CONWAY -- Matters are different now, but University of Central Arkansas redshirt sophomore quarterback Luke Hales said he looks at them just the same.
A week after UCA fell out of first place in the Southland Conference standings, it finds itself in a four-way tie for second. For the Bears to repeat as conference champions, they will need a run of victories and some help along the way.
"I don't think our mindset has changed," redshirt freshman quarterback Luke Hales said. "No matter who we're playing or where we're playing, we expect to win."
Hales' long pass to senior Jakari Dillard late in UCA's 23-21 loss at McNeese State last Saturday was ruled complete deep in Cowboys' territory, but the call was reversed. UCA (5-3, 4-2 Southland) then turned the ball over on downs, and McNeese State held on to complete its victory.
UCA's next step comes at 6 p.m. today when it hosts Lamar at Estes Stadium.
Lamar (4-4, 3-3) began its conference schedule at 0-3 but is currently on a three-game winning streak with victories over Incarnate Word, Sam Houston State, and Stephen F. Austin. UCA is currently tied for second with Incarnate Word, Sam Houston State and Nicholls State.
"They're hot right now," UCA Coach Nathan Brown said. "Hopefully, we can stop their streak if we come out and play really good football."
Lamar leads the Southland in rushing with an average of 262.9 yards a game, which ranks 11th in NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. In the Cardinals' 41-23 victory over Sam Houston State on Oct. 20, their running game was led by sophomore running back Myles Wanza, who rushed for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns on 15 carries. Junior A.J. Walker carried 23 times for 123 yards.
"They really cause some problems," Brown said. "They do some option stuff, and you don't see that every week. That's going to cause our defense to play really disciplined football, and on defense, they really bring a lot of pressure."
Brown and Hales both said they know a handful of UCA errors helped McNeese State to its victory. With 47 seconds left in the first half, UCA junior Hunter Toomey recovered a fumbled punt return at the Cowboys' 11 with the Bears trailing 20-14. Hales was intercepted in the end zone by Colby Norton on the next play.
"Our first read was covered," Brown said. "He didn't like it and thought, 'Well, I'm going to throw it here. He's covered, but I'm going to trust that he makes a play.' It was one of those deals where you just throw the ball away. We still have 40 seconds on the clock and one timeout. A field goal is huge in a game like this. You have to know to make smart decisions. That was a rookie mistake. It was something he'll learn from, but he's doing a good job. He's going to have to play good against Lamar, but we're going to have to play good around him."
"It was first down and there was no reason to make that throw," Hales said. "But we don't have time to look to the past. We have to win our next three games to have any chance at the postseason, so we have to move on."
That move starts against Lamar.
"They're the hottest team in the conference right now," Brown said. "Lamar's playing really good football. They'll be a difficult task out here."
Sports on 11/03/2018