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    CONWAY, Ark. _ Two Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) football teams playing possibly the most difficult schedules in their respective school histories will go head to head Saturday when the University of Central Arkansas Bears take on the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.

    The nomadic Bears (3-3), playing their fourth consecutive road game, will take on the Colonels (1-4) at 2 p.m. (CT) at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Ky. UCA, coming off a 33-24 victory over Missouri State last Saturday in Springfield, Mo., and EKU will be meeting for the first time, and will then square off again in three weeks in Conway.

    UCA and EKU have both faced formidable, pandemic-induced schedules this fall. The Bears have already faced two FBS teams (UAB, Arkansas State), along with FCS powerhouse North Dakota State, with one more FBS program (Louisiana) in the season finale. EKU opened with games at Top 25 Marshall and West Virginia (receiving votes), along with Troy, The Citadel and Houston Baptist.

    "These guys have played some really good offenses in Marshall and West Virginia,' said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. "And even Troy this past weekend has a very explosive offense. And they lost to Houston Baptist, that we know has been putting up 500-600 yards on FBS teams. So they are battle tested.

    "I'd say, FCS wise, we've probably played as difficult a schedule as we've ever played here. But I'd say at this point, their schedule is just as difficult. They've played some really good FBS opponents, and obviously playing The Citadel and Houston Baptist, they're no slouches in the FCS either.

    "So very similar to us, they've been tested.'

    The Bears got back on the winning track last Saturday in their second meeting with MSU in three weeks, led by a controlling defense and an opportunistic offense. The UCA defense forced a season-high six turnovers (4 interceptions, 2 fumbles) and scored after four of them. The Bears held MSU scoreless in the second half and to just 52 yards of offense after halftime. MSU's eight second-half possessions ended in four punts, two interceptions and two failed fourth downs.

    "It was nice to get back into the win column last week,' said Brown. "It's never easy to beat a team twice, and especially under the circumstances of this year, for Missouri State to really just be prepping for us for the two weeks between the games. I couldn't have been more proud of our team last week, just the resiliency they showed. I think we played as close to a complete game all year on Saturday, (although) some could argue maybe the North Dakota State game would be close as well.

    "But I thought defensively we were pretty dominant.'

    Brown said the Colonels, who play in the Ohio Valley Conference, have some very talented individuals on both sides of the ball.

    "I think the challenge this week is going to be playing a little bit more of an explosive offense at Eastern Kentucky,' said Brown. "They pose some matchup problems. They've got a very big running back. You don't usually get used to tackling a 250-pound guy at running back. We're going to have to do a good job of wrapping up and rallying to the football and gang tackling him.

    "And then they have an NFL-type receiver in Keyion Dixon. He's leading the FCS right now in receiving yards, had five touchdowns. Just a really, really good football player. They're not afraid to throw it deep to him over and over again. So we're going to have to be really in tune at corner to play against Keyion. But also, their other receiver (Jackson Beerman) is 6-foot-5.

    "We've been used to playing some big receivers throughout the year, we've seen it over and over again. This is no different this week. They are both very talented, and their quarterback (Parker McKinney) is very efficient. I've been very impressed with McKinney. He's a kid who's in his first year of starting but you can tell that he acts like a seasoned veteran and that he understands and grasps their offense very well.

    "So it's going to be a challenge on defense. They're going to be a little more explosive and probably a little more experienced than what we faced at Missouri State last weekend. '

    The UCA offense did just enough last week with  its 268 yards of total offense, including a pair of touchdown passes from junior quarterback Breylin Smith to junior Mitchell Perkinson and sophomore Tyler Hudson. The key was a school record-tying four field goals by junior Hayden Ray, along with a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown by junior cornerback DeAndre Lamont.

    "Offensively, we just kicked too many field goals,' said Brown, "so we put an emphasis on our red-zone offense this week to try to convert some of those short fields. And once we get tighter into the plus end of the field, getting touchdowns instead of field goals.

    "And the defense we'll face this weekend will be a true three-down front defense. They're going to be very big with their front three guys, 285-pound guys across the board. They've got a lot of transfers on defense. They have kid from Notre Dame, from Western Kentucky, a kid from UConn. Their best player is an outside linebacker (Matthew Jackson), he is a kid we're definitely going to have to key on. He has a chance to give us some problems with just his athletic ability and length.'

    Brown said the goal Saturday is the same as it is every week during this strange and unique 2020 season.

    "Again, we're looking forward to trying to go 1-0 this week. And if we can go 1-0 this week, that will put us at 4-1 against FCS this year,' he said. "Eastern Kentucky is a tradition-rich program. They have a history of being a very good program. You can tell their players believe, they play hard. They've recruited very well there. It's going to be a challenge.'

    The Bears finally return home next Saturday for a Homecoming matchup with Missouri Western at 3 p.m. on "The Stripes" at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

    The Bears-Colonels will be carried live Saturday on The Bear 91.3, The Point 94.1 and on ESPN3.