With the Southland Conference opener and a homecoming showdown looming Saturday, University of Central Arkansas football coach Clint Conque is hoping for a big boost from a home crowd and some decisive kicks.
The Bears (4-1) take on Sam Houston State (2-1) at First Security Field at Estes Stadium at 6 p.m. Saturday in a regionally televised game of two of the top-rated teams in the Southland Conference. Both teams are coming off bye weeks.
"From what you can see from the statistics, it's two evenly matched teams," Conque said Monday at the weekly Bearbackers luncheon. "You have two of the best quarterbacks in college football (UCA's Nathan Brown and Sam Houston's Rhett Bomar). Both teams are averaging about the same number of points, and we're giving up about the same. We are dead even in turnover margin. The only thing I see right now is we hope to gain an advantage in the kicking game. I hope that can lead to field position and turnovers."
The Bears have won 21 out of their last 24 games at home.
"Coaches tell me and opposing athletes have told our athletes that our crowd and our student body form one of the toughest atmospheres in the league," Conque said. "They say the noise coming from the other sideline gives them trouble making adjustments on the sidelines or hearing instructions from the sidelines or hearing the checks out of bad plays. As well as 'Painting The Town Purple,' I hope our folks paint Estes Stadium purple."
The matchup between Brown and Bomar, who began his career at the University of Oklahoma, will be an interesting one, said Conque, as both are having comparable statistical seasons.
"Just as we're hearing from pro scouts every week about Nathan, they're talking about Rhett Bomar in the same breath," Conque said. "These are two of the best senior quarterbacks in all of college football."
Conque gave his assistant coaches a day off during the bye week and gave his veteran players half a week off. The Bears have played two more games than the Bearkats, who've had two open dates and had another game against Prairie View cancelled because of Hurricane Ike. As a result, Sam Houston State practiced every day last week.
"There are a couple of different ways to approach things," said Conque, whose team was coming off a 62-34 loss to Tulsa. "I know LSU is 4-0 and they had a 70-play scrimmage last week. We used the week for rest, healing and getting back to the books and the weight room and to work more with our younger players. When we got back to practicing with the full team Thursday, we were rusty as far as timing and execution.
"But I think we did the right things for this team at this time regarding the time off. We had played five games on five straight weeks and when you add in preseason camp, we've been at it for 9 1/2 weeks. I thought it was best to give this team a little time off."
INJURIES: The open week allowed the Bears to get most of their injured players back, including offensive guard Brad Gordon, a preseason all-conference picks.
"Against Tulsa, we were just hoping we'd get Brad back. Saturday, we should be able to get him some action," Conque said.
Will Merritt, another offensive lineman who missed the Tulsa game with injury, should also be available.
Conque said linebacker Jason Bane, who broke an ankle against UC Davis, will likely be out for another two weeks.
