2023 Central Arkansas Bears football team

2023 Central Arkansas Bears football
2023 Central Arkansas Bears football
Conference	United Athletic Conference
Record	7–4 (4–2 UAC)
Head coach	Nathan Brown (6th season);
Offensive coordinator	Ken Collums (6th season)
Defensive coordinator	Matt Kitchens (3rd season)
Home stadium	Estes Stadium
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

The 2023 Central Arkansas Bears football team represented the University of Central Arkansas as a member of the United Athletic Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bears were led by sixth-year head coach Nathan Brown and played their home games at Estes Stadium in Conway, Arkansas.

2023 United Athletic Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 18 Austin Peay $^	6	–	0	9	–	3
Central Arkansas	4	–	2	7	–	4
Southern Utah	4	–	2	6	–	5
Eastern Kentucky	4	–	2	5	–	6
Tarleton State*	4	–	2	8	–	3
Abilene Christian	3	–	3	5	–	6
North Alabama	1	–	5	3	–	8
Utah Tech*	1	–	5	2	–	9
Stephen F. Austin	0	–	6	3	–	8

$ – Conference champion Note: Tarleton State and Utah Tech are ineligible for the UAC title and FCS postseason play due to transitions from NCAA Division II. Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 p.m.	at Oklahoma State*		Boone Pickens Stadium Stillwater, OK	ESPN+	L 13–27	53,855
September 9	6:00 p.m.	Texas College*		Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ESPN+	W 70–2	8,759
September 16	2:30 p.m.	at No. 2 North Dakota State*		Fargodome Fargo, ND	ESPN+	L 31–49	15,016
September 23	6:00 p.m.	Abilene Christian		Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ESPN+	W 52–17	8,657
September 30	7:00 p.m.	at Southern Utah	No. 25	Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT	ESPN+	W 29–27	4,013
October 7	4:00 p.m.	Southeast Missouri State*	No. 23	Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ESPN+	W 38–33	9,457
October 14	4:00 p.m	Stephen F. Austin^{[note 1]}*	No. 20	Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ESPN+	W 24–21	7,137
October 28	4:00 p.m.	Tarleton State	No. 18	Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ESPN+	L 23–25	2,854
November 4	5:00 p.m.	at North Alabama		Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL	ESPN+	W 27–14	9,003
November 11	4:00 p.m.	Eastern Kentucky		Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ESPN+	W 27–24	5,423
November 18	1:00 p.m.	at No. 15 Austin Peay		Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN	ESPN+	L 12–14	9,931
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[1]^[2]

^{[note 1]}The game against Stephen F. Austin, a fellow member of the United Athletic Conference (UAC), was played as a non-conference game and did not count in the league standings.^[3]

Game summaries

at Oklahoma State

Central Arkansas Bears at Oklahoma State Cowboys – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	0	7	6	13
Cowboys	7	6	0	14	27

at Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Date: September 2
Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Sunny, 92 °F (33 °C)
Game attendance: 53,855
Referee: Michael VanderVelde
TV announcers (ESPN+): Matt Schumacker (play-by-play) & Brad Hopkins (analyst)

Game information

First quarter

OKST – Brennan Presley 11-yard pass from Garrett Rangel (Alex Hale kick), 2:58. Cowboys 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 2:47.

Second quarter

OKST – Alex Hale 36-yard field goal, 5:34. Cowboys 10–0. Drive: 11 plays, 31 yards, 3:59.
OKST – Alex Hale 45-yard field goal, 0:00. Cowboys 13–0. Drive: 4 plays, 0 yards, 0:20.

Third quarter

UCA – Kylin James 1-yard pass from Will McElvain (Jake Gaster kick), 4:37. Cowboys 13–7. Drive: 8 plays, 95 yards, 3:39.

Fourth quarter

OKST – Elijah Collins 17-yard run (Alex Hale kick), 10:44. Cowboys 20–7. Drive: 9 plays, 93 yards, 3:57.
OKST – Ollie Gordon II 2-yard run (Alex Hale kick), 5:54. Cowboys 27–7. Drive: 6 plays, 78 yards, 2:41.
UCA – Christian Richmond 2-yard pass from Will McElvain (kick failed), 3:28. Cowboys 27–13. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 2:26.

Statistics	UCA	OKST
First downs	19	24
Total yards	391	453
Rushes/yards	28/123	31/149
Passing yards	268	304
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	24–37	30–48–1
Time of possession	27:30	30:35

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Central Arkansas	Passing	Will McElvain	24/37, 268 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Shunderrick Powell	12 carries, 71 yards
	Receiving	Christian Richmond	5 receptions, 38 yards, TD
Oklahoma State	Passing	Garret Rangel	10/15, 118 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Ollie Gordon II	7 carries, 44 yards, TD
	Receiving	Brennan Presley	6 receptions, 54 yards, TD

References

^ "2023 Central Arkansas Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
^ "2023 Football Schedule". Central Arkansas Athletics. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
^ "BEARS TO HOST OLD RIVAL LUMBERJACKS" (Press release). Central Arkansas University, Department of Athletics. October 13, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.

[1] "2023 Central Arkansas Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved April 18, 2023.

[2] "2023 Football Schedule". Central Arkansas Athletics. Retrieved April 18, 2023.

[3] "BEARS TO HOST OLD RIVAL LUMBERJACKS" (Press release). Central Arkansas University, Department of Athletics. October 13, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.

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