Central Arkansas Bears
Southland Conference
Central Arkansas was making news this year for their purple and grey field. But they sported a pretty good football team as well. There may not be any great wins on the schedule, but there are no bad losses either. The Bears lost three games during the 2011 campaign, in consecutive weeks on the road; and two of those were to FBS members Louisiana Tech and Arkansas State. The third was to Sam Houston State, easily the best team in the Southland Conference. All those losses are understandable and UCA almost knocked off Louisiana Tech.
2011 Record: 8-3, 6-1
Last Playoff Appearance: none
Coach: Clint Conque (88-50 at Central Arkansas, 88-50 overall)
Big Wins: 10/1 Stephen F. Austin (38-28), 10/15 McNeese State (21-18)
Bad Losses: 9/17 at Sam Houston State (10-31), 9/24 at Arkansas State (24-53)
Strengths:
The Central Arkansas offense has put up some big numbers this season. Quarterback Nathan Dick emerged as a much more prolific passer during his senior campaign. During the regular season he threw for 2,691 yards and 28 touchdowns. Last season he threw for just 12 touchdowns. Dick has done a great job keeping the interceptions down and keeping this offense moving. He has a handful of receivers at his disposal, but Jesse Grandy and Dominique Croom will make a majority of the big plays. Grandy and Croom combined for 14 touchdown receptions. But there are more receivers available as Isaiah Jackson, Dezmin Lewis and backs Terence Bobo and Jackie Hinton also caught over 20 passes during the regular season. Hinton and Bobo are joined by Anthony Blackmon in a deep running back position. The Bears are not that effective on the ground, but they need to be able to run a little bit to open up the passing game. With Hinton, Blackmon and Bobo, they can certainly run effectively when they really need to do so.
Weaknesses:
Central Arkansas scores an average of 33.73 points per game, but they allow nearly 29 points. The unit only allowed fewer than 20 points twice all season, and one of those was against Henderson State. The numbers are a little skewed since UCA played Louisiana Tech and Arkansas State and gave up 48 points to the Bulldogs in overtime and 53 to Arkansas State. However, the problems on defense are real. The pass defense is just bad most of the time and the rush defense has not been good either while Central Arkansas worries too much about the passing game. There are good playmakers to work around. Jermayne Lett is a pretty consistent pass rusher from the defensive end spot. Linebacker Seth Allison is a tackling machine who can get into the backfield and drop back in coverage effectively. He is also a big hitter who forced two fumbles this season. In the secondary Jestin Love has had a great year, picking off five passes and totaling 57 tackles. When the defense makes big plays, the large chunks of yardage they allow is more easily forgotten. However, it is asking a lot to expect big fumble returns and interceptions against playoff caliber teams. But when it happens, Central Arkansas can win games, otherwise the pressure will be on the offense to win in a shootout.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Jackie Hinton, RB, 579 yards
Passing: Nathan Dick, QB, 2,691 yards
Receiving: Jesse Grandy, WR, 683 yards
Tackles: Seth Allison, LB, 94
Sacks: Jermayne Lett, DE, 5.0
Interceptions: Jestin Love, S, 5
2011 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 127.09 (82nd in nation, 4th in conference)
Passing Offense: 278.73 (16, 3)
Total Offense: 405.82 (28, 3)
Scoring Offense: 33.73 (20, 3)
Rushing Defense: 155.55 (64, 6)
Pass Defense: 257.82 (112, 8)
Total Defense: 413.36 (102, 7)
Scoring Defense: 28.91 (83, 5)
Turnover Margin: 1.09 (12, 2)
Sacks: 2.36 (30, 2)
Sacks Allowed: 1.27 (24, 3)
