on their home fields as Central Arkansas (4-0) and EKU (5-0) have successfully defended their homes all year, while Abilene Christian (4-0) went undefeated at home in league contests

BORN TO RUN 
-The UAC is home to the TOP THREE running backs in FCS rushing with SUU’s Targhee Lambson (1,597 yds), TSU’s Kavyon Britten (1,494 yds) and UCA’s ShunDerrick Powell (1,236 yds) ... In all of Division I Football (FCS & FBS) only Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty (1,734 yards) of Boise State has more yards

NOTEWORTHY
- Ten UAC league games have been decided by one score including four in the past two weeks
- APSU’s Chandler Kirton was named a finalist for the FedEx Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award
- Stats Perform named a trio of UAC rookies to the “Watch List” for the Jerry Rice Award, presented to the FCS Freshman of the Year... Honorees: UNA’s Josh Anglin and Jalen Fletcher, SUU’s Jayden Robertson
- Oct. 5 clash between #5 Central Arkansas and #16 Abilene Christian was just the second head-to-head UAC battle of ranked squads in league history... UCA has been part of both competitions, having faced #12 Austin Peay, ranked 20th last season
- With Southern Utah’s 27-24 OT win over UTEP on Sept. 7, the T-Birds secured the league’s first victory against an FBS foe... Abilene Christian (52-51 loss at Texas Tech) and Central Arkansas (34-31 loss at Arkansas State) both nearly accomplished the feat as well this season
- UCA’s 34-14 victory over #19 Lamar (Sept. 29) marked just the second UAC win against a ranked non-conference foe... EKU topped #16 Southeast Missouri, 41-38, last year
- Thunderbirds head coach DeLane Fitzgerald earned the 100th of his career with SUU’s victory over EKU... Fitzgerald joined TSU’s Todd Whitten (135 wins) in the Century Win Club 

HOW DO WE STACK UP?
- A trio of UAC teams were again ranked in the Top 25 nationally as ACU, UCA and TSU were all recognized. The Texans were listed 12th (AFCA)/13th (STATS), the Wildcats were 14th (STATS)/15th (AFCA) and the Bears were 24th (STATS)/RV (AFCA)... EKU & SUU received votes in a poll this week
- In the Sept. 30 STATS Ranking, Central Arkanasas was listed No. 5, marking the highest ever rank for a UAC program
- The league has seen three teams ranked in the Top 25 for nine consecutive weeks ... Three teams ranked in one week is a league high benchmark
- Including the Preseason Poll, eight of the nine teams in the conference have received votes for the Top 25 in one or both of the National Rankings (STATS Peform & AFCA)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR...
- A longstanding rivalry gets week 12 started as Austin Peay (3-4 UAC) hosts EKU (4-2 UAC) at "The Fort" in the 56th renewal of this series. The Govs nearly pulled off the upset vs ACU last weekend, coming up just a point short, while the Colonels collected their second consecutive win versus a ranked foe after taking down UCA. EKU leads 47-8 all-time but APSU has won four of the last six including a thrilling 33-30 OT win last season.

- West Georgia (0-7 UAC) closes out its inaugural DI season with a trip to the St. George, Utah, for a first-time meeting with Utah Tech (1-5 UAC). The Trailblazers are coming off a bye week that followed their surprising upset of then No. 9 Central Arkansas for their first win of the season. The Wolves hope to earn their first conference win in their season finale having been highly competitive in their league games with several games decided by single scores.

- Southern Utah (4-2 UAC) seeks to stay in the hunt for a conference title as they visit "The Stripes" for a match-up with No. 24 Central Arkansas (3-3 UAC). The Bears have dropped back-to-back games while the T-Birds look to build on their solid victory over North Alabama last week at home. The game features two of the nation's top running backs with SUU's Targhee Lambson leading the country with 1,597 yards rushing and UCA's ShunDerrick Powell is third with 1,236 yards.

MILESTONE WATCHES:
- Kayvon Britten (TSU RB) needs 79 yards for 4,000 career rushing yards
- ShunDerrick Powell (UCA RB) needs 86 yards for 4,000 career rushing yards
- Reggie Graff (UT QB) needs 186 yards for 1,000 career passing yards
- Romon Copeland Jr. (APSU WR) needs 204 yards for 2,000 career receiving yards
- Taylor Blayne (ACU WR) needs 308 yards for 2,000 career receiving yards
- Dylan Gary (UWG WR) needs 231 yards for 1,000 career receiving yards
- Ritse Vaes (ACU PK) needs 4 FGM to reach 50 career FGM
- Adrian Guzman (TSU P/K) needs 5 FGM to reach 50 career FGM
- David Walker (UCA DL) needs 0.5 sacks for 40 career sacks
- Kohner Cullimore (SUU LB) needs 12 tackles for 200 career tackles

Milestones Reached in 2024
- David Walker (UCA DL) reached 60 career TFLs on Nov. 9
- Targhee Lambson (SUU RB) reached 2,000 career rushing yards on Nov. 9
- Dion Hunter (AP DB) surpassed 200 career tackles on Nov. 9
- Darius Hale (UCA RB) eclipsed 3,000 career rushing yards on Nov. 2
- Rajaez Mosley (UWG RB) reached 2,000 career rushing yards on Nov. 2
- Will McElvain (UCA QB) surpassed 7,000 career passing yards on Nov. 2
- Maverick McIvor (ACU QB) topped 7,000 career passing yards on Nov. 2
- Demetrias Charles (UCA DB) reached 200 career tackles on Oct. 26
- Southern Utah Head Coach DeLane Fitzgerald earned 100th win of his coaching career on Oct. 12
- Patrick Nations (EKU PK) connected on his 50th FGM on Oct. 12
- TaMuarion Wilson (UCA DB) surpassed 300 tackles on Oct. 12
- Maverick McIvor (ACU QB) surpassed 6,000 career passing yards on Oct. 5
- Will McElvain (UCA QB) surpassed 6,000 career passing yards on Sept. 28 (*at UCA)
- Darius Cooper (TSU WR) surpassed 2,000 career receiving yards on Sept. 28
- David Walker (UCA DL) reached 50 career TFLs on Sept. 28
- Elijah Moffett (ACU LB) eclipsed 200 career tackles on Sept. 28
- Donta Stuart (TSU DB) reached 200 career tackles on Sept. 28
- Kayvon Britten (TSU RB) reached 3,000 career rushing yards on Sept. 21 (*had UAC record 273 rushing yds vs UNA)
- Derrel Kelley III (TSU RB) surpassed 2,000 career rushing yards on Sept. 21
- Targhee Lambson (SUU RB) reached 1,000 career rushing yards on Sept. 21
- ShunDerrick Powell (UCA RB) surpassed 3,000 career rushing yards on Sept. 14
- Takairee Kenebrew (UNA WR) reached 2,000 career receiving yards on Sept. 14