2020 Central Arkansas Bears football team

The 2020 Central Arkansas Bears football team represents the University of Central Arkansas in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southland Conference. The Bears are led by third-year head coach Nathan Brown and play their home games at Estes Stadium.

2020 Central Arkansas Bears football
FCS Kickoff Champions
Conference	Southland Conference
2020 record	5–4 (0–0 Southland)
Head coach	Nathan Brown (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Ken Collums (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Chad Williams (2nd season)
Home stadium	Estes Stadium (Capacity: 10,000)

2020 Southland Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Incarnate Word			–							–
Lamar			–							–
McNeese State *			–							–
Nicholls			–							–
Northwestern State			–							–
Sam Houston State			–							–
Southeastern Louisiana			–							–
* – Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to NCAA sanctions Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, Houston Baptist, and Stephen F. Austin opting out of playing spring conference football As of January 19, 2021; Rankings from STATS Poll

Previous season

The Bears finished the 2019 season 9–3, 7–2 in Southland play, earning a share of the 2019 Southland Conference championship, and a first round bye in the FCS playoffs with a #8 seeding. They lost in the second round of the FCS Playoffs to Illinois State.

Roster

2020 Central Arkansas Bears football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 3 Breylin Smith Jr QB 7 Hunter Loyd Fr QB 10 Luke Hales Jr QB 17 Darius Bowers  So QB XX Hunter Eskola  So OL 60 Jordan Banks Fr OL 61 Sanderson Hines Jr OL 63 Toby Sanderson Sr OL 64 Riley Dod Fr OL 66 Jalan Henderson Fr OL 67 Chandler Knandel  Fr OL 69 Jesse Boshears  Fr OL 70 William Mayo Fr OL 71 Josh George So OL 72 Bakarius Collier Fr OL 73 Parker Ray So OL 75 Will Burgess Jr OL 76 Caleb Jones So OL 77 Derek Haupt Fr OL 78 Jaylin Hendrix Jr OL 79 Justin Lairy Fr RB 20 Marshun Douglas  Fr RB 21 Kierre Crossley Sr RB 23 Trysten Smith Fr RB 27 Derrick Wise Fr RB 28 Cameron Myers So RB 35 Corbin Humphrey So RB XX Michael George So TE 19 Sam Camargo Sr TE 32 Justin Morris Sr TE 35 James Clayton Fr TE 41 Joshua Nix Sr TE 43 Garrett Thomas  Fr TE 47 Austin Eldridge So TE 83 Riyada Anada So TE 85 Jack Short Sr TE 89 Haze Denton Fr WR 1 Tyler Hudson So WR 2 Jarrod Barnes Jr WR 5 LuJuan Winningham Jr WR 6 Dwight Blakey Sr WR 8 Tobias Enlow Sr WR 13 Myles Kitt-Denton Fr WR 80 Chris Howard  Fr WR 81 Christian Richmond So WR 82 Chris Hightower Fr WR 84 Brandon Myers Jr WR 86 Noah Bush So WR 87 Mitchell Perkinson Jr WR 88 Jared Long Fr WR XX Paul Amick So WR XX Robert Springer  Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 4 Cameron Godfrey So DB 7 Nick Nakwaash  Fr DB 9 Robert Rochell Sr DB 11 Christian Cain Jr DB 12 Steve Mackey Jr. Jr DB 14 Leandre Rucks Sr DB 16 Davis Harrison Sr DB 22 Wesley Anusiem Jr DB 25 Chris Kershner Sr DB 26 Tamaurian Wilson Fr DB 29 Justin Meadows Sr DB 31 Kameryn Cuevas Jr DB 33 Deandrel Lamont Jr DB 34 Laquez Embry Fr DB 36 Jackie Harvell Jr DB 37 Donte Jones  Fr DB 38 Simeon Dorson So DB XX Derrick Thompson So DB XX Quin Tucker So DE 50 J.W. Jones So DE 92 Jamal Mull Fr DE 93 Marquez Casey So DE 94 Nathan Grant Sr DL 42 Taurean Mays  Fr DL 49 Azuka Mgbemena Sr DL 55 Jalen Bedell Jr DL 86 Austin Norris Sr DL 90 A'Javius Brown Sr DL 91 Logan Jessup So DL 95 James Kitt  Fr DL 97 Caden Brown Jr DL 98 D'Mani Gibson Fr DT 99 Alejandro Ramirez So LB 15 TJ Campbell Jr LB 18 Malik Wilson Jr LB 24 Darin Davenport So LB 39 Trenton Dunn Sr LB 40 Kendarrius Moore Fr LB 43 Jy'Kevious Hibbler Fr LB 45 Dre Matthews Jr LB 51 Nicholas Gonzales  Fr LB 52 Dwain Hunt  Fr LB 54 Colson Simpson  Fr LB 56 Demetrius Charles  Fr OLB 30 DJ Reed Sr OLB 46 Victor Hill Sr OLB 96 Jeremiah Gray So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class DS 48 Justin Keijers So DS 59 Will Siler Jr P 44 Seren Hughes-Ford So K 53 Hayden Ray Jr K 57 Chandler Caughron  Fr	Head coach Nathan Brown (Central Arkansas) Coordinators/assistant coaches Brooks Hollingsworth (Central Arkansas) Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Ken Collums (Central Arkansas) Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Chad Williams (Southern Miss) Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Gunnar Boykin (Southern Miss) Offensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator Tony Davis (Troy) Defensive Line Ryan Howard (Central Arkansas) Wide Receivers/Special Teams Jacob Sisk (Central Arkansas) Safeties Chaz Scales (Arkansas State) Cornerbacks Nelson Gunnell (Central Arkansas) Running Backs Tayler Polk (Mississippi) Outside Linebackers Dalton Withrow (Central Arkansas) Director of Equipment Operations Stephanie Crain Assistant to the Head Coach [1] Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Schedule

Central Arkansas had a game scheduled against Missouri, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Due to the Southland delaying conference play until Spring 2021, Central Arkansas is playing as an independent for the 2020 season. Since they are playing more than 3 games during the fall, Central Arkansas will not participate in conference play in the spring.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29[lower-alpha 1]	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 13 Austin Peay*	No. 11	Crampton Bowl Montgomery, AL (FCS Kickoff)	ESPN	W 24–17	2,000
September 3	7:00 p.m.	at UAB*	No. 11	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	ESPN3	L 35–45	12,716
September 26	7:00 p.m.	Missouri State*	No. 11	Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ESPN3	W 27–20	2,000
October 3	2:30 p.m.	at No. 1 North Dakota State*	No. 11	Fargodome Fargo, ND	ESPN+	L 28–39	471
October 10	6:00 p.m.	at Arkansas State*	No. 11	Centennial Bank Stadium Jonesboro, AR	ESPN3	L 27–50	4,561
October 17	7:00 p.m.	at Missouri State*	No. 11	Robert W. Plaster Stadium Springfield, MO	ESPN3	W 33–24	5,489
October 24	2:00 p.m.	at Eastern Kentucky*	No. 11	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY		L 28–31	2,932
October 31	3:00 p.m.	Missouri Western*	No. 11	Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ESPN3	W 52–10	2,452
November 14	3:00 p.m.	Eastern Kentucky*	No. 11	Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ESPN3	W 37–25	2,000
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Source:[7]

1. Both Austin Peay and Central Arkansas agreed to move their previously scheduled game from September 19 to August 29 after being selected to compete in the 2020 Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff game at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, AL. The game will be nationally televised and will be the only college football game played in their time slot.[3][4][5][6]

Game summaries

vs. Austin Peay

Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff: Austin Peay vs. Central Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total No. 13 Governors 7 3 0 7 17 • No. 11 Bears 0 6 7 11 24 Date: August 29 Location: Crampton Bowl Montgomery, AL Game start: 8:05 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:36 Game attendance: 2,000 Game weather: 81 °F (27 °C), Partly Cloudy, winds NE 3 mph Referee: Bob Johnson • Umpire: Steve Coullias • Linesman: Ritchie Godfre • Line judge: D. LaFontaine • Back judge: Brian Kovach • Field judge: Pat Jordan • Side judge: Cedric Clark TV announcers (ESPN): Matt Barrie, Mike Golic Jr., and Lauren Sisler Sources:

Scoring summary 1 14:44 APSU CJ Evans Jr. 75-yard run (Grant Paulette kick) APSU 7–0 2 11:38 APSU Grant Paulette 28-yard field goal APSU 10-0 7:37 UCA Hayden Ray 30-yard field goal APSU 10-3 3:51 UCA Hayden Ray 27-yard field goal APSU 10-6 3 14:00 UCA Kierre Crossley 34-yard run (Hayden Ray kick) UCA 13-10 4 7:44 UCA Hayden Ray 32-yard field goal UCA 16-10 1:34 APSU Jeremiah Oatsvall 1-yard run (Grant Paulette kick) APSU 17-16 0:34 UCA LuJuan Winningham 10-yard pass Breylin Smith (Sam Camargo pass from Breylin Smith) UCA 24-17

Uniform combination: white helmet, white jersey, white pants w/ purple accents

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at UAB

Central Arkansas at UAB

1 2 3 4 Total Bears 7 14 0 14 35 • Blazers 14 14 3 14 45 Date: September 3 Location: Legion Field Birmingham, AL Game start: 7:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:45 Game attendance: 12,716 Game weather: 86 °F (30 °C), Clear, winds SW 5 mph Referee: Jonathan Noli • Umpire: John C. Mitchell • Linesman: Gary Calip • Line judge: Jonathan May • Back judge: Tom Healey • Field judge: Victor Sanchez • Side judge: Raymond Tate • Center judge: Chris Burnette TV announcers (ESPN3): Curt Bloom and Chad Pilcher Sources:

Scoring summary 1 7:03 UAB Gerrit Young 6-yard pass from Tyler Johnston III (Matt Quinn kick) UAB 7–0 2:46 UAB Spencer Brown 5-yard run (Matt Quinn kick) UAB 14–0 0:03 UCA Cameron Myers 5-yard run (Hayden Ray kick) UAB 14–7 2 10:50 UAB Myon Mitchell 18-yard pass from Bryson Lucero (Matt Quinn kick) UAB 21–7 5:31 UAB Gerrit Prince 10-yard pass from Tyler Johnston III (Matt Quinn kick) UAB 28–7 2:33 UCA LuJuan Winningham 15-yard pass from Breylin Smith (Chandler Caughron kick) UAB 28–14 1:21 UCA Robert Rochell 35-yard fumble return (Chandler Caughron kick) UAB 28–21 3 3:07 UAB Matt Quinn 23-yard field goal UAB 31–21 4 12:41 UAB Lucious Stanley 8-yard run (Matt Quinn kick) UAB 38–21 8:12 UAB Jermaine Brown 30-yard run (Matt Quinn kick) UAB 45–21 5:43 UCA LuJuan Winningham 8-yard pass from Breylin Smith (Chandler Caughron kick) UAB 45–28 0:32 UCA Sam Camargo 6-yard pass from Breylin Smith (Chandler Caughron kick) UAB 45–35

Uniform combination: white helmet, white jersey, white pants w/ purple accents

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Missouri State

Missouri State at Central Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total MOST Bears 0 17 3 0 20 • UCA Bears 0 7 6 14 27 Date: September 26 Location: Estes Stadium Conway, AR Game start: 7:05 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:20 Game attendance: 2,000 Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C), Winds SSE 2 mph; Mostly Clear Referee: Ed Bourgeois • Umpire: David Williams • Linesman: Tony Wright • Line judge: Todd Allen • Back judge: Brendon Barnes • Field judge: Keith Claiborne • Side judge: Trey Castleberry TV announcers (ESPN3): John Liddle, Shea Walker, and Taylor Verrico Sources:

