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CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears will meet a familiar old foe in their home opener on "The Stripes" on Saturday night.

UCA will host fellow FCS program Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 6 p.m. at First Security Field @ Estes Stadium. The matchup will be the 13th in the series but the first between the Bears and Golden Lions since 2008.

UCA won that game 41-17 at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium. Ironically, the starting quarterback for the Bears that day was current UCA head coach Nathan Brown. Brown threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns in the victory as the Bears overcame an early 10-7 deficit and scored 34 consecutive points on six straight possessions.

The Bears went on to finish 10-2 that season but were ineligible for postseason play because of the transition to NCAA Division I.

Fast forward to 2021, and UCA is coming into the game with consecutive road losses to start the season. The Bears fell to FBS Arkansas State in Week 1, then dropped a crazy 43-34 contest at Missouri State last weekend, a game that saw 40 points scored in the fourth quarter, including five touchdowns in the final 3:17.

"We're looking forward to turning the page after a tough loss for us on Saturday night,' Brown said Tuesday. "It was one of those games that just went back and forth and both teams just played good football. We knew they were going to be good, they're a Top 25 team. And it was a road game, which is a roadblock for us as well. But we had our chances to win. 

"And that was one of the craziest last three minutes of a football game that I think I've ever been a part of. Just unbelievable plays made on both teams. It was one of those games where you run across the field to shake the opposing coach's hand and you just kind of shake your head. 

"It was a heartbreaking loss because of the way we lost, but man there were a lot of good things that I think are going to come out of this game. Yeah, we're 0-2, that's the cold facts, the hard reality we're in, we're an 0-2 football team. But I feel like we're probably one of the best 0-2 football teams in the country. '

UAPB had a bye week last Saturday after opening with a 34-16 home win over Lane College.
 

"They had a bye week, so while we were worrying about Missouri State, they spent two weeks on Central Arkansas,' said Brown. "So it's always a challenge to play a team that has a couple of extra days of preparation for you. Coach (Doc) Gamble has done a great job, he's turned that program around very fast. 

"You watch them on film, they're explosive on offense, their quarterback (Skyler Perry) makes them tick. Defensively, they're a very attacking style defense with a lot of different fronts. fairly basic in the secondary but they are very athletic and good. But they do enough up front on defense to make you not sleep well at night. And then they have some receivers that they can really throw the ball to on offense. Great return guy, an All-American type return guy. 


"It's going to be a big-time challenge, but one thing that we have in our favor this week is that is will be our home opener. Those first two trips to Arkansas State and Missouri State, yeah, they were short trips but they were still in enemy territory. It's always fun to finally kick off your football season at home. We're expecting a big crowd, and obviously we know Pine Bluff will bring a big crowd. We're excited about getting the home season started off right.'

The Bears, who are averaging 395 yards of offense and 27.5 points per game, will face a couple of familiar faces Saturday. Kierre Crossley, a graduate transfer running back, played the first four years of his career at UCA. His position coach at UAPB is Larry Warner, who was also his position coach at UCA in 2016 and 2017. Also, junior wide receiver Kylan Robinson (Batesville, Ark.) is on the Golden Lions' roster after three years at UCA.
 

"Like I told Keke, I'm rooting for you for 10 games, not rooting for you on Saturday,' Brown said. "Kierre had a great career here, had a lot of big runs for us, was freshman of the year in the Southland Conference. Just a great kid, a great family. His mom and grandma at every game, so we got to know them. The timing was just right for Kierre to leave, and I'm glad he landed at a place like Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Coach (Larry) Warner, who was here with us before, is his running backs coach, so that's a familiar face. 

"Obviously rooting for Kierre, hope he rushes for 1,000 yards on the year, but we have to bottle him up and do a good job against him. He's a good player. He's a competitor, and that's probably his biggest strength. He's going to come in here with a lot of energy, a lot of fire, a lot of passion, that's just how he plays.'

The Golden Lions piled up 464 yards of total offense against Lane, a private Division II school located in Jackson, Tenn. Perry, a junior from New Orleans, completed 18 of 31 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. UAPB had three players rush for at least 50 yards, including Crossley (52), Kayvon Britten (58) and Perry (79).

Defensively, UAPB held Lane to 310 yards of total offense, with just 20 rushing yards.

UCA outgained MSU last Saturday by a large margin (453 to 378), with 332 yards of that coming through the air. Junior quarterback Breylin Smith completed 25 of 38 with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Junior Lujuan Winningham caught a career-high 10 passes for 144 yards and sophomore Tyler Hudson added three for 117 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, the Bears recorded eight tackles for loss _ three by sophomore defensive end Logan Jessup _ and four sacks. 

The Bears will be playing their first of five home games this season, with defending FCS national champion Sam Houston State coming to Conway next Saturday.