CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears have hosted and won NCAA Division I FCS playoff games since becoming eligible for postseason play in 2010, both at home and on road. The Bears have won conference titles and drawn national seeds in the playoffs. But the one thing that has eluded the No. 7/9 Bears is an appearance in the quarterfinal round of the FSC playoffs.

They have an opportunity to make that happen Saturday when they host No. 13/14 Illinois State in second-round action on "The Stripes" of First Security Field at Estes Stadium. UCA hosted ISU in the first round of the 2016 playoffs, winning 31-24 behind a 24-point fourth quarter before losing in the second round at Eastern Washington. In 2017, UCA also drew a bye but lost to New Hampshire in the second round. 

Saturday's winner advances to the final eight against either No. 1 North Dakota State or fellow Southland Conference foe Nicholls State.

"We talked to our players on Sunday night,' said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. "You have one opportunity to make history. And if you do that, then you have another opportunity the next week. To have the chance to be the first quarterfinal team here is something that we're excited about. That's the elephant in the room and we've talked about it. But our guys have earned the right to play in a game like this. And we get to do that on Saturday afternoon. What a great time to be a Bear.

"We're gonna go out there and try to make UCA history.'

The Bears (9-3), as the No. 8 national seed, had a bye last week while the Redbirds beat Southeast Missouri 24-6 on the road in Cape Girardeau, Mo. The Redbirds (9-4) rolled up 340 rushing yards against the Redhawks, with All-American James Robinson accounting for 297 of those on a wopping 41 carries. Robinson has 1,613 rushing yards on the season and more than 4,000 for his career.

"To me, it's based on region of the United States you're based at,' said Brown. "So if you're watching Saturday football and you think about Illinois State and about style of football, you think about the University of Iowa, Michigan, Big 10 style of football. They're going to be under center, they're going to try to play a physical brand of football, turn and hald the ball to their tailbacks.

"They want to establish the run and establish the line of scrimmage. And I can't say enough good things about James Robinson. To have 4,000 yards in your career is impressive. He is a legitimate NFL prospect.

"They're going to look like they're supposed to look like. They're going to have a big offensive line, a big defensive front... that's Missouri Valley (Conference) football. There's probably no debate that the Missouri Valley Conference is the best conference at our level of football, when you talk about North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, what Illinois State has done in recent years. Just a very, very deep conference.

"So what we're going to see Saturday is a team that is physically ready to make a run.'

The Bears closed the season strong, winning their final two regular-season games _ and six of their last seven _ by a combined score of 82-42. The Bears beat Stephen F. Austin 30-7 at home on "The Stripes" and went to San Antonio, Texas and knocked off Incarnate Word 52-35 to earn a share of their second Southland Conference title in the past three years.

UCA, which will be making its fifth playoff appearance and third in the past four years, owns victories over FBS Western Kentucky and FCS playoff team Austin Peay this season, both on the road. UCA was one of just three FCS teams in the nation to knock off an FBS team this season in 111 games played between the two divisions.

While the Redbirds prefer the ground attack, UCA, led by sophomore quarterback Breylin Smith, will toss the ball around as one of the top passing teams in the nation. UCA has had 18 different players catch a pass this season, so it's no surprise Smith set the UCA single-season passing yardage record in the regular-season finale. His 296-yard, five-touchdown effort put his season total at 3,506 yards, surpassing Nathan Dick's total of 3,275 set in 2011. His 31 touchdown passes is tied for second all-time at UCA, with Brown (2008) and Wynrick Smothers (2012).

True freshman Tyler Hudson has a team-high 12 touchdown receptions (tied for second in school history) and has 52 receptions for 939 yards. He is just ahead of sophomore Lujuan Winningham, who broke his arm in the eighth game of the season but still has 50 catches for 814 yards and eight touchdowns. Third on the receiving list ironically is UCA's leading rusher, senior Carlos Blackman, who has caught 46 passes for 330 yards while rushing for a team-high 663 yards and seven touchdowns.

For his career, Blackman is just 165 yards short of the 3,000-yard mark with 2,835 rushing yards. The Gosnell, Ark., product would be just the sixth UCA player to reach 3,000 yards and the first since Brent Grimes from 2006-09. Blackman's 31 career rushing touchdowns is fifth in school history and his 37 total career touchdowns is tied for fourth. Blackman also returned an onside kick for touchdown No. 37 against UIW.

Defensively, the Bears rely heavily on senior All-SLC safety Juan Jackson, who has recorded 249 career tackles and has been UCA's leading tackler for three seasons. Junior cornerback Robert Rochell leads the Bears with five interceptions, while junior All-SLC defensive end Nathan Grant is tops in tackles for loss with 9.5, followed closely by junior J.W. Jones with nine. The Bears have had nine different leading tacklers in their 12 games.

Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Live coverage with Justin Acri, Chris Kane and R.J. Hawk will be on The Bear 91.3 and The Point 94.1. The game will also be broadcast online on ESPN3.