Southland TV Network to Broadcast McNeese at UCA
Southland Conference
AFFILIATE LIST
FRISCO, Texas – Nationally ranked McNeese State and Central Arkansas meet Saturday in a Southland Conference clash at Estes Stadium in Conway, Ark. The game, set to kick off at 3 p.m., CT, will be televised by the award-winning Southland Conference Television Network, which begins its sixth season.
Not only are the teams battling for the Red Beans and Rice Bowl, but it is the first Southland game for each team as well. McNeese State enters the game with a 4-1 overall record, while UCA is 2-2. The teams share the same rankings. McNeese is No. 11 in the Sports Network poll and No. 14 in the FCS Coaches’ Poll, while the Bears are ranked No. 14 by the Sports Network and No. 11 by the coaches.
The Cowboys run at a perfect season ended last week at No. 5/5 Northern Iowa after managing only 280 total yards against the Panthers. McNeese rank second in the Southland in scoring offense, averaging 40.8 points per game and they rank third in scoring defense, allowing only 24.8 points per game despite allowing two of its last three opponents to score more than 40 points. The Cowboys rank third in total offense, averaging 464.0 yards per game. Quarterback Cody Stroud has completed 63.2 passes (91 of 144) for 1,167 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has thrown only two interceptions and his 153.7 passing efficiency rating ranks 14th nationally. Running back Marcus Wiltz has 493 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 78 carries and his 98.6 yards per game ranks fourth in the league. Nic Jacobs has caught 18 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns. On defense, Everett Ellefsen leads the Southland with 5.0 sacks, while Aaron Sam paces the Cowboys with 32 tackles.
The Bears had a bye last week after winning 17-13 at Missouri State Sept. 21 to give head coach Clint Conque his 100th victory at the school. UCA leads the conference in scoring defense, limiting opponents to only 20.5 points per game, and rank second in the league in total defense, holding opponents to 320.5 yards per game. Quarterback Wynrick Smothers is second in the league in both total offense (305.0) and passing yards per game (288.8), completing 130 of 184 passes for 1,155 yards and seven touchdowns. Four receivers have at least 150 yards, led by Dezmin Lewis, who has 26 catches for 311 yards and two scores. His average of 6.5 yards per reception and his 82.8 yards per game rank third in the league. Jestin Love leads a defense that has three players with at 20 tackles. He has 22 to go with 3.0 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. Markeith Gaines has 3.0 sacks and ranks second in the Southland with 6.5 tackles for loss.
This will be the eighth meeting in the series that dates back to 1994, a 21-7 McNeese victory, but UCA owns a 4-2 lead since it joined the Southland. The Cowboys have won just once since a 41-14 victory in the Bears’ first season in the conference and they will be trying to snap a three-game win streak by UCA, which won 27-26 last year in Lake Charles. McNeese has never won in three previous trips to Conway.
UCA has played incredibly well at home, having won its last 12 games on “The Stripes,” the team’s purple and gray striped turf field, since it was installed prior to the 2011 season.
Randy McIlvoy, sports director at KPRC-TV in Houston, will handle play-by-play duties and will be joined in the booth by color analyst Shea Walker, a former Texas A&M receiver and veteran broadcaster. Brooke Bentley, a sports anchor for Houston Southland TV Network affiliate KUBE-TV, will serve as the sideline reporter.
The Southland TV Network enters its sixth season in 2013, fresh of winning it second College Sports Media Awards honor for live event production. This week’s matchup is part of the largest football television schedule in league history, as 19 games are scheduled for broadcast. To date, the Southland TV Network has produced over 150 events since its inception in 2008.
This list of Texas markets includes Abilene-Sweetwater on KIDZ (15.2); Amarillo on KCPN (19.2); Austin on KBVO (14.1); Beaumont-Port Arthur on KUIL (12.3); Corpus Christi on KDF (47); Dallas-Fort Worth on KTXD (47.1); El Paso on KVIA (7.2); Houston on KUBE (57.1); Lubbock on KMYL (22.2/14.1); Midland-Odessa on KWWT (30.2); San Angelo on KIDY (6.2); San Antonio on WOAI (4.2); Tyler-Longview-Lufkin-Nacogdoches on KCEB (54.1); and Waco-Temple-Bryan on KCEN (6.2). In Oklahoma, the Cox Channel (3/703) reaches the Oklahoma City and Tulsa markets. The list of Louisiana markets includes Baton Rouge on WBTR (41); Lafayette on KLFY (10.2), Lake Charles on KVHP (29.2); Morgan City-Houma on KWBJ (22); New Orleans on WHNO (20.1); and Shreveport-Texarkana on KPXJ (21.1). The network reaches the Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas, market on KARZ (42.1). Nationwide, the game is available on the ESPN GamePlan pay-per-view package. The list of affiliates will vary week to week, so check Southland.org/television for the carriage list prior to each matchup.
All Southland TV games will be streamed live and for free on the Southland Digital Network, available via Southland.org and the Southland’s official mobile and tablet app for iPhone and Android devices. Coverage is also accessible via ESPN3 at WatchESPN.com and on the WatchESPN application for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Android users, as well as XBOX LIVE subscribers.
The game will air on tape-delayed basis nationally on Fox College Sports Central, Sunday at 5 p.m., Central. Comcast SportsNet Houston is set to air the Cowboys and Bears Sunday at 8 a.m., Central. Cox Sports Television, which is available to more than two million viewers in nine states, will carry the broadcast Monday at 7 p.m., Central.