CONWAY, Ark. _ University of Central Arkansas quarterback Wynrick Smothers earned his third Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week award on Monday after leading the Bears to a 35-14 victory over Northwestern State on Saturday at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

     Smothers, a 6-foot-1, 208-pound junior from Destrehan, La., threw four touchdown passes and ran for another as the No. 13 Bears won the the Southland Conference championship and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Playoffs on Saturday. Smothers completed 18 of 27 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns, and added 97 rushing yards, including a 57-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

     Smothers’ three awards this season are the most by any player in the conference. The Bears as a team have won a league-high 11 awards in 10 weeks of the 2012 season.

     UCA (9-2, 6-1) is open this weekend before finishing the regular season with a home non-conference game against Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 17. The FCS Playoffs begin Nov. 24.