2019 Central Arkansas Bears football team
The 2019 Central Arkansas Bears football team represents the University of Central Arkansas in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southland Conference. The Bears are led by second-year head coach Nathan Brown and play their home games at Estes Stadium. UCA finished the regular season 9-3 overall, 7-2 in Southland Conference play, earning a share of the 2019 Southland Conference championship, and a first round bye in the FCS playoffs with a #8 seeding.
| 2019 Central Arkansas Bears football | |
|---|---|
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Southland Conference co-champion | |
NCAA Division I Second Round, L 14–24 vs. Illinois State | |
| Conference | Southland Conference |
| Ranking | |
| STATS | No. 11 |
| FCS Coaches | No. 11 |
| Record | 9–4 (7–2 Southland) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Ken Collums (2nd season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Chad Williams (1st season) |
| Home stadium | Estes Stadium (Capacity: 10,000) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14 Nicholls +^ | 7 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11 Central Arkansas +^ | 7 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19 Southeastern Louisiana ^ | 6 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sam Houston State | 6 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| McNeese State | 5 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Incarnate Word | 4 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abilene Christian | 4 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern State | 3 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stephen F. Austin | 3 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Houston Baptist | 2 | – | 6 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lamar | 2 | – | 7 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason
Preseason poll
The Southland Conference released their preseason poll on July 18, 2019. The Bears were picked to finish in second place.[1]
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicholls | 200 (20) |
| 2 | Central Arkansas | 154 |
| 3 | Incarnate Word | 150 (1) |
| 4 | Sam Houston State | 146 |
| 5 | Lamar | 123 |
| 6 | McNeese State | 114 |
| 7 | Abilene Christian | 112 (1) |
| 8 | Southeastern Louisiana | 71 |
| 9 | Stephen F. Austin | 63 |
| 10 | Northwestern State | 56 |
| 11 | Houston Baptist | 21 |
Preseason All–Southland Teams
The Bears placed seven players on the preseason all–Southland teams.[2]
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Offense 1st team Carlos Blackman – RB Hunter Watts – OL 2nd team Toby Sanderson – OL |
Defense 1st team Chris Terrell – DL Juan Jackson – DB 2nd team Jackie Harvell – DB Robert Rochell – DB |
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 29 | 6:30 p.m. | at Western Kentucky* | ESPN+ | W 35–28 | 17,120 | ||
| September 7 | 2:00 p.m. | at Austin Peay* | No. 20 | ESPN+ | W 24–16 | 7,523 | |
| September 14 | 6:00 p.m. | Abilene Christian | No. 14 | ESPN3 | W 31–30 | 10,123 | |
| September 21 | 10:59 p.m. | at Hawaii* | No. 14 | Spectrum Sports | L 16–35 | 23,465 | |
| October 5 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 16 Nicholls | No. 11 | YouTube | L 14–34 | 7,021 | |
| October 12 | 6:00 p.m. | McNeese State | No. 16 |
| ESPN+ | W 40–31 | 11,237 |
| October 19 | 6:00 p.m. | at Northwestern State | No. 13 | CST/ESPN+ | W 31–30 | 7,584 | |
| October 26 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 21 Sam Houston State | No. 12 |
| ESPN+ | W 29–25 | 9,363 |
| November 2 | 3:00 p.m. | at Lamar | No. 10 | ESPN+ | W 45–17 | 5,913 | |
| November 9 | 3:00 p.m. | Southeastern Louisiana | No. 7 |
| ESPN+ | L 0–34 | 6,275 |
| November 16 | 3:00 p.m. | Stephen F. Austin | No. 14 |
| ESPN+ | W 30–7 | 5,527 |
| November 22 | 6:30 p.m. | at Incarnate Word | No. 11 | ESPN+ | W 52–35 | 2,668 | |
| December 7 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 13 Illinois State* | No. 9 |
| ESPN3 | L 14–24 | 5,127 |
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Game summaries
At Western Kentucky
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 | 35 |
| Hilltoppers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
At Austin Peay
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 20 Bears | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 24 |
| Governors | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 16 |
Abilene Christian
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcats | 7 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 30 |
| No. 14 Bears | 3 | 6 | 0 | 22 | 31 |
At Hawaii
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 14 Bears | 0 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 16 |
| Rainbow Warriors | 14 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 35 |
At Nicholls
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 11 Bears | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| No. 16 Colonels | 6 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 34 |
McNeese State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 10 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
| No. 16 Bears | 10 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 40 |
At Northwestern State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 13 Bears | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 31 |
| Demons | 14 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 30 |
Sam Houston State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 21 Bearkats | 7 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 25 |
| No. 12 Bears | 0 | 0 | 14 | 15 | 29 |
At Lamar
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 10 Bears | 14 | 10 | 21 | 0 | 45 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
Southeastern Louisiana
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 7 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 34 |
| No. 7 Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Stephen F. Austin
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumberjacks | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 14 Bears | 3 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 30 |
At Incarnate Word
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 11 Bears | 3 | 21 | 7 | 21 | 52 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
FCS Playoffs
The Bears enter the postseason tournament as the number eight seed, with a first-round bye.[5] They will play Illinois State at Estes Stadium in Conway on December 7.
Illinois State–Second Round
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 13 Redbirds | 0 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
| No. 9 Bears | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Ranking movements
| Week | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| STATS FCS | RV | 20 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 11 | 9 | |
| Coaches | 25 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 10-T | 16 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 7 | |
References
- "Nicholls Voted to Top Spot in 2019 Football Preseason Poll". www.southland.org. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- "Southland Announces 2019 Preseason All-Conference Football Teams". www.southland.org. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- "2019 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE". UCA Athletics. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- "SOUTHLAND TV SELECTIONS ANNOUNCED FOR FIRST FOUR WEEKS". Southland Conference. August 13, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- "FCS bracket revealed for 2019 Division I football championship". ncaa.com. November 24, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
