UCAFANS.COM | GO UCA BEARS!

Have not posted here in years (last year and this year are the first years in a long time that I've been able to attend games due to kids).

First, give our guys credit. They don't quit. They don't give up.

Some thoughts from last night:

1. Our secondary seems to be playing soft. Our zone defense is getting picked apart. A few times they were throwing to their receivers while our guys were still getting to their area.

2. They killed us on the edges last night through 3 quarters. We finally started stopping them in Q4.

3. Howard struggled with the long ball last night (or our receivers were constantly out-running the throw). This lead to interceptions. If this timing ever gets there though, look out!

4. Too many turnovers. The fumble on the goal line hurt. Interception in the end zone did not help either.

5. 53 yarder in FCS to end the game....are you freakin' kidding me? I said that about 100 times last night. Incredible kick, and still cannot believe it got there. Kudos to that kid. He earned his scholarship.

Still cannot help but to be proud of the effort our guys are giving this year. With a new coach coming in I realized this year could be rough. The guys are playing hard and adjusting well in-game, better than I've seen them in years past. We need to quit playing from behind and dominate a game from the start. Hopefully this week we'll get a feel for what that is like.

Very well said BWBEAR...

Sometimes, and I know I'm guilty of it during the game we form an opinion
in reaction to a play or two that doesn't go our way. But when you sit back
digest the game as a whole things seem to fall in place.

Sure the Bear defense let Missouri State move down the field for a game
Winning FG , albeit from 53 yards which aren't made in too many leagues
including the NFL.

I'm sure the MSU fans were thinking the same thing when the BEARS drove
It 75 yards in 2 minutes with no timeouts to take the lead.

I look around the face of college football and 80% of the games are very
high scoring. East Carolina scored 70 on UNC yesterday...wonder what
Tar Heel fans think about their defense? Troy gave up 66 and the list
goes on and on.

Sure I think the UCA defense needs improvement, but those kids were on
the field a long time Saturday night. And like BWBEAR said they never quit.

With offenses that can score literally from anywhere on the field in a short
Amount of time it puts extreme pressure on the defense.

Also that was the second straight week the Bear defense faced a very athletic
QB and that gives them all sorts of problems, like it does everybody's defense.

I was realistically hoping for a 2-2 start with this game being a W. All in all
it was a very tough non-conf. Schedule and the Bears stand at 1-3.

Sometimes a wounded Bear is a dangerous thing.

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GO BEARS

Overall a good game by both teams. No doubt the Purple Bears do not quit. What a masterful drive for the go ahead score. We had our chances to win by 10+ but just did not get it done. MSU QB and RB were very quick and could accelerate as well as you will see. Bears defense finally started containing on back side and that stopped or slowed the cutbacks. We kept trying to sack the QB but he was too quick and when the DE took a inside move he would step out to the wide open and run for 15 or so. Took us quite a while to figure that out. Tell me why MSU dd not throw 15 times to that 6'7 TE? This guy is not only tall, big (270) but very agile...probably see him in NFL. He even lined up in slot several times.

Looked like Ryan threw off balance on the underthrows and could not plant. The Desmond Smith INT was right in front of me and he sure looked like he had the ball when he hit the ground then MSU came up after they rolled on the turf.

Good observation by bwbear thast we played soft in secondary...we never stopped the crossing route that MSU threw at the end to get to FG territory...great FG by their kicker...

Get ready to beat Nicholls and start the march to win the SLC....take no one for granted....

PS..does anyone recall how much time was on the clock when it was 1st and goal at the one? We scored with 59 seconds left and the last drive only used about 2:20....seems like we could have used up more clock the last 2-3 plays....

Anyone watching the NFL. SEATTLE kicked a FG to go up 20-12
Vs. Denver. There was 59 seconds left and the Broncos had no timeouts...
Sound familiar ?

Guess what? Denver drives and scores a TD with 18 seconds gets the two
Point conversion and it goes to overtime.

