Charging Back Into The Top 25

MOORHEAD, Minn.  (9/21/14)— Strengthened by their first win over Bethel since 2008, Concordia climbed into the D3football.com national rankings for the first time in 2015. The Cobbers enter that national poll ranked 23rd.

The top 25 ranking marks the fourth straight season Concordia has earned a spot in the national rankings. The Cobbers were ranked in the top 25 in both the D3footbal.com and American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) poll for most of the 2014 season. Concordia's top ranking last year came after the team's win over Hamline Oct. 25 when they climbed to the No.18 spot.

Complete D3football.com Week 5 National Rankings 

Before 2012, the last time the Cobbers were in the top 25 of the nation was in 2009.   

Concordia is one of three MIAC teams ranked in the top 25 in this week's D3football.com national rankings. St. Thomas is currently ranked ninth while St. John's checks in at No.13.

Once again Concordia is putting its stamp on their wins by holding on to the ball. The Cobbers lead the MIAC in time of possession. Concordia is holding the ball an average of 33:26 in their first five games of the year. They are coming off a stellar 37:04 time of possession in their win over then No.20-ranked Bethel. 

The Cobbers' 33:26 time of possession puts them in the top 25 in the nation in that stat category.

Concordia leads the nation in fourth-down conversion percentage. CC is a perfect 12-for-12 in fourth-down situations. 

Concordia is outscoring its opponents 158-76 this season which includes a 42-7 margin in the first quarter. The Cobbers have scored on their opening drive in four of the five games this season. The only time they didn't score on the first drive came in their drama-filled narrow loss to nationally-ranked St. John's.  

The Cobbers will put their newly-appointed national ranking on the line when they play at Carleton on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 1 p.m. 

D3football.com Top 25 (Week 5)
# School (1st place votes) 
1. UW-Whitewater (21)
2. Mount Union (2)        
3. Linfield (2)      
4. Mary Hardin-Baylor    
5. Wesley            
6. Wartburg        
7. Wheaton (Ill.)              
8. Wabash          
9. St. Thomas    
10. Johns Hopkins            
11. Thomas More            
12. UW-Platteville            
13. St. John's      
14. Rowan          
15. UW-Oshkosh              
16. Hardin-Simmons      
17. North Central (Ill.)    
18. Cortland State            
19. Washington and Jefferson    
20. Wittenberg
21. John Carroll
22. Hobart           
23. Concordia-Moorhead             
24. Chicago        
25. Illinois Wesleyan     

Others receiving votes: Gustavus Adolphus 33; Ithaca 33; Albright 30; Maryville (Tenn.) 29; Texas Lutheran 27; Ohio Northern 24; Washington and Lee 23; Whitworth 22; Franklin 10; Hampden-Sydney 10; Rose-Hulman 9; Albion 8; Salisbury 8; Framingham State 5; Bethel 4; Gettysburg 3; Utica 3; Trinity (Conn.) 2; Western New England 2.