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BOZEMAN, Mont. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears, coming off an exciting come-from-behind 26-24 win over UT Martin last Saturday in Conway, hit the road to take on an FCS powerhouse this weekend
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The Bears (1-1) take on the Montana State Bobcats (1-1) at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman at 4:30 (CST) Saturday. The Bears have made two FCS playoff appearances in the past four years, while the Bobcats are a perennial FCS playoff team and are currently ranked in the Top 20 in both FCS polls.
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"We have to put that one behind us and get ready for Montana State,' said UCA head coach Steve Campbell. "Montana State is an outstanding football team with an outstanding tradition and an outstanding game-day atmosphere. We'll have our work cut out for us.'

The Bears played within a touchdown of FBS Texas Tech in their season opener on the road, then returned home in front of 10,727 fans on "The Stripes" last Saturday to even their record. A 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive in the final three minutes, capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Howard to Courtney Whitehead, gave the Bears the victory
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"The support we had from the fans and the crowd really pulled us through in the second half,' Campbell said "They really motivated the guys and pushed us through in the second half. When the going got tough in the second half, we found a way to win it, and I was proud of that.'

The Bears will find just the opposite this weekend, playing at one of the toughest stadiums at the FCS level. The Bobcats drew 19,187 fans to Bobcat Stadium for their home opener last week, a 57-10 victory over NCAA Division II Black Hills State.

But Campbell is more worried about the players on the field than the fans in the stands.

"One of the first things you notice is how big they are,' Campbell said of the Bobcats. "Their offensive line, they're all 6-foot-4, 6-5, 6-6, 310, 320... they're huge on the offensive line. They don't have any 265, 270 pounders anymore. All 300 across the board.

"They have a quarterback who can fly. They are a zone option read offense and the quarterback can really run. They have a great tailback who can really, really run. So they have a lot of explosive weapons on offense and they like to pound it out and run the football. The quarterback is very dangerous, the tailback is very dangerous, they have some dangerous wide receivers and they are huge across the line.

"Defensively, they have good size as well. Before we played UT Martin, I would have said no way they are going to be as big and strong as Texas Tech. But I believe they were on defense. UT Martin's d-line was more physical. Montana State has a good combination of those two, good size and good speed.'

The Bobcats opened the season with a 31-10 loss to Arkansas State in Jonesboro.

"Montana State played Arkansas State the first week of the season and played them very, very tough,' he said. "ASU finally pulled away in fourth quarter to win it. They have a very outstanding football team. It's going to be a great challenge but one we're looking forward to.'

Campbell said this will also be an important game on a national level.

"All of these games are important, the next one is the most important because it's the next game. But games like this also have other implications. You don't think about it, but UT Martin probably kept us out of the playoffs last year. We get beat 24-23, we wind up going 7-5 instead of 8-4. Now 8-4, with a big win over Sam Houston last game of the year, may have gotten us in last year.

"With Montana State having a national reputation, coming from a well-respected conference, it's definitely a big game and will definitely have playoff implications.'

The Bears return home next Saturday, hosting Missouri State at 6 p.m.