THIBODAUX, La. _ There will be an early-season showdown in the Southland Conference on Saturday when the No. 10/11 University of Central Arkansas Bears take on the No. 15/16 Nicholls Colonels.

Kickoff for the Bears (3-1, 1-0) and Colonels (2-2, 1-0)  is set for 3 p.m. at John L. Guidry Stadium. The Bears and Colonels will meet for the first time since 2016 due to the conference scheduling cycle. UCA has won the past eight games with Nicholls but the Colonels have gone 14-4 in league play over the past two seasons while absent from the Bears' schedule.

"What Nicholls and Coach (Tim) Rebowe have done in the past couple of years has garnered a lot of attention,' said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. "He's done a great job turning that program into a national power, and a team that's always in the mix for the Southland title. It's going to be a difficult task. 

"Going to Thibodaux, playing at Nicholls is always one of the toughest places to play in our conference. So that's going to be a challenge in itself. We also know that this is their home opener so that will add another element probably in their favor at least for a little bit. So we have to guard against that, come out and play really clean football early against a really good football team to have a chance.'

The Bears are coming off an open date after playing three of their first four games on the road, including a long trip to Hawaii two weeks ago. The Colonels, the defending SLC champions, have played four games but none at home so far in 2019.
 
"It's got to be difficult for them,' said Brown. "We've had a tough opening month, four of our first five on the road, and two FBS teams, and playing only one home game before the middle of October, that's not normal either. And the only team that's had maybe a more crazy schedule than us is Nicholls. For their first home game to be on Oct. 5, there's something to be said about that, too. You know they'll be ready and excited to play and that's something we'll have to be ready for.'

The Colonels, who lost 24-3 at Texas State last Saturday, feature the reigning SLC Player of the Year in senior quarterback Chase Fourcade. He passed for 2,447 yards and 19 touchdowns a year ago as Nicholls finished 7-2 in league play and made its second consecutive appearance in the FCS Playoffs.

"Offensively, they're going to run the game through Chase Fourcade,' Brown said. "Just a winner-type quarterback. People have heard me say it a lot, that a quarterback has the "it" factor. Chase definitely has that. I don't think he's necessarily a numbers guy that looks to put up huge numbers, or tries to put up huge numbers. But he's going to do what it takes to win a football game. And it's obvious, being a four-year starter and having the success he's had, he's going to be a key for us to have a chance, we have to stop him. 

"And then they run the ball well. I think they want to be the more physical team on Saturdays and they do a good job of running the football. They play three or four tailbacks with a lot of ability, so we have to be ready for a lot of different guys that are fresh and ready to roll in and out. So it will be a challenge on defense.'

The Bears, who finally got their running game in gear against the Rainbow Warriors (146 yards), will face a former UCA assistant coach in charge of Nicholls' defensive unit.

"We're familiar with their defensive scheme,' said Brown. "Tommy Rybacki, their defensive coordinator, coached here in 2015 under Coach (Greg) Stewart. He is going to be a very sound coordinator. His defenses are always going to be where they're supposed to be. His guys are going to play extremely, they're going to be in the right gaps. So it's going to take us executing and protecting the football to put up points on these guys.'

The winner of Saturday's matchup will have one marquee SLC matchup out of the way just two weeks into league play, with several more looming, according to Brown.

"I haven't been shy about it,' said said. "I think if you try to be quiet about it and it turns out to be the secret elephant in the room. There's no reason to not talk about how big a particular game is. When you're here at UCA and you've had the kind of month we've had, you've earned the right to play in a big game. So we've talked about that. 

"But we also recognize that this is just another game that's on our schedule, and just another conference game. Our approach, especially during Southland Conference play, is to just go out and put our best foot forward and play with focus and intensity week in and week out. I think our guys are ready to do that.

"It just happens to be Nicholls this week, and they're a really good football team. But there are a lot of really good football teams in the Southland right now, so really it's going to be a playoff approach from here on out. And that's the kind of mentality we have to have as a team.'

The game will be carried live on The Bear 91.3 and The Point 94.1 as well as streamed live at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf-08cxpZ20

The Bears, who own a victory over FBS Western Kentucky this season, return home next Saturday to host the McNeese Cowboys at 4 p.m. at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.