UCAFANS.COM | GO UCA BEARS!

Bears close at half to 16-13 as time expires

Great drive by Bears but only get a FG to tier at 16-16 then RWs again score quickly and go up 23-16...now is the time to see what we have.........do we say we played them really well got three quarters or do we forget they have 22 more scholarship players and get going?

End of Q3 trail 23-16 on RW 25..............

Not sure what Hayden was thinking taking a 9 yard sack but Bears finally get it in on a 3 yd run by Wells but we miss the PAT.........now trail 23-22

Wow..............nice drive and to score on a 16 yd Hayden to Cox TD pass.........miss 2 pt PAT....now leads 28-23...........now time for defense to step up for a stop..........

Have to punt..........game far from over....

State out of TOs.....1:34 left on UCA 15..............need a first down here

Big INT with 1:46 to go.........State has two TOs.........

Bears win 28-23............both defense and offense outplayed State in H2.............great job.........celebrate until midnight then get ready for ACU........and hope State wins out............

BEARS WIN!!!!!!

Man, what a win! Very sweet for me since my mom, dad, and brother all went to ASU.

Going to be a great ride home for those young men. Time to get ready for the brutal conference schedule.

Congratulations!

Saw the final score on ESPN and was a little surprised, because I saw they had scored 16 in the 1st quarter.

Reading the paper this morning and looking at the stats it looks like UCA was just a more fundamentally sound football team across the board.

Kudo's to your players and coaches.

Did anyone else notice that when the game was over a vast majority of the
ASU players went directly to the locker room. There was only a handful of who
remained on the turf to shake hands and show some sportsmanship. This may
be a big reason the RedWolves are struggling so far this year.

Also Thanks to all the BEAR FANS who showed up and stayed so engaged in the
game...It was the first time I ever saw players rush into the stands after a game
to show their appreciation.

I've noticed it once before (when we won the SLC), but I feel they don't most of the time because there aren't that many students left when our games are over at home...

Some good stuff from KAIT-8 in Jboro..and no this was NOT UCA's first win over FBS team...........

http://www.kait8.com/story/33184575/central-arkansas-tops-a-state-football-28-23

http://www.kait8.com/clip/12754435/a-state-football-falls-to-central-arkansas-at-home

http://www.kait8.com/clip/12754455/blake-anderson-addresses-media-following-loss-to-uca


http://www.kait8.com/clip/12754457/a-state-players-address-media-following-loss-to-uca


Jonesboro, AR (A-State) – Central Arkansas turned four Arkansas State turnovers into 15 points and defeated the Red Wolves 28-23 Saturday at Centennial Bank Stadium.

The Red Wolves finished with a 469-382 edge in total offense, but Central Arkansas limited A-State to 45 yards rushing on 34 attempts. Sophomore quarterback Justice Hansen passed for 424 yards completing 21-of-38 attempts for three touchdowns while throwing two interceptions. Junior tight end Blake Mack had eight catches for 142 yards and junior Cam Echols-Luper had three catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Warren Wand had 15 carries for 53 yards while catching three passes for 67 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, A-State was led by 12 tackles from sophomore Justin Clifton and senior Money Hunter. Junior Blaise Taylor had two of the Red Wolves five pass breakups while freshman Trent Ellis-Brewer registered his first career sack and first two career tackles for loss.

“Central Arkansas came in and played a good game,” said A-State head coach Blake Anderson. “They came in and didn’t turn the ball over and we did. We had a breakdown in special teams for seven points, and 34 minutes of possession for them just left our defense on the field too long. I felt like the momentum was getting away from us and we were stalling out offensively and leaving our defense out there too much. I felt like we would make a play at some point to stop it and we didn’t. The kids didn’t quit playing, they just didn’t play well. We had execution issues across the board that we have got to fix.”

The Red Wolves forced a three and out on the Bears first possession and the A-State offense used a quick trick play to flip field position. On the first play, A-State dialed up the flea-flicker and Cam Echols-Luper hauled in the 36-yard pass to put the Red Wolves in the red zone. A-State couldn’t find the end zone, but J.D. Houston converted the 33-yard field goal to give the Red Wolves a 3-0 lead with 12:15 left in the first quarter.

