Note: This story is featured in the 2026 edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football's Summer Magazine, which you can order here.

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If you were to make Abilene Christian’s 2026 football season into a movie, the title would be ‘The Last Frontier.’ 

Coach Keith Patterson established three goals when he took over in 2022. The Wildcats have accomplished the first two, going undefeated at home and repeating as UAC Champions last season. Those are no longer goals. They’re expectations. But the third goal has yet to be conquered. That Last Frontier is at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

“The third one is to win the national championship,” Patterson said. “You can do it here. We have the coaching staff. We have the administration. We have the facilities.” 

The question is, do they have the players? At the FCS level, the dark side of success is that other schools with more resources recognize it, too. Of the 105-man football roster Abilene Christian will field, 63 are new this year. Patterson says it’s the most change in one offseason he’s experienced in five years at the helm.  

Adapt or die, as Patterson says. Besides, Abilene Christian is a ‘no-excuses’ program. Look at this football complex we’re sitting in. This used to be a storage room. We put down the carpet, ordered furniture, painted the walls, and put up graphics. We’ll remodel the 2026 team the exact same way. 

“We could be the standard of FCS football, in my opinion,” offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said. “We’re getting closer and closer, but we’ve got to figure out a way to take that next step. We’ve been to the second round two years in a row. We’ve got to win that second round game.”  

Patterson describes Harrell as the ultimate competitor. He was a record-breaking quarterback at Ennis High and Texas Tech before backing up Aaron Rodgers for the Green Bay Packers. In that case, Harrell relishes the challenge 2026 brings. Quarterback is the biggest question mark. Of the four signal-callers, only Emmett Brown has thrown a pass in college football (1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns at San Jose State in 2024). Finding a dynamic outside wide receiver to replace 1,000-yard receiver Javon Gipson is a close second. Raydrian Baltrip earned rave reviews as a lightning-in-a-bottle playmaker during spring football practice, but is a true slot receiver at 5-foot-8-inches tall. 

But Harrell has more confidence in his offense than at this same time last year, thanks in large part to an offensive line that he says could contend for the best in the FCS. The Wildcats bring back the Roaten brothers: Luke, a First Team All-Conference right tackle, and right guard Landon. Center Colter Lynch returns after a Second-Team All-Conference season.    

Patterson has called the defense the past two seasons. But this offseason, he hired Sam Bennett as defensive coordinator so he could shift into a more CEO-type role. Bennett is the son of Phil Bennett, a college football defensive assistant for over 40 years. Patterson learned much of his own defensive style after attending Texas A&M spring football practice in 1995, when Bennett was the coordinator of the famed ‘Wrecking Crew.’ Since Sam Bennett is, of course, from the same coaching tree, the transition has been seamless.  

Returning interior defensive linemen Kortlin Rausaw (42 tackles, 5 TFL, 3.5 sacks) and Chris Herpin (38 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks) have also helped the transition. They’ve stepped into ACU’s leadership vacuum after losing All-American linebackers Will Shaffer and Rashon Myles Jr. The coaches expect a comeback year from linebacker Darius Moore. He was ACU’s leading tackler in 2023 before playing four games in the last two seasons due to injury. Bennett says this is the best he’s felt in college.   

ACU ranked eighth in the UAC in passing defense last fall. Bennett plans to play more two-high safety looks with match quarters coverage. Cornerback Jocelyn Malaska played extremely well last year before nagging injuries caught up with him. The staff is excited about safety newcomers Plae Wyatt (Rice) and all-conference Dillon Williams (Central Arkansas). Williams is the younger brother of defensive pass game coordinator D.J. Williams.  

DCTF Take 

Abilene Christian shared the 2025 UAC Title with Tarleton. It’s only fitting that their respective offseasons are mirror images. Both programs hope the team culture will carry them through the largest roster turnover they’ve seen since entering FCS football. Patterson has also strategically stepped into a CEO role by hiring Bennett as defensive playcaller.  

The Wildcats have a strong foundation on both sides of the line of scrimmage. The offensive line is the best unit on the entire football team, while Harrell said the biggest problem in the tight end room is finding a way to get three guys on the field. With the return of leading rusher Rovaughn Banks Jr., ACU could lean on opponents while a new quarterback emerges. 

If ACU wins a second-round playoff game, the season will be a resounding success.