(STATS)
– With a No. 3 ranking in the http://www.babewest.com/mike-palmateer-jersey-c-1_30.html STATS FCS Top 25 and a No. 4 playoff seed, Central Arkansas finally has the national respect it’s been seeking.And if there
’s any remaining skepticism regarding their newfound reputation as a title contender, the Bears have a chance to change that as well.A victory in Saturday
’s second-round matchup with battle-tested New Hampshire would accomplish two significant firsts for a program that’s been on the fast track towards perennial power status. Central Arkansas (10-1) has never won 11 games in a season since making the jump to Division I in 2007 and more importantly, never has advanced to the quarterfinals in any of its three previous trips to the FCS playoffs.“
We have to approach this at a much higher level,” said senior rover George Odum, the Southland Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. “Our standards have to be higher. We’ve got to dominate from the line of scrimmage. We’ve got to set the tone from the first play to the last.”Though New Hampshire (8-4) hasn
’t had what could be viewed as a vintage season, its name still carries plenty of weight in FCS circles. Sporting the division’s longest active postseason streak at 14 years, the Wildcats have won at least one playoff game in four of the past five seasons and their current senior class was part of the second of consecutive semifinals appearances from 2013-14.“
They’re a very, very proud program,” Bears coach Steve Campbell remarked. “So it’s a big challenge for us.”That consistent level of success is what UCA has slowly striven towards in Campbell
’s four seasons there. The goal came closer to reality in 2016, when the Bears went 10-3, won a playoff opener over Illinois State and gave eventual national semifinalist Eastern Washington some early trouble in the second round. They took an even bigger step forward this fall, capturing the program’s first Southland title since 2012, achieving its highest national ranking as a D-I member and a first-ever FCS national seed.The Bears also enter the postseason as one of the hottest teams, having won 10 straight since a season-opening loss at Big 12 member Kansas State. That run includes a 41-30 home victory over Southland rival and national No. 6 seed Sam Houston State.
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I think we’ve just had more confidence this year, and I think it’s been that way since Game 1,” senior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand said. “Last year was pretty much everybody on this team’s first time in the playoffs. It’s kind of a different experience. Getting that under our belt last year, getting that playoff win and going to Eastern Washington and playing what was a tight game for a while against one of the top teams in the nation, I think it’s very beneficial moving forward.”That swagger and attention to detail have
http://www.blackhawksnhlproshop.com/marian-hossa-jersey-c-1_26.html morphed Central Arkansas into one of the tournament
’s more dangerous teams. A balanced offense features Hildebrand (2,768 passing yards, 27 TDs, 7 INTs), the Southland Player of the Year and the FCS leader in passing efficiency, and a persistent rushing attack from the thunder-and-lightning tandem of 240-pound sophomore Carlos Blackman (702 yards, 10 total TDs) and shifty freshman Kierre Crosley (770 yards, 4 TDs).“
They are explosive on the offensive side of the ball with a very, very good quarterback in Hildebrand,” UNH coach Sean McDonnell said. “Their offensive line averages right around 308 (pounds) a pop. They’re a big, strong physical offensive line, (they) remind me a lot of (James Madison’s) offensive line with the physicality that they have. They’ve got talent across the board.”
