CONWAY -- The University of Central Arkansas will look for a throwback result against a throwback team.
UCA has made it to or beyond the quarterfinal round of postseason play six times but only as an NAIA and NCAA Division II school. UCA Coach Nathan Brown was a freshman quarterback when he helped then-Coach Clint Conque lead the Bears to the quarterfinals of the 2005 Division II playoffs.
WHEN 2 p.m.
WHERE Estes Stadium, Conway
RECORDS UCA 9-3, Illinois State 9-4
COACHES Nathan Brown (15-6 in second season at UCA and overall); Brock Spack (83-49 in 11th season at Illinois State and overall)
SERIES Tied 1-1
LAST MEETING UCA won 31-24 in 2016
RADIO KUCA-FM, 91.3, Conway; KKPT-FM, 94.1, Little Rock
TELEVISION None
INTERNET ESPN-Plus
WHEN UCA HAS THE BALL Sophomore quarterback Breylin Smith will look throughout the game for his top receivers, freshman Tyler Hudson and senior running back Carlos Blackman. Hudson, the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, has caught 52 passes for 939 yards and 12 touchdowns. Blackman, the team’s leading rusher with 663 yards and 7 touchdowns, has caught 46 catches for 330 yards and 4 touchdowns. Blackman also has completed 2 of 2 passes for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns. Smith has completed 63.9% of his passes for 3,509 yards and 31 touchdowns. In UCA’s last game, a 52-35 victory at Incarnate Word, the Bears had 426 yards of total offense with 296 through the air and 130 on the ground.
WHEN ILLINOIS STATE HAS THE BALL Senior running back James Robinson leads all but one other player in NCAA Division I FCS with 1,613 rushing yards on 303 carries. He has run for 16 touchdowns. The Redbirds lost their passing leader in the 11th game of the season and relied on freshman quarterback Bryce Jefferson to direct its offensive attack in a first-round 24-6 FCS playoff victory over Southeast Missouri State last Saturday. Jefferson threw a total of 7 passes. He completed 4 for 52 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Andrew Edgar, who led Illinois State with 4 touchdown receptions this season.
WHAT’S AT STAKE The winner will advance to the FCS playoff quarterfinals.
— Pete Perkins
UCA (9-3) began NCAA Football Championship Subdivision play the following season and has yet to advance beyond the second round despite three appearances since 2011, including 2016 and 2017.
Its next shot comes at 2 p.m. today at Estes Stadium against the Illinois State Redbirds (9-4) of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
"I think it's important for our players to know they're playing for history," Brown said. "We have an opportunity to not only win 10 Division I football games, but also to get to the third round, the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs, and no other team in UCA history has done that, and we've had really good football teams. To have that opportunity, I think the players understand what's at stake."
When UCA played in the Division II quarterfinals in 2005, teams that played Illinois State's style were still common, but they are now nearly football artifacts limited to specific regions, most notably the upper Midwest, where a run-first style prevails, as it does for the Cardinals.
"We'll have to be really good against the run," Brown said. "They have a big, physical line. It's going to be important for us to win first and second down so we can, hopefully, get them in third and long, so they'll have to throw the football."
Whereas UCA earned a bye through the playoff's first round, Illinois State advanced to the second round last Saturday with a 24-6 victory at Southeast Missouri State, primarily led by senior running back James Robinson who rushed 41 times for 297 yards. Illinois State freshman quarterback Bryce Jefferson completed 4 of 7 passes for 52 yards.
Robinson's performance last week put his season totals at 303 carries for 16 touchdowns and 1,613 yards, second-most in the FCS.
"They just play a different style of football," Brown said. "Illinois State physically asserted themselves against SEMO, so we know what we're about to get into. We know what brand of football they play and what they hang their hat on."
UCA senior safety Juan Jackson said run support will play a key role for his team's defensive backfield.
"With their running attack, we're really going to have to be ready to put on our big-boy pants and get ready to get inside the box," Jackson said. "We're going to have to be ready to make some tough tackles."
The Redbirds held Southeast Missouri State's two-quarterback rotation to 205 yards and no touchdowns on 30 pass attempts. Illinois State intercepted 2 passes and had 3 sacks for 45 lost yards.
UCA sophomore quarterback Breylin Smith said he remains confident despite the challenge he expects from Illinois State.
"They're a good team all-around," Smith said. "We're going to have our hands full, but we're going to do our best to go out and get after them and do what we have to do to win."
"We have a great opponent," Brown said. "Illinois State is going to give us everything we want and more. They're going to be hard to beat. They're battle-tested, and it's going to be a challenge for us, but to have a chance to move into the quarterfinals is everything our players signed up for. There is a lot at stake."
UCA's players share Brown's appreciation for the playoff rewards a victory will bring.
"This is a big game, and I'm a firm believer in knowing that," Smith said. "Some people try to act like certain games aren't big, but we're in the playoffs, and that's a big thing. For UCA to be where it's been in the past and not get over the hump, this is a big deal. We're going to go out there and do our best to get us over that hump."
"This is a huge game," Jackson said. "Me being a senior, I want to leave that legacy that we made a deep run into the playoffs. I want the guys after me to know this is what we do."
Nathan Brown
Sports on 12/07/2019
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