Game 9 Preview: #20/18 Concordia at St. Thomas

GAME 9: #20/18 Concordia (7-1/5-1 MIAC) at St. Thomas (5-2/3-2 MIAC)

DATE: November 1, 2014
LOCATION: St. Paul, Minn. (O'Shaughnessy Stadium)
GAME TIME: 1:10 p.m.
RADIO: 1660-AM in the F-M area

Live Video: MN Sports Network

Live Stats: St. Thomas Website

Live Audio: MN Sports Network

Cobbers vs. St. Thomas Series History:
Series started: 1931

Cobbers lead overall series: 37-34-0

Series Synopsis: St. Thomas has won the last six meetings in the series. The last time the Cobbers beat the Tommies was in 2007 when CC posted a 51-21 win in St. Paul...Concordia is 4-7 against St. Thomas in the last 10 games played at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. CC won three straight in St. Paul in 2003, 2004 and 2007. The Cobbers have lost three straight on the road at UST (2009, 2010, 2013)...the teams played one game in the Metrodome during the series. That came back in 2002 when Concordia claimed a 63-21 victory. The 63 points scored in that game is the most by any team in a single game in the series...the Cobbers carried the series in the late 50's to early 70's when they won 14 of 16 games from 1957 through 1972. That stretch included 10 straight which is the longest winning streak by either team in the series...Cobber head coach Terry Horan is 5-8 vs. St. Thomas.
          

         
Cobber vs. Tommie Complete Series History (pdf)

Cobber Football in the Fargo-Moorhead Media:

Fargo Forum
- Critical game ahead for Cobbers football team

50th Anniversary NAIA Championship Look Back: 1964 - Oct. 24 vs. Macalester
This year will be a season-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1964 NAIA National Championship Team. That team was honored with the Murray Warmath Legendary Team Award given out by the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation earlier this spring and we will be remembering the games and players from the '64 season all during 2014.  

This week we highlight the game played on Oct. 31 at home vs. St. John's.

The game against the Johnnies was also the second-to-last game of the regular season and also a huge determining factor in the outcome of the team's postseason hopes. St. John's was the defending national champion. Like St. Thomas in 2014, they entered the game with two losses on the year and needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Cobbers were able to use their defense to shutout the Johnnies. CC scored on a 77-yard interception return and also set up another TD with another INT.   

Here is the game report by Paul Sandager that appeared in the Concordian the next week: 

"The surging Concordia Cobbers inched closer to their first MIAC championship since 1957 by blending a sharp offensive attack and a rugged defense to subdue St. John's 20-0 in a heart stopper last Saturday. The Jays, who are the defending NAIA gridiron champions, entered the fray with a 3-2 record and came within a dropped pass of knocking Concordia out of the unbeaten category.

Jake Christiansen's Cobbers hit the scoreboard late in the first quarter when Bob Nick hit end Paul Brynteson with a 25-yard touchdown pass to send the gridders into a 7-0 lead which stood up until the waning moments of the fourth quarter. The Johnnies displayed a formidable offense led by Stan Suchta who turned in a great effort and Joe Hartle, but the rugged defense of Concordia proved once again why they are the class of the league. St. John's only scoring opportunity occurred in the final stanza when Pat Hare and end Joe Mucha combined on a 54-yard pass play but the defensive back Lowell Gorseth made a key tackle inside the 10-yard line on fourth down play to preserve the margin of victory.

Brynteson added his second major score of the afternoon by lugging an intercepted pass 77-yards to pay dirt to push the score to 13-0 and thrust the Jays out of contention.

Fullback Dave Heide closed out the scoring for the afternoon by slamming over on a one-yard jaunt. The play was set up by linebacker Bob Braun, who grabbed a wayward St. John's pass and returned it for a lengthy gain.      

Last Year: Concordia 20 at St. Thomas 34
Last year Concordia scored 13 straight points to open the game in St. Paul but then watched as St. Thomas put up 34 of the next 41 points and lost 34-20.

The biggest swing in the game centered around the halftime break. Concordia scored with 2:41 left in the second quarter to cut the lead to 21-20 but then the Tommies marched 72 yards in eight plays to take a 27-20 lead into the break. St. Thomas, who won the opening coin toss and deferred to receive the second half kickoff, then opened the third quarter by going on a 12-play, 71-yard drive on the opening possession and scored on a 6-yard run to push the lead to 34-20.

Concordia's offense generated 220 total offensive yards in the first half but was then limited to only 73 in the final two quarters. The Cobbers had only 14 rushing yards in the second half on a mere nine carries as they were forced to chase the game for the final 30 minutes of play.

The Tommies were able to grind out chunks of yards on the ground and come up with big plays through the air. St. Thomas had two players go over 100 rushing yards for the game and sophomore quarterback Alex Fenske went 14-for-26 for 225 yards and had four passes for over 20 yards.

The Cobbers' main offensive weapon was quarterback Griffin Neal. Neal was 15-for-31 for 188 yards and one touchdown through the air and was the team's leading rusher.  He ran the ball 18 times for 66 yards and had a pair of rushing TD's.   

Concordia finished the game with 293 total offensive yards as compared to 458 for the Tommies. The two biggest statistical differences came in time of possession and red zone chances. St. Thomas had the ball for 33:09. UST was able to get the ball in the red zone on five occasions and scored on four of those opportunities. Concordia only got the ball inside the UST 20-yard line two times and converted on each attempt.

Stat Central:

- 2014 Concordia Statistics

- 2014 St. Thomas Statistics

- 2014 MIAC Statistics

- 2014 Concordia NCAA Team/Individual Rankings

- 2014 St. Thomas NCAA Team/Individual Rankings

Pick 6 - 6 Items To Help You Take It To The House:
1. For the second straight road game the scoreboard should get a workout - and for the second straight road game the Cobbers will play in front a "Jumbotron"-style video board. The Cobbers and Tommies have combined to score an average of 54.2 points per game in the last five meetings. The winning score has been over 30 points in 10 of the last 14 games between the teams.      

2. The second half has been the key to the last six games in the series. Concordia has been outscored in the second in six straight games against St. Thomas - and all have resulted in losses. The last time the Cobbers outscored the Tommies came in 2007 - the last CC win - when they held a 16-14 advantage in the third and fourth quarters. St. Thomas has outscored Concordia by a combined total of 79-37 in the last six games and has held the Cobbers scoreless in the second half in 2013 and 2008.  

3. We will once again head back to our ol' friend Mr. Time of Possession to highlight a key aspect of the upcoming game. Concordia's calling card this year - and the past several years - has been their ability to hold the ball and keep the opposing team's offense off the field. The Cobbers are ranked third in Division III in the category this season by posting an average of 35:47 per game. CC has held the ball longer than their opponent in all eight games in 2014.

One of the lone exceptions to Concordia's dominance in time of possession in the past several years has come at the hands of St. Thomas. The Cobbers have not held the ball for more than 31 minutes in the last six games vs. UST and have been on the wrong side of the time of possession stat in five of the six previous meetings. All six of those games have resulted in a CC loss. When was the last time Concordia held the ball for more than 31-minutes in a game against the Tommies? That would be during their last win in 2007 when they had a 34:52-25:08 edge in TOP.    
 
4. Concordia quarterback Griffin Neal has another chance to step into the record books on Saturday. Last week he broke the school record for career passing yards. Neal now has 5,327 career passing yards. He is also currently tied for the program record for career passing touchdowns. Neal has 44 career TD tosses which is tied with Ryan Hebrink (2000-03). He needs one more to break the record. Neal has thrown for at least one TD in all eight games this season and has a streak of 15 straight games with at least one touchdown strike. He has thrown for at least one TD in 25 of the 28 games he has played in since 2010.    

5. The Cobber "Black Shirt" defense will once again be tested on Saturday. Kyle Bakken's crew has slowly climbed to the top of the conference stat lists in most categories. Concordia now leads the MIAC in fewest points and offense yards allowed in all games. In their eight games this season CC is giving up an average of 14.0 points and 292.5 yards. In conference play they are second in both points and yards allowed.   

6. Concordia will have recent "road" history on its side on Saturday. The Cobbers have been 4-1 in road games for the past three season. CC is currently 3-1 away from home in 2014 and a win at St. Thomas would make it a fourth straight 4-1 road mark for the season.

6B. The two teams have had completely different travel schedules in 2014. Concordia is making its fifth trip away from Moorhead this year. All told they will travel 1,934 miles to play in their five road games. On the opposite end of the spectrum is St. Thomas who has four away games this season and will travel a grand total of 208 miles.     

