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    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears played, and won, the first college football game in the country last Saturday. They will follow that up by taking part in the first FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) game of the 2020 season on Thursday night.

    The Bears (1-0) take on the UAB Blazers from Conference USA at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN3 from storied Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.

    "This is another great opportunity for us to showcase our football program and our university,' said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. "We're excited to be playing a really good FBS team in such a storied venue as Legion Field. This is an historic place and we're on ESPN again. If this doesn't get you excited I don't know what would.'

    The Bears notched a late touchdown on a 10-yard pass from junior quarterback Breylin Smith to junior wide receiver Lujuan Winningham with just 34 seconds left. Freshman safety TaMuarion Wilson then sealed the 24-17 win over the Governors with an interception as time expired Saturday to make UCA the only 1-0 team in the nation. The Bears beat the Governors in similar fashion a year ago, scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns and getting an interception from Robert Rochell in the final seconds.
    
    Now the Bears turn their attention to the first of three FBS teams on their revamped 2020 schedule. The Blazers are coming off a 9-5 season a year ago when they won their second consecutive Conference USA West Division title. UAB lost 31-17 to Appalachian State in the New Orleans Bowl in December.

    The Blazers are the winningest team in C-USA since returning to action in 2017 with 28 victories. They also own the nation's fourth-longest active home winning streak at Legion Field, winning 18 straight games since the return of football. UAB is playing its final season at the historic venue before moving into Protective Stadium in 2021.

    "This is a really, really good football team we're going to face Thursday night,' said Brown. "They have done a great job in C-USA since they brought football back, they made a bowl game last year and won nine games. This is going to be a huge test for our football team.
    
    "But it's also a great opportunity to try to win another FBS game. We beat Western Kentucky last year on the road, so we have a little bit of experience doing that. But this is going to be a big test for the Bears.'

    The Blazers have an 11-game schedule this season as C-USA was one of only a few conferences to play as scheduled this fall. UCA put together a nine-game slate after the Southland Conference voted to moved to spring competition. The Bears will face two more FBS programs in Arkansas State (Sept. 19 in Jonesboro, Ark.) and at Louisiana ( Nov. 21 in Lafayette, La.).

    The Bears, who sputtered on offense in the first half against the Governors, ended up putting up 460 yards of total offense, including 298 in the decisive second half. UCA took its first lead of the game in the first minute of the second half when senior running back Kierre Crossley carried on all three plays of a 56-yard touchdown drive, going in from 34 yards out for the score and a 13-10 UCA lead.

    Junior placekicker Hayden Ray kicked three field goals, from 30, 27 and 32 yards, before Smith and Winningham hooked up for the game-winner after APSU had re-taken the lead at 17-16 with just 1:40 remaining. Smith completed 6 of 7 passes on the drive, including a key 29-yarder down the left sideline to set up the touchdown. It was UCA's seventh come-from-behind win dating back to last year's season-opening win over FBS Western Kentucky.

    "We had guys make plays,' said Brown. "We went to our horses down the stretch when we needed to and they responded.'

    The Bears rushed for 177 yards, the most since they had 222 against Northwestern State on Oct. 20, 2018. Crossley had his fifth career 100-yard rushing game, going for 110 yards on just 12 carries (9.2 per carry).

    The Blazers feature one of the top statistical defenses in the nation, ranking in the Top 10 nationally the past two seasons. UAB totaled a combined 92 sacks and 217 tackles for loss over the past two campaigns.

LEGION FIELD FACTS:
    Legion Field opened 93 years ago in 1927. It is named in honor of the American Legion, Opened 93 years ago in 1927, a U.S. organization of military veterans. The seating capacity of Legion Field is 71,594.
    The rivalry between Alabama and Auburn, dubbed the "Iron Bowl," was played at Legion Field from 1948 to 1988. The venue also hosted preliminary matches for men's and women's soccer at the 1996 Summer Olympics.