The 2018 Central Arkansas Bears football team represented the University of Central Arkansas in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bears were led by first-year head coach Nathan Brown and played their home games at Estes Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 5–4 in Southland play to finish in a four-way tie for fourth place.
Table of Contents
Previous season[edit]
The Bears finished the 2017 season 10–2, 9–0 in Southland play to be crowned Southland Conference champions. They received the Southland’s automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost to New Hampshire in the second round.
On December 7, head coach Steve Campbell resigned to become the head coach at South Alabama.[1] He finished at Central Arkansas with a four-year record of 33–15.
Preseason[edit]
Preseason All-Conference Teams[edit]
On July 12, 2018, the Southland announced their Preseason All-Conference Teams, with the Bears having 11 players selected.[2]
Offense First Team
Carlos Blackman – Jr. RB
Defense First Team
Chris Terrell – Jr. DL
Eric Jackson – Sr. DL
Juan Jackson – Jr. DB
Offense Second Team
Josh Nix – So. TE
Adrian Harris – So. OL
Hunter Watts – Jr. OL
Defense Second Team
Cardell Best – Sr. DL
Nathan Grant – So. DL
Raphael Garner – Sr. LB
Cedric Battle – Sr. KR
Preseason Poll[edit]
On July 19, 2018, the Southland announced their preseason poll, with the Bears predicted to finish in third place.[3]
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
Sam Houston State
187 (10)
2
Nicholls State
173 (6)
3
Central Arkansas
170 (5)
4
McNeese State
159 (1)
5
Southeastern Louisiana
119
6
Stephen F. Austin
90
7
Abilene Christian
89
8
Northwestern State
86
9
Incarnate Word
53
10
Lamar
52
11
Houston Baptist
32
Award watch lists[edit]
Schedule[edit]
Source:[5][6][7][8][9][10]
Date
Time
Opponent
Rank
Site
TV
Result
Attendance
September 1
6:00 p.m.
at Tulsa*
No. 16
ESPN3
L 27–38
18,356
September 8
6:00 pm
Murray State*
No. 17
SLC Digital
W 26–13
6,121
September 15
7:00 p.m.
at Southeastern Louisiana
No. 18
ESPN+
W 33–25
6,485
September 29
3:00 pm
at No. 21 Sam Houston State
No. 13
ESPN3
L 31–34 OT
7,598
October 6
6:00 pm
Houston Baptist
No. 20
Bear Nation Network
W 66–35
10,210
October 13
3:00 p.m.
at Stephen F. Austin
No. 18
ESPN3
W 27–17
5,976
October 20
6:00 pm
Northwestern State
No. 15
Bear Nation Network
W 38–17
6,754
October 27
6:00 p.m.
at No. 14 McNeese State
No. 13
ESPN3
L 21–23
11,208
November 3
6:00 pm
Lamar
No. 19
ELVN/CST/SLC Digital
L 24–38
10,874
November 10
3:00 pm
Incarnate Word
SLC Digital
L 27–40
4,457
November 17
2:00 p.m.
at Abilene Christian
ESPN+
W 16–7
8,006
*Non-conference game
Homecoming
Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
All times are in Central time
*-Indicates Game Broadcast via Tape Delay
Game summaries[edit]
At Tulsa[edit]
Central Arkansas at Tulsa
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 16 Bears
13
0
7
7
27
• Golden Hurricane
7
14
3
14
38
Scoring summary
1
12:49
TULSA
Hobbs 49-yard pass from Skipper (Walker kick)
TULSA 0–7
1
10:43
UCA
Cummins 19-yard FG
TULSA 3–7
1
6:23
UCA
Cummins 40-yard FG
TULSA 6–7
1
3:54
UCA
Kierr 1-yard rush (Cummins kick)
UCA 13–7
2
14:57
TULSA
Skipper 1-yard rush (Walker kick)
TULSA 13–14
2
5:10
TULSA
Brooks 1-yard rush (Walker kick)
TULSA 13–21
3
5:52
UCA
Smith 2-yard rush (Walker kick)
TULSA 20–21
3
1:25
TULSA
Walker 40-yard FG
TULSA 20–24
4
11:08
UCA
Morris fumble recovery in end zone (Cummins kick)
UCA 27–24
4
8:11
TULSA
Neph 14-yard pass from Skipper (Walker kick)
TULSA 27–31
4
7:36
TULSA
Brooks 1-yard rush (Walker kick)
TULSA 27–38
Murray State[edit]
Murray State at Central Arkansas
1
2
3
4
Total
Racers
3
10
0
0
13
• No. 17 Bears
7
13
0
6
26
Sources:
At Southeastern Louisiana[edit]
Central Arkansas at Southeastern Louisiana
1
2
3
4
Total
• No. 18 Bears
0
13
14
6
33
Lions
7
3
7
8
25
Sources:
At Sam Houston State[edit]
Central Arkansas at Sam Houston State
1
2
3
4
OT
Total
No. 13 Bears
3
7
7
14
0
31
• No. 21 Bearkats
0
14
14
3
3
34
Sources:
Houston Baptist[edit]
Houston Baptist at Central Arkansas
1
2
3
4
Total
Huskies
14
7
14
0
35
• No. 20 Bears
21
14
17
14
66
Sources:
At Stephen F. Austin[edit]
Central Arkansas at Stephen F. Austin
1
2
3
4
Total
• No. 18 Bears
7
3
14
3
27
Lumberjacks
7
0
3
7
17
Sources:
Northwestern State[edit]
Northwestern State at Central Arkansas
1
2
3
4
Total
Demons
0
10
7
0
17
• No. 15 Bears
14
14
7
3
38
Date: October 20
Location: Estes Stadium Conway, AR
Game start: 6:00 pm CDT
Elapsed time: 3:05
Game attendance: 6,754
Referee: Cooper Castleberry
Television network: Bear Nation Network
Sources:[11][12]
At McNeese State[edit]
Red Beans and Rice Bowl
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 13 Bears
7
7
7
0
21
• No. 14 Cowboys
17
3
0
3
23
Date: October 27
Location: Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA
Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 3:15
Game attendance: 11,208
Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C) • SW 10 • Clear
Referee: Michael VanderVelde
Television network: ESPN3
Sources:[13]
Lamar[edit]
Lamar at Central Arkansas (homecoming)
1
2
3
4
Total
• Cardinals
21
14
3
0
38
No. 19 Bears
10
6
0
8
24
Sources:
Incarnate Word[edit]
Incarnate Word at Central Arkansas
1
2
3
4
Total
• Cardinals
3
14
13
10
40
Bears
7
7
7
6
27
Sources:
At Abilene Christian[edit]
Central Arkansas at Abilene Christian
1
2
3
4
Total
• Bears
0
6
3
7
16
Wildcats
0
7
0
0
7
Sources:
Ranking movements[edit]
Ranking movements Legend:██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. — = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below.
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