UNA follows one drubbing with another
FLORENCE — North Alabama followed up one dud with another.
After its 29-point loss at Abilene Christian last week, the Lions lost 49-21 to Central Arkansas on Saturday.
Here are some observations on the latest loss for UNA (1-5, 0-2 United Athletic Conference):
1. Same as it has been: UNA hasn’t stuck with one quarterback through the first five games. No reason to think the sixth outing would be any different.
Sure enough, that’s how it played out. Ari Patu got the start — his fourth this season — and got pulled at halftime for Destin Wade.
Patu finished 12-for-19 passing for 111 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw a pair of secondquarter interceptions.
Wade, meanwhile, made his first appearance since injuring his collarbone/shoulder in the third game at Illinois State. It showed. He was 7-for-23 passing for 86 yards and a touchdown, which came with the Lions down 49-14. Coach Brent Dearmon said Wade was fighting through the injury to play.
Neither made an impact running the ball. They combined to take three sacks and logged just 3 rushing yards on 15 carries.
Wade is officially the starter, Dearmon said. Whether he’s healthy enough to play an entire game, it makes you wonder how the quarterback musical chairs will play out this week.
2. Which was worse? Last week at Abilene Christian, the ESPN+ play-by-play commentator wanted to know which looked better for the Wildcats? The offense or defense?
Hopefully, those calling the UNA game Saturday asked which looked worse for the Lions? The offense or defense? The only correct answer is each was bad.
Let’s start with the defense.
For the second straight week, UNA surrendered at least 49 points, including 28 in the first half, and 480 yards offense. Abilene Christian logged 499 yards, averaged 7 yards per play and scored 52 points, which included building a 28-7 halftime lead.
Central Arkansas came close to matching those numbers. The Bears finished with 486 yards, 310 of which came over the first two quarters, averaged 7.1 yards per play and led 35-14 at the break. Landen Chambers finished with 184 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. Malachi Henry caught five passes for 119 yards and two scores.
It’s the fourth time this season the Lions have given up 480 yards or more. It’s the third time they allowed 40 points or more.
It’s not beneficial when the offense hasn’t shown it can make up for those deficiencies.
UNA’s 21 points marked the 16th time in the 29 games of Dearmon’s tenure, which started in 2023, it failed to score at least 22 points.
The Lions totaled 290 yards offense, the second straight week they failed to crack 300, averaged just 3.7 yards per play and turned the ball over three times. Running back Juice Allen led UNA in rushing (13 carries for 69 yards) and receiving (five catches for 81 yards).
3. Will it get better?
And that’s really the question. Is there another win on the schedule?
UNA is one loss away from its seventh consecutive non-winning season, which would set a program record. This era’s Lions are currently tied with the teams from 1963 to 1968.
UNA hosts Eastern Kentucky this week. The Colonels (3-3, 1-1) will be coming off a 34-20 win over No. 16 (although that’s certainly likely to change next week) Austin Peay (4-3, 2-2).
The Lions play the Governors the week after that, travel to Utah Tech, then host No. 21 West Georgia (again, that’s likely to change after it lost 30-13 to Abilene Christian), travel to No. 3 Tarleton State and host Southern Utah to close the regular season.
So, is another win possible? It could happen. Utah Tech and Southern Utah are also 1-5.
