Stephen F. Austin Runs Away from Abilene Christian 26-7
Abilene Christian scored first and then watched 26 straight points go by. Stephen F. Austin won 26-7, and the home team's only touchdown came with 16 seconds left in the first quarter.
John David Black's 6-yard pass to Itty Henry made it 7-0, and that was the whole Abilene Christian scoreboard. Gavin Rutherford answered with a 69-yard touchdown pass to Devaughn Mortimer early in the second quarter (14:19 left), then found Gerard Edimo from 13 yards to make it 14-7. Carlos Alvarado kicked a 26-yard field goal and then a 51-yarder with 28 seconds left in the half, and Stephen F. Austin led 20-7 at the break. That is 13 points in the last 11 minutes of the half.
Nobody scored in the third quarter. Rutherford put it away early in the fourth with a 26-yard run (the two-point try failed, which is why it is 26 and not 27), and nobody scored after that either. The 19-point margin held for the last 13 and a half minutes.
The numbers say the ground game was the difference. Stephen F. Austin ran 35 times for 216 yards. Abilene Christian ran 24 times for 33. The home team did throw for 267 yards, more than the visitors' 243, but it also threw an interception and lost a fumble. Stephen F. Austin lost a fumble too, and it did not matter.
Stephen F. Austin is 3-0. Abilene Christian is 0-2, and its offense has now put up 300 yards and 7 points. For fantasy, Rutherford led everyone with 31.6 points, and he did it in a game where he also lost a fumble.