CENTRAL ARKANSAS AT NORTHWESTERN (LA.) STATE
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE Turpin Stadium, Natchitoches, La.
RECORDS UCA 5-1, 4-0 Southland; Northwestern State 1-5, 1-3
COACHES Steve Campbell (28-14 in fourth season at UCA, 55-22 in sixth season overall); Jay Thomas (18-34 in fifth season at Northwestern State, 45-69 in 11th season overall)
SERIES UCA leads 7-3.
LAST MEETING UCA defeated Northwestern State 24-10 in 2016.
RADIO KUCA-FM, 91.3, in Conway; KKPT-FM, 94.1, in Little Rock
INTERNET ucasports.com/KUCA
WHEN UCA HAS THE BALL Three players will likely lead UCA’s running back rotation, led by freshman Kierre Crossley. Sophomore Carlos Blackman should lead short-yardage plays. Expect to see Cedric Battle in the backfield on passing downs. Crossley leads UCA with 449 rushing yards in 6 games and is averaging 5.7 yards a carry. Senior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand has thrown for 1,620 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has completed 68.2 percent of his passes and leads the Southland Conference in pass efficiency. Senior receiver Brandon Cox leads UCA with 22 catches for 365 yards.
WHEN NSU HAS THE BALL Junior quarterback Clay Holgorsen is expected to start for the Demons. He has passed for 296 yards and 3 touchdowns in 5 games. Last week, in a 40-36 loss to Sam Houston State, Holgorsen completed 21 of 36 passes for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns. Senior J.D. Almond leads Northwestern State in rushing with 421 yards. Sophomore Jared West has rushed for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns and averages 5.5 yards a carry. Senior Bobby Chan-Chan has caught 21 passes for 313 yards and 2 touchdowns.
WHAT’S AT STAKE A victory would leave UCA as the only undefeated team in the Southland Conference standings. … It would also give UCA at least six consecutive victories for the second season in a row. The last comparable run came in 1991-92 when the Bears won seven consecutive games in each of those seasons.