Wow, it's like dejavu.

This. I've thought about this. Slept on it. And still don't understand the rush to run the next play when you have 1st and goal from the one! If you don't score, that's actually a good thing. Use the clock. You can't allow the other team to have that much time when all they need is a field goal. After the three turnovers, to still have a chance to win it and then blow it - in my opinion - because the coaches are panicking or trying to catch the defense unprepared or whatever the reasoning is inexcusable.

Anyone know knows me knows that I'm a positive kind of guy. I hated hearing Sully talk like the Montana State game was over early in the fourth quarter. But the guys sitting in the Kidz Zone where I was at the end of the game all couldn't figure out what the rush was. I'm sure the MoState coaches were pretty excited to see us lining up so quickly.

And to answer someone else's question, the clock was stopped at 1:05 after Ryan's second attempt. I have no idea why. I was uselessly yelling about it. I never saw the refs stop it (again I'm on the opposite end of the field) but the only thing I could figure was it stopped to unpile the players but even that doesn't make sense. I have to think that was a mistake by the timekeeper. And a costly one because it was much more than 3 seconds. But without seeing the game replay, who knows.

Anyway, rant over. I tried to let it go and wasn't going to mention it because nothing good comes from my comments, but someone else brought it up. So blame JRK.

Next week is as good a time as any to get everything on track. It comes at the right time to bounce back after a crushing loss where players were just flat on the ground after the field goal. We need to come out fast and never look back.

Toughest loss I have seen in my four years. The clock thing is mind boggling, maybe Campbell will address. On another note, despite being 1 and 3, we have been in position to win every game. Special teams had their best game with two huge plays, blocked punt & big return by Murphy. The defense played their best quarter of football all year in Q3, unfortunately the offense could not move the ball at all. The holding call at the start of Q3 put us behind the chains & just could not get untracked. However. At the end of Q1 the offense looked as good as I have seen them. Our red zone play killed us getting a field goal off the punt return & then the fumble at the goal line. In the end the defense held them to the late fg & the offense did what it had to with Howard making another 4th down play ala UTM. We would win that game almost every time in that situation, just couldn't get one more stop & then that monster kick. They are in a tough spot, similar to last year. If they can continue to give the same effort, good things will happen. Really liked that slant to Dez, hope to see more. Our receivers are exceptional IMO and I believe our best chance to win is to put the ball in their hands.
Will be there next week, Go Bears!

Well we apparently played Missouri Southern. At least according to the cabin newspaper.




http://thecabin.net/sports/college/bears/2014-09-20/uca-loses-missouri-southern-incredible-way#.VB-Altq9KSM

How long are we going to put up with this pathetic journalism?

The referee stopped the clock to unpile the players, and he signaled to reset the play clock before winding it, but our operator did not do it. The clock management at the end of the game is confusing as noted. Hopefully the staff will evaluate this issue in meetings and resolve to handle that situation differently if we have it again. I suspect as games are going this year, we will have more close ones.

Why would you stop the clock unless there was a fumble. I think the officials
Did signal to stop it because when the referee signaled to reset the play clock
he immediately gave the signal to start the game clock and his back was turned
to the scoreboard. He knew the clock had been stopped without looking.

Either way I see Treys point about the offense being in a rush.
That sometimes can be a double edged sword. But all in all the
Bears had their chances. The turnovers finally caught up them.
And Missouri State is pretty good.


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GO BEARS

The Longest Pass Play in FCS this Season.

It's a link to a Facebook video by the SLC. Hopefully you all can see it. This got me excited about this game....we all know how that turned out.

Glad I wasn't the only one to notice the clock stop. The scoreboard operator was awful. Hell it said it was the 3rd quarter 5 minutes into the 4th. The clock should have ran out well before it did. Regardless of the game clock, we should have never let them drive back down the field.

Perfectly executed screen..Lewis put on the after burners...fastest I have seen him go.....