2018 Central Arkansas Bears football team

2018 Central Arkansas Bears football
ConferenceSouthland Conference
Record6–5 (5–4 Southland)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorKen Collums (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorMax Thurmond (1st season)
Home stadiumEstes Stadium
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Southland Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 14 Nicholls +^   7 2     9 4  
Incarnate Word +^   6 2     6 5  
Lamar ^   6 3     7 5  
Abilene Christian   5 4     6 5  
Central Arkansas   5 4     6 5  
McNeese State   5 4     6 5  
Sam Houston State   5 4     6 5  
Northwestern State   4 5     5 6  
Southeastern Louisiana   4 5     4 7  
Stephen F. Austin   2 7     2 8  
Houston Baptist   0 9     1 10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS poll

The 2018 Central Arkansas Bears football team represented the University of Central Arkansas in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bears were led by first-year head coach Nathan Brown and played their home games at Estes Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 5–4 in Southland play to finish in a four-way tie for fourth place.

Preseason

[edit]

Preseason All-Conference Teams

[edit]

On July 12, 2018, the Southland announced their Preseason All-Conference Teams, with the Bears having 11 players selected.[1]

Offense First Team

  • Carlos Blackman – Jr. RB

Defense First Team

  • Chris Terrell – Jr. DL
  • Eric Jackson – Sr. DL
  • Juan Jackson – Jr. DB

Offense Second Team

  • Josh Nix – So. TE
  • Adrian Harris – So. OL
  • Hunter Watts – Jr. OL

Defense Second Team

  • Cardell Best – Sr. DL
  • Nathan Grant – So. DL
  • Raphael Garner – Sr. LB
  • Cedric Battle – Sr. KR

Preseason poll

[edit]

On July 19, 2018, the Southland announced their preseason poll, with the Bears predicted to finish in third place.[2]

Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Sam Houston State 187 (10)
2 Nicholls State 173 (6)
3 Central Arkansas 170 (5)
4 McNeese State 159 (1)
5 Southeastern Louisiana 119
6 Stephen F. Austin 90
7 Abilene Christian 89
8 Northwestern State 86
9 Incarnate Word 53
10 Lamar 52
11 Houston Baptist 32

Award watch lists

[edit]
Award Player Position Year
Buck Buchanan Award[3] Chris Terrell DE JR

Schedule

[edit]
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 16:00 p.m.at Tulsa*No. 16ESPN3L 27–3818,356
September 86:00 pmMurray State*No. 17SLC DigitalW 26–136,121
September 157:00 p.m.at Southeastern LouisianaNo. 18ESPN+W 33–256,485
September 293:00 pmat No. 21 Sam Houston StateNo. 13ESPN3L 31–34 OT7,598
October 66:00 pmHouston BaptistNo. 20
  • Estes Stadium
  • Conway, AR
Bear Nation NetworkW 66–3510,210
October 133:00 p.m.at Stephen F. AustinNo. 18ESPN3W 27–175,976
October 206:00 pmNorthwestern StateNo. 15
  • Estes Stadium
  • Conway, AR
Bear Nation NetworkW 38–176,754
October 276:00 p.m.at No. 14 McNeese StateNo. 13ESPN3L 21–2311,208
November 36:00 pmLamardaggerNo. 19
  • Estes Stadium
  • Conway, AR
ELVN, CST, SLC DigitalL 24–3810,874
November 103:00 pmIncarnate Word
  • Estes Stadium
  • Conway, AR
SLC DigitalL 27–404,457
November 172:00 p.m.at Abilene ChristianESPN+W 16–78,006
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[4][5][6][7][8]

Game summaries

[edit]

At Tulsa

[edit]
Central Arkansas at Tulsa
1 234Total
No. 16 Bears 13 077 27
Golden Hurricane 7 14314 38

Murray State

[edit]
Murray State at Central Arkansas
1 234Total
Racers 3 1000 13
No. 17 Bears 7 1306 26
Sources:

At Southeastern Louisiana

[edit]
Central Arkansas at Southeastern Louisiana
1 234Total
No. 18 Bears 0 13146 33
Lions 7 378 25
Sources:

At Sam Houston State

[edit]
Central Arkansas at Sam Houston State
1 234OTTotal
No. 13 Bears 3 77140 31
No. 21 Bearkats 0 141433 34
Sources:

Houston Baptist

[edit]
Houston Baptist at Central Arkansas
1 234Total
Huskies 14 7140 35
No. 20 Bears 21 141714 66
Sources:

At Stephen F. Austin

[edit]
Central Arkansas at Stephen F. Austin
1 234Total
No. 18 Bears 7 3143 27
Lumberjacks 7 037 17
Sources:

Northwestern State

[edit]
Northwestern State at Central Arkansas
1 234Total
Demons 0 1070 17
No. 15 Bears 14 1473 38
  • Date: October 20
  • Location: Estes Stadium
    Conway, AR
  • Game start: 6:00 pm CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:05
  • Game attendance: 6,754
  • Referee: Cooper Castleberry
  • Television network: Bear Nation Network
Sources:[9][10]

At McNeese State

[edit]
Red Beans and Rice Bowl
1 234Total
No. 13 Bears 7 770 21
No. 14 Cowboys 17 303 23
  • Date: October 27
  • Location: Cowboy Stadium
    Lake Charles, LA
  • Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:15
  • Game attendance: 11,208
  • Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C) • SW 10 • Clear
  • Referee: Michael VanderVelde
  • Television network: ESPN3
Sources:[11]

Lamar

[edit]
Lamar at Central Arkansas
(homecoming)
1 234Total
Cardinals 21 1430 38
No. 19 Bears 10 608 24
Sources:

Incarnate Word

[edit]
Incarnate Word at Central Arkansas
1 234Total
Cardinals 3 141310 40
Bears 7 776 27
Sources:

At Abilene Christian

[edit]
Central Arkansas at Abilene Christian
1 234Total
Bears 0 637 16
Wildcats 0 700 7
Sources:

Ranking movements

[edit]
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS1617181413–T2018151319RVRVRV
Coaches15171713121816151419RV

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Southland Announces 2018 Preseason All-Conference Football Teams".
  2. ^ "Sam Houston State Voted to Top Spot in 2018 Football Preseason Poll".
  3. ^ "FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced". August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  4. ^ "Central Arkansas Bears Schedule - 2018". ESPN. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  5. ^ "Southland Announces Week 9 TV Selections". Southland Conference. October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  6. ^ "SOUTHLAND ANNOUNCES WEEK 10 TV SELECTIONS". Southland Conference. October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  7. ^ "SOUTHLAND ANNOUNCES WEEK 8 TV SELECTIONS". Southland Conference. October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  8. ^ "SOUTHLAND ANNOUNCES WEEK 6 TV SELECTIONS". Southland Conference. September 24, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  9. ^ "NORTHWESTERN STATE (2-5 , 1-4) -VS- CENTRAL ARKANSAS (5-2 , 4-1)". UCA Athletics. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  10. ^ "Hales throws 5 TDs, Central Arkansas thumps NW State 38-17". ESPN. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  11. ^ "CENTRAL ARKANSAS (5-3 , 4-2) -VS- MCNEESE (6-2 , 5-1)". UCA Athletics. Retrieved October 27, 2018.