FLORENCE, Ala. – For the second time in school history, the University of North Alabama football team was named the Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week on Monday following a monumental 47-34 win over No. 10 Abilene Christian this Saturday.
This marks the first time since 2018 that UNA has been selected for the award. In the 2018 season opener, the Lions defeated Southern Utah on the road by a 34-30 final to mark the first win as a Division I member.
Now, the Lions have won the award a second time after notching the program’s first official win over a ranked FCS opponent. The Lions defeated Chattanooga last season, who was unranked and receiving votes at the time of play and went on to finish No. 14 in the final FCS polls. The ACU win is the first against an FCS team that was ranked at the time of play.
With the win, UNA rides its first three-game conference win streak since 2016. The Lions are now 3-5 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
In the Massey FCS Ratings, UNA took one of the largest leaps up the power rankings this week to rank 51 of 129 FCS teams.
The Lions have their first open date this Saturday after playing eight straight weeks to begin the season. UNA’s next game will be on Saturday, Oct. 26, when it travels to nationally-ranked Central Arkansas at 4 p.m.
Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week
North Alabama (47-34 win over then-No. 10 Abilene Christian)
The Lions scored the final 21 points to secure their program’s first win over an FCS ranked team and a three-game conference winning streak for the first time since 2016. Quarterback TJ Smith treated the Homecoming Day crowd with 314 yards of total offense and six total touchdowns. Defensive back Gregory Reddick had a game-high 12 tackles and an interception for coach Brent Dearmon’s United Athletic Conference squad.
Honorable Mention: Georgetown (17-0 win at Lafayette); Missouri State (41-7 win at then-No. 16 Illinois State); Northern Colorado (21-17 win at then-No. 20 Weber State)
