Game 2 Preview: Wis.-Eau Claire at CC

GAME 2: Wis.-Eau Claire (0-1) at Concordia (0-1)

DATE: September 10, 2016
LOCATION: Moorhead, Minn. (Jake Christiansen Stadium)
GAME TIME: 1 p.m.
RADIO: WDAY 970-AM in the F-M area

Live Video: Cobber Primetime GameDay

Live Stats: Cobber Primetime GameDay

Live Audio: WDAY 970-AM

Cobbers vs. Blugolds Series History:
Series started: 1980
Cobbers lead overall series: 3-0
Series Synopsis: The Cobbers have won all three games in the series against Wis.-Eau Claire. Last year's game between the teams was the first since 1981. The schools matched up in a home-and-home series in 1980 & 81 before renewing the series last season. The first-ever game between the Blugolds and Cobbers was played in Eau Claire and the Cobbers won 23-7. A year later Concordia outscored Eau Claire 30-7.    

Cobbers vs. Blugolds Series History: CC leads 3-0

Cobber Football in the Fargo-Moorhead Media:

- Fargo Forum Feature: 
Ahrndt Brothers Together Again On Football Field With Concordia

Last Year: Concordia 41 at Wis,-Eau Claire 7

Last year the Cobbers scored on their very first possession of the game, rolled to a 28-7 halftime lead and went on to post a 41-7 in Eau Claire. Concordia picked up the win on equal parts rushing and passing. CC ran for 255 yards and passed for 259 yards and posted 514 total offensive yards. One of the key stats in the game was third-down conversion rate. The Cobber defense held the Blugolds to just 2-for-13 on third-down attempts. That helped the CC offense get back on the field and keep the Eau Claire defense from getting any sustained breaks.

The biggest play of the game came 5-minutes into the second quarter. After the Blugolds scored to cut the CC lead to 14-7 Cobber quarterback Alex Grove connected with wide receiver Brandon Zylstra for an 87-yard touchdown strike. The TD took the crowd back out of the game and returned the momentum to Concordia. Zylstra finished with 114 receiving yards and Chad Johnson had a game-high 67 rushing yards.  

Pick 6 - 6 Items To Help You Take It To The House:
1. Bouncing Back – After last week's loss head Coach Terry Horan is now 11-5 in season openers. In Horan's career his teams are 3-1 thus far following a loss in the season opener. Also, the Cobbers have won nine straight home openers at "The Jake" and Horan is 14-1 in home openers with the lone loss coming at the hands of St. John's in 2006.
2. -100 Yards Passing – Michael Herzog threw for just 86 yards on 11-of-19 passing last Saturday. It's been awhile since a Cobber starting quarterback threw for under 100 yards passing. The last time a CC starter threw for under 100 yards passing in a game was November 3, 2012 when Griffin Neal threw for 71 yards on 10-of-22 passing in a cold 21-7 loss against St. Thomas at Jake Christianson Stadium. It's unlikely the Detroit Lakes native doesn't hit the century mark this weekend against a Blugold's defense who gave up 375 yards through the air last weekend against St. Thomas.
3. Fast Eddie – Senior punter Eddie Clifton continued to bring the boom with his right leg. Clifton was an All-MIAC performer a season ago when he netted a 38.4 yard average per punt. Clifton booted four balls for a 44.0 yard average last Saturday including a long of 62 yards and two balls that pinned the Jimmies inside the 20-yard line.
4. Good Starting Field Position – Those came courtesy of Jason Montonye last Saturday. The speedy Montonye returned five kickoffs at an average of 22.4 yards per touch, including a return of 41 yards.
5. Border Success - Concordia is 17-1 all-time against North Dakota schools, 11-2 against schools from Iowa and 4-0 all-time against teams from Wisconsin. The Cobbers battled with the Pointers of Stevens Point in 1986, a game which the Cobbs won 24-15, along with the three contests with Wis.-Eau Claire.
6. Clean It Up – Mental mistakes led to seven penalties and 46 yards against the Cobbers last week. The Blugolds drew even more yellow flags than Concordia as Eau Claire committed nine penalties for 58 yards.

Scouting the Blugolds
Just like Jamestown, the Blugolds have a new man at the helm as Dan Larson takes over the program for his first season. The Baldwin, Wisconsin native was previously the offensive coordinator at Minn.-Duluth. Prior to joining the UMD staff Larson was the offensive coordinator at Macalester.

The feature back for Wis.-Eau Claire will be junior Gerald Childs. After seeing limited action as a freshman the Brookfield East (WI) product had 87 carries for 281 yards and a score last season. A stifling Tommie defense limited Childs to just 16 yards on five carries last week. 

Much like the Cobbers, Eau Claire is young on the defensive side of the ball as they only start three seniors on that side of the ball. Sophomore linebacker Rashawn Williams led the team with tackles a week ago as he had eight against St. Thomas.

Cobber SID Picks To Click:
Offense – QB #9 Michael Herzog – It's hard to imagine Herzog won't play well this week as the Blugolds secondary got torched by St. Thomas last week. Look for Herzog to rebound in a big way this week against Eau Claire both on the ground and through the air. Herzog played against the Blugolds as he split carries at fullback last season at Carson Park where he had five carries for 20 yards, including a two-yard scoring plunge. 

Defense - #57 LB Hank Van Liew – The first-time starter and team captain led the Cobber defense with 11 tackles (four solo, seven assists) with one of them being for loss.

Coach Horan Cobber Coaches' Show: