ABILENE, TEXAS – Saturday's matchup between Southland Conference football newcomers University of the Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian will kick off the Southland Conference Television Network Game of the Week presented by State Farm.  The matchup is the first on the syndicated network's 10-game football schedule.  Coverage begins at 3 p.m. and will be carried by over 25 affiliates across the region, plus national and online outlets. http://tinyurl.com/slctvstations

The Cardinals (0-3) and Wildcats (1-2) are meeting for the sixth time in series history, but the first time as Southland football members.  The game marks the opening of league play for the entire Southland.

The Cardinals will be looking to get the offense going this week, but come in averaging 5.3 points and 224 yards per game.  Red-shirt freshman Breylann McCollum (Cibolo/Steele HS) will be making his first ever start under center for UIW.  He flashed some ability to move the offense last week against No. 1 North Dakota State.  The top receiving target is senior wide receiver Casey Jennings (Fremont, CA/Washington HS) who has 15 catches for 188 yards.  McCollum connected with tight end Cole Wick (Hallettsville/Sacred Heart Catholic HS) three times for 46 yards in the fourth quarter last week.

The UIW running game, so strong in 2013, has not worked well through the first three games of the year.  Junior Sessions (Mesquite/Mesquite HS) leads the team with 63 yards rushing and Joseph Sadler (Devine/Devine HS) has 62 yards on 4.4 yards per carry.

Special teams have been a little up and down for UIW, but more up than down.  Freshman Ramon Coto (Houston/Westfield HS) is 3-of-5 on field goal attempts, including a perfect 3-for-3 on attempts of at least 40 yards.  He is averaging 39.5 yards per punt as well.  Jamari Gilbert (Baytown/Baytown Lee HS) and Kody Edwards (Mesquite/Poteet HS) have each been dangerous on kick returns.

The defense has been led by junior linebacker Padyn Giebler (Ivan/Stephenville HS) and sophomore nose tackle Corey Lee (Humble/LaPorte HS).  Giebler has 11 tackles last week and leads the team with 21 stops.  Lee leads the conference with 3.0 sacks and is tied for the lead with 6.0 tackles for loss.

The Wildcats are coming off their first win over an FBS program in 55 years after rallying to beat Troy, 38-35.  ACU leads the league in passing offense with 293.3 yards per game and ranks fourth with 32.0 points per game.  Quarterback Parker McKenzie, a two-time SLC offensive player of the week, leads the league with a 168.0 passing efficiency.  He has thrown for 880 yards and eight touchdowns with four interceptions on 69-of-96 passing.  Defensively, ACU ranks fourth in the league in rushing defense, giving up 136.7 yards per game on the ground and are led by Justin Stewart, who ranks fifth with 8.3 tackles per game.

Last year, the Cardinals and Wildcats split the season series.  ACU won in Abilene, 40-6 while UIW won in San Antonio, 34-31.

The game has been designated as the P4X Foundation Classic as the Cardinals and Wildcats help raise awareness for pediatric cancer and the need for additional funding to be pushed towards research.  The P4X (Play4Rex) Foundation was established in 2013 in memory of Rex Fleming, the late son of ACU associate director of athletics Lance Fleming and his wife Jill.  Rex battled a brain tumor for two years before succumbing to cancer in November 2012 at the age of 10.  September is pediatric cancer awareness month and student-athletes from both teams will wear a special ribbon decal featuring the P4X Foundation logo.

Viewers can visit Southland.org/television for a complete affiliate clearance list, plus a cable and dish channel number guide. This list of Texas markets includes Abilene-Sweetwater on KIDZ (15.2), Amarillo on KCPN (19.2), Austin on KBVO (14.1), Beaumont-Port Arthur on KUIL (12.5), Corpus Christi on KDF (47), Dallas-Fort Worth on KTXD (47.1), El Paso on KVIA (7.2), Houston on KUBE (57.1), Lubbock on KMYL (22.2), Midland-Odessa on KWWT (30.1), San Angelo on KIDY (6.2), San Antonio on KMYS (35.1), Tyler-Longview-Lufkin-Nacogdoches on KCEB (54.1), and Waco-Temple-Bryan on KCEN (6.2). The list of Louisiana markets includes Alexandria on KLAX (31.2), Baton Rouge on WBTR (41), Lafayette on KLFY (10.2), Lake Charles on KVHP (29.2), and Shreveport on KPXJ (21.1). In Arkansas, fans can find the game in Fayetteville-Fort Smith on the Cox Channel (70/2078), Little Rock on KARZ (42.1), and Texarkana on KPXJ (21.1). Affiliates from outside the Southland footprint include WJXT (4.2) in Jacksonville, Florida, the Cox Channel (126) in Omaha, Nebraska, the Cox Channel (3/703) in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, plus Altitude Sports in Colorado and surrounding states. Nationwide, the game is available on the ESPN GamePlan pay-per-view package.

All Southland TV games will be streamed live and for free on the Southland Digital Network, available via Southland.org/watch and the Southland's official mobile and tablet app for Apple and Android devices. Coverage is also accessible via ESPN3 at WatchESPN.com and on the WatchESPN application for smart phones, tablets, Xbox, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire, Roku and other devices.

The game will air on tape-delayed basis nationally on Fox College Sports Central, Sunday at 5 p.m., Central. Comcast SportsNet Houston is set to air the Cardinals and Wildcats Sunday at 8 a.m., Central. Cox Sports Television will carry the broadcast Monday at 7 p.m., Central. Finally, Comcast Network Mid-Atlantic will run the game Thursday at 7 p.m., Central.

The game will also be broadcast on CBS SportsRadio 860 AM in San Antonio or online at www.uiwlive.com with Gabe Farias and Shawn Morris on the call.  The full affiliate list for Southland TV can be found at http://tinyurl.com/slctvstations.
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