After Central Arkansas returned a Red Wolves punt 47 yards for a touchdown, A-State recovered an onside kick and used three plays to retake the lead. The Red Wolves started the drive at the Bears 48 yard line and picked up 40 yards on a completion to Blake Mack. After White gained three yards Hansen spotted Kendall Sanders in the endzone and Sanders hauled in the pass for the touchdown and A-State regained the lead.

A-State extended the lead to 16-7 with a 48-yard touchdown pass from Hansen to Warren Wand, but the Bears converted two field goals in the second quarter to send it to halftime with A-State leading 16-13. A 30-yard punt return set up the Bears in good field position, but the defense held inside the red zone to force the 29-yard field goal. The Bears converted a 43-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

The Red Wolves had first crack at scoring in the second half, but an eight-play drive ended with a punt and the Bears took over at their own six yard line. Central Arkansas used a methodical 15-play drive to move downfield, but A-State again held the Bears out of the endzone. The Bears converted on third down three times on the drive, but Chris Humes broke up a pass on third down inside the red zone to force another field goal. Central Arkansas nailed the 25-yard field goal to tie the score at 16 with 6:06 left in the third quarter.

A-State responded quickly as three plays, including a 58-yard touchdown pass to Echols-Luper, to break the tie. Two rush plays moved the chains and Hansen followed with the 58-yard completion to Echols-Luper to put the Red Wolves ahead 23-16 with 5:16 left in the third quarter.

The Bears recovered an A-State fumble late in the third quarter and marched down the field to potentially tie the game. Central Arkansas used 10 plays to set up a fourth and goal from the three and decided to go for the tie. The rush play resulted in a touchdown, but the Bears missed the extra point keeping the Red Wolves in the lead, 23-22, with 13:12 remaining.

Central Arkansas took the lead with 6:23 remaining after an 11-play, 86-yard drive ran 5:13 off the clock. A 35-yard pass completion put the Bears on the move and an 18-yard touchdown completed the scoring drive. Central Arkansas went for the two-point conversion, but the conversion failed to make the scored 28-23.

A-State earned two more possessions for a chance to regain the lead. An interception ended a Red Wolves drive with 1:46 remaining in the game, but the A-State defense coupled with two timeouts forced Central Arkansas to punt with 38 seconds left. Hansen hit Echols-Luper for a gain of 27 yards with 16 seconds left, but two attempts to find the end zone were unsuccessful for the Red Wolves.

“The biggest disappointment is the fact that we didn’t run the ball well at all,” added Anderson. “We struggled to take the pressure off the quarterback all night. I thought Justice did some good things at times, but obviously way too many mistakes to be effective even though the numbers were big. Moving forward we have to stop turning the ball over, we have to play better in all three phases and quit hurting ourselves. Central Arkansas played a great football game. They had a good game plan, they ran it well, and really played good in all three phases. We cannot turn the ball over,” said A-State head coach Blake Anderson. “

The Red Wolves continue a four-game home swing by hosting Georgia Southern on Wednesday, Oct. 5 in a nationally-televised game on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.

Great win and epic night in Jonesboro. I've done my share of critizing the offense and a lot of that still remains, but these players play with a ton of heart, grit and class. I was damn proud of the way they represented the university, and the win was just the icing on the cake.

I told my wife at the end of the half I was happy that we came out and competed with the big boys, but I was shocked at the way both lines just continued to wear down stAte. I finally saw the effect of the game plan that was helped by a superb kicking game, outside of one kick, and the relentlessly pounding run game that finally opened up holes in the secondary. Hayden made some poor throws in the first half but rallied in a big way with good decision making and accurate passing. He still seems reluctant to scan the field and gets happy feet in the pocket, but this too shall pass.

There is no way to sum up the impact of the D front 7. Fantastic. Some of these guys can play for SEC schools. They pushed that stAte O line around all night. Outside of one busted coverage play, they pretty much shut down their offense by making it one Dimensional in the second half. Brilliant play.

Next week is going to be a big test. I hope the letdown bug doesn't strike against another hungry opponent, but something tells me the maturity and class of this team will keep them levelheaded and focused for conference play. We're back in the playoff discussion and may even be ranked next week. The secrets out on the Defense.

Go Bears