# 2008 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team

The 2008 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented Abilene Christian University (ACU) as a member of the South Division of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) during the 2008 NCAA Division II football season. In their fourth season under head coach Chris Thomsen, the Wildcats compiled an overall record of 11–1 record with a mark of 9–0 in conference play, winning the LSC and LSC South Division titles. Abilene Christian advanced to the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs, where, after a first-round bye, the Wildcats defeated West Texas A&M, 93–68, in the second round, before losing to Northwest Missouri State in the quarterfinals, 45–36. The team played its home games at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene, Texas.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 3 Northwest Missouri State* | No. 8 | Bearcat StadiumMaryville, MO | W 44–27 | 6,841 |
| September 13 | 2:00 p.m. | Texas A&M–Commerce* | No. 4 | Shotwell StadiumAbilene, TX | W 45–14 | 7,217 |
| September 20 | 6:00 p.m. | at Southeastern Oklahoma State* | No. 4 | Paul Laird FieldDurant, OK | W 59–10 | 3,268 |
| September 27 | 7:00 p.m. | at Eastern New Mexico | No. 4 | Greyhound StadiumPortales, NM | W 56–11 | 3,524 |
| October 4 | 6:00 p.m. | East Central* | No. 4 | Shotwell StadiumAbilene, TX | W 66–7 | 7,677 |
| October 11 | 7:00 p.m. | Angelo State | No. 3 | Shotwell StadiumAbilene, TX | W 51–7 | 8,145 |
| October 18 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 4 West Texas A&M | No. 3 | Buffalo StadiumCanyon, TX | W 52–35 | 19,380 |
| October 25 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 16 Tarleton State | No. 2 | Shotwell StadiumAbilene, TX | W 37–17 | 10,585 |
| November 1 | 7:00 p.m. | at Texas A&M–Kingsville | No. 2 | Javelina StadiumKinsgville, TX | W 42–17 | 5,817 |
| November 8 | 2:00 p.m. | Midwestern State | No. 2 | Shotwell StadiumAbilene, TX | W 47–17 | 7,337 |
| November 22 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 9 West Texas A&M* | No. 2 | Shotwell StadiumAbilene, TX (NCAA Division II Second Round) | W 93–68 | 11,797 |
| November 29 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 3 Northwest Missouri State* | No. 2 | Shotwell StadiumAbilene, TX (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal) | L 36–45 | 8,817 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### No. 9 West Texas A&M (NCAA Division II Second Round)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Buffaloes | 14 | 20 | 20 | 14 | 68 |
| No. 2 Wildcats | 21 | 21 | 37 | 14 | 93 |
at Shotwell Stadium, Abilene, Texas
* Date: November 22
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
* Game attendance: 11,797
* Referee: Dwight Neibling
* Box score
| Statistics | WTAMU | ACU |
| First downs | 34 | 30 |
| Total yards | 721 | 810 |
| Rushing yards | 126 | 427 |
| Passing yards | 595 | 383 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 36:48 | 23:12 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| West Texas A&M | Passing | Keith Null | 42/63, 595 yards, 7 TD |
| West Texas A&M | Rushing | Keith Flemming | 21 rushes, 105 yards, TD |
| West Texas A&M | Receiving | Charly Martin | 14 receptions, 323 yards, 5 TD |
| Abilene Christian | Passing | Billy Malone | 16/25, 383 yards, 6 TD |
| Abilene Christian | Rushing | Bernard Scott | 19 rushes, 292 yards, 6 TD |
| Abilene Christian | Receiving | Johnny Knox | 5 receptions, 125 yards, TD |
The Buffaloes and Wildcats finished with a combined 1,531 yards of total offense. Both teams broke several Lone Star Conference offensive and scoring records during the game along with the NCAA Division II record for total points scored in a game at 161.