The 2012 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team represented Abilene Christian University as a member of the

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in T ...

(LSC) during the

2012 NCAA Division II football season The 2012 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began on September 1, 2012, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Foo ...

. Led by first-year head coach Ken Collums, the Wildcats compiled an overall record of 7–4 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for fifth place in the LSC. The team played home games at

Shotwell Stadium Shotwell Stadium is a stadium in Abilene, Texas. It was built in 1959, using Rice Stadium as a model. It was initially named the Public Schools Stadium. The first game played in the Stadium was in the fall of 1959. Shortly after the first season, ...

in Abilene, Texas. Abilene Christian became just third program to have three consecutive 12,000-yard passers after Hawaii and Houston. The Wildcats had also the best punt returning in college football averaging 25.2 yards per return.

Preseason

Abilene Christian was ranked No. 10 in the American Football Coaches' Association pre-season poll and No. 13 by ''

Lindy's Lindy's was two different deli and restaurant chains in Manhattan, New York City. The first chain, founded by Leo "Lindy" Lindemann, operated from 1921 to 1969.("Opening date was Aug. 20, 1921.") In 1979, the Riese Organization determined that ...

'' magazine. The ACU Wildcats were picked to finish 2nd in the conference behind Midwest State.

Mitchell Gale Mitchell Gale (born January 7, 1990) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Abilene Christian University and attended Alva High School in Alva, Oklahoma. Gale has been a member of the Toronto Argonauts, Hamilto ...

was not only awarded Lone Star Conference pre-season player of the year but also chosen pre-season NCAA DII offensive player of the year by Lindy's. Mitchell Gale and Morgan Lineberry (placekicker) were selected first team All-American and Taylor Gabriel (WR) made the third-team.

Transfers

Will Latu, offensive lineman, transferred from Oklahoma.

Recruiting

Abilene Christian signed 13 new players on national signing day

Schedule

Game summaries

McMurry

*Sources: In the season, opener Abilene Christian played the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

-newcomer and crosstown-rival McMurry Warhawks. It was the first game as head coach for Ken Collums. The wildcats enter the season ranked No. 10 ranked team while McMurry had one of the best offenses in

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their st ...

the previous season. Defensive end Nick Richardson tied the school record with six sacks in Abilene Christian's first shutout since 2006. Mitchell Gale completed 19 out of 28 passes for 290 yards and one touchdown. Marcel Threat ran for 88 yards on 14 carries, averaging 6.3 yards per carries, and scored two touchdowns. Taylor Gabriel caught seven passes for 108 yards and one touchdown. Stats

Texas A&M–Kingsville

*Sources: Both team enter the game ranked, ACU 9th and Texas A&M-Kingsville 24th, and with 1–0 record. ACU had won 8 straight against Javelinas. The Wildcats were without starting outside linebacker Chris Summers who suffered a right knee injury against McMurry and was out for the season. Mitchell Gale arguably had his worst game in his college career with only 13 completed passes out of 31 for only 137 yards and his 23-game streak with a least one touchdown throw was snapped. A touchdown and three field goals was enough for Texas A&M-Kingsville to come away from

with a victory. This was the first time the Wildcats lost a home game in the regular season since 2009. Darr. Cantu-Harkless rann for 70 yards in only 4 carries while catching 4 passes for 36 yards.

Tarleton State

*Sources: ACU had won six of the last eight meetings between the teams. The Wildcats enter the game 0–1 in the conference and 1-1 overall while Tarleton was still unbeaten after a win on opening day against Midwest State. Despite being down 10 at half, the Wildcats clawed themselves back into the game and were able to take the lead late in the third quarter thanks to some great puntreturns and kept it for the rest of the game. ACU became only fourth team from the state of Texas to have won both in the Cowboys Stadium and the Cotton bowl. ACU and Gale have the most passing yards of any college teams and players in the Cowboys Stadium and Taylor Gabriel is the leading college wide receiver in the stadium in points (24). Mitchell Gale was 27 out of 42 for 279 yards and 2 touchdowns. Mitchell Gale rushed for 38 yards in 11 carries and Darian Hogg did catch 8 balls for 67 yards.

Angelo State

*Sources: The first true road trip waited No.19 ACU (2-1) when they visited Angelo State in San Angelo, Texas. ACU had won 9 out 10 last meetings against the Rams. Abilene Christian was held to only 9 rushing yards the whole game while giving up 7 sacks in the 23–28 loss to Angelo State.

Personnel

Coaching staff

Roster

Weekly awards

Week 1 defensive player of the week: Nick Richardson. He had six sacks against McMurry. Week 1 honorably mention: Mitchell Gale completed 68 percent of his passes for 290 yards. Week 3 offensive player of the week: Taylor Gabriel (WR), who had 5 catches for 50 yards and two touchdowns. Week 3 honorable mention: L.B. Suggs tipped the ball that ended in the first half, preventing Tarleton State being more than 10 points up at the half. He had also a game-high 11 tackles.

References

{{Abilene Christian Wildcats football navbox Abilene Christian Abilene Christian Wildcats football seasons

Abilene Christian Wildcats football The Abilene Christian Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Abilene Christian University located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team was a member of the Southland Conference through the 2020–21 season ...