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CONWAY, Ark. _ Fresh off their only open date, the University of Central Arkansas Bears return to "The Stripes" on Saturday, hosting the Tarleton State Texans for Homecoming.

The No. 18 Bears and Texans will kick off at 4 p.m. in their second overall meeting and first as United Athletic Conferences foes.

UCA is 5-2 overall and 2-0 in its first year in the UAC. Tarleton is 5-3 overall but just 1-2 in league play. 

The Texans, coached by former Sam Houston State coach Todd Whitten, are coming off a 42-0 victory over Morehead State at home last Saturday. TSU had dropped consecutive UAC games prior to that, at home vs. Southern Utah (27-26) and on the road at Eastern Kentucky (41-35).

The Texans outgained the Eagles 535 yards to 126 yards, with junior running back Keyvon Britten recording 143 yards and two touchdowns on 14 rushes. TSU totaled 317 yards on the ground.

The Bears, who have won four consecutive games prior to the open date, average 455.1 yards per game and rank second in the UAC and seventh in the nation in scoring offense at 36.7 points per game. UCA's last outing was a 24-21 come-from-behind win over Stephen F. Austin two weeks ago at Estes Stadium.

The Bears have also beaten Abilene Christian (52-17), Southern Utah (29-27) and Southeast Missouri (38-33) as part of the four-game streak.

The first meeting between UCA and TSU was two years ago in the regular-season finale, with the Texans winning 24-3 in Stephenville, Texas. UCA was playing without starting quarterback Breylin Smith and All-American wide receiver Lujuan Winningham, who were both out with injuries. The Bears finished with just 161 yards of total offense, and only 69 through the air.

Tarleton is in its fourth year of reclassifying from NCAA Division II to the FCS level. A victory Saturday would assure the Texans of their fourth straight winning season at the FCS level. The Bears had winning seasons in their first three seasons (2006-08) after the move to FCS. 

UCA, which is 4-0 at home this season, moved up to No. 18 in both the FCS Coaches' Poll and the Stats Perform FCS poll this week. The Bears will have one more home game this season, against Eastern Kentucky on Satuday, Nov. 11.