Bucking Odds For 1964 Title
Article reprinted courtesy of Fargo Forum and reporter Eric Peterson.
Moorhead - Soon after the 1963 football season, the seniors on that Concordia football team had a gathering, and their prognosis for the 1964 team wasn't optimistic.
"To a man, they weren't so sure that we were going to win a game," said Bob Nick, who was the starting quarterback for the 1964 squad.
Nick, who also started at quarterback for the 1963 team, said it was decades after his playing career when he heard about that dire prognosis from the seniors on that 1963 team.
"They laugh about it now," said Nick, now 71 years old. "We all do."
That 1964 team won the NAIA national title by finishing the season with a 10-0-1 record. That team is being honored at halftime of Saturday's homecoming game against Carleton. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Jake Christiansen Stadium.
"That was a defining moment for the program," said Jim Christopherson, who was a second-year defensive coordinator for the Cobbers in 1964.
The Cobbers capped the 1964 campaign with a 7-7 tie against Sam Houston State in the title game, which was played on a rain-soaked field in Augusta, Ga. Concordia was ranked No. 1 in the final NAIA rankings.
"I don't think we ever thought we were going to win it all," said Nick, who was the league MVP in 1964. "But we thought we were going to have a darn good season."
The reason for some of the trepidation entering the '64 season was that Concordia had lost some talented players off that 1963 team, especially on the lines. Gary Larsen, who went on to have a stellar career with the Minnesota Vikings, made the 1963 All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team on both offense and defense.
Larsen was joined on the All-MIAC defensive team by teammate Ron Offutt, who played on the line. Larsen was a captain in 1963 along with Darrel Naugle and Jim Herk, who were also both linemen.
"We thought the cupboard was pretty bare coming back, because we did lose a lot of people," said Dave Heide, who was a junior running back on the 1964 team.
"We thought that we were so thin in the line that this doesn't look good," Christopherson added of the outlook heading into the '64 season.
Nick credits head coach Jake Christiansen – who was named NAIA and MIAC coach of the year that season – for helping mold that 1964 team into a champion. Christiansen stressed fundamentals, but was also "innovative," Heide said. Concordia at times would use an offset "I" formation.
Christopherson recalls meeting with Christiansen to prepare for practice and games, seeing "sheets of paper and cardboard and all sorts of plays drawn up."
"That was his love," said Christopherson.
Heide, who was 6-foot-1, 208 pounds, was an NAIA first-team All-American in 1964, rushing for 1,266 yards in 11 games. There were three divisions of college football in 1964: Division I, Division II and NAIA.
Heide credited junior back Stu Bartholomaus, a stellar lead blocker, and a strong offensive line for his success. Heide also added Cobbers assistant Sonny Gulsvig was a "tremendous" line coach.
Captains for that '64 team were seniors John Nellermoe, a running back from Kindred, N.D.; and Raleigh Lillemoe, a center from Montevideo, Minn.
"I think with every game that we won, we gained more confidence," Heide said. "It was a memorable season."
Heide fueled a ground game that allowed the Cobbers to dominate time of possession. Concordia had four shutouts that season, including a 20-0 victory against defending national champion St. John's late in the 1964 regular season.
"We had a dynamite defense because our offense was on the field so much," said Heide, who was from Crosby, N.D. "We rarely punted."
Heide rushed for 93 yards on 23 attempts in the title game, but was injured late in the fourth quarter. Senior end and kicker Paul Brynteson, from Montevideo, missed a 40-yard field goal with 9 seconds remaining that would have given the Cobbers the win.
"We were country kids that were a little stronger than a lot of people we played," said Nick, who was from Princeton, Minn.
Earlier this year, the 1964 team received the Murray Warmath Legendary Team Award, given out by the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation.
Christopherson would take over as Cobbers head coach in 1969. He said that 1964 season helped in his decision to remain in coaching long term.
In 1966, Jake Christiansen Stadium was completed off the momentum of that national championship.
"Before we had wood bleachers," said Christopherson, who guided the Cobbers to NAIA national titles in 1978 and 1981. "Within two years the (new) stadium was built."