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CONWAY, Ark. _ Finally, the University of Central Arkansas Bears return to the football field, more specifically "The Stripes" at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

    The 11th-ranked Bears will host the Missouri State Bears at 7 p.m. Saturday. The game will end an unintended 23-day break for UCA since its last game against UAB on Sept. 3. The Bears had a regularly scheduled open date on Sept. 12 , while the matchup with Arkansas State on Sept. 19 was postponed until October due to coronavirus concerns at ASU.

    Thus giving the Bears an extended vacation just two games into the ever-changing 2020 season. Their last action on "The Stripes" was last December in the second round of the FCS Playoffs.

    "We are excited to be back home, excited to be playing a game,' said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. "I know it's going to look different, as far as the participation and fan involvement, the overall gameday atmosphere. But we're excited to play at home and get in front of our fans and have an opportunity to protect our home stadium.

    "Starting the season out with two games in five days, then you have a 23-day break. But that's the nature of the 2020 football season. You may play a couple of games in a row, then you have what happened to us with Arkansas last week where they were unable to play.

    "So we've got to be able to respond and react in a positive way, and we talk to our players about that every single day. How are we responding and reacting to the situation with the hand that this football season has dealt us. And our guys have been very mature, they've had a great work ethic through all this. I couldn't be more pleased with what they have done to this point.'

    The Bears are 1-1 after beating No. 13 Austin Peay 24-17 in the season opener, the Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff in Montgomery, Ala., on Aug. 29. UCA lost 45-35 to Top 25 UAB just five days later at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. They have not played since.

    "You can go all the way back to the summer, with the commitment level of our athletic department and our programs to committing to this 2020 season during this volatile time,' said Brown. "It's been amazing to watch. And not as much of what we've done as coaches and administrators, but the commitment level that our players have had to sacrifice. You're talking about 18 to 22 year old student athletes who a big part of their student experience is socializing, and they've had to cut a lot of that off.

    "They've had to make a conscience commitment to social distancing and not putting themselves in a situation or scenario to be contact traced or whatever it is. Just continuing to do the things it takes to be a negative test every week. So I've been really, really pleased with their commitment level to playing a football season.'

    The Bears, who have a 10-game fall schedule, will be playing their first of three homes games on Saturday, which will be broadcast on ESPN3. UCA and Missouri State will meeting for the ninth time, with the overall series tied at 4-4. The Maroon Bears won the last meeting, kicking a game-winning 53-yard field goal as time expired at Estes Stadium.

    MSU is coached by former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino, in his first season at the Springfield, Mo., school. The visiting Bears  have struggled as a program for the past decade, winning just one game a year ago and just 13 combined over the past five seasons. MSU's last winning season was a 6-5 mark in 2009.
    
    Enter Petrino, who has a 119-57 overall career record and 11 bowl appearances as a head coach at Arkansas, Louisville (two stints) and Western Kentucky over a 32-year coaching career.

    "This is a team that is only playing three games this semester,' said Brown. "They opened with Top 5 Oklahoma, then they are playing us twice. So we know we're going to be their total focus for really the rest of this semester. We know we're going to get their best shot.

    "Their's a renewed energy in Springfield with Coach Petrino. We know his track record. I think he's one of the top offensive coaches in college football right now. No matter where he's been, he's always had high-profile offenses. He's a very good coach, he wins wherever he goes.

    "I would think they are still probably trying to develop some culture, probably still trying to develop his scheme and some other things, but again, knowing the type of coach he is and the type of coaching staff he put together, we know it's going  to be a tall task.'

    MSU competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, arguably the top football conference at the FCS level. That league features North Dakota State, the three-time defending national champion that UCA will face next Saturday in Fargo, N.D.

    "They play in the Missouri Valley, so we know they are going to play a physical brand of football,' said Brown. "They are big kids. You look up and down their two-deep... two of their starting receivers, one of them is 6-5, 200 and one is 6-4, 233. That's like tight end bodies at receiver. They're just big.

    "One of their corners is 6-4, 205. They are just big physically and that's something we have to prepare for. That's not something we have seen much of in the first two teams we've played on the outside. We've played big interior defensive and offensive linemen between Austin Peay and UAB, but Missouri State is very big on the edges.

    "So we're going to have to be prepared for that. And I think our guys are poised and ready. I think we look as fresh as we've looked. We're still having to work ourselves into shape. You had a limited summer, you had a limited training camp, and we're having to work ourselves into shape. Especially now, going on 23 days without playing a football game.'

    Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN3, The Bear 91.3 and The Point 94.1.