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Probably the last one to know but the Monday night coaches radio show on 103.7fm can be replayed on soundcloud.com...a fellow PCC member let me know to go there and search for Nathan Brown Show.....past shows are archived and not just the most recent show.....

While on soundcloud also listened to a replay of a 103.7 interview of Coach Horton....always liked Horton as a player on The Hill, a coach and the Bear's coach....he talked about lots of parts of his career but quite a bit on UCA days....the 38 consecutive wins.....the 7 straight AIC championships....the 2 NAIA crowns...record of 74-12-5 and no losing seasons....he said when he was the coach UCA did not recruit out of state high school players....only Arkansas high schools...had some walkons and transfers from out of state.....convinced there was Arkansas talent that could play college ball and beyond.....

FCS Top 25 - 10/4/21
https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2021-10-04/fcs-football-rankings-eastern-washington-soars-ivy-league-returns-latest-coaches-poll

1 Sam Houston (24) 4-0 694 1
2 James Madison (1) 4-0 653 2
3 South Dakota State (1) 4-0 646 3
4 Eastern Washington (2) 5-0 608 6
5 North Dakota State 4-0 601 5
6 Montana 3-1 511 4
7 Southern Illinois 4-1 503 7
8 UC Davis 5-0 492 8
9 Villanova 3-1 454 9
10 Delaware 3-1 453 10
11 Montana State 4-1 402 12
12 Northern Iowa 3-1 376 13
13 East Tennessee State 5-0 357 14
14 Southeastern Louisiana 3-1 326 15
15 North Dakota 2-2 312 11
16 Missouri State 3-1 286 16
17 Kennesaw State 3-1 230 20
18 Weber State 2-3 206 18
19 Chattanooga 2-2 200 19
20 Rhode Island 4-0 152 23
21 UT Martin 3-1 117 T-24
T-22 Harvard 3-0 73 NR
T-22 Jacksonville State 2-3 71 17
24 Princeton 3-0 41 NR
25 Monmouth (N.J.) 3-2 39 NR

Dropped Out: Richmond (21), VMI (22), Holy Cross (24t)

Others Receiving Votes: Central Arkansas, 38; New Hampshire, 37; Eastern Kentucky, 23; Mercer, 22; South Dakota, 20; Nicholls, 19; Stephen F. Austin, 19; UIW, 16; Jackson St., 15; Holy Cross, 14; Yale, 12; Abilene Christian, 10; VMI, 10; Murray St., 9; Austin Peay, 7; Duquesne, 6; Florida A&M, 5; William & Mary, 4; Elon, 3; North Carolina A&T, 3; Richmond, 3; Charleston Southern, 2.

FCS Top 25 - 10/11/21
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/stats-perform-fcs-top-25

1 Sam Houston (39) 5-0 1,229 1
2 Eastern Washington (9) 6-0 1,186 4
3 North Dakota State (2) 5-0 1,174 5
4 Southern Illinois 5-1 1,081 8
5 Montana 4-1 996 6
6 Villanova 4-1 977 11
7 South Dakota State 4-1 972 2
8 James Madison 4-1 906 3
9 Montana State 5-1 881 10
10 East Tennessee State 6-0 796 12
11 Southeastern Louisiana 4-1 741 14
12 Rhode Island 5-0 694 18
13 UC Davis 5-1 564 7
14 Delaware 3-2 559 9
15 Kennesaw State 4-1 543 17
16 Northern Iowa 3-2 410 16
17 UT Martin 4-1 409 21
18 UIW 4-1 344 20
19 Weber State 2-3 330 19
20 Missouri State 3-2 285 15
21 South Dakota 4-2 229 NR
22 North Dakota 2-3 216 13
23 New Hampshire 3-2 124 22
24 Jacksonville State 3-3 122 24
25 Princeton 4-0 88 NR
Dropped Out: Stephen F. Austin (23), Nicholls (25)

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Mercer 78, Jackson State 63, VMI 60, Duquesne 48, Harvard 36, William & Mary 28, Central Arkansas 21, Youngstown State 20, Stephen F. Austin 11, Nicholls 10, Eastern Kentucky 9, Prairie View A&M 8

