ABILENE, Texas (BCH Sports) – The ACU Wildcats beat the Northern Colorado Bears last week Thursday in their season opener, 31-11.

ACU put out 268 yards on the ground and had three rushing touchdowns.

With that win, the Wildcats were able to secure back-to-back season opener wins under second season head coach Keith Patterson.

Coach Patterson, who is now 8-4 overall, believes preparing for that was key for them.

Keith Patterson said, “We were, obviously, very pleased. Winning is hard. You don’t ever take it for granted. I really liked the way they prepared for the game. I think that they were as prepared as any game since we’ve been here.”

“The coaching staff did a great job of putting together the game plan. I would’ve like for us to come out in the second half and pick up where we left off. I felt like we got into a little bit of a rut. You’ve got to be able to come out and not leave any doubt,” Patterson added.

ACU enters week two 1-0 on the season, before heading on the road down to Prairie View A&M facing the Panthers on Saturday.

Kick-off is set for 6 p.m.