Scouting the Tommies:
St. Thomas heads into the game on Saturday on the heels of a 35-24 loss at league-leading Bethel. The Tommies trailed 21-0 at halftime but then stormed back to get to within four points at 28-24 midway through the fourth quarter. The Royals were able to seal the game in the final seconds of play when they scored on a 25-yard TD run.

The loss at nationally-ranked Bethel was the second of the season for St. Thomas. The other defeat came at home against St. John's. UST has posted MIAC wins against St. Olaf, Augsburg and Hamline and non-conference victories against Wis.-Eau Claire and Wis.-La Crosse.

The strength of this year's Tommie team is the offense. The St. Thomas is averaging a league-best 42.8 points per conference game and is second in scoring in overall games with a 40.3 points per game average. UST has scored over 20 points in all but one game this year, has put up over 40 points in four games and dropped a 60-spot in two contests.

St. Thomas is averaging 482.9 yards of offense in their seven games this season. That includes 1,780 passing yards and 1,600 rushing yards. They have been held under 220 yards of passing in four games but only one team has been able to hold them under 190 rushing yards. The Tommies lead the MIAC in rushing TD's in conference play (19) and are in the top 4 in every single offensive category.

The Tommie defense is giving up an average 19.1 points for all games and 23.4 points per conference contest. St. Thomas has allowed 24 or more points in three straight games and four of the last five. UST is allowing 326.0 yards of offense against league opponents. The Tommies have only given up more than 200 passing yards on one occasion in league play - against Hamline in a 62-24 win. UST has held all but two MIAC opponents under 150 rushing yards.

St. Thomas also ranks first in the MIAC in fumbles recovered (11), red-zone touchdowns (30), yards per rush (5.4), fewest punts (11), and fewest sacks allowed (7).

Individually the Tommie offense is led by the junior trio of Jack Kaiser, Matt O'Connell and Charlie Dowdle. Kaiser has 417 rushing yards and O'Connell has thrown for 1,166 passing yards and completed 62.0% of his throws. Dowdle is the team's leading receiver with 28 catches, 385 receiving yards and five TD receptions. Sophomore running back Nick Waldvogel has been coming on as of late. Last week he had 77 rushing yards and had 30 receiving yards to record his fourth 100-plus yard total offense game this season. Waldvogel also leads the team in scoring with eight touchdowns and 66 points (and yes, he is the brother of former Tommie All-American Fritz Waldvogel).

Ruttger Heffelfinger leads the UST defense in tackles with 46 and Kyle Coyne has a league-best four interceptions.  

Cobber SID Picks To Click:
This year we are adding a new feature to the GameDay preview. We will choose one offensive player and one defensive player who we think will have a chance to have a big game on Saturday. It will give the fans a chance to watch the "key" players on either side of the ball. It will hopefully give an insight into what the keys to success might be.

So far this season we haven't been "clicking" on all cylinders and it has been more of a "Pick to Click" jinx. Despite of our past track record, we will continue to give the fans an insight on who we think will have a big game.

Offense - #13 Griffin Neal, Sr., QB
That's right, we will go with the fastball down the middle for the second straight week. Griffin Neal set the school record for career passing yards and this week he is on the brink of breaking the record for career passing touchdowns. That's not the reason we are going with Neal. We are going with Neal because the last time the Cobbers beat St. Thomas, the CC signal caller had a huge game - and that's what it will take on Saturday. In 2007, Concordia QB Jesse Nelson ran for two scores, threw for two more but more importantly did not turn the ball over. If Neal can channel his inner "Nelson" then CC should have a great chance of duplicating the feat from 2007.    

Defense - The Defensive Line - Nate Adams, Carl Nelson, Nick Leen
One of the keys for the Cobbers in the past couple of seasons in their wins has been their ability to shut down the run and then put pressure on the opposing team's quarterback. This component starts up front where the "Black Shirt" Big 3 of Nate Adams, Carl Nelson and Nick Leen have been getting stronger every game. Adams has had at least one sack in three of the past four games while Nelson and Leen have occupied multiple blockers to help the CC linebackers hold their last three opponents to under 370 yards of total offense in three straight games.   

Coach Horan Preview Interview: