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CONWAY, Ark. _ Two teams accustomed to being in the FCS Top 25 will face each other for the first time Saturday with neither in the national rankings.
The Jacksonville State Gamecocks host the University of Central Arkansas Bears at 1 p.m. at Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium in the first-ever football meeting between the schools. Both squads have surprising 3-4 overall records after opening the 2021 season both ranked in the Top 15 of all the FCS polls.
"This is a great opportunity to gauge our program against one of the great programs at the FCS level,' said UCA head coach Nathan Brown, who has competed at the FCS level as a player, an assistant coach and head coach. "I told our players this week that no matter what the circumstances are, we've got two 3-4 football teams, this is a gauge game. You get to compete against perennially one of the best programs in FCS and a team that is consistently in the FCS playoffs.
"So we're excited about it. Both teams probably feel like they stil have relative life when it's all said and done if you win out. It's a big game for both teams. Obviously for us, coming off a long road trip win again, it gives us a little momentum this week, as opposed to maybe what Jacksonville State is going through. A tough, long road trip loss. Like I told our players, Jacksonville State can go two ways with it. They can either rise up with it and compete and fight or sometimes losses like that can be demoralizing.
"But knowing the coaching staff and what they have done, and the respect I have for Coach Grass, I would assume it will probably be the first. They'll rise up and be ready to go. and it will be a good football game.'
UCA is coming off a 49-38 road victory over the Lamar Cardinals, a game in which the Bears showed a dominating ground game, to the tune of a season-high 350 rushing yards. Freshman running back Darius Hale did most of the damage, with the second-best individual rushing performance in school history. Hale ran for 253 yards on just 22 carries, for a 11.5-yard average, and scored a career-high four touchdowns on runs of 6, 2, 69 and 67 yards.
Fellow freshman Kylin James, in his first significant action of the season, tallied 112 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries (10.2 avg.), and also threw a halfback pass to receiver Tyler Hudson that went for a 42-yard touchdown that gave the Bears an early 21-7 lead over the Cardinals. In all, UCA put up 541 yards of offense, the second-best output of the season.
The Gamecocks, who knocked off Top 25 and FBS school Florida State _ coached by UCA alum Michael Norvell _ in their second game of the season, have gone 2-3 since that upset. They are coming off a 42-7 loss last Saturday at No. 1 Sam Houston State, the defending FCS national champion. UCA also lost to SHSU, 45-35 in Conway back on Sept. 25.
JSU played the No. 1 team in the nation for just the second time in school history and first since 1998. The Gamecocks were held to just 319 yards of total offense and 15 first downs while allowing 463 yards to the Bearkats, who have now won 16 consecutive games.
"I don't think anybody, if you look at a schedule and say I want to play a 3-4 football team, I don't think you'd put Central Arkansas or Jacksonville State on that list,' Brown said. "In my opinion, two of the best teams in the nation, Top 25 teams, that the ball just hasn't bounced our way. The other one is Weber State. Those three programs, I don't think you would want any part of those three.
"And this is a competition on Saturday between two of them, and it will be fun. Our players are looking forward to it and we're excited about the challenge.'
The Bears and Gamecocks both feature one of the top quarterbacks in their respective schools' history in junior Breylin Smith for the Bears and senior Zerrick Cooper, a transfer from Clemson, for the Gamecocks. Smith is No. 2 on UCA's all-time passing list _ trailing only his head coach Nathan Brown _ with 8,734 yards and 77 touchdowns. Brown holds the marks at 10,558 yards and 100 touchdowns. Cooper is No. 1 in both categories at JSU with 8,667 yards and 67 touchdowns. He is also No. 2 in total offense with 9,561 yards, which includes 894 rushing yards.
UCA features two of the all-time best receivers in UCA history in sophomore Tyler Hudson and junior Lujuan Winningham. The duo has combined for 293 receptions for 4,881 yards and 50 touchdowns (25 each). Hudson, from Spring, Texas, has 150 receptions for 2,727 yards, while Winningham, from Humble, Texas, has 143 catches for 2,154 yards. Hudson finds the end zone every sixth reception, while Winningham is even better at 5.7.
UCA's rejuvenated running game was the difference a week ago at Lamar. The Bears ran for six of their season-high seven touchdowns, with James scoring from 17 yards out and Smith from the 1. Hale, from Pearland, Texas, is now tied for the No. 1 spot in FCS in rushing touchdowns with 13. Hudson is first in receiving yards with 894 and yards per game with 127.7, while Smith is tied for sixth in passing touchdowns (19) and ninth in passing yards (2,082).
Two former UCA assistant coaches are on the JSU coaching staff. Former UCA defensive coordinators Greg Stewart (2014-17) and Max Thurmond (2018) are both part of the Gamecocks' staff, with Stewart serving as linebackers coach and Thurmond as special teams coordinator at his alma mater. Brown was UCA's offensive coordinator when Stewart was at UCA and head coach for Thurmond's year.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Saturday on The Bear 91.3, The Point 94.1 and ESPN+.
The Bears will return home for two consecutive games, beginning with Homecoming on Saturday, Nov. 6 against Texas Wesleyan.
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October 29, 2021 at 04:39AM
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BEARS, GAMECOCKS TO BATTLE FOR FIRST TIME - University of Central Arkansas Athletics - UCA Sports
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