FCS Top 25 - 10/18/21
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/stats-perform-fcs-top-25

1 Sam Houston (35) 5-0 1,223 1
2 Eastern Washington (14) 7-0 1,178 2
3 North Dakota State (1) 6-0 1,169 3
4 Southern Illinois 6-1 1,097 4
5 Villanova 5-1 1,022 6
6 South Dakota State 5-1 980 7
7 James Madison 5-1 951 8
8 Montana State 6-1 919 9
9 Southeastern Louisiana 5-1 842 11
10 UC Davis 6-1 750 13
11 Montana 4-2 694 5
12 Kennesaw State 5-1 658 15
13 UT Martin 5-1 583 17
14 ETSU 6-1 556 10
15 South Dakota 5-2 521 21
16 UIW 5-1 518 18
17 Missouri State 4-2 486 20
18 Rhode Island 5-1 405 12
19 Sacramento State 4-2 251 NR
20 Northern Iowa 3-3 190 16
21 VMI 5-2 173 NR
22 Princeton 5-0 166 25
23 Delaware 3-3 152 14
24 Jackson State 5-1 148 NR
25 Dartmouth 5-0 120 NR

Dropped Out: Weber State (19), North Dakota (22), New Hampshire (23), Jacksonville State (24)

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Jacksonville State 104, Harvard 101, Eastern Kentucky 85, Weber State 73, Duquesne 44, North Dakota 27, Prairie View A&M 16, Youngstown State 11, Chattanooga 8, William & Mary 7, Stephen F. Austin 5, Mercer 4

Maybe a brief respite from the season to check in on how our D2 friends are faring....

First the D2 "Power 10" rankings....

https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2021-10-18/theres-new-team-atop-dii-football-power-10-rankings-after-weekend-top-10-upsets?utm_campaign=link-bundle

1. Ferris State
2. Valdosta State
3. Colorado School of Mines
4. West Florida
5. Harding
6. West Georgia
7. Northwest Missouri State
8. Grand Valley State
9. Bowie State
10. Notre Dame (Ohio)

Dropped out.....Slippery Rock, Wingate, West Alabama, Henderson State

Just missed.....Ouachita Baptist, Shepherd, Slippery Rock, West Alabama

So far, old Gulf South buddies and AIC cousins well represented.

Next, the AFCA Coaches poll Top 25 is a little different.....

