Four UAC Football Teams Ranked in Stats Perform Top-25 Poll
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The United Athletic Conference (UAC) has placed four teams in the Week Zero Stats Perform Top-25 Poll, it was announced Monday.
Tarleton State (1-0) retained its ranking at No. 5 after a convincing 49-30 win over Prairie View A&M Saturday night. Tylan Hines barreled through the Panther defense with 184 yards on the ground on 25 attempts and two scores for the Texans while the offense as a whole put up 505 yards in the team’s season-opener.
Austin Peay (1-0) moved up to No. 15 after a 35-17 win over Gardner-Webb last Thursday night. The Govs were led by UAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Chris Parson with 339 total yards of offense (308 pass, 31 rush) while the Govs defense got to GWU’s quarterback three times in the game.
Abilene Christian (0-1) jumped down a few slots to No. 20 after a heartbreaking 21-14 loss to then-No. 21 Lamar. The offense put up 358 yards of offense in the season-opening game while the defense was led by Dillon Williams and Javeon Wilcox with 13 and 12 tackles, respectively.
West Florida (1-0) stunned the college football world when they took the 34-31 win over then No. 16 Southern Illinois in the program’s Division I debut and comes in at No. 25 in the poll. After getting up by as much as 18 in the third quarter, the Argos faced a big challenge in keeping the Salukis at bay. With SIU driving in the final minute of the game, David Law-Mortimer sealed the Argos victory with the game-winning interception.
UWF’s opponent for this week: Central Arkansas (1-0) moved up and is receiving votes this week after a 36-24 win over then No. 24 UT Martin.
Honors
Donovan Omolo from Central Arkansas earned Offensive Player of the Week after he had a monster game for the Bears in the team’s 36-24 win over No. 22 UT Martin. In his first game with UCA, the quarterback went 20-for-27 through the air for 243 yards and three scores. The sophomore out of Conway added in 12 rushing attempts for 118 yards and one touchdown of his own for 361 yards of offense.
West Florida’s Byron Puryear snagged Defensive Player of the Week after he helped the Argos to their first Division I win over No. 16 Southern Illinois Thursday night. The defensive end recorded seven total tackles (five solo, two assisted) with three of them coming for a loss (18 TFL yards). He went on to notch a sack for a nine yard loss and had one quarterback hurry in the historic 34-31 victory.
