2018 Central Arkansas Bears football team

2018 Central Arkansas Bears football
2018 Central Arkansas Bears football
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	6–5 (5–4 Southland)
Head coach	Nathan Brown (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Ken Collums (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Max Thurmond (1st season)
Home stadium	Estes Stadium
	Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Southland Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 14 Nicholls +^	7	–	2	9	–	4
Incarnate Word +^	6	–	2	6	–	5
Lamar ^	6	–	3	7	–	5
Abilene Christian	5	–	4	6	–	5
Central Arkansas	5	–	4	6	–	5
McNeese State	5	–	4	6	–	5
Sam Houston State	5	–	4	6	–	5
Northwestern State	4	–	5	5	–	6
Southeastern Louisiana	4	–	5	4	–	7
Stephen F. Austin	2	–	7	2	–	8
Houston Baptist	0	–	9	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS poll

The 2018 Central Arkansas Bears football team represented the University of Central Arkansas in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bears were led by first-year head coach Nathan Brown and played their home games at Estes Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 5–4 in Southland play to finish in a four-way tie for fourth place.

Preseason

Preseason All-Conference Teams

On July 12, 2018, the Southland announced their Preseason All-Conference Teams, with the Bears having 11 players selected.^[1]

Offense First Team

Carlos Blackman – Jr. RB

Defense First Team

Chris Terrell – Jr. DL
Eric Jackson – Sr. DL
Juan Jackson – Jr. DB

Offense Second Team

Josh Nix – So. TE
Adrian Harris – So. OL
Hunter Watts – Jr. OL

Defense Second Team

Cardell Best – Sr. DL
Nathan Grant – So. DL
Raphael Garner – Sr. LB
Cedric Battle – Sr. KR

Preseason poll

On July 19, 2018, the Southland announced their preseason poll, with the Bears predicted to finish in third place.^[2]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Sam Houston State	187 (10)
2	Nicholls State	173 (6)
3	Central Arkansas	170 (5)
4	McNeese State	159 (1)
5	Southeastern Louisiana	119
6	Stephen F. Austin	90
7	Abilene Christian	89
8	Northwestern State	86
9	Incarnate Word	53
10	Lamar	52
11	Houston Baptist	32

Award watch lists

Award	Player	Position	Year
Buck Buchanan Award^[3]	Chris Terrell	DE	JR

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	6:00 p.m.	at Tulsa*	No. 16	H. A. Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK	ESPN3	L 27–38	18,356
September 8	6:00 pm	Murray State*	No. 17	Estes Stadium Conway, AR	SLC Digital	W 26–13	6,121
September 15	7:00 p.m.	at Southeastern Louisiana	No. 18	Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA	ESPN+	W 33–25	6,485
September 29	3:00 pm	at No. 21 Sam Houston State	No. 13	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	ESPN3	L 31–34 ^OT	7,598
October 6	6:00 pm	Houston Baptist	No. 20	Estes Stadium Conway, AR	Bear Nation Network	W 66–35	10,210
October 13	3:00 p.m.	at Stephen F. Austin	No. 18	Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX	ESPN3	W 27–17	5,976
October 20	6:00 pm	Northwestern State	No. 15	Estes Stadium Conway, AR	Bear Nation Network	W 38–17	6,754
October 27	6:00 p.m.	at No. 14 McNeese State	No. 13	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA (Red Beans and Rice Bowl)	ESPN3	L 21–23	11,208
November 3	6:00 pm	Lamar	No. 19	Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ELVN, CST, SLC Digital	L 24–38	10,874
November 10	3:00 pm	Incarnate Word		Estes Stadium Conway, AR	SLC Digital	L 27–40	4,457
November 17	2:00 p.m.	at Abilene Christian		Wildcat Stadium Abilene, TX	ESPN+	W 16–7	8,006
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Game summaries

At Tulsa

Central Arkansas at Tulsa

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Bears	13	0	7	7	27
• Golden Hurricane	7	14	3	14	38

Date: September 1
Location: Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
Game attendance: 18,356
Referee: Bob Johnson
Television network: ESPN3

Murray State

Murray State at Central Arkansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Racers	3	10	0	0	13
• No. 17 Bears	7	13	0	6	26

Date: September 8
Location: Estes Stadium
Conway, AR
Game start: 6:00 pm CDT
Television network: SLC Digital

Sources:

At Southeastern Louisiana

Central Arkansas at Southeastern Louisiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 18 Bears	0	13	14	6	33
Lions	7	3	7	8	25

Date: September 15
Location: Strawberry Stadium
Hammond, LA
Game start: 7:00 p.m. CDT
Television network: ESPN+

Sources:

At Sam Houston State

Central Arkansas at Sam Houston State

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
No. 13 Bears	3	7	7	14	0	31
• No. 21 Bearkats	0	14	14	3	3	34

Date: September 29
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, TX
Game start: 3:00 p.m. CDT
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Houston Baptist