https://www.afca.com/polls/

Rank School (1st votes) Rec. Pts. Prev. Week 7 Next Game
1 Ferris St. (Mich.) (23) 6-0 743 3 D. No. 7 Grand Valley St. (Mich.), 35-28 Oct. 23 at Michigan Tech
2 Valdosta St. (Ga.) (7) 6-0 726 4 D. No. 10 West Alabama, 42-17 Oct. 23 at Mississippi College
3 Colorado School of Mines 7-0 688 5 D. South Dakota Mines, 44-24 Oct. 23 at Colorado Mesa
4 West Georgia 6-1 624 12 D. No. 1 West Florida, 30-26 Oct. 23 vs. North Greenville (S.C.)
5 California (Pa.) 6-0 556 13 Oct. 16 vs. Clarion (Pa.), cancelled Oct. 23 at No. 23 Indiana (Pa.)
6 West Florida 5-1 549 1 Lost to No. 12 West Georgia, 30-26 Oct. 23 vs. Shorter (Ga.)
7 Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) 6-1 521 11 D. Arkansas-Monticello, 34-0 Oct. 23 vs. Southern Arkansas
8 Grand Valley St. (Mich.) 5-1 475 7 Lost to No. 3 Ferris St. (Mich.), 35-28 Oct. 23 at Northern Michigan
9 Notre Dame (Ohio) 6-1 455 14 D. West Virginia Wesleyan, 52-14 Oct. 23 at Glenville St. (W.Va.)
10 Northwest Missouri St. 5-1 449 2 Lost to Washburn (Kan.), 17-16 Oct. 23 at Northeastern St. (Okla.)
11 Shepherd (W.Va.) 6-1 405 15 D. Millersville (Pa.), 38-13 Oct. 23 vs. West Chester (Pa.)
12 Harding (Ark.) 6-1 392 20 D. No. 9 Henderson St. (Ark.), 46-21 Oct. 23 vs. Arkansas-Monticello
13 Bentley (Mass.) 7-0 383 17 D. Southern Connecticut St., 34-20 Oct. 30 vs. Franklin Pierce (N.H.)
14 Bowie St. (Md.) 6-1 313 16 D. Virginia St., 51-44 Oct. 23 at Virginia Union
15 West Alabama 6-1 305 10 Lost to No. 4 Valdosta St. (Ga.), 42-17 Oct. 23 vs. Delta St. (Miss.)
16 Minnesota-Duluth 6-1 298 18 D. Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.), 33-13 Oct. 23 vs. Bemidji St. (Minn.)
17 Slippery Rock (Pa.) 6-1 294 6 Lost to Indiana (Pa.), 48-21 Oct. 23 at Mercyhurst (Pa.)
18 Wingate (N.C.) 5-1 227 8 Lost to Barton (N.C.), 26-20 OT Oct. 23 at Virginia-Wise
19 Midwestern St. (Texas) 5-1 225 19 Idle Oct. 23 at Tarleton St.
20 Henderson St. (Ark.) 6-1 220 9 Lost to No. 20 Harding (Ark.), 46-21 Oct. 23 at Arkansas Tech
21 Nebraska-Kearney 6-1 198 21 D. Emporia St. (Kan.), 42-35 Oct. 23 vs. Lincoln (Mo.)
22 Augustana (S.D.) 6-1 176 22 D. No. 23 Wayne St. (Neb.), 32-24 Oct. 23 at Minnesota St.
23 Indiana (Pa.) 5-1 170 NR D. No. 6 Slippery Rock (Pa.), 48-21 Oct. 23 vs. No. 5 California (Pa.)
24 Western Colorado 6-1 117 24 D. Black Hills St. (S.D.), 44-28 Oct. 23 at South Dakota Mines
25 Kutztown (Pa.) 6-1 82 25 D. Shippensburg (Pa.), 20-3 Oct. 23 at Lock Haven (Pa.)

Dropped Out: Wayne St. (Neb.) (23)

Others Receiving Votes: Washburn (Kan.), 31; Frostburg St. (Md.), 25; Charleston (W.Va.), 22; Southeastern Oklahoma, 20; Minnesota St., 15; Albany St. (Ga.), 11; Pittsburg St. (Kan.), 10; New Haven (Conn.), 8; Savannah St. (Ga.), 7; Wayne St. (Neb.), 5; Colorado Mesa, 3; Angelo St. (Texas), 1; Stonehill (Mass.), 1.

Before we leave D2, take a look at current standings in the Great American Conference...

1. Harding, 6-1....UAM, @NW Oklahoma, SW OK, @ATU
2. Henderson State, 6-1...@ATU, Southern Nazarene, @ Ok Baptist, @Ouachita
3. Ouachita Baptist, 6-1...SAU, @East Central, SE OK, Henderson
4. SE Oklahoma, 6-1...@OK Baptist, UAM, @ Ouachita, East Central
5. UAM, 4-3
6. East Central-Oklahoma, 4-3
7. Oklahoma Baptist, 4-3
8. Southern Arkansas, 3-4
9. Arkansas Tech, 2-5
10. Southern Nazarene, 1-6
11. NW Oklahoma State, 0-7
12. SW Oklahoma State, 0-7

Lots of ball to be played but.....Harding looks to have a good road to winning out....Henderson has a couple good test at the two OBUs.....Ouachita has a rocky road with a game @ normally tough East Central and two at home vs SE OK and Henderson....SE OK has to bet past Ouachita on the road and a couple rivalry matches with Ok Baptist and East Central.....

Note that early in season Harding lost by one to SE Ok....but the Bison beat Ouachita.....meanwhile SE Ok lost to Henderson....the Reddies lost to Harding.....so the Top 4 beat each other....be interesting to see how this works out....

Finally, D3....Hendrix is not ranked in any poll....national or regional....Warriors are 1-5 with the only win over University of the South aka Sewanee (who is 0-6) by 49-27..oddly they also close out @ Sewanee.....they took Rhodes to 2 OTs but lost 16-13....long road trip to Sewanee (very small town).....midway between Chattanooga and Murfreesboro and off of I24....just some trivia...Sewanee is in a pretty rural part of south Tennessee and there is a "below the radar" Air Force research facility nearby.....probably related to Arnold AFB at Winchester, north of Sewanee, and which is a state of the art engine test facility....wind tunnels, rocket engine test labs and other activities related to aerospace engineering and testing....never know what you will find in the backwoods....

FCS Top 25 - 10/25/21
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/fcs-coaches-poll

1 Sam Houston (27) 6-0 675 1
2 North Dakota State 7-0 642 3
3 Southern Illinois 6-1 603 4
4 Villanova 6-1 599 5
5 James Madison 6-1 567 6
6 Montana State 7-1 511 8
7 Eastern Washington 7-1 493 2
8 Southeastern Louisiana 6-1 489 9
9 UC Davis 7-1 445 10
10 Kennesaw State 6-1 433 11
11 Montana 5-2 359 12
12 UT Martin 6-1 357 13
13 South Dakota State 5-2 336 7
14 East Tennessee State 7-1 329 14
15 Princeton 6-0 270 17
16 Jackson State 6-1 234 20
17 Northern Iowa 4-3 207 24
18 VMI 5-2 183 23
19 Eastern Kentucky 5-2 175 22
20 Missouri State 4-3 148 18
21 Harvard 5-1 134 16
22 South Dakota 5-3 121 15
T-23 Sacramento State 5-2 66 NR
T-23 Weber State 3-4 66 NR
25 Rhode Island 5-2 59 19

Dropped Out: Jacksonville St. (21), Delaware (25)

Others Receiving Votes: Chattanooga, 53; William & Mary, 27; Holy Cross, 21; Stephen F. Austin, 21; Monmouth (N.J.), 20; Prairie View A&M, 19; North Dakota, 18; Mercer, 16; Delaware, 15; Florida A&M, 14; Columbia, 10; Dartmouth, 9; Jacksonville St., 8; Yale, 8; UIW, 7; Nicholls, 3; Elon, 2; Furman, 2; Davidson, 1.

https://ucasports.com/news/2021/10/27/football-hale-named-to-jerry-rice-award-list.aspx

HALE NAMED TO JERRY RICE AWARD LIST

The Rice Award, now in its 11th season, is named for the legendary Hall of Fame wide receiver who starred at Mississippi Valley State University from 1981-84.

Not the best place for this but UCA HOF o-lineman Don Struebing has a son (Jack) who is a senior at Springdale Har-Ber...6'3 265.....highly recruited by D1 teams.....offers from Auburn, Southern Methodist, Charlotte, Memphis, Miami, Central Florida recently reported....probably had some good coaching from Don over the years....UCF may have the inside with Coach Malzahn being there now....

FCS Top 25 - 11/1/21
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/fcs-coaches-poll

1 Sam Houston (27) 7-0 675 1
2 North Dakota State 8-0 644 2
3 James Madison 7-1 621 5
4 Montana State 7-1 579 6
5 Eastern Washington 7-1 566 7
6 Southeastern Louisiana 7-1 537 8
7 UC Davis 7-1 479 9
8 Kennesaw State 7-1 464 10
9 Southern Illinois 6-2 420 3
10 Montana 6-2 413 11
11 UT Martin 7-1 384 12
12 South Dakota State 6-2 369 13
13 Villanova 6-2 352 4
14 East Tennessee State 7-1 325 14
15 Northern Iowa 5-3 303 17
16 Princeton 7-0 257 15
17 Jackson State 7-1 221 16
18 VMI 6-2 213 18
19 Eastern Kentucky 6-2 193 19
20 Missouri State 5-3 184 20
21 South Dakota 5-3 108 22
22 Sacramento State 6-2 89 T-23
23 William & Mary 6-2 83 NR
24 Weber State 4-4 80 T-23
25 Chattanooga 5-3 44 NR

Dropped Out: Harvard (21), Rhode Island (25)

Others Receiving Votes: Harvard, 27; Monmouth (N.J.), 21; Mercer, 16; Dartmouth, 14; Prairie View A&M, 14; Central Arkansas, 13; Florida A&M, 13; Stephen F. Austin, 12; Holy Cross, 11; Delaware, 10; UIW, 8; Maine, 6; Nicholls, 5; Davidson, 2.

FCS Top 25 - 11/8/21
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/fcs-coaches-poll

1 Sam Houston (28) 8-0 700 1
2 James Madison 8-1 668 3
3 Montana State 8-1 631 4
4 UC Davis 8-1 561 7
5 Kennesaw State 8-1 539 8
6 North Dakota State 8-1 532 2
7 South Dakota State 7-2 525 12
8 Eastern Washington 7-2 498 5
9 Montana 7-2 489 10
10 UT Martin 8-1 464 11
11 Villanova 7-2 435 13
12 East Tennessee State 8-1 391 14
13 Southeastern Louisiana 7-2 373 6
14 Missouri State 6-3 333 20
15 Jackson State 8-1 272 17
16 Southern Illinois 6-3 258 9
17 South Dakota 6-3 247 21
18 Sacramento State 7-2 217 22
19 Chattanooga 6-3 147 25
20 VMI 6-3 112 18
21 UIW 7-2 105 NR
22 Princeton 7-2 88 16
23 Dartmouth 7-1 77 NR
24 Northern Iowa 5-4 69 15
25 Eastern Kentucky 6-3 51 19

Dropped Out: William & Mary (23), Weber St. (24)

Others Receiving Votes: Stephen F. Austin, 38; Monmouth (N.J.), 36; Delaware, 35; William & Mary, 34; Mercer, 32; Prairie View A&M, 32; Florida A&M, 29; Holy Cross, 22; Harvard, 15; Davidson, 8; Nicholls, 8; Central Arkansas, 7; Rhode Island, 5; Yale, 3.

FCS Top 25 - 11/15/21
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/stats-perform-fcs-top-25


1 Sam Houston (50) 9-0 1,250 1
2 James Madison 9-1 1,182 2
3 Montana State 9-1 1,163 3
4 North Dakota State 9-1 1,096 5
5 Eastern Washington 8-2 1,013 7
6 Villanova 8-2 938 8
7 Montana 8-2 889 9
8 ETSU 9-1 811 11
9 Kennesaw State 9-1 802 10
10 UC Davis 8-2 749 6
11 Sacramento State 8-2 721 12
12 South Dakota State 7-3 701 4
13 UT Martin 9-1 686 13
14 Missouri State 7-3 600 16
15 Southeastern Louisiana 8-2 577 14
16 South Dakota 7-3 552 19
17 Southern Illinois 7-3 546 15
18 UIW 8-2 479 17
19 Jackson State 9-1 373 18
20 Dartmouth 8-1 252 T-22
21 Mercer 7-2 228 NR
22 Stephen F. Austin 7-3 105 NR
23 Florida A&M 8-2 96 NR
24 Princeton 8-1 93 NR
25 Rhode Island 7-3 76 NR

Dropped Out: Northern Iowa (20), VMI (21), Chattanooga (22 tie), Prairie View A&M (24), William & Mary (25)

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Northern Iowa 64, Monmouth 61, Holy Cross 37, VMI 25, Chattanooga 21, William & Mary 17, Prairie View A&M 14, North Dakota 11, Eastern Kentucky 7, Sacred Heart 7, Harvard 4

Time to look in to how D2 is doing....

OBU and Henderson State each finished 9-2 but OBU won the Battle of the Ravine by 31-28...great season by both....Harding at 10-1 after shutting out the Blunder Boys 31-0... Bison plays home round 1 playoff game vs #24 Washburn...

Looks like lots of good football coming up in playoffs.....

https://www.afca.com/polls/

1 Ferris St. (Mich.) (30) 10-0 750 1 D. Wayne St. (Mich.), 35-13 Nov. 27 TBD
2 West Florida 9-1 718 3 D. No. 2 Valdosta St. (Ga.), 61-42 Nov. 20 vs. Newberry (S.C.)
3 Northwest Missouri St. 9-1 669 4 D. Emporia St. (Kan.), 35-7 Nov. 20 vs. Central Washington
4 Grand Valley St. (Mich.) 9-1 642 5 D. Davenport (Mich.), 42-0 Nov. 20 vs. Lindenwood (Mo.)
5 Valdosta St. (Ga.) 9-1 604 2 Lost to No. 3 West Florida, 61-42 Nov. 27 TBD
6 Notre Dame (Ohio) 10-1 596 6 D. Alderson Broaddus (W.Va.), 72-7 Nov. 20 vs. No. 19 Slippery Rock (Pa.)
7 Harding (Ark.) 10-1 570 7 D. Arkansas Tech, 31-0 Nov. 20 vs. No. 24 Washburn (Kan.)
8 Shepherd (W.Va.) 10-1 537 8 D. Clarion (Pa.), 55-0 Nov. 20 vs. Findlay (Ohio)
9 Colorado School of Mines 10-1 527 9 D. Adams St. (Colo.), 63-0 Nov. 27 TBD
10 Bowie St. (Md.) 10-1 437 12 D. Fayetteville St. (N.C.), 17-7 Nov. 20 vs. Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.)
11 Western Colorado 10-1 404 14 D. Colorado St.-Pueblo, 14-7 Nov. 20 vs. No. 21 Nebraska-Kearney
12 Kutztown (Pa.) 10-1 397 16 D. No. 10 Slippery Rock (Pa.), 38-32 Nov. 27 TBD
13 West Georgia 8-2 392 11 D. Delta St. (Miss.), 44-7 Nov. 20 at No. 16 Albany St. (Ga.)
14 California (Pa.) 9-1 354 15 D. Bloomsburg (Pa.), 24-9 Season Complete
15 Frostburg St. (Md.) 10-1 312 17 D. West Liberty (W.Va.), 56-3 Season Complete
16 Albany St. (Ga.) 9-1 275 18 D. Miles (Ala.), 31-0 Nov. 20 vs. No. 13 West Georgia
17 Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) 9-2 259 20 D. No. 13 Henderson St. (Ark.), 31-28 Regular Season Complete
18 New Haven (Conn.) 9-1 243 19 D. Franklin Pierce (N.H.), 34-20 Nov. 20 vs. No. 20 Bentley (Mass.)
19 Slippery Rock (Pa.) 9-2 217 10 Lost to No. 16 Kutztown (Pa.), 38-32 Nov. 20 at No. 6 Notre Dame (Ohio)
20 Bentley (Mass.) 9-1 192 21 D. Assumption (Mass.), 48-23 Nov. 20 at No. 18 New Haven (Conn.)
21 Nebraska-Kearney 9-2 167 22 D. Northeastern St. (Okla.), 56-10 Nov. 20 at No. 11 Western Colorado
22 Henderson St. (Ark.) 9-2 143 13 Lost to No. 20 Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), 31-28 Season Complete
23 Minnesota-Duluth 9-2 111 23 D. Northern St. (S.D.), 49-35 Nov. 20 at Angelo St. (Texas)
24 Washburn (Kan.) 9-2 94 24 D. Missouri Southern, 38-28 Nov. 20 at No. 7 Harding (Ark.)
25 Augustana (S.D.) 9-2 62 25 D. Southwest Minnesota St., 55-0 Nov. 20 vs. Bemidji St. (Minn.)
Dropped Out: None

Others Receiving Votes: Angelo St. (Texas), 27; Lindenwood (Mo.), 17; Pittsburg St. (Kan.), 11; Charleston (W.Va.), 7; Colorado Mesa, 5; Bemidji St. (Minn.), 4; Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.), 3; Newberry (S.C.), 3; Savannah St. (Ga.), 1

AQ7 Standings:

1-SHS (6-0/10-0)
2-SFA (4-2/8-3)
3-EKU (4-2/7-4)
4-UCA (3-3/5-6)
5-JSU (3-3/5-6)
6-ACU (1-5/5-6)
7-Lamar (0-6/1-9)

WAC, not AQ7 eligible:
Tarleton (6-5)
Dixie State (1-10)

Future ASUN, not in AQ7:
Austin Peay (4-2/6-5)
Kennesaw State (6-0/7-3)
North Alabama (3-8)

Southland:
1-IWU (7-1/9-2)
2-SLU (6-2/8-3)
3-Nicholls (5-3/6-5)
4-McNeese (3-5/4-7)
5-NWS (3-5/3-8)
6-HBU (0-8/-011)

UCA opponents: (Sagarin ratings as of 11/20/21 games)
Arkansas State (1-6/2-9)...5th in Sunbelt West (53.64)
Missouri State (6-2/8-3)..2nd in MVFC (64.39)
UAPB (1-7/2-9)..6th in SWAC-West (23.48)
SHS (6-0/10-0)...won AQ7...#1 FCS seed (66.97)
ACU (1-5/5-6)...6th in AQ7 (43.14)
EKU (4-2/7-4)...3rd in AQ7 (51.89)
LU (0-6/1-9)...7th in AQ7 (30.40)
JSU (3-3/5-6)...5th in AQ7 (48.10)
TWU (7-2/7-3)....tied for 2nd in NAIA Sooner AC
SFA (4-2/8-3)..2nd in AQ&...FCS playoffs (56.70)
TSU (6-5) (43.08)

Note- UCA ended at 48.67...loss to TSU cost about 3 ratings points....

Lots of post-season honors....Hudson, Hale, Jessup and Lairy.....looks like 4 to me not 5 but hard to argue that any of these Bears did not well deserve the recognition...Go Bears!!

https://ucasports.com/news/2021/12/14/football-bears-earn-all-america-honors.aspx

CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas had five players named to various All-America teams on Tuesday, including sophomore wide receiver Tyler Hudson honored three times.

Hudson, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound sophomore from Spring, Texas, was named a first-team sophomore All-American by HERO Sports and was a second-team overall All-America by HERO Sports. Hudson, finalist for the Walter Payton Award, was also named a second-team FCS All-American by the Associated Press.

Freshman running back Darius Hale from Pearland, Texas, earned first-team freshman All-America honors from HERO Sports along with offensive lineman Justin Lairy from Madison, Miss. Hale finished second Monday in the Jerry Rice Award balloting, which goes to the top FCS freshman in the nation.

Defensive end Logan Jessup from Wynne, Ark., was a second-team sophomore All-American.

UCA's five honorees on the HERO Sports teams were the most of any school in the ASUN Conference. Hudson was the ASUN Offensive Player of the Year, while Hale was the ASUN Freshman of the Year. Lairy and Jessup were both named to the All-ASUN team last month.

https://ucasports.com/news/2021/12/13/football-hale-runnerup-for-jerry-rice-award.aspx

Maybe the best freshman RB I have actually seen at UCA.....and one of the best ever.....I missed quite a few years where I could only read about games ...I never saw most of those listed below, a pretty impressive list........but since then Brent Grimes was superb......I did see Nathaniel Daniel who could flat run over line backers much like Hale....I really liked Nick Cowgur for his versatility as a FB, TE and blocker for Grimes......that fellow Hawk was pretty solid as well ....Darious was a joy to watch this past season....well deserved national recognition....hoping to see us find more ways to get him the ball next season.....will only help Hudson and the other WRs, TEs and other RBs do more damage as well....

1. 1616 - Shawn McGehee (299-1616) - 1985
2. 1403 - Cedric Holt (263-1403) - 1986
3. 1372 - Hosea Knowlton (268-1372) - 1991
4. 1265 - N. Robertson (211-1265) - 1983
5. 1257 - Hosea Knowlton (247-1257) - 1992
6. 1256 - Hosea Knowlton (277-1256) - 1993
7. 1252 - Vaughn Edwards (235-1252) - 1978
8. 1222 - Kentrel Rogers (221-1222) - 2005
9. 1222 - Brent Grimes (200-1222) - 2009
10. 1161 - Henry Hawk (164-1161) - 1959

Go Bears!!

