Abilene Christian Goes up 17-0 and Holds On, 20-14
Two field goals were the difference, and nobody will put them on a highlight reel. Abilene Christian beat Central Arkansas 20-14, and Brandon Perez's kicks of 26 and 34 yards supplied six of the points. Take those away and it is 14-14.
The Wildcats never trailed. Perez opened with the 26-yarder in the first quarter, Tucker Parks ran in from two yards out in the second, and with 2:01 left in the half he hit Dallas Dudley from 10 yards to make it 17-0. Central Arkansas needed until the third quarter to score at all. Donovyn Omolo ran 30 yards for a touchdown, Perez answered with the 34-yard field goal, and Jalen Washington broke a 46-yard run with 8:11 left in the fourth to cut it to 20-14. That was the last score, and it left Central Arkansas a possession short with plenty of time still to find one.
The Bears were the better team on the ground and the worse one everywhere else. They ran 31 times for 206 yards and passed for 83, a combined 289 yards to Abilene Christian's 306. They also threw one interception and lost a fumble, while Abilene Christian had no turnovers at all. Central Arkansas did get three sacks and could not turn them into points.
Abilene Christian moves to 3-3 and Central Arkansas drops to 1-3. Both teams have a lot of season left, but Central Arkansas is the one that has to start winning these close ones. Fantasy-wise Parks was the easy pick: a touchdown through the air, a touchdown on the ground, and 17 carries for 45 yards.