MEDIA CENTER

CONWAY, Arkansas – One of the premiere games in the FCS will take place on The Stripes on Saturday night when McNeese and Central Arkansas go to battle in a Southland Conference game with league title and playoff implications.
 
And it's the annual Red Beans & Rice Bowl to add more flavor to the contest.
 
Kickoff is set for 6:05 at UCA's Estes Stadium in what is expected to be a frigid night air but some heated action on the surface.
 
The Cowboys (6-1, 4-1 SLC) and UCA (6-1, 5-0) will both enter the game riding six game winning streaks, the third-longest current streaks in the FCS. McNeese is ranked No. 18 and 20 in the national polls while the Bears are ranked fourth on both lists.
 
Each team possesses the league's top defenses – McNeese No. 1 in total, rushing and scoring with UCA right behind at No. 2.
 
The Cowboys are ranked second in the FCS in rushing defense, having allowed 55.3 yards per game, and are third in total defense with a 250.1 mark while the Bears are allowing 127.1 rushing and 349.7 yards per game.
 
Offensively, the two teams are tight in nearly every category and near the top of the lists.
 
"They have a lot of great athletes on both sides of the football," said McNeese head coach Lance Guidry. "They are very well coached. They are very fundamentally sound and have some playmakers."
 
The Cowboys have displayed some playmakers themselves lately, especially on offense where the DWA (Defense With Attitude) has allowed just one touchdown and 10 points in the last 16 quarters played as well as zero second half points allowed in the last four games.
 
Against UIW last week, McNeese tied a NCAA all-division record with four interceptions returned for touchdowns and had five picks overall to lift its season total to 12.
 
Over the last four outings, McNeese has outscored its opponents by a 130-26 margin – 19 of those 26 points came off a pick-6, field goal and a kickoff return. In addition, the defense is allowing just 160 total offensive yards per game – 64 rushing and 96 passing.
 
"I think our defense resembles a lot of the 2015 defense we had here," said Guidry of that DWA unit that held all but one regular season opponent to under 20 points and five with 10 or fewer as the Cowboys posted a perfect 10-0 mark. "Our young guys are making plays, and when they do that, it pushes our older guys to work harder."
 
"It's a competition among us," said senior free safety Andre Fuller. "When one guy makes an interception all the other guys are out there trying to match him."
 
On offense, McNeese's 55 points scored against UIW was the most against a Division I opponent since scoring 69 at Stephen F. Austin in 2013. Four weeks prior to that game, McNeese beat UCA 59-28 to hand the Bears their first loss in 13 tries on the famed gray and purple striped field.
 
The Cowboys did it again in 2015 with a 28-13 win to become the only team to have beaten UCA more than once on the stripes. However, UCA has returned the favor by having beaten McNeese the last two times in Cowboy Stadium including last year's 35-0 win to hand the Cowboys their first shutout loss at home since the 1987 season.
 
Cowboys' quarterback James Tabary is primed for a good outing.
 
"He's at his best in games like this," said Guidry. "He played well against Incarnate Word and has had a great week of practice this week. I expect him to have his best game on Saturday. But I expect all of our guys to have their best game too."
 
Tabary is ranked third in the conference in passing yards per game (232.0), completion percentage (60.6), and passing touchdowns (16), where he's also ranked 16^th in the nation. He's coming off a 276 yard game against UIW, his first 250-plus yard game since throwing for 344 at Alcorn State on Sept. 16.
 
Justin Pratt and David Hamm will handle the rushing duties. Pratt tops the team with a 75.0 rushing average while Hamm is averaging 65.4 yards. The duo is ranked third and ninth respectively in the conference.
 
UCA quarterback Hayden Hildebrand is second in the league in passing with 292.6 yards per game and has tossed 17 touchdown passes while hitting 67 percent of his marks. He's thrown for 250 or more yards in six straight games and is coming off a season-high 306 yard outing in a win at Northwestern State.
 
"He's a tremendous athlete," said Guidry of Hildebrand. "He can do a lot with his arm and with his feet. He makes things happen for them."
 
Hildebrand's favorite targets are Roman Gordon (25 catches for 493 yards and six touchdowns) and Brandon Cox (24 catches for 388 yards and a TD).
 
On defense, the Bears lead the league with 25 team sacks, led by defensive lineman threats Eric Jackson and Chris Terrell with seven each. Cornerback Tremon Smith tops the league with five interceptions and nine pass breakups.
 
"They are very, very good on defense," said Guidry. "They have playmakers in the defensive backfield and the front guys do a good job of putting pressure on the quarterback and making him throw the ball away quickly. We'll need to do a great job protecting the football."
 
GAMEDAY NOTES:
• The visiting team has won the last four contests in the series.
• This will be the 11^th meeting in the all-time series with each team winning five games.
• Saturday's game will be the sixth time out of the 11 matchups where at least one of the teams is ranked in the FCS polls. It'll also be the third time where both teams are ranked.