Game 10 Preview: St. John's at Concordia

GAME 10: #8/9 St. John's (8-1/6-1 MIAC) at Concordia (7-2/6-1 MIAC) 

DATE: November 12, 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. St. John's Series History:

Series started: 1923
Johnnies lead overall series: 43-33-6
Series Synopsis: Before last year's loss in Moorhead Concordia had won three straight games against the Johnnies which was the longest win streak for the Cobbers since 1960. CC won five straight vs. SJU from 1956 to 1960. Concordia is 18-17-1 at home vs. St. John's. The Cobbers won in 2012. But before that game the Johnnies had won 10 straight in Moorhead or Fargo. The last victory for CC at home over SJU before 2012 came in 1986 when the Cobbers prevailed 17-14. The largest margin of victory for the Cobbers in the series is 41 points which came in 1929 while the largest margin of victory for the Johnnies is 49 which occurred in 1976. Concordia head coach Terry Horan is 5-10 in his career. 

Cobber vs. Johnnie Complete Series History (pdf)

Last Year: St. John's 24 at Concordia 16

Last year's game in Moorhead provided another dramatic ending in the history of the series. Concordia thought they had scored the potential game-tying TD with 11-seconds left on the clock when a "hail Mary" pass was caught in the end zone but an offensive pass interference call on the play negated the touchdown and the Cobbers lost 24-16.

St. John's jumped out to a 14-0 lead with a touchdown in their first possession of the game and then another on their first possession of the second quarter. Concordia cut the lead to 21-10 at halftime and then the teams traded scores in the fourth quarter.

The game stats were virtually even with CC outgaining SJU 335-334. The Cobbers had 195 rushing yards while the Johnnies threw for 224 yards.  Concordia had the only two turnovers in the game and SJU turned the fumble recovery in the second quarter into a TD.  

Cobber Football in the Fargo-Moorhead Media:

Fargo Forum
- Johnson, Cobbers revved up to play rival St. John's

WDAY-TV
- Cobbers ready for showdown with St. John's

Cobber SID
- Cobber Coaches' Show - Nov. 9

Stat Central:

- 2016 Concordia Statistics

- 2016 St. John's Statistics

- 2016 MIAC Statistics

- 2016 Concordia NCAA Team/Individual Rankings

- 2016 St. John's NCAA Team/Individual Rankings

NCAA West Region Rankings - Nov. 9
1. Wisconsin-Whitewater (9-0)
2. St. Thomas (9-0)
3. Wisconsin-Oshkosh(8-1)
4. Coe (9-0)
5. Linfield (7-1)
6. Saint John's (8-1)
7. Monmouth (Ill.) (9-0)
8. Wisconsin-Platteville (7-2)
9. Concordia-Moorhead (7-2)
10. Northwestern-St. Paul (9-1) 

Pick 6 - 6 Items To Help You Take It To The House:
1. Between the Trenches – Concordia and St. John's boast two of the top rushing defenses in the nation. The Cobbers' 76.9 rushing yards allowed is good for 15th in the country. Meanwhile, SJU is third in the nation as their stingy front seven allows just 50.6 yards per game.
2. Straight Eights – We have included Concordia's elite ground game in the Pick 6 for eight straight weeks. Their 277.4 rushing yards per game is ranked eighth in the country. The Cobbers have carved up a top-10 defense already once this season as the racked up 272 rushing yards against a defense that came in at seventh in the nation at 48.6 yards per game.
3. Who are these guys? – Both defensive coordinators will have to scheme against a new quarterback from the one they faced last year. The Cobber Black Shirt defense will be matched up against freshman Jackson Erdmann while the Johnnies will try and stop Michael Herzog. Erdmann has helped St. John's put together a pass efficiency rating of 201.36 which is tops in Division III. Herzog, who only played in the final Concordia drive in last year's game, has helped the CC offense only throw three interceptions this year which is eighth in the nation.      
4. Red Zone Efficiency – When the Cobbs enter the red zone it is likely they are coming away with some points. CC scores on 93.3% of their trips inside the 20-yard line which is fourth in Division-III.
5. Roll the Dice – While most teams elect to punt on fourth down, Concordia might as well go for it because chances are he is going to get it. They are 13-of-16 on fourth down which is the best in the nation.
6. Defense Wins Championships – That's the recipe the Johnnies are using this season and it seems to be working. St. John's has the second best defense in the country as they allow just 197.4 total yards per game.

Scouting the Johhnies:
These two teams have been on a collision course for the past four weeks since Concordia lost the heartbreaker to St. Thomas. Both teams enter Saturday with a 6-1 record in MIAC play and the winner will have a likely chance to earn an at-large bid for the national playoffs. 

SJU rotates Erdmann and Alvord at quarterback. As aforementioned – the duo combines for the most efficient passing attack in the nation. Erdmann has tossed for 1,011 yards with 16 touchdowns and three interceptions while Alvord has 916 yards through the air with nine scoring connections and no picks. 

St. John's has 10 rushers who have amassed 100 yards or more this season led by junior tailback Dusty Krueger who has 325 yards and seven rushing scores – which is fifth in the MIAC. Senior Antoine Taylor also has 322 yards with two scores and former Cobber Adam Essler has 306 yards with five touchdowns. 

Essler, who averages 6.2 yards per carry, had a big touchdown that sealed the Homecoming game against Bethel in 2015. 

The Johnnies have seven receivers that have 100 yards or more this season led by Evan Clark. The Phoenix, Arizona native has hauled in 32 balls for 746 yards and 12 scores this season. His 12 touchdowns is 12^th in the nation and first in the MIAC while his 82.9 yards is second in the conference. 

The stout Johnnie defense is fast at all positions and moves well from sideline to sideline. They don't have a lot of tackles for loss but they meet all their opponents at the line of scrimmage. 

The elite rush-stop brigade is led by a trio of senior linebackers. Carter Hanson, Parker Anderson and Jack Pietruszewski are all seniors and lead the team in tackles, respectively. Hanson's 6.4 tackles per contest leads the team. 

Pietruszewski causes havoc in opposing backfields as he has 4.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss this season. Second-year defensive lineman Nathan Brinker has also had a stellar sophomore campaign. Brinker has 37 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss.

Cobber SID Picks To Click:
Once again 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.

Offense - #21 FB Chad Johnson – The D-G-F locomotive will need to have a big game to release pressure off of Concordia's other skill players. Johnson has three 100-yard rushing games this season which is the most 100-yard rushing games in a season since 2008 when Cory Johnson had four 100-yard games. Johnson leads the MIAC in total rushing yards and is second in scoring. His 78 points is the most by a CC player since Brett Baune had 98 in 2011.    

Defense - #59 LB Alex Berg – The sophomore linebacker leads the conference in tackles with 9.6 per game. He has had at least 10 tackles in four of the past six games and has also had 3.5 sacks and two interceptions during that stretch. Look for the Moorhead native to swarm to the ball all afternoon and have a big game when Concordia needs it most. 

Cobber Coaches' Show