Game 9 Preview: St. Thomas at Concordia

GAME 9: #6/6 St. Thomas (7-0/5-0 MIAC) at #17/14 Concordia (7-1/5-1 MIAC)

DATE: October 31, 2015
LOCATION: Moorhead, Minn. (Jake Christiansen Stadium)
GAME TIME: 1:10 p.m.
RADIO: 1660-AM in the F-M area

Live Video: Cobber Primetime GameDay

Live Stats: Cobber Primetime GameDay

Live Audio: MN Sports Network

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

Cobbers lead overall series: 37-35-0

Series Synopsis: St. Thomas has won the last seven 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... Concordia has only played UST five times at home since 2001 and only six times at The Jake in the past 17 years. CC is 3-6 against the Tommies at home since 1991...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 5-9 vs. St. Thomas.          

         
Cobber vs. Tommie Complete Series History (pdf)

Last Year: Concordia 32 at St. Thomas 35
Last year the Cobbers scored 22 points in the fourth quarter but it wasn't enough as St. Thomas held on for 35-32 victory in St. Paul. The Tommies built a 21-10 lead after three quarters only to have Concordia score the first three times they had the ball in the final period. The Cobbers then got the ball back with 4:16 left on the clock and trailing 35-32. CC then drove the ball down to the UST 47-yard line before the Tommies sealed the game with an interception. Concordia held the ball for 35:24 and had 324 rushing yards in the game.

St. Thomas outgained the Cobbers 509-469. CC had three players rush for over 80 yards while UST running back racked Jack Kaiser racked up 157 rushing yards and tight end Charlie Dowdle scored three TD's.

Cobber Football in the Fargo-Moorhead Media:

Fargo Forum
- Berg provides pop to Concordia offensive line

Fargo Forum
- Cobbers ready for pivotal game against St. Thomas

WDAY-TV
- Cobbers searching for first home win over St. Thomas in 10 years  

Cobber Sports Information
- Call of Doody

Stat Central:

- 2015 Concordia Statistics

- 2015 St. Thomas Statistics

- 2015 MIAC Statistics

- 2015 Concordia NCAA Team/Individual Rankings

- 2015 St. Thomas NCAA Team/Individual Rankings

Pick 6 - 6 Items To Help You Take It To The House: 
This week we will tack on the extra point to give you seven items to get you ready for the game. 

1. The War in the Trenches. St. Thomas boasts the ninth ranked rushing defense in the nation, allowing a miniscule 74.9 yards per game. Meanwhile, the Cobbers rack up the yards on the ground, averaging 228.9 yards per game, good for 42nd in the country. 

2. Time is On Your Side. Concordia has been known for its long, methodical drives on offense. The team holds the ball for 31:21 of each contest. The only team in the MIAC whose time of possession is greater than the Cobbers? St. Thomas at 31:25 of each game. 

3. Tight End Drag. This has long been a staple for the St. Thomas offense around the goal line. The Tommies like to fake the run and then throw the ball to their tight end who releases down across the line. UST has been able to score on the Cobber defense with this play for several seasons. Concordia will need to be on full alert to try and stop the Tommies from scoring easy points.    

4. 3rd and Long. Concordia is 9th in the country in third down conversion percentage as the team converts 53% of the time. The Tommies are equally as good on later downs, as they convert 50.5% of the time, good for 13th in the country.

5. Football IQ. The Tommies don't have many facets of their game that are weak. However, the team does average seven penalties per game for 66.6 penalty yards per game. 

6. Team Passing Efficiency. In a run first offense, the Cobbers are efficient with their aerial attack. With an efficiency of 154.8, they are ranked 31st in the country in that statistic. That stat will hold true this weekend as the Tommies' secondary allows just 126.1 yards per game, tops in the MIAC and 6th in the nation. 

7. Special Teams. St. Thomas boasts one of the top punt return coverage teams in the country. They give up 0 yards per return, which is 5th in the nation. (Pacific Lutheran forces teams to lose 0.67 yards per return).    

Scouting the Tommies:
The GameDay staff doesn't know where to begin when talking about the Tommies. They are unbeaten and are ranked sixth in both Division III rankings. Not onlyhave they not lost but they have outscored their opponents by a combined total of 380-55. They are outscoring their opponents 206-21 in the first half alone. The Tommies have outgained their opponents 3752-1407. They haven't been held under 400 yards all season and their foes have gained more than 300 yards only once. 

Under center for St. Thomas is John Gould. Last season Gould torched the Cobbers for 298 yards on 15-23 passing with 4 touchdowns and an interception. His passing efficiency of 170.9 is ninth in the country and his 16 touchdowns is 37th in the country. Golud has throw for 1,539 yards through the first eight games.

Offensively they have two huge weapons. Running back Jordan Roberts, who transferred from DI South Dakota last year, has 16 TD's and 924 rushing yards this season. His 16 TD's is first in the nation and the 924 yards is 22nd. He has at least 100 yards in all five MIAC games this year and put up 194 yards against Bethel and a crisp 230 vs. St. John's. 

The other offensive threat is tight end Charlie Dowdle. Dowdle has six TD's this year. He is 6-4, 240 and has great speed which makes him a beast to cover especially on the tight end drag around the goal line. He scored three TD's vs. Concordia last season. 

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.

Coach Horan Preview Interview: