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First meeting of UCA and JSU in football.

Pretty long trip.....a cool 450 miles....about midway between Bham and Lanta...about the same as to NOLA.....I can see a stop at the truck stop on the interstate near Tupelo by the buses....

JSU season to date (3-4/2-2)....opponent current Sagarin D1 rank and rating in ()

UAB @ Montgomery, 0-31 (86,67)
@Florida State, 20-17 (61,72)....still hard to believe
North Alabama, 27-24 (201,40)
UTM, 31-34 (154,50)
@ #20 Kennesaw State, 6-31 (122, 59)
#24 SF Austin, 28-24 (147,52)
@#1 Sam Houston State, 7-42 (93,65)


JSU is #159 in Sagarin with a 49 rating....

Record vs teams within Sagrarin ratings +/-3 for 49....1 win (SFA) and 1 loss (UTM)...

Upsets (wins/loss over teams of Sagarin ratings of 53 or more or 47 or less)....1 win (FSU) and no losses....

Remaining ...
UCA (151,51)...obviously Bears needs to win
ACU (165,48)...JSU would be favored by 6
@Lamar (223,34)...JSU would be favored by 14..we know what Cards can do...
@Eastern Kentucky (148,51).....Colonels would be favored by 3...Bears needs JSU to beat EKU

Using Sagarin ratings, JSU is favored over UCA by 1.

Snapshots of games vs FCS opponents (2-3)....

JSU... rushing per game = 134 (75 low vs KSU, 211 high vs UTM)....passing per game = 195 (98 low vs UNA, 318 high vs UTM)....total = 329 (287 low vs KSU, 409 high vs UTM)

JSU opponents.....rush per game = 182 (99 low by SFA, 271 high by KSU)...passing per game = 239 (72 low by KSU, 339 high by SFA)...total =421 (343 low by KSU, 463 high by SHS)

Turnovers do not explain wins and losses....almost inverse relationships...JSU and opponents each have had 8....each 4 lost fumbles and 4 INTs.....

Loss

Weather forecast looks like overcast, off and on light rain, windy and mid 50s.....that is, football weather...

Either team has ability to win handily but also could easily go either way....on paper pretty even.....recent win over SFA is worth noting...loss to Sam a bit of a question mark....long road trip today with what sounded like no chance to practice on the playing field (on Monday radio show Coach said they would bus to Bham and stay night then to Jville next AM to arrive about 1045)....early start is a new routine...

Have to play very well to win this one.....both offense and defense have to have a good game and special teams needs to get it done....kickers could be the difference...hoping for good run game to chew up clock and a couple turnovers by the D...

Bears 31-28

Maybe best game of year for the Bears and JSU travails continue....glad we played a solid game on defense in both halfs.....3 INTs led to 21 points.....offense did enough in run game and in passing....great to see the balance....glad Ray hit a FG but the two misses is a concern....may need his kicks vs SFA for sure....still in the hunt but got to get some help to get 2nd AQ7 spot....Go Bears!!

I'm glad to see the defense keep their composure throughout the game.

happy to be wrong as there's life left in the team. i have to give brown and staff credit for that...they played hard and largely mistake free.

i don't think we need to get to excited as jax st. played about as badly as you can. they looked like they wanted to be anywhere but on that field.

https://ucasports.com/news/2021/11/1/football-cain-hale-take-home-asun-weekly-awards.aspx

Wow...another week of awards...congrats to Cain and Hale!!

CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears took two more ASUN football player of the week awards on Monday, with Christian Cain being named Defensive Player of the Week and Darius Hale earning another Freshman of the Week honor.

Cain, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound junior defensive back from Grenada, Miss., finished with a team-high nine tackles in UCA's 38-14 win over Jacksonville State. Cain also picked off a pass and returned it 87 yards for the Bears' final touchdown of the game with 4:18 to play. UCA's defense forced three turnovers, including another interception returned for a touchdown by senior linebacker Trenton Dunn.

Hale, a true freshman running back from Pearland, Texas, earned his fourth ASUN award of the season, and his third freshman of the week award. He led the Bears' ground game with 125 yards on 25 carries and scored on a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter that extended UCA's lead to 31-14. Hale also won an Offensive Player of the Week a week ago with a 253-yard rushing effort. He leads the nation in rushing touchdowns with 14.