University of Central Arkansas Coach Steve Campbell said the New Hampshire Wildcats are the team he and his assistant coaches expected for for the second round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Consequently, New Hampshire's 14-0 first-round victory over Central Connecticut State helped put UCA's coaches a step ahead.
UCA and New Hampshire meet at 2 p.m. Saturday at Estes Stadium in Conway.
"During the bye week, we had prepared for New Hampshire," Campbell said. "We probably went in 90 percent in on New Hampshire and 10 percent in on Central Connecticut State, so we had a pretty good head start. We already had the film broke down and had already started a game plan for New Hampshire earlier in the week."
New Hampshire has earned an appearance in the last 14 FCS playoffs. Campbell said he is most impressed by the Wildcats' defense. UCA senior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand said he agreed.
"Defensively, they're very sound at what they do," Hildebrand said. "The thing I notice is that they're very disciplined. They don't beat themselves. They're good. I can't take anything away from them, but I think we can beat them."
New Hampshire ranked fifth among 12 teams in the Colonial Athletic Association in points allowed with an average of 19.2 a game, but in its last five games, the Wildcats have allowed 10.8.
Led by junior quarterback Trevor Knight, New Hampshire has scored an average of 22.8 points a game.
"He is very efficient at getting the ball to his playmakers," Campbell said. "He has some outstanding receivers, and he does a great job of getting them the football, but he's more than a game manager."
Junior receiver Neil O'Connor has caught 91 passes for 1,341 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Sophomore Malik Love has 61 receptions for 637 yards.
"I know they haven't put as many points on the board as a lot of teams," Campbell said. "Their defense has really kept them in a lot of football games and has helped them be as successful as they've been, but they do have weapons offensively. It's going to be our charge to make sure we keep them in check and not let those receivers get loose."
Injury free
For the second consecutive season, no UCA player who was on the active roster when the regular season began will miss the NCAA FCS playoffs due to injury.
UCA had a bye through the first round and will begin play Saturday in a second-round matchup with New Hampshire
Coach Steve Campbell said he has limited physical contact between his players through the last two weeks of playoff preparation.
"We have a guy or two who's a little banged up, but the last couple of days have really helped," Campbell said. "We don't do a whole lot of live tackling now. Up in the line of scrimmage, there'll be some live work, but as far as open field tackling and stuff like that, we're not doing a whole lot."
Campbell credited conditioning, nutrition, and rest for his team's late-season health.
"We've been blessed," Campbell said. "The guys have worked hard in the weight room and done a great job of taking care of themselves nutritionally. That's something we emphasize, nutrition, rest, and training. The guys have really taken that to heart and done a good job."
Praise from afar
Moments after UCA completed its undefeated Southland Conference season with a 34-0 victory over Abilene Christian on Nov. 18, Adam Dorrel said the reason for UCA's success was evident.
Dorrel, the Abilene Christian coach, spoke to his team immediately after their loss at Estes Stadium in Conway and afterward paused as UCA Coach Steve Campbell spoke to the crowd over the stadium's public address system. He listened as Campbell told attendees that UCA was excited to host at least one game in the playoffs.
"We want to be at home," Campbell said. "But, this group, you could send them to Alaska, and they'd be ready to play."
Dorrel laughed.
"When I took this job, UCA was one of the teams that I studied immediately," he said. "They're what we want to emulate. They're what we want to be, and I say that not necessarily because they win, but because they do things the right way. They have classy kids. They have classy coaches. They play hard. They're physical. I love their style of football. It's very apparent that they love each other and play for each other, and it's something to aspire to."
Sports on 12/01/2017