Abilene Christian beats North Alabama 31-28
Team pages: Abilene Christian · North Alabama
Abilene Christian beat North Alabama 31-28. Share this game
We had North Alabama favored. Abilene Christian won.
Next: Abilene Christian vs West Georgia, Sat Oct 31 · 4:00 PM ET
Next: North Alabama vs Austin Peay, Sat Oct 24 · 7:00 PM ET
How it swung
The turning point: Parks 32-yd TD pass to York, two-point try good, Abilene Christian goes ahead 28-21 (Q4, 12:05). Abilene Christian went from 45% to 78% to win.
Before kickoff, our ratings gave Abilene Christian a 47% chance, and the closing betting line (Abilene Christian was a 2.5-point favorite) put it at 58%.
The edge changed hands 5 times before Abilene Christian won it.
Up to 75% in the second quarter, then North Alabama lost it.
Abilene Christian 31-28 North Alabama
Abilene Christian wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.North Alabama 28-31 Abilene ChristianNorth Alabama lostMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.The four plays that swung it
- 1Q1 10:54Parks 76-yd TD pass to Driver, ties it 7-7Abilene Christian 22% → 48% (+26)
- 2Q4 12:05Parks 32-yd TD pass to York, two-point try good, Abilene Christian goes ahead 28-21Abilene Christian 45% → 78% (+33)
- 3Q4 3:34Taylor 5-yd TD run, ties it 28-28Abilene Christian 80% → 53% (−27)
- 4Q4 0:00Perez 37-yd field goal, Abilene Christian goes ahead 31-28Abilene Christian 70% → 100% (+30)
The four plays that swung it
- 1Q1 10:54Parks 76-yd TD pass to Driver, ties it 7-7North Alabama 78% → 52% (−26)
- 2Q4 12:05Parks 32-yd TD pass to York, two-point try good, Abilene Christian goes ahead 28-21North Alabama 55% → 22% (−33)
- 3Q4 3:34Taylor 5-yd TD run, ties it 28-28North Alabama 20% → 47% (+27)
- 4Q4 0:00Perez 37-yd field goal, Abilene Christian goes ahead 31-28North Alabama 30% → 0% (−30)
How to read this chart
Starts from the pregame line (Abilene Christian -2.5), at 50% for Abilene Christian (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores.Every drive
Abilene Christian scored on 6 of its 9 drives; North Alabama on 4 of its 9.
Abilene Christian’s drives are teal, North Alabama’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.
From North Alabama’s side
North Alabama’s best moment: Taylor 5-yd TD run, ties it 28-28 (Q4 3:34). It lifted North Alabama’s win chance by 27 points.
Too close to call on 50% of plays.
Box score
Abilene Christian 31, North Alabama 28
Abilene Christian covered −2.5 by 0.5. The total, 59, went over 49.5.
Abilene Christian leaders
- Passing Tucker Parks 21 of 25, 264 yds, 2 TD
- Rushing Tucker Parks 14 for 58 yds; Rovaughn Banks Jr. 10 for 36 yds
- Receiving Cristian Driver 5 for 120 yds, 1 TD; Jayden York 5 for 67 yds, 1 TD
North Alabama leaders
- Passing Destin Wade 15 of 25, 203 yds
- Rushing Destin Wade 14 for 76 yds, 3 TD; Roderick Taylor Jr. 13 for 59 yds, 1 TD
- Receiving Snap Reed 8 for 105 yds; Xavier Johnson 3 for 73 yds
Before kickoff
Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.
Recent games
Last three games
Abilene Christian · 3-4
Rated 112th in our preseason ratings, 148th now.
2-1 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
L 17-34 vs Mercer #161 of 668
lost by 17 as a 3.5-point favorite
Last three games
North Alabama · 4-2
Rated 207th in our preseason ratings, 172nd now, up 35 spots.
Three straight wins, capped by a 4-point win over Eastern Kentucky as a 1.5-point underdog.
W 20-16 @ Eastern Kentucky #191 of 668
won by 4 as a 1.5-point underdog
W 23-20 vs Western Illinois #192 of 668
won by 3 as a 7-point favorite
L 25-30 @ SE Louisiana #153 of 668
lost by 5 as a 6.5-point underdog
W 22-10 vs Samford #236 of 668
won by 12 as a 7-point favorite
Week by week
North Alabama
- Wk 1Lat Arkansas14-31
- Wk 2Lat SE Louisiana25-30
- Wk 3Wvs Alcorn State38-20
- Wk 4Wvs Western Illinois23-20
- Wk 5Wat Eastern Kentucky20-16
Abilene Christian
- Wk 2Lvs Stephen F. Austin7-26
- Wk 3Wat Idaho41-39
- Wk 4Lvs Mercer17-34
- Wk 5Wvs West Florida35-7
- Wk 6Wvs Central Arkansas20-14
Power rating by week
Abilene Christian is rated 1.6 points ahead as of week 6. Our power rating by week; higher is better.
The series
Abilene Christian leads the series 2-1
3 meetings since 2023 · Abilene Christian won the last meeting
- 2025Abilene Christian 52-23
- 2024North Alabama 47-34
- 2023Abilene Christian 30-13
Line, fans and home field
The betting line, and the fans
Our model and the betting line don’t fully agree on North Alabama’s chances here.
Abilene Christian favored by 2.5 · Total 49.5
How games like this usually go
Abilene Christian by 2.5, and it went to form
Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game
The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 252 games since 2025 with a favorite of under 3.5 points.
The market
The spread moved 1.5 points toward North Alabama.
The total fell 2 points.
Spread: +4 → +2.5 · Total: 51.5 → 49.5
The books’ cut: 5.3%, the margin built into the odds
Home field
North Alabama is worth +11.7 points (±4.9) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top tenth of FBS, 100th percentile.
0% at home, 0% on the road against FBS opponents (0-2 home, 0-13 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +3.7 at home vs. away over 43 games — inside the ±9.4 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 711 miles to get here.
Where next
Conference standings
Place in the conference, then conference record.
- North Alabama4th1-0
- Abilene Christian1st2-0