CONWAY, Ark. _ University of Central Arkansas running back Darius Hale is officially the second-best freshman in the country at the FCS level, finishing as runnerup in the voting for the 2021 Stats Perform Jerry Rice Award on Monday.

The award, named for the legendary Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, who played at Mississippi Valley State University from 1981-84, goes to the national freshman player of the year in Division I FCS. A 50-member, national media panel selects the Rice Award after the regular season, with the 2021 award going to Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who is also the head coach at JSU.

Sanders finished with 169 total votes, including 17 first-place votes. Hale had 131 total votes, with 10 first-place nods.

"I am very excited for Darius,'said UCA head coach Nathan Brown, who himself was a finalist for the 2008 Walter Payton Award that goes to the top offensive player in FCS. "Obviously I would have loved him to win the award, but to come in second in the voting is a major accomplishment. This shows the type of players we have been able to recruit in recent years. Two of the last three years we have had a Jerry Rice award finalist with Darius and (wide receiver) Tyler Hudson two years ago.'

Hale, a 5-foot-11, 215-pounder from Pearland, Texas, rushed for 1,015 yards and had 17 rushing touchdowns, along with one receiving touchdown. Hale finished second in the nation in rushing touchdowns, behind a player who played two more games. His rushing yardage is the fourth-best for a UCA freshman in school history and his 17 rushing touchdowns is the best by a UCA running back since Brent Grimes had 19 in 2009.

"This is the start of a very special career for Darius,' said Brown. "We have had discussions since the season ended and I know he is hungry for more and will continue to work to be the best version of himself he can be.'

Hale was the ASUN Freshman of the Year, a first-team All-ASUN selection and was a three-time ASUN Freshman of the Week this season. Hale turned in the second-best single-game rushing effort in UCA history with 253 yards on 22 carries (11.5 average per carry) and had four touchdowns in UCA's win over Lamar.




2021 JERRY RICE AWARD VOTING
1. Shedeur Sanders, QB, Jackson State: 17-14-6-4-2-169
2. Darius Hale, RB, Central Arkansas: 10-10-10-5-1-131
3. Josiah Silver, DE, New Hampshire: 9-10-5-2-2-106
4. Zevi Eckhaus, QB, Bryant: 3-2-4-6-7-54
5. James Conway, LB, Fordham: 3-1-7-5-2-52
6. RJ Martinez, QB, Northern Arizona: 3-0-7-4-4-48
7. Jalyn Witcher, LB, Presbyterian: 1-2-0-5-7-30
8. Rodney Dansby, LB, Houston Baptist: 1-2-2-2-4-27
9. Collin Guggenheim, RB, Nicholls: 1-2-1-3-3-25
10. Tyler King, LB, Stony Brook: 0-2-2-5-0-24
11. Demeatric Crenshaw, QB, Youngstown State: 1-0-2-1-0-13
12. Jacari Carter, WR, Merrimack: 0-1-1-0-5-12
13.(tie) Andrew Body, QB, Texas Southern: 0-1-1-1-1-10
13.(tie) Elijah Burris, RB, Hampton: 1-1-0-0-1-10
15. Drae McCray, WR, Austin Peay: 0-1-1-0-1-8
16. Dominick Poole, CB, The Citadel: 0-1-0-1-1-7
17.(tie) Andreas Keaton, S, Western Carolina: 0-0-0-2-1-5
17.(tie) Tyson Thompson, WR, Houston Baptist: 0-0-0-1-3-5
19. Nate Bennett, WR, Portland State: 0-0-0-1-2-4
20.(tie) Bryce Norman, LB, Southeast Missouri: 0-0-0-0-3-3
20.(tie) Sy'Veon Wilkerson, RB, Delaware State: 0-0-1-0-0-3
22.(tie) Thor Griffith, DT, Harvard: 0-0-0-1-0-2
22.(tie) C.J. Tillman, LB, Campbell: 0-0-0-1-0-2