Big Missouri State has UCA's notice

It wouldn't appear that there'd be much University of Central Arkansas Coach Nathan Brown could pluck from Missouri State's season-opening 48-0 loss at Oklahoma to prepare his team for tonight's game.

Oklahoma piled up 608 yards of offense, yielded just seven first downs, allowed the Bears to cross midfield only twice and didn't concede a single third-down conversion.

But there was one thing about Missouri State that jumped out at Brown.

"Man, they're huge," he said. "You look up and down their roster, their offensive and defensive lines are big. You look at even their skill positions, their wide receivers and defensive backs are large guys.

"We've played teams big on the interior between Austin Peay and UAB, but Missouri State is very big on the edges, too. Their overall size, that's something we've got to be prepared for."

That preparation will be put to the test when UCA (1-1) faces Missouri State (0-1) at 7 p.m. at Estes Stadium. The game will not only serve as the home opener for UCA, but it'll also put an end to a 23-day layoff.

The Bears haven't played since Sept. 3 when they suffered a 45-35 loss at Alabama-Birmingham. The Bears were off the following week, then had their Sept. 19 date with Arkansas State University rescheduled for Oct. 10 because of coronavirus-related issues at ASU.

"It'll certainly feel good to get back out there, especially on the stripes at home," Brown said. "The time off for us was nice because it gave us a chance to get our legs and health back. A lot of the bumps and bruises were able to get worked on and fixed, but on the flip side, you lose your game time.

"You lose your game conditioning and just being in the flow of a game. But our players, they can conform, respond and react to any situation, and they've proven that. We used those [off] days and those practices to get better at ourselves, but now our attention is squarely on this Missouri State team."

Brown said it was hard for anyone to gauge just how good Missouri State is based off its performance against national-power Oklahoma. Missouri State hasn't had a winning season in 11 years and is still adjusting under first-year Coach Bobby Petrino.

"With the girth and physicality that Missouri State has and plays with, that's something we don't see as much in the Southland Conference," Brown said. "They come out of the Missouri Valley Conference, which is probably the SEC of the FCS level. They play a physical brand of football. You look at their front seven on defense, they made some plays against Oklahoma.

"Now that's probably hard to tell because of the final score, but those big guys had their moments."

Missouri State averages nearly 274 pounds on its defensive line and is led by junior end Isaiah Sayles, who had two tackles for losses and a sack against the Sooners. Missouri State recorded 11 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and gave up just 124 yards on the ground, a noteworthy accomplishment for a team that allowed 225 yards rushing per game a year ago.

UCA did get healthier along its offensive line during its extended break, which could be key tonight while trying to combat Missouri State's aggressive attack inside. Brown will still be without sophomore Parker Ray, who is out after having season-ending knee surgery, but junior tackle Jaylin Hendrix is back and should bolster a unit that's given up four sacks in two games.

"I'm so excited to be back that I can smell blood already," said Hendrix, who's started more than 20 games at UCA but hasn't played this year because of an ankle injury. "It's been hard not being able to be out there, but at the same time, I had to keep a positive mindset and stay motivated. I'm not going to rush anything, though.

"I'm happy to be back, but I'm going to take it one play at a time. We know [Missouri State] is good up front, but we're a confident bunch that trust each other."

Brown said having Hendrix in the mix will allow others to be moved around if needed.

"He's probably our most talented offensive lineman," he said. "He started every game last year at right guard before we shifted him to left tackle this season out of necessity. Just getting him back is going to be such a morale boost for the other guys because he's got that experience. It'll also allow some of those young guys to rotate in and not have to play as many snaps, too.

"It gives [offensive line coach Gunnar Boykins] more options now. The group, as a whole, has played well, but now with Jaylin back in the fold, we should be even better."

Defensively, UCA could have its hands full trying to contain Missouri State's big receivers. Senior Lorenzo Thomas, 6-5, 200, and junior Jordan Murry, 6-4, 233, have combined for almost 150 catches in their careers.

"It's going to be a challenge," Brown said. "Us having to come out and assert ourselves physically against them on both sides of the ball, on the inside and outside, Missouri State is going to be use to that. That's not going to surprise them.

"So we're going to have to match that with our attention to detail and play hard every snap. That's what we're going to have to do to counter that because they are big and they're going to be physical."