CONWAY, Ark. _  The University of Central Arkansas Bears get at least one more game on "The Stripes" this season, and it comes at 2 p.m. Saturday in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs against the Illinois State Redbirds.

    UCA (9-2) will host ISU (6-5) in first-round action at First Security Field at Estes Stadium, with the winner advancing to a meeting with No. 2 seed Eastern Washington next Saturday in Cheney, Wash.

    The Bears are returning to the FCS Playoffs for the first time since 2012 and will be hosting a postseason game for the first time at the Division I level. UCA finished second in the Southland Conference to Sam Houston State, losing the regular-season finale 59-23 last Saturday in Huntsville, Texas, giving the Bearkats the outright title and a first-round playoff bye.

     The Redbirds finished 4-4 in the tough Missouri Valley Football Conference, which placed four teams in the field, including conference champion and automatic qualifier South Dakota State, Youngstown State and five-time defending national champion North Dakota State.

    "We're disappointed with what happened last Saturday,' said UCA head coach Steve Campbell. "But like I told the players, sometimes you work hard for something and you think you're going to get it, and boom, it doesn't go the way you think it's going to go. And that's the lesson we need to take from the Sam Houston game. You don't always get what you want. Sometimes things come out of left field. I didn't see that one coming, our players didn't see that one coming.

    "Not that we didn't think there was a possibility you might come up a little short, but the way that it happened. But it's not so much what happens, but how you react to it, and how you respond to it. 

    "And the great thing about us is, we have a tremendous opportunity this week to be able to respond to a little adversity. We have an opportunity to jump back in the win column and go 1-0 and to advance to the next round of the playoffs. And to get 10 wins on the season. Our guys are really excited about that opportunity. We're looking forward to playing an outstanding Illinois State team.  

    The last, and only, meeting between the Bears and Redbirds came in 2006, UCA's first year at the NCAA Division I level. Illinois State beat UCA 18-3 at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Ill. The Bears went on to finish 8-3 overall that season, with losses to ISU, South Dakota State (also in the 2016 playoff field) and UC Davis.

    UCA had an eight-game winning streak broken last Saturday but still has a chance to win 10 games for just the second time in the NCAA Division I era that began in 2006. Prior to the Sam Houston game, UCA's last loss was on Sept. 10 to Samford, also a playoff team. The Bears went 10-2 in 2008 and won an unofficial SLC title while going through the transition period to Division I.

    "This (ISU) team is a team that two years ago played for the national championship,' said Campbell. "And they were winning the game with something like 30 seconds left in the game against North Dakota State. Their defense and their offensive line are made up of a lot of guys who played in that national championship game, and were actually leading in the national championship game. They have a very talented football team.'

    Campbell said his squad is approaching a playoff game the same as it did the previous 11 regular-season games.

    "We've talked to our guys about 'let's go 1-0.' It's a new season once the regular season is over,' he said. "Most of the teams are putting up equipment today (Monday) and had their team meetings. They won't put the gear back on until sometime in the spring. We're one of the few teams in the country that have a chance to play for something. 

    "I talked to the guys about in my career, I've been very, very blessed to be a part of three national championships. And none of them did you see coming. You went into it and you tried to win one game, which is what we're going to try to do this week. Do you all you can to win one football game. 

    "We've got a long way to go, but to get there, you have to make the playoffs, and we've done that. And the guys have done a tremendous job of putting themselves into a situation where we get to host a home playoff game. I know it means a lot to the seniors to be able to get to host the first Division I home playoff game. We're very excited about that.' 

    The Bears finished 9-2 overall with a 28-23 win over FBS Arkansas State on its resume. Illinois State was 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the tough Missouri Valley Football Conference, and owns wins over FBS Northwestern and playoff team South Dakota State. The Redbirds won their final three regular-season games and had an open date last Saturday.

    One of those UCA seniors is wide receiver Desmond Smith from Bentonville, Ark., who became the school's career leader in receptions last week. Smith now has 217 career catches, passing Michael Norvell. He is also just 54 yards from catching Aaron Fairooz for the career receiving yards record  (2,797). Fellow senior wide receiver Jatavious Wilson (Bastrop, La.) has already broken three school records this season, including career kickoff returns (117), career kickoff return yards (2,804) and career all-purpose yards (5,487).

    UCA's defense, No. 1 in the nation against the run, is led by leading tackler George Odum, a junor rover from Millington, Tenn., who has 74 total tackles, along with an interception, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. The Bears, who have recorded 93 tackles for loss and 28 sacks, are led up front by seniors Terrence Partee (6 TFL, 2.5 SK) and Jordan Toliver (9.5 TFL, 5.0 SK). Senior cornerback Tyler Williams has a team-high four interceptions and 20 pass breakups 

    The Bears placed 12 players on the All-Southland Conference first or second teams earlier in the week, and had five more named honorable mention. UCA will have 18 seniors taking the field on "The Stripes" on Saturday. UCA offensive coordinator Nathan Brown was a freshman quarterback the last time the Bears hosted a playoff game in 2005, an NCAA Division II quarterfinal game against North Alabama. 

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