Tag: Central Arkansas

BREAKING: Wisconsin basketball lands first transfer portal addition

BREAKING: Wisconsin basketball lands first transfer portal addition

The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team secured the commitment of former Central Arkansas guard Camren Hunter from the transfer portal on Sunday. Hunter was in Madison last week for a visit and he decided to become a Badger.

Hunter sat out the 2023-2024 campaign due to a medical redshirt, but he averaged 16.9 points, 3.9 assists and 5 rebounds per game while shooting 42.3% from the field in 2022-2023 with the Bears. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound athlete carries multiple years of eligibility with him to Madison.

Wisconsin had seven players from its roster this past season enter the transfer portal, including starting point guard Chucky Hepburn (Louisville). It’s unclear whether Hunter will be in a position to take over as the team’s primary ball-handler in 2024, but he will likely compete with sophomore John Blackwell and four-star freshman Daniel Freitag for the role.

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Greg Gard’s staff was catching significant criticism for the lack of activity in acquiring replacements in the portal, so far this offseason. Fans must hope Sunday’s move is just the tip of the iceberg in Madison.

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How to watch, key players for No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners in the Cowgirl Challenge

The Sooners are back in action with a five game weekend slate and here is how you can watch each game.

The Oklahoma Sooners started their season undefeated, going 4-0 last week in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge. They also remained the unanimous No. 1 team in the country after picking up a pair of top 10 wins.

This weekend, they have a five-game slate, including two days of double-headers. They will face Central Arkansas, McNeese State, and Lamar this weekend in Lake Charles, Lousiana.

Oklahoma’s weekend opponents have a combined record of 7-7, with McNeese State owning the best record of the bunch at 4-1. McNeese State was lost in the Seattle Regional final after eliminating Minnesota and taking game from host Washington. Central Arkansas has struggled to start the year but they were a tournament team just a season ago.

So, let’s take a look at how you can watch each game and see who are some of the key players for all five teams.

College football: How little known Lindenwood was one play from beating mighty Alabama

Have you ever heard of Lindenwood? And how did they almost beat Alabama?

Much is made of parity in college football and in recent years how if it isn’t Alabama or Clemson, then it isn’t great.  Georgia added their first national title in four decades last year and is in contention to do it again along with other powers like Ohio State, Michigan, the aforementioned Alabama and Georgia who are log-jammed towards the top of the national ratings.

Does parity in college football exist?

If you answered no to that question I am in complete agreement with you.

However, if you answered yes I don’t think you’re wrong either.

Perhaps I’ll do a thought-piece on that later that goes a little more in-depth of how I can see both being true, but with parity on our mind what would you say if I told you that little-known and currently 3-2 Lindenwood was one play away from beating the currently top-ranked in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, Alabama Crimson Tide?

You’d likely ask, “what’s a Lindenwood?” but let me explain.

Ole Miss vs Central Arkansas Prediction, Game Preview

Ole Miss vs Central Arkansas game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 2 game on Saturday, September 10

Ole Miss vs Central Arkansas prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 2, Saturday, September 10

Ole Miss vs Central Arkansas How To Watch

Date: Saturday, September 10
Game Time: 7:00 ET
Venue: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, MS
How To Watch: SEC Network/ESPN+
Record: Ole Miss (1-0), Central Arkansas (0-1)
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CFN Week 2 Expert Picks | Week 2 Schedule
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Ole Miss vs Central Arkansas Game Preview

Why Central Arkansas Will Win

It didn’t quite work last week, but the Bears should have enough of an offense to keep up the pace at least a wee bit.

Two turnovers and almost nothing happening on third downs proved costly in a 27-14 loss to Missouri State to start the season, but again, there’s enough talent to at least press a bit.

The running game has a few nice options. QB Will McElvain has to press the ball down the field more, but the passing game should work.

Ole Miss didn’t exactly go off in the opener against Troy.

It won 28-10, but three turnovers were bad, getting rocked in the time of possession battle was worse, and …

– CFN Expert Picks, Week 2

Why Ole Miss Will Win

The Rebels should use this game to clean everything up.

The offense was fine. It moved quickly, the third down conversions were there, and the turnovers were overcome with defensive stops – the Rebels allowed three points before the fourth quarter.

USC transfer QB Jaxson Dart has to push the ball down the field more, but the running game was fantastic – Zach Evans had a big day – the offensive line was great, and again, the defense took care of everything else with play after play behind the line.

