Central Arkansas at Houston Baptist
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE Estes Stadium, Conway
RECORDS UCA 2-2 (1-1 Southland); Houston Baptist 1-3 (1-3, 0-2)
COACHES Nathan Brown (2-2 in first season at UCA and overall); Vic Shealy (14-45 in seventh season at HBU, 68-73 in 11th season overall)
SERIES UCA leads 4-0
LAST MEETING 2017: UCA 27, Houston Baptist 7
RADIO KUCA-FM, 91.3, in Conway; KKPT-FM, 94.1, in Little Rock
INTERNET ucasports.com/KUCA
WHEN UCA HAS THE BALL Junior quarterback Kirk Baugh likely will make his first career start as he attempts to replace sophomore Breylin Smith, who broke his ankle in UCA’s 34-31 overtime loss to Sam Houston State last Saturday. In 19 career appearances, Baugh has completed 9 of 15 passes for 97 yards and 1 touchdown. His lone touchdown pass came against Sam Houston State on Saturday when his 3-yard pass to senior Jakari Dillard tied the score at 31-31. Senior Lester Wells leads UCA with 26 catches for 269 yards and 1 touchdown. Dillard has caught 13 for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns. Junior running back Carlos Blackman leads UCA in rushing with 337 yards and four touchdowns.
WHEN HBU HAS THE BALL Sophomore quarterback Bailey Zappe leads Houston Baptist’s pass-oriented offense. He has completed 84 of 142 passes for 1,015 yards and 9 touchdowns. Sophomore running back Dreshawn Minnieweather has carried 45 times for 329 yards and 3 touchdowns. He has averaged 7.2 yards a carry.
WHAT’S AT STAKE UCA has not lost consecutive games since a 0-2 start to the 2015 season. …UCA has not lost consecutive Southland Conference games since 2013.
— Pete Perkins
Jackson State at UAPB
WHEN 2:30 p.m.
WHERE Simmons Bank Field, Pine Bluff RADIO/TELEVISION None
INTERNET uapblionsroar.com
RECORDS UAPB 1-4, 0-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference; Jackson State 1-2, 0-1
COACHES Cedric Thomas (1-4 in first season at UAPB and overall); Tony Hughes (7-18 in third season at Jackson State and overall)
SERIES Jackson State leads 26-12-1
LAST MEETING UAPB overcame an 11-point, third-quarter deficit to beat Jackson State 34-27 in overtime on Sept. 23, 2017, in Jackson, Miss.
COMMENTS Today’s game will be UAPB’s annual Pink Out contest where fans of both teams are encouraged to wear pink in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. … Jackson State running back Jordan Johnson is sixth in the SWAC in rushing, averaging 67 yards per game. Linebacker Quedarrion Barnett is fourth in tackles per game with 8. … Derrick McCall was named Jackson State’s new offensive coordinator after Hal Mumme resigned Wednesday to pursue other professional opportunities. Mumme, whose head coaching stops include UTEP, Kentucky and New Mexico State, was in his first season with the program. McCall served as the team’s offensive coordinator during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. … UAPB linebacker Kevin Agee leads the conference in sacks with 4 and is fifth in tackles for loss with 5. … The last time Jackson State came to Pine Bluff, it walked away with a 33-30 overtime victory in 2014. … The Tigers haven’t scored more than 18 points in a game since beating Mississippi Valley State 24-5 on Oct. 28, 2017. … UAPB has scored just one offensive touchdown in its past 13 quarters.
— Erick Taylor