← Matchups

Abilene Christian

· 0-3 · power +0.2 · #172
Our numberACU -3.8 no book has priced this game

North Alabama

· 1-2 · power -7.9 · #274
Our side
MoneylineACU to win ours 41%
Projected score 28–24 ACU – UNA
2026-10-17 · 7:00 PM Braly Stadium · Florence, AL Conference game Early season

The books

No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.

Series Abilene Christian lead 2–1 · 3 meetings since 2023
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge Abilene Christian Wildcats 97 ranks
Abilene Christian Wildcats #98 rush offense North Alabama Lions #195 run defense
Pass game edge Abilene Christian Wildcats 107 ranks
Abilene Christian Wildcats #153 pass offense North Alabama Lions #260 pass defense
Run game even 6 ranks apart
North Alabama Lions #125 rush offense Abilene Christian Wildcats #131 run defense
Pass game edge Abilene Christian Wildcats 81 ranks
North Alabama Lions #210 pass offense Abilene Christian Wildcats #129 pass defense
Abilene Christian Wildcats Balanced · 53% run Avg pace Dual-threat QB · 31 rush ypg North Alabama Lions Run-heavy · 63% run Avg pace Dual-threat QB · 52 rush ypg

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
Abilene Christian Wildcats
DB Dillon Williams 29 tkl · 1 PD #9 DB
DB Javeon Wilcox 27 tkl · 1 INT #37 DB
DL Hudson Page 15 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL #76 DL
WR Cristian Driver 18 rec · 224 yds · 1 TD #46 WR
North Alabama Lions
DB Tae Martin 23 tkl · 4 PD #11 DB
DL Avery Howard 17 tkl · 2.0 sacks · 5.0 TFL #20 DL
WR Xavier Johnson 19 rec · 386 yds · 2 TD #14 WR
DL Cayden Adkins 11 tkl · 3.0 sacks · 3.0 TFL #29 DL

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
Abilene Christian Wildcats +0.2 -3.2 +3.4 #172
North Alabama Lions -7.9 -4.2 -3.7 #274

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
Abilene Christian offense vs North Alabama defense+0.4 pts
North Alabama offense vs Abilene Christian defense-7.6 pts
Efficiency adjustment · EPA, success rate, explosiveness+1.6 pts
Power projection before adjustment-5.4
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 711 mi
Altitude · context only358 m lower than the visitor's home elevation
Rest · context onlyHome team on 7 more days rest

The projection carries an efficiency adjustment — a residual from season-to-date EPA, success rate and explosiveness, which earned its place by walk-forward test (margin error 12.90 → 12.72 across seven held-out seasons).

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.