– Week 2 Schedule, Predictions, Game Preview

What’s Going To Happen

Central Arkansas will be far better this year than is played against Missouri State, but it’s not going to happen against Ole Miss.

Beating Troy was fine, but the Rebel offense has to be more explosive. This is where it starts to work more efficiently and effectively.

– CFN Week 2 Predictions

Ole Miss vs Central Arkansas Prediction, Line

Ole Miss 48, Central Arkansas 10
Line: Ole Miss -34, o/u: 65
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Ole Miss vs Central Arkansas Must See Rating (out of 5): 1.5

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Arkansas Softball closes road trip with midweek game at Central Arkansas

Arkansas Softball closes a four-game road trip on Tuesday by paying a visit to Conway to face the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears.

Following a series win at Ole Miss, the No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks will conclude a four-game road trip on Tuesday by paying a visit to Central Arkansas.

Arkansas (24-7, 6-3 SEC) will face their first non-conference foe in midweek action since defeating Western Kentucky on March 21, breaking up a stretch of six games played against SEC teams. The game with Central Arkansas will be a great tune-up for a big conference showdown with Auburn beginning Friday.

The Sugar Bears (19-14, 4-5 ASUN) are looking to bounce back following a sweep on the road at North Florida last weekend, only being outscored 6-2 in three games with the Osprey. Central Arkansas has proven that they can hang with tough competition, however, as they have earned wins over mutual opponents in LSU, Memphis, UMKC, and swept Kennesaw State in a three-game series March 26-27.

The Razorbacks enter the contest with confidence as they come off of their third straight SEC series win of the season by winning two-of-three against Ole Miss, snapping the Rebels’ home series winning streak, which ended at ten dating back to 2018.

Arkansas travels to Central Arkansas to face the Sugar Bears at Ferris Field in Conway. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT. The game will not be broadcasted.

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Central Arkansas CB Robert Rochell could provide boost to secondary, special teams

The Los Angeles Chargers would be wise to use one of their selections on cornerback Robert Rochell.

The Chargers are not only in search of secondary help, they’re seeking special teams competency in this year’s draft.

A way that Los Angeles can kill two birds with one stone is considering former Central Arkansas cornerback Robert Rochell with one of their selections.

Rochell was named a first-team All-Southland Conference selection, as well as a first-team All-American selection during his final season, finishing with 10 interceptions and 38 passes defensed over the course of his career.

Standing at 5-foot-11 and 198 pounds, Rochell boasts elite athletic traits, having posted a 4.45 40-yard dash, 43-inch vertical, 140-inch broad jump, 4.08 short shuttle and 6.83 three-cone.

Rochell checks a lot of boxes: speed, ball skills, length, fluid mirroring skills, and toughness against the run. He has shown to be most comfortable in man coverage, using his long arms and physicality to jam at the line of scrimmage and speed to stay glued to receivers downfield.

Coming in as a 160-pound wide receiver, he’s still in need of refinement with his technique. But with proper coaching from defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley, he has the physical tools and traits to turn into a starting cornerback who offers inside/out flexibility.

Where Rochell will make the majority of his money early on in his career is on special teams.

In college, he was one of the nation’s best gunners, and knowing that the Chargers struggled to find proficiency in coverage, he would be an upgrade due to his speed and ability to accelerate down the field, as well as his open-field tackling skills.

Rochell projects as a fifth- sixth-round selection, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him go late third, early fourth-round after he tested at his Pro Day.

Updated: List of this week’s college football games canceled/postponed due to COVID-19

Add another top team to the list of college football programs who won’t be playing a game on Saturday afternoon after this ACC cancellation.

Yesterday we shared with you the list of all college football games that had been cancelled or postponed as a result of COVID-19.  We said then that we would be surprised if anymore came to be but that in this 2020 world we’re living in that we couldn’t be certain.

My exact words on the matter were as follows:

As of Friday afternoon, it’s hard to imagine any more college football games being called off for this weekend but it’s certainly a possibility in this strange time. – Nick Shepkowski 

Well, it turns out we can add to the list we put out on Friday as No. 4 Clemson’s game at Florida State has been postponed due to a positive test of a Clemson player on Friday.

That’s certainly a shocker for both teams as well as the entire ACC and all of college football.