Houston Baptist at Central Arkansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	14	7	14	0	35
• No. 20 Bears	21	14	17	14	66

Date: October 6
Location: Estes Stadium
Conway, AR
Game start: 6:00 pm CDT
Television network: Bear Nation Network

Sources:

At Stephen F. Austin

Central Arkansas at Stephen F. Austin

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 18 Bears	7	3	14	3	27
Lumberjacks	7	0	3	7	17

Date: October 13
Location: Homer Bryce Stadium
Nacogdoches, TX
Game start: 3:00 p.m. CDT
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:

Northwestern State

Northwestern State at Central Arkansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Demons	0	10	7	0	17
• No. 15 Bears	14	14	7	3	38

Date: October 20
Location: Estes Stadium
Conway, AR
Game start: 6:00 pm CDT
Elapsed time: 3:05
Game attendance: 6,754
Referee: Cooper Castleberry
Television network: Bear Nation Network

Sources:^[9]^[10]

At McNeese State

Red Beans and Rice Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 13 Bears	7	7	7	0	21
• No. 14 Cowboys	17	3	0	3	23

Date: October 27
Location: Cowboy Stadium
Lake Charles, LA
Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 3:15
Game attendance: 11,208
Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C) • SW 10 • Clear
Referee: Michael VanderVelde
Television network: ESPN3

Sources:^[11]

Lamar

Lamar at Central Arkansas
(homecoming)

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Cardinals	21	14	3	0	38
No. 19 Bears	10	6	0	8	24

Date: November 3
Location: Estes Stadium
Conway, AR
Game start: 6:00 pm CDT
Television network: ELVN/CST/SLC Digital

Sources:

Incarnate Word

Incarnate Word at Central Arkansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Cardinals	3	14	13	10	40
Bears	7	7	7	6	27

Date: November 10
Location: Estes Stadium
Conway, AR
Game start: 3:00 pm CST
Television network: SLC Digital

Sources:

At Abilene Christian

Central Arkansas at Abilene Christian

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bears	0	6	3	7	16
Wildcats	0	7	0	0	7

Date: November 17
Location: Wildcat Stadium
Abilene, TX

Sources:

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	16	17	18	14	13–T	20	18	15	13	19	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	15	17	17	13	12	18	16	15	14	19	RV	—	—

References

^ "Southland Announces 2018 Preseason All-Conference Football Teams".
^ "Sam Houston State Voted to Top Spot in 2018 Football Preseason Poll".
^ "FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced". August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
^ "Central Arkansas Bears Schedule - 2018". ESPN. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
^ "Southland Announces Week 9 TV Selections". Southland Conference. October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
^ "SOUTHLAND ANNOUNCES WEEK 10 TV SELECTIONS". Southland Conference. October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
^ "SOUTHLAND ANNOUNCES WEEK 8 TV SELECTIONS". Southland Conference. October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
^ "SOUTHLAND ANNOUNCES WEEK 6 TV SELECTIONS". Southland Conference. September 24, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
^ "NORTHWESTERN STATE (2-5 , 1-4) -VS- CENTRAL ARKANSAS (5-2 , 4-1)". UCA Athletics. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
^ "Hales throws 5 TDs, Central Arkansas thumps NW State 38-17". ESPN. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
^ "CENTRAL ARKANSAS (5-3 , 4-2) -VS- MCNEESE (6-2 , 5-1)". UCA Athletics. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

[1] "Southland Announces 2018 Preseason All-Conference Football Teams".

[2] "Sam Houston State Voted to Top Spot in 2018 Football Preseason Poll".

[3] "FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced". August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.

[4] "Central Arkansas Bears Schedule - 2018". ESPN. Retrieved October 21, 2018.

[5] "Southland Announces Week 9 TV Selections". Southland Conference. October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.

[6] "SOUTHLAND ANNOUNCES WEEK 10 TV SELECTIONS". Southland Conference. October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.

[7] "SOUTHLAND ANNOUNCES WEEK 8 TV SELECTIONS". Southland Conference. October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.

[8] "SOUTHLAND ANNOUNCES WEEK 6 TV SELECTIONS". Southland Conference. September 24, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.

[9] "NORTHWESTERN STATE (2-5 , 1-4) -VS- CENTRAL ARKANSAS (5-2 , 4-1)". UCA Athletics. Retrieved October 21, 2018.

[10] "Hales throws 5 TDs, Central Arkansas thumps NW State 38-17". ESPN. Retrieved October 21, 2018.

[11] "CENTRAL ARKANSAS (5-3 , 4-2) -VS- MCNEESE (6-2 , 5-1)". UCA Athletics. Retrieved October 27, 2018.

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v t e Central Arkansas Bears football
Venues	Estes Stadium (1939–present)
Bowls & rivalries	1937 Charity Bowl 1947 Kickapoo Bowl McNeese State: Red Beans and Rice Bowl
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold