CONWAY, Ark. — Following two tough home losses to nationally-ranked competition, the Northwestern State football team will be on the road to play its third consecutive ranked opponent Saturday, facing No. 15 Central Arkansas in a 6 p.m. Southland Conference contest at the Bears' Estes Stadium.

Last Saturday night, NSU (2-4 overall, 1-3 Southland Conference) fell behind 14-0 after one quarter at home against 14th-ranked Sam Houston State, then bounced back on the strength of a huge second quarter to take a 28-23 lead into the break. But the Bearkats scored all 19 of the second half points to win 42-28 at Turpin Stadium.

It was the third straight loss due in part to missed scoring chances by the Demons.

"It's easy to get frustrated that we've had opportunities the past three weeks and the ball hasn't bounced our way," said first- year head coach Brad Laird. "We haven't done things, starting with me, to get over the hump and be able to win those football games.

"This football team and this staff will continue to work and continue to battle because we understand how close we are and we understand that we have another opportunity this week."

Laird is going head-to-head against a fellow first-year head coach, UCA's Nathan Brown. Both coaches are the coach of their alma maters and are the career passing leaders at their respective schools.

UCA (4-2, 3-1), the reigning Southland Conference champion, opened the season with a near-miss of an upset at Tulsa. The Bears were up 27-24 midway through the final quarter before Tulsa scored the game's final 14 points. Following an overtime loss to Sam Houston State Sept. 29, the Bears have rebounded to win two straight, averaging 46.5 points in the process.

The Demons will face a formidable Bears' pass rush, but last week, Stephen F. Austin was able to throw for 358 yards in its 27-17 homefield loss to UCA. The Bears notched six sacks and 13 tackles for loss, holding the Lumberjacks to minus 20 net rushing yards.

NSU ranks sixth in the nation and tops in the Southland in passing, averaging 333 yards per game.

Individually, junior quarterback Shelton Eppler is 12th in the nation in passing yards per game (279.8) and 13th in yards (1,679). His 14 touchdown passes are tied for 11th in the FCS. His 14 touchdown passes in a single season are fourth in school history, and he is 146 pass yards from the top 10. He is just five completions away from NSU's season top 10 list. Against SHSU, Eppler went 27-of-47 for 351 yards with three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.

He spread the ball around to seven different receivers, with four of them having at least three catches. Wide receiver Jazz Ferguson continued to be Eppler's main target, catching a season-best nine passes for 138 yards and two scores.

Ferguson's big day was his fourth game of gaining at least 100 yards receiving, which tied him with Pat Palmer in 1996 for most such games in school history. He is 20 yards away from cracking the top 10 for receiving yards in a season in school history. He is 11th in the FCS in receiving yards per game (109), 13th in receiving touchdowns (6) and 14th in yards per catch (20.4).

"Two things coach has been hitting on are consistency and playing a full four quarters," Ferguson said. "In those last three losses, I can say we haven't done either one of those the past three weeks."

The Purple Swarm was able to force four SHSU turnovers, and converted those into 14 points. The NSU defense is sixth in the FCS in interceptions with 10, led by sophomore Hayden Bourgeois, who is tied for the lead in all of Division I with five interceptions. His fifth interception was a pick six for the Demons to take a 28-23 lead late in the first half.

True freshman cornerback Shemar Bartholomew wasted little time making his presence felt. In just his second game, he picked off SHSU's Ty Brock twice.

"In my first game, I was really nervous," Bartholomew said. "Just out of high school and playing my first college game as a starter, I was just really nervous. I got my first game experience against Nicholls, so when the Sam Houston State game came around, I was ready."

Five players have at least two sacks for the Demons, led by senior Obi Iheoma's three. Junior defensive tackle O'Shea Jackson had another big day with two tackles for loss, and he leads the team with seven in that category with 6.5 coming in the last three games. Senior defensive lineman Zak Krolczyk is right behind him in tackles for loss with six.

Junior linebacker Quindarrius Whitley continues to lead the team in tackles with 46. Bourgeois is second with 42 and junior safety Ryan Reed is third with 37.

The Bears lead the conference in scoring at 35 points per game. Central Arkansas is led by freshman quarterback Luke Hales after Breylin Smith, who started the first four games, broke his ankle late in the loss to Sam Houston State. In the two games Hales has started, he has thrown for 265 yards per game and six touchdowns, including a 304-yard, five touchdown performance in his first start against Houston Baptist. The Bears lead the conference in passing efficiency (151.3).

Two running backs have at least 350 yards rushing. UCA's best is Carlos Blackman, who has 437 yards and has scored seven touchdowns, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. The change-of-pace running back for the Bears is the 5-8 speedster Kierre Crossley, who has rushed for 353 yards and is averaging 6.3 yards per rush. As a team, the Bears average 158 yards per game rushing.

"They have depth at running back," Laird said. "They have a second-team all-conference guy who's back, as well as the freshman of the year in the conference. They want to rely on those guys."

Three players average at least 50 yards receiving per game, with senior Lester Walls leading the way with 38 catches for 402 yards with two scores. Their big play threats in the passing game are Brandon Myers and Jakari Dillard. Myers has 16 catches, but he averages nearly 24 yards per receptions. He has receptions this year of 27, 42, 43, 58, 61 and 71 yards. Dillard is not too far behind, averaging nearly 20 per reception and catching touchdowns this year of 65 and 80 yards.

UCA has a pair of terrific defensive linemen, Chris Terrell and Nathan Grant. Terrell is an FCS All-American and Grant was a second team all-conference pick last year, and they have combined for 8.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss so far this season.

Last year, NSU and UCA were tied late in the first half, but the Bears scored two touchdowns in the final four minutes of the second quarter to take a 24-10 lead into the break. Punter Parker Pastorello threw a fake punt touchdown to Bourgeois to cut it to 31-17 in the third quarter, but the No. 6 Bears came out of Turpin Stadium with a 45-17 win over the Demons.

The Demon Sports Network broadcast team of Patrick Netherton and Tony Taglavore will call the game, starting with a 30-minute pregame show at 5:30. The network flagship station is 100.7 FM KZBL in Natchitoches with 101-7 FM and 710 KEEL AM in Shreveport, KBUCK 105.5 FM in Alexandria and 103.1 FM KWLA in Leesville-Many as affiliates. Free audio is available at NSUDemons.com.

A live stream of the contest, produced by UCA, can be viewed for $5.95 through UCASports.com.

The Demon Sports Network broadcast stream is also available anywhere on the new Northwestern State athletics app. The free app, which is available for both Apple and Android devices, houses news, videos, schedules and in-app streaming for Northwestern State athletic events.

After the trip to Conway, Northwestern State returns to Turpin Stadium for Homecoming, as the Demons welcome Houston Baptist next Saturday at 6.