Here is an updated list of all the Saturday games that have been cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19:

No 4 Clemson at Florida State
Ole Miss at No. 5 Texas A&M
Georgia Tech at No. 12 Miami (FL)
Charlotte at No. 15 Marshall
No. 22 Texas at Kansas
Central Arkansas at No. 24 Louisiana
Michigan State at Maryland
Wake Forest at Duke
Houston at SMU
UL Monroe at Louisiana Tech
UNLV at Colorado State
San Jose State at Fresno State
Navy at South Florida
Arizona State at Colorado

Here’s to hoping I’m not having to update this list again later today.

 

Complete list of postponed/canceled college football games this weekend

COVID-19 continues to terrorize the country. Here are all the college football games that were called off this weekend as a result.

In a year like none, we’ve ever seen in college football and one we hope we never see again, at least in terms of trying to play the grand game through a global pandemic.

In the meantime, we continue to have cancellations and postponements for games that were scheduled to be played this week.

As of Friday afternoon, it’s hard to imagine any more college football games being called off for this weekend but it’s certainly a possibility in this strange time.

Here is the complete list that is up to date with every game that has been called off for this weekend:

Ole Miss at No. 5 Texas A&M
Georgia Tech at No. 12 Miami (FL)
Charlotte at No. 15 Marshall
No. 22 Texas at Kansas
Central Arkansas at No. 24 Louisiana
Michigan State at Maryland
Wake Forest at Duke
Houston at SMU
UL Monroe at Louisiana Tech
UNLV at Colorado State
San Jose State at Fresno State
Navy at South Florida
Arizona State at Colorado

Many believed LSU and Arkansas would be canceled as well but as of Friday afternoon reports have that game being all-systems-go for Saturday.

Trey Lance and the strangest NFL audition of the year

North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance gets his one-game showcase for NFL teams Saturday, but will it tell us anything useful?

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many things across the sports world this year.

From playoff bubbles to truncated schedules to intensive safety protocols, every level of competition has been impacted in some way by the current global health crisis.

For the NFL draft universe, one such wrinkle is Saturday’s game between North Dakota State and Central Arkansas, which is the only game the Bison are set to play this fall. It will therefore serve as a one-game audition for NDSU quarterback Trey Lance, who was already getting first-round projections after his incredible redshirt freshman season.

Listed at 6-4, 226 pounds, Lance dominated in 2019, throwing 28 touchdowns and no interceptions, completing 67 percent of his passes. A true dual-threat quarterback, Lance added 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.

Still, questions remain about the level of competition Lance faced in 2019, and those won’t be answered by Saturday’s one-game showcase against UCA. Even if he’s dominant yet again in this game, it won’t carry the same weight as if he’d done the same against a team like Oregon, a matchup that was supposed to kick off NDSU’s 2020 slate.

Lance isn’t the first Bison QB to get first-round consideration at the next level, but he won’t get the benefit of the Senior Bowl like Carson Wentz did in 2016, should he decide to leave school early and enter the 2021 NFL Draft. Aside from next year’s NFL Scouting Combine and other potential predraft workouts, Saturday’s game is the only opportunity Lance will get to convince NFL teams he can be a franchise quarterback, and worthy of a premium pick next Spring.

Unless Lance struggles Saturday, this game won’t tell us much that we don’t already know about Lance (or even other top prospects like NDSU offensive tackle Dillon Radunz). Still, it’ll be fun to see him light it up one more time before making the jump to the next level.

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College football returns: How to watch, game picks

College football returns with two games on Thursday night. How to watch plus Longhorns Wire makes their picks.

On Thursday night, college football returns with two matchups on the horizon. Central Arkansas is hoping to win their second game of the season when they travel to Birmingham, Alabama to take on the UAB Blazers. The second game of the night will be between South Alabama and Southern Miss.

Longhorns Wire returns with another weekly edition of game picks. Each staff member chooses whether to take the favorite or the underdog as well as their predictions on if the spread will be covered.

Central Arkansas-Alabama Birmingham (-20.5) Winner South Alabama-Southern Miss (-13.5)  Winner ATS Record Outright record
Patrick Central Arkansas UAB South Alabama USM 0-1 1-0
Griffin UAB UAB South Alabama USM 1-0 1-0
Cami UAB UAB USM USM 1-0 1-0

How to watch Central Arkansas vs UAB

Game Time: 7:00 pm CST

Network: ESPN3

Stream: ESPN App

How to watch South Alabama vs Southern Miss

Game Time: 8:00 pm CST

Network: CBS Sports

Stream: CBS App

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