Today's game
McNeese State at Central Arkansas
WHEN 3 p.m.
WHERE Estes Stadium, Conway
RECORDS UCA 3-2, 1-1 Southland Conference; McNeese State 3-3, 1-2
COACHES Nathan Brown (10-6 in second season at UCA and overall); Sterlin Gilbert (3-3 in first season at MSU and overall)
SERIES Tied 6-6
LAST YEAR McNeese State won 23-21
RADIO KUCA-FM, 91.3, in Conway; KKPT-FM, 94.1, in Little Rock
INTERNET ucasports.com
WHEN UCA HAS THE BALL Behind senior running back Carlos Blackman and junior Kierre Crossley, UCA has rushed for 284 yards in its last two games. Freshman Cameron Myers took his first career carries in UCA's 34-14 loss at Nicholls State last Saturday and rushed eight times for 46 yards. UCA, which relied more heavily on passing through its first three games, has now rushed for a total of 383 yards. Sophomore quarterback Breylin Smith still leads the way with an average of 268.2 passing yards a game. His top receiver is sophomore Lujuan Winningham with 32 catches for 551 yards and 7 touchdowns. Blackman has caught 25 passes for 195 yards and 1 touchdown, and sophomore Tyler Hudson has caught 17 for 301 yards and 2 touchdowns
WHEN MCNEESE STATE HAS THE BALL Junior quarterback Cody Orgeron leads the way for McNeese State. Through six games, he has passed for 1,206 yards and 11 touchdowns with 5 interceptions. He is the Cowboys' season-leading rusher with a net of 190 yards on 73 carries, totals that include sacks against. He has gained a total of 288 rushing yards. Orgeron has three receivers with more than 10 catches, including junior Cyron Sutton with 28 for 468 yards and 4 touchdowns, and junior Trevor Begue with 26 for 353 yards and 4 touchdowns.
WHAT'S AT STAKE UCA has lost its last two games. It had a three-game losing streak last season but has not lost three consecutive games in back-to-back seasons since 2010-11.
-- Pete Perkins
Sports on 10/12/2019