Scoring summary 2 12:04 MOST Jose Pizano 47-yard field goal MOST 3–0 10:45 MOST Kevin Latulas returns blocked Seren Hughes-Ford punt 16-yards (Jose Pizano kick) MOST 10-0 7:38 UCA Kierre Crossley 4-yard run (Hayden Ray kick) MOST 10-7 4:02 MOST Keshun Parker 3-yard run (Jose Pizano kick) MOST 17-7 3 8:49 MOST Jose Pizano 31-yard field goal UAB 20–7 1:24 UCA Tyler Hudson 7-yard pass from Breylin Smith (kick failed) UAB 20-13 4 14:48 UCA Dre Matthews 30-yard fumble return (Hayden Ray kick) TIED 20–20 14:11 UCA Tyler Hudson 57-yard punt return (Hayden Ray kick) UCA 27–20

Uniform combination: white helmet, purple jersey, purple pants w/ white and gray accents

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at North Dakota State

Central Arkansas at North Dakota State

1 2 3 4 Total Bears 3 3 14 8 28 • Bison 0 10 8 21 39 Date: October 3 Location: Fargodome Fargo, ND Game start: 2:34 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:31 Game attendance: 471 Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C), Indoors Referee: Matt Gallagher • Umpire: Tony Day • Linesman: Calvin Diggs • Line judge: Ivan Cardona • Back judge: Justin Staehr • Field judge: Stacy Jameson • Side judge: Phil Ayeni • Center judge: Jason Nickleby TV announcers (ESPN+): Brian Shawn, Lee Timmerman, and Ryan Gellner Sources:

Scoring summary 1 8:26 UCA Hayden Ray 33-yard field goal UCA 3–0 2 11:53 UCA Hayden Ray 41-yard field goal UCA 6–0 9:00 NDS Josh Babicz 13-yard pass from Trey Lance (Jake Reinholz kick) NDS 7–6 2:32 NDS Jake Reinholz 27-yard field goal NDS 10–6 3 14:13 NDS Trey Lance 54-yard run (James Kaczor run) NDS 18–6 12:47 UCA Tyler Hudson 22-yard pass from Breylin Smith (Hayden Ray kick) NDS 18–13 9:44 UCA LuJuan Winningham 3-yard pass from Breylin Smith (Hayden Ray kick) UCA 20–18 4 13:21 NDS Trey Lance 14-yard run (Jake Reinholz kick) NDS 25–20 10:35 UCA LuJuan Winningham 11-yard pass from Breylin Smith (Breylin Smith run) UCA 28–25 7:35 NDS Hunter Luepke 23-yard pass from Trey Lance (Jake Reinholz kick) NDS 32–28 1:52 NDS Hunter Luepke 13-yard run (Jake Reinholz kick) NDS 39–28

Uniform combination: white helmet, white jersey, white pants w/ purple accents

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at Arkansas State

Central Arkansas at Arkansas State

1 2 3 4 Total Bears 3 10 0 14 27 • Red Wolves 2 21 20 7 50 Date: October 10 Location: Centennial Bank Stadium Jonesboro, AR Game start: 2:35 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:45 Game attendance: 4,561 Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C), Winds NE 13 mph; Cloudy and Rainy Referee: Trennis Livingston • Umpire: Jason Yates • Linesman: Jim Kelley • Line judge: Carl Gioia • Back judge: Wayne Johnson • Field judge: Charles Green • Side judge: Brett Toney TV announcers (ESPN3): Roger Twibell, Pete Cordelli, and Cori Keller Sources:

