Once again we offer up a closer look at this week’s Cobber football game. On Saturday the Cobbers host No.3-ranked St. Thomas as part of the annual Family Weekend celebration.
Fans can follow the action on the web by going to the live broadcasts link at the bottom of the athletic website: Concordia vs St. Thomas Live Audio/Stats
Cobber Football Gameday Links
- Complete Cobber Gameday Preview (pdf)
- St. Thomas Game Notes
- St. Thomas Football Page
- Cobber Game Recap vs. St. John’s
- St. Thomas Game Recap vs. St. Olaf
- Cobber 2011 Season Stats
- St. Thomas 2011 Season Stats
- MIAC Standings and Stats
- MIAC Week 4 Preview
Cobber Head Coach Terry Horan Video Preview
Cobber Football Gameday Preview
#3 University of St. Thomas (3-0/1-0 MIAC)
at
Concordia College (2-1/0-1 MIAC)
September 24, 2011
Jake Christiansen Stadium
Moorhead, Minn.
GAME TIME: 1:10 p.m.
RADIO: Live on 1660 AM in the F-M area with Larry Knutson doing the play-by-play and Doug Perry adding the color commentary. Also live on the internet via the Concordia website at http://www.gocobbers.com.
SERIES: Concordia leads 37-31-0
SERIES STARTED: 1931
SERIES SYNOPSIS: St. Thomas has won the last three 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. The last time that Concordia has recorded a win at home over UST was in 2005 (on Family Weekend!)…the 2006 CC victory capped a five-game win streak for the Cobbers…Concordia has only played UST three times at home since 2001 and only four times at The Jake in the past 15 years. CC is 3-4 against the Tommies at home since 1991…head coach Terry Horan is 5-5 lifetime against St. Thomas.
LAST YEAR: Last year the Cobbers gave up 28 second-quarter points to the Tommies in St. Paul and wound up losing 56-7. In the gloomy second quarter, Concordia was outscored 28-0, was outgained 223-27 in total offensive yards and had the ball almost half as much time as the Tommies. The Cobbers fumbled twice in the quarter which led to a pair of UST touchdowns. CC was also 0-for-3 on third down conversions in the quarter and had to punt three times as opposed to 2-for-3 and zero punts for St. Thomas. The Cobbers hung tight in the first quarter. The Tommies took the opening kick and marched 60 yards on 15 plays but their 25-yard field goal attempt was wide right and Concordia took over still tied at 0-0. The two times the Cobbers had the ball in the opening period resulted in “three-and-out” possessions which resulted in the St. Thomas offense posting a pair of scores and tiring out the CC defense. In all, the Tommies scored on five straight possessions in the first and second quarters. By the time the first half was over Concordia trailed 35-0 and was 0-for-5 in third down conversions and had the ball for only 6:56 of the first 30:00 minutes. The Cobbers’ lone touchdown of the game came with 4:15 to play in the game. Senior fullback Sean Brandenburg hammered his way over from two yards to put Concordia on the scoreboard. UST wound up with 503 total offensive yards as compared to only 167 for CC. The Cobbers fumbled three times and had two passes picked off.
Gameday Kickoff
(What you need to know about Saturday’s Concordia/St. Thomas match-up)
- Match-Up of the Day: CC Rush Offense vs. UST Rush Defense Concordia is second in the MIAC in rushing this season, averaging 267.7 rushing yards per game while the St. Thomas defense is first in the MIAC against the run, giving up only 30.3 yards per game. CC is also 14th in the nation while UST is third in DIII against the run.
- Today’s game is the 69th meeting between the two MIAC football programs.
- The Cobbers hold a 37-31-0 lead in the series but have lost the last three meetings.
- The last time the Cobbers beat UST at “The Jake” was in 2005 – on Family Weekend..
- The Cobbers lead the MIAC in total offense. Concordia is averaging 425.3 total offensive yards per game and has gained at least 395 yards of total offense in all three games this season.
- Concordia has two players in the top 4 of the conference in rushing yards per game. Sophomore slot back Trent Johnson is third, averaging 98.7 rpg and junior Brett Baune is fourth with a 90.7 rpg average. Both players have rushed for over 125 yards in a single game this season.
- Baune is second in the MIAC in total TD’s this year. He has six touchdowns in the first three games and has at least one score in each of the first three games. The Cobber single season record for rushing TD’s is 18 set by Adam Swingdorf in 2007.
- CC quarterback Michael Dunham now needs 1,181 yards to break the school record for career passing yards set by Ethan Pole from 1995-98. His 509 career completions are 158 shy of Pole’s record of 667.
- The Cobber defense did not allow a point in the second half last week against St. John’s. The Cobbers have only conceded 14 points in the final two quarters of play.
- Overall, Concordia is fourth in the MIAC in average points allowed (18.3 ppg) and third in rushing defense.
- The newly tagged “Black Shirt” defense is sixth in Division III in sacks – averaging 4.67 per game. They have had at least 3.0 sacks in all three games and last week had 6.0 vs. SJU.
- Last week St. Thomas beat St. Olaf 49-14 in a game that saw UST take a 35-0 lead at the half. The Tommies have now outscored their opponents 65-10 in the first half. St. Thomas has not allowed a point in the second quarter of any game this year.
- The Tommies are second in the MIAC in average points allowed (14.3 ppg). They are also second in average points scored per game (38.0 ppg).
- UST is third in the MIAC in total offense (406.3 ypg). They have gained at least 370 total offensive yards in all three games and had 443 against the Oles last Saturday.
- St. Thomas is second in the conference in total defense (246 ypg) and that includes their league-leading rush total of 30.3 (rpg). Last week UST allowed 252 yards vs. St. Olaf.
- Tommie senior running back Colin Tobin is tied for fourth in the nation in scoring. Tobin is averaging 16.0 points per game this year and had four TD’s last week vs. St. Olaf.
- UST senior Fritz Waldvogel needs just 156 all-purpose yards and 161 kickoff return yards to set new St. Thomas career records in those categories
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