CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Central Arkansas

10–⁠2 (9–⁠0 Southland Conference).

Schedule and results

Central Arkansas in 2017, game by game: lost at No. 20 Kansas State 19–55; won at Murray State 41–13; won vs. SE Louisiana 38–6; won vs. Sam Houston 41–30; won at Houston Christian 27–7; won vs. Stephen F. Austin 24–20; won at Northwestern State 45–17; won vs. McNeese 47–17; won at Lamar 42–14; won at Incarnate Word 56–10; won vs. Abilene Christian 34–0; lost vs. New Hampshire 15–21+46−36Lost 19–55 at No. 20 Kansas State-36No. 20 Kansas StateWon 41–13 at Murray State+28Murray StateWon 38–6 vs. SE Louisiana+32SE LouisianaWon 41–30 vs. Sam Houston+11Sam HoustonWon 27–7 at Houston Christian+20Houston Christi…Won 24–20 vs. Stephen F. Austin+4Stephen F. Aust…Won 45–17 at Northwestern State+28Northwestern St…Won 47–17 vs. McNeese+30McNeeseWon 42–14 at Lamar+28LamarWon 56–10 at Incarnate Word+46Incarnate WordWon 34–0 vs. Abilene Christian+34Abilene Christi…Lost 15–21 vs. New Hampshire-6New Hampshire
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2at20Kansas StateL 19–⁠5520%
Sep 9atMurray StateW 41–⁠1362%
Sep 16vsSE LouisianaW 38–⁠674%
Sep 30vsSam HoustonW 41–⁠3048%
Oct 7atHouston ChristianW 27–⁠781%
Oct 14vsStephen F. AustinW 24–⁠2086%
Oct 21atNorthwestern StateW 45–⁠1782%
Oct 28vsMcNeeseW 47–⁠1767%
Nov 4atLamarW 42–⁠1489%
Nov 11atIncarnate WordW 56–⁠1089%
Nov 18vsAbilene ChristianW 34–⁠092%
Dec 2vsNew HampshireL 15–⁠2175%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to New Hampshire 21–⁠15; unranked in the final AP poll; Southland Conference champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 25 on file).

Southland Conference champions9–⁠0 in the conference

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
9–⁠0 first in Southland Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
429–⁠210
Coach
—
Elo
1505 +88 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−10.0 No. 12 of 124 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 236
Offensive coordinator
Nathan Brown
Defensive coordinator
Greg Stewart
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Leaders

Passing yardsHayden Hildebrand QB198 yds
Passing touchdownsHayden Hildebrand QB1 TD
Rushing yardsCarlos Blackman RB114 yds
Rushing touchdownsBrandon Cox WR1 TD
Receiving yardsLester Wells WR41 yds
Receiving touchdownsRoman Gordon WR1 TD
TacklesTremon Smith CB6 tkl
SacksChris Terrell DL1 sacks

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Justin Morris ATH★★No. 2831
Lujuan Winningham WR
Bryce Peoples DT
Vidal Scott DT

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Athletes and specialists12.00.777

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 6Tremon Smith CBKansas City Chiefs

2017 Southland Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Arkansas9–⁠010–⁠2
Sam Houston8–⁠112–⁠2
McNeese7–⁠28–⁠2
Nicholls7–⁠28–⁠4
SE Louisiana6–⁠36–⁠5
Northwestern State4–⁠54–⁠7
Stephen F. Austin4–⁠54–⁠7
Abilene Christian2–⁠72–⁠9
Incarnate Word1–⁠71–⁠10
Lamar1–⁠81–⁠9
Houston Christian0–⁠91–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.