Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Morehouse College
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE Golden Lion Stadium, Pine Bluff RECORDS UAPB 0-1; Morehouse 1-0
COACHES Monte Coleman (16-44 in eighth season at UAPB and overall); Rich Freeman (48-34 in ninth season at Morehouse and overall)
SERIES First meeting
RADIO KUAP-FM, 89.7, in Pine Bluff
INTERNET uapblionsroar.com
WHEN UAPB HAS THE BALL Coach Monte Coleman said earlier this week that Marcus Terrell will start at quarterback despite a shaky debut in last week’s loss to South Carolina State. Terrell completed 1 of 11 passes for minus-1 yard with 1 interception. Nolan Sorensen came off the bench and had a bit more success, completing 4 of 13 for 74 yards with 2 interceptions, and Brandon Duncan took some snaps. The Golden Lions didn’t have much success running the ball, gaining 111 yards on 40 carries. Morehouse had a positive start defensively, but it was against NAIA Edward Waters College, which was held to 121 yards of offense.
WHEN MOREHOUSE HAS THE BALL Morehouse will likely try to gain yards on the ground, much like it did last week. Isaiah Hicks rushed for 130 yards on 12 carries and scored 3 touchdowns, while Malik Johnson gained 67 yards on 10 carries and the Tigers finished with 243 yards rushing. Quarterback Monqavious Johnson, a returning starter, struggled in last week’s opener. He completed 5 of 12 passes for 94 yards and 1 touchdown. UAPB has a renewed confidence in its defense after forcing five turnovers last week. The Golden Lions held South Carolina State to 336 yards, an almost 80-yard improvement from last season’s per-game average of 453.8.
WHAT’S AT STAKE Coach Monte Coleman said after last week’s loss that it means nothing in the big picture, and another loss today would mean the same thing. A victory could provide a needed confidence boost heading into next week’s SWAC opener against Texas Southern.
QUOTING COACH COLEMAN “All three [quarterbacks] that played on Sunday are very talented and can lead this football team. It’s just a matter of getting some playing time under their belts.”
— Troy Schulte
Central Arkansas at Oklahoma State
WHEN 6:30 p.m. Central
WHERE T. Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Okla.
RECORDS Central Arkansas 0-1; Oklahoma State 1-0
COACHES Steve Campbell (6-7 in second season at UCA, 132-45 in 15 seasons overall); Mike Gundy (85-44 in 11th season at Oklahoma State and overall)
SERIES First meeting
RADIO KUCA-FM, 91.3, in Conway; KKPTFM, 94.1, in Little Rock
TV Fox Sports Net
INTERNET ucasports.com/watch
WHEN UCA HAS THE BALL Quarterback Taylor Reed had a solid debut to his senior season in last week’s loss to Samford, but the Bears would like to get more out of their running game. Reed passed for 312 yards without an interception but threw 63 passes while playing catch up in a 45-16 loss. Running back Dominique Thomas rushed for 69 yards on 9 carries (7.7 yards per carry) with 1 touchdown, but the rest of the team gained 50 yards on the ground. Blake Veasley left the game with an injury after five carries, and backup quarterback Hayden Hildebrand, who was expected to get snaps in most games, left with an injury, too. The Bears will look to improve against an Oklahoma State defense that includes three preseason first-team All-Big 12 picks in lineman Emmanuel Ogbah, linebacker Ryan Simmons and defensive back Kevin Peterson. The Cowboys held Central Michigan to 343 yards in last week’s 24-13 victory.
WHEN OKLAHOMA STATE HAS THE BALL Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph passed for 266 yards with one touchdown with no interceptions in last week’s victory over Central Michigan. Rudolph, a sophomore, was pulled out of a redshirt last year because of an injury to the starter in November and started the final three games for the Cowboys. They are hoping Rudolph can bring life to an offense that averaged 27.6 points per game last year, their lowest since Coach Mike Gundy’s first season in 2005. Running back Chris Carson is expected to help deliver more points. The junior-college transfer was named the Big 12’s preseason newcomer of the year and rushed for 89 yards and caught 2 passes for 2 passes for 23 yards in last week’s victory. UCA gave up 372 yards passing to Samford last week and 536 total yards. WHAT’S AT STAKE A victory would be UCA’s second ever over a member of the FBS — the Bears beat Western Kentucky in 2009 — but a loss would mean it starts the season 0-2 for the first time since 2007. A loss also would leave the Bears with a long wait to get their first victory since they are off next week before playing at Northwestern (La.) State on Sept. 26.