Scoring summary 1 8:07 UCA Hayden Ray 36-yard field goal UCA 3–0 6:04 ASU Team Safety UCA 3–2 2 10:44 UCA Hayden Ray 42-yard field goal UCA 6–2 5:22 ASU Jonathan Adams 4-yard pass from Layne Hatcher (Blake Grupe kick) ASU 9–6 3:14 ASU Samy Johnson 60-yard interception return (Blake Grupe kick) ASU 16–6 1:31 UCA LuJuan Winningham 23-yard pass from Breylin Smith (Hayden Ray kick) ASU 16–13 0:29 ASU Brandon Bowling 15-yard pass from Layne Hatcher (Blake Grupe kick) ASU 23–13 3 13:40 ASU Dahu Green 3-yard pass from Logan Bonner (Blake Grupe kick) ASU 30–13 8:19 ASU Jonathan Adams 22-yard pass from Layne Hatcher (Blake Grupe kick) ASU 37–13 0:29 ASU Dahu Green 20-yard pass from Logan Bonner (kick failed) ASU 43–13 4 13:32 UCA LuJuan Winningham 2-yard pass from Breylin Smith (Hayden Ray kick) ASU 43–20 11:32 UCA LuJuan Winningham 31-yard pass from Breylin Smith (Hayden Ray kick) ASU 43–27 5:14 ASU Corey Rucker 56=yard pass from Logan Bonner (Blake Grupe kick) ASU 50–27

Uniform combination: grey helmet, white jersey, white pants w/ purple accents

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at Missouri State

Central Arkansas at Missouri State

1 2 3 4 Total UCA Bears - - - - 0 MOST Bears - - - - 0 Date: October 17 Location: Robert W. Plaster Stadium Springfield, MO Referee: • Umpire: • Linesman: • Line judge: • Back judge: • Field judge: • Side judge: • Center judge: Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

Scoring summary

Uniform combination:

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at Eastern Kentucky

Central Arkansas at Eastern Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total Bears - - - - 0 Blazers - - - - 0 Date: October 24 Location: Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY Referee: • Umpire: • Linesman: • Line judge: • Back judge: • Field judge: • Side judge: • Center judge: Sources:

Scoring summary

Uniform combination:

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Missouri Western

Missouri Western at Central Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total Griffons - - - - 0 Bears - - - - 0 Date: October 31 Location: Estes Stadium Conway, AR Referee: • Umpire: • Linesman: • Line judge: • Back judge: • Field judge: • Side judge: • Center judge: Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

Scoring summary

Uniform combination:

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Eastern Kentucky

Eastern Kentucky at Central Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total Colonels - - - - 0 Bears - - - - 0 Date: November 14 Location: Estes Stadium Conway, AR Referee: • Umpire: • Linesman: • Line judge: • Back judge: • Field judge: • Side judge: • Center judge: Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

Scoring summary

Uniform combination:

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at Louisiana

Central Arkansas at Louisiana

1 2 3 4 Total Bears - - - - 0 Ragin' Cajuns - - - - 0 Date: November 21 Location: Cajun Field Lafayette, LA Referee: • Umpire: • Linesman: • Line judge: • Back judge: • Field judge: • Side judge: • Center judge: Sources:

Scoring summary

Uniform combination:

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References

1. "UCA Men's Football Staff". UCA Athletics.
2. Talty, John. "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
3. Craig Haley (January 29, 2020). "It's another fumble with the FCS Kickoff". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
4. "Teams Announced for 2020 FCS Kickoff in Montgomery". Alabama News Network. January 29, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
5. "Austin Peay, Central Arkansas to Meet In Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff". ESPN Internet Ventures. January 29, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
6. Kevin Kelley (January 29, 2020). "Austin Peay, Central Arkansas to play in 2020 FCS Kickoff". FBSchedules.com Partner of USATODAY College Sports. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
7. "Bears Build Formidable Schedule". UCA Athletics. 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.