CONWAY -- The University of Central Arkansas will have to wait at least one more season to break through its FCS playoffs ceiling.
The Illinois State Redbirds followed senior running back James Robinson and a stout defense to a 24-14 victory over UCA in the second round of the playoffs at Estes Stadium on Saturday.
Four turnovers thwarted UCA's chances as it fell short in its fourth second-round game since the program moved to the FCS in 2006.
"When you turn the ball over and don't turn them over a lot, and you're playing a good football team like they have, you've got no shot," UCA Coach Nathan Brown said. "We've done a lot of good things this season, but Illinois State played a better football game."
Robinson carried 37 times for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Illinois State held UCA to 256 yards of total offense.
The Redbirds led 21-7 at halftime, and an interception thrown by UCA sophomore quarterback Breylin Smith and a fumble by Smith in the third quarter stopped attempted comeback drives.
An Illinois State turnover on downs at the UCA 37 kept UCA's hopes alive with 11:37 left in the fourth quarter. On fourth and 2 at the Illinois State 22, senior running back Carlos Blackman was held to no gain.
Senior Sam Fenalson's 24-yard field goal gave the Redbirds a 24-7 edge with 4:06 left in the game.
Senior tight end Luke Ross caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Smith that pulled the Bears within 24-14 with 1:32 left, and senior safety Juan Jackson recovered sophomore Hayden Ray's onside-kick attempt to keep UCA alive.
The Bears' next three plays resulted in a sack, an incomplete pass and a pass from Smith that was intercepted by freshman safety Clayton Isbell to seal it.
"There's nothing worse than watching a team give up," Brown said. "We're going to always fight until the end. That's one thing that I want this program to be known for is that we're going to fight you. We're going to try to score touchdowns until the clock hits zero."
Smith completed 24 of 33 passes for 198 yards and 1 touchdown. Blackman rushed 16 times for 35 yards and caught 5 passes for 47 yards.
Blackman and Robinson were among some players in this game who played in the first-round playoff game in 2016 when UCA rallied from a 17-7 deficit in the fourth quarter for a 31-24 victory over Illinois State.
Blackman led UCA in rushing in 2016 with 31 yards. Robinson rushed once for a loss of 6 yards.
"When we came here, I had a little bit of a hamstring injury," Robinson said of the 2016 game. "I didn't really play that much, but from then until now, I've become a more patient runner."
"He's extremely patient," Brown said. "He's got big guys in front of him, and he kind of waits and sets up his blocks, and then he becomes a very aggressive young man."
Through four seasons, Robinson has rushed for 4,368 yards. Blackman's UCA career has come to an end with 2,870 rushing yards.
"Carlos has taken a lot of pressure off me," Smith said. "I'm definitely going to miss him."
Whereas the game's first quarter featured punt exchanges, the second began with big plays from Illinois State.
Sophomore receiver Austin Nagel's 18-yard touchdown run on a reverse completed a seven-play, 70-yard drive to give the Redbirds a 7-0 lead with 14:05 left in the second quarter.
UCA (9-4) was held to three plays and a punt, and Illinois State (10-4) scored on a 51-yard touchdown run by Robinson to take a 14-0 lead.
"We did a real good job coming into a place where we didn't do so well last time we were here," Illinois State Coach Brock Spack said. "Central Arkansas is so well-coached, and they have a lot of good players."
UCA, which to that point had been held to one first down, started an 11-play, 70-yard drive that included passes of 16 yards to junior receiver Dwight Blakey and 24 to freshman Tyler Hudson. A pass interference call against sophomore defensive back Charles Woods put UCA at the Illinois State 2, and Blackman ran the ball into the end zone on the next play to pull UCA within 14-7 with 6:50 left in the first half.
Robinson's 2-yard touchdown run gave the Redbirds a 21-7 lead at halftime.
"I knew James Robinson would probably chunk up some yards," Brown said. "Obviously he had the long run that kind of got them going, but I thought defensively, we played winning football. You hold a team to 24 points, and we do anything offensively early, it's probably a different football game."
Sports on 12/08/2019