Central Arkansas upsets No. 22 UT Martin 36-24 in opener

Donovyn Omolo turned his first start for Central Arkansas into a full-blown showcase on Thursday night.

The Conway native passed for 243 yards and three touchdowns while adding 118 yards on the ground as UCA opened its season with a road win over a nationally ranked opponent.

The Bears left Martin, Tenn., with a 36-24 win over FCS No. 22 UT Martin. It’s a statement result for coach Nathan Brown and a group that had been chasing this feeling since a rough finish to 2025.

It was also the way to remove the bad taste he’s talked about all off-season from last year’s 3-9 team. Nobody’s wanting anything near a repeat of that.

The win didn’t come without a few bumps, though.

Brown watched his special teams unit get two extra points and a field goal blocked during the game and he’ll have plenty of film to dig through this week.

Special teams give Brown something to fix

A 36-24 final against a ranked opponent doesn’t tell the whole story of how lopsided this one could’ve gotten.

UCA moved the ball well enough to put up more points but three blocked kicks kept the margin closer than it probably should’ve been.

Brown’s built a steady, disciplined program during his run at UCA and this is exactly the kind of correctable mistake he’ll want cleaned up before conference play starts.

It’s a good problem to have in some ways since the offense clearly did its job against a ranked defense.

Special teams breakdowns like this usually get fixed with reps and this staff has shown it can make those in-season adjustments before.

Skill players back up new quarterback

Omolo didn’t do it alone.

Arlie Lee hauled in two touchdown catches to give the Bears a reliable target through the air while Kealen Juniel added another receiving score of his own.

The ground game chipped in too as Jalen Washington and Que Tillman each found the end zone on rushing touchdowns.

That kind of balance across multiple playmakers gives Brown options as the season rolls on.

Knocking off a team that entered as the preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite is the kind of early signature win a program can build on.

UCA and UT Martin hadn’t even met on the football field since 2014 which added extra weight to the result.

What’s next for Bears

Central Arkansas will return home next Saturday for its 2026 home opener against the University of West Florida Argonauts at Estes Stadium.

That gives Brown a week to clean up the kicking issues before UCA’s home crowd gets its first look at the new-look offense.

The Bears leave Tennessee with an upset road win and a short fixable list heading into a busy stretch.

That’s a combination most teams would take on opening night.