Two Arkansas teams coming off tough road losses to Power Four competition will meet up on Saturday, ready to face somebody from their own level.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will travel to Conway to face Central Arkansas at 6 p.m. at Estes Stadium.
UAPB Coach Alonzo Hampton said last week’s loss at No. 23 Texas Tech was essentially a preseason game, and the Golden Lions (0-1) are ready to play a fellow Football Championship Subdivision opponent.
“It’s more apples to apples this week,” Hampton said. “When you come off the game that we both came off of, you kinda just want to bottle up all the good things that you did. Now, as I said, no more preseason football. So now, it’s kind of good on good. … I know they’re excited, looking for their first win of the season just like we are.”
The Golden Lions lost 67-7 to the Red Raiders on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas. UCA (0-1) had a similar experience two days prior, losing 61-6 at Missouri on a Thursday night in Columbia, Mo.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Both teams were shut out until the fourth quarter of their respective games. UAPB trailed 61-0 until quarterback Christian Peters connected with freshman wide receiver Ellis Stewart, who made a contested 7-yard touchdown catch in the end zone with 6:16 remaining.
The Bears trailed by the same score until quarterback Luther Richesson found Manny Smith on a 3-yard touchdown pass.
UCA Coach Nathan Brown said on his radio show Monday neither team can be judged based on their opening games.
“You love playing in those games like that against Missouri, but when you get past that game, it’s like, OK. We’re competitive in the rest of these,” Brown said. “We got a chance in all the rest of these 11 games, so I think they’re excited about that. I think they know the opportunity they have. I think they truly know the talent we have, and so they’re excited about the opportunity to get ready to turn the page.”
This game will be part of a historic day for Division I football in Arkansas. Saturday will be the first single day in state history in which all four Division I programs are playing one other on the same day. The game in Conway joins one in Little Rock between Arkansas and Arkansas State, the first-ever matchup between the state’s two Football Bowl Subdivision programs.
The closest the state has come to a day like Saturday was Week 1 last year. UAPB played Arkansas to open the season, while UCA faced A-State. Those games were not played on the same day, though, with UAPB playing on Aug. 29 and UCA on Aug. 31.
This will be the only in-state matchup for either UAPB or UCA this season after both played multiple in-state games in 2024.
Hampton said in-state matchups are special, because the players know each other.
“Any time you play an in-state opponent, it’s bragging rights,” Hampton said. “Last year, they got the best of us. We jumped out on them, and then they came back. They had some really talented football players. This year, we got a young team, but we got some really good football players. I think we match up really well with them.”
UCA defeated UAPB 56-17 last season in Pine Bluff after the Golden Lions led 3-0 early. This will be the first matchup in Conway since 2021, also a UCA win.