# 2019 Central Arkansas Bears football team

The 2019 Central Arkansas Bears football team represented the University of Central Arkansas in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southland Conference. The Bears were led by second-year head coach Nathan Brown and played their home games at Estes Stadium. UCA finished the regular season 9–3 overall, 7–2 in Southland Conference play, earning a share of the 2019 Southland Conference championship, and a first round bye in the FCS playoffs with a #8 seeding.

## Preseason
### Preseason poll

The Southland Conference released their preseason poll on July 18, 2019. The Bears were picked to finish in second place.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Nicholls | 200 (20) |
| 2 | Central Arkansas | 154 |
| 3 | Incarnate Word | 150 (1) |
| 4 | Sam Houston State | 146 |
| 5 | Lamar | 123 |
| 6 | McNeese State | 114 |
| 7 | Abilene Christian | 112 (1) |
| 8 | Southeastern Louisiana | 71 |
| 9 | Stephen F. Austin | 63 |
| 10 | Northwestern State | 56 |
| 11 | Houston Baptist | 21 |

### Preseason All–Southland Teams

The Bears placed seven players on the preseason all–Southland teams.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 29 | 6:30 p.m. | at Western Kentucky* | | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, KY | ESPN+ | W 35–28 | 17,120 |
| September 7 | 2:00 p.m. | at Austin Peay* | No. 20 | Fortera StadiumClarksville, TN | ESPN+ | W 24–16 | 7,523 |
| September 14 | 6:00 p.m. | Abilene Christian | No. 14 | Estes StadiumConway, AR | ESPN3 | W 31–30 | 10,123 |
| September 21 | 10:59 p.m. | at Hawaii* | No. 14 | Aloha StadiumHalawa, HI | Spectrum Sports | L 16–35 | 23,465 |
| October 5 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 16 Nicholls | No. 11 | John L. Guidry StadiumThibodaux, LA | YouTube | L 14–34 | 7,021 |
| October 12 | 6:00 p.m. | McNeese State | No. 16 | Estes StadiumConway, AR (Red Beans and Rice Bowl) | ESPN+ | W 40–31 | 11,237 |
| October 19 | 6:00 p.m. | at Northwestern State | No. 13 | Harry Turpin StadiumNatchitoches, LA | CST, ESPN+ | W 31–30 | 7,584 |
| October 26 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 21 Sam Houston State | No. 12 | Estes StadiumConway, AR | ESPN+ | W 29–25 | 9,363 |
| November 2 | 3:00 p.m. | at Lamar | No. 10 | Provost Umphrey StadiumBeaumont, TX | ESPN+ | W 45–17 | 5,913 |
| November 9 | 3:00 p.m. | Southeastern Louisiana | No. 7 | Estes StadiumConway, AR | ESPN+ | L 0–34 | 6,275 |
| November 16 | 3:00 p.m. | Stephen F. Austin | No. 14 | Estes StadiumConway, AR | ESPN+ | W 30–7 | 5,527 |
| November 22 | 6:30 p.m. | at Incarnate Word | No. 11 | Gayle and Tom Benson StadiumSan Antonio, TX | ESPN+ | W 52–35 | 2,668 |
| December 7 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 13 Illinois State* | No. 9 | Estes StadiumConway, AR (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN3 | L 14–24 | 5,127 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Western Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 | 35 |
| Hilltoppers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 |

### At Austin Peay

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 20 Bears | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 24 |
| Governors | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 16 |

### Abilene Christian

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 7 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 30 |
| No. 14 Bears | 3 | 6 | 0 | 22 | 31 |

### At Hawaii

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Bears | 0 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 16 |
| Rainbow Warriors | 14 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 35 |

### At Nicholls

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 11 Bears | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| No. 16 Colonels | 6 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 34 |

### McNeese State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 10 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
| No. 16 Bears | 10 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 40 |

### At Northwestern State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 13 Bears | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 31 |
| Demons | 14 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 30 |

### Sam Houston State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 21 Bearkats | 7 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 25 |
| No. 12 Bears | 0 | 0 | 14 | 15 | 29 |

### At Lamar

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 10 Bears | 14 | 10 | 21 | 0 | 45 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |

### Southeastern Louisiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 7 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 34 |
| No. 7 Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Stephen F. Austin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lumberjacks | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 14 Bears | 3 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 30 |

### At Incarnate Word

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 11 Bears | 3 | 21 | 7 | 21 | 52 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 35 |

## FCS Playoffs

The Bears enter the postseason tournament as the number eight seed, with a first-round bye. They will play Illinois State at Estes Stadium in Conway on December 7.

### Illinois State–Second Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 13 Redbirds | 0 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
| No. 9 Bears | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| STATS FCS | RV | 20 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 11 | 9 | |
| Coaches | 25 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 10-T | 16 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 7 | |