Game 5 Preview: #4 UST at Concordia
Concordia welcomes No.4-ranked St. Thomas to town for the annual Homecoming game.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
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0 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 23 |
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7 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 20 |
Team Stats
St. Thomas (Minn.)
| Game Statistics | St. Thomas (Minn.) | Concordia-M'head |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 373 | 96 |
| Rushing Yards | 87 | 272 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of Poss. | 33:40 | 26:20 |
GAME 5: #4 St. Thomas (5-0/3-0 MIAC) at Concordia (3-1/2-0 MIAC)
DATE: October 8, 2015
LOCATION: Moorhead, Minn. (Jake Christiansen Stadium)
GAME TIME: 1:10 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. Thomas Series History:
Series started: 1931
Cobbers lead overall series: 37-36-0
Series Synopsis: St. Thomas has won the last eight meetings in the series. The last time the Cobbers beat the Tommies was in 2006 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 3-7 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 Horanis 5-10 vs. St. Thomas.
| Year | Score |
| 2006 | St. Thomas 21 at Concordia 15 |
| 2007 | Concordia 51 at St. Thomas 28 |
| 2008 | St. Thomas 14 at Concordia 13 |
| 2009 | Concordia 17 at St. Thomas 31 |
| 2010 | Concordia 7 at St. Thomas 56 |
| 2011 | St. Thomas 48 at Concordia 30 |
| 2012 | St. Thomas 21 at Concordia 7 |
| 2013 | Concordia 20 at St. Thomas 34 |
| 2014 | Concordia 32 at St. Thomas 35 |
| 2015 | St. Thomas 38 at Concordia 14 |
Cobber vs. Tommie Complete Series History (pdf)
Last Year: St. Thomas 38 at Concordia 14
Concordia gave up 28 points in the second quarter and lost 38-14 in Moorhead. A pair of punting plays deep on the Cobber side of the field and late in the second quarter swayed the game in the Tommies favor.
UST led 15-7 and the Cobbers had just intercepted the ball at their own 5-yard line and were forced to go 3-and-out. The ensuing punt went 26 yards and St. Thomas scored on their third play from scrimmage to make it 21-7 with 1:40 left in the half. Concordia once again went 3-and-out on the next drive and lined up for a punt with 39-seconds remaining in the half. The snap for the punt was high and UST took over on the Cobber 17-yard line. Two plays later it was 28-7 and St. Thomas would be able to dictate play in the second half.
The Tommies gained 552 yards on offense as compared to 179 for the Cobbers. St. Thomas ran for 304 yards while CC put up 158 passing yards.
Cobber Football in the Fargo-Moorhead Media:
Fargo Forum
- Bargain-hunter Clifton is the real deal for the Cobbers
WDAY-TV
- Cobbers hoping to end losing streak against St. Thomas
Cobber Sports Information
- Cobber Coaches' Show - Oct. 6, 2016
Stat Central:
- 2016 Concordia Statistics
- 2016 St. Thomas Statistics
- 2016 MIAC Statistics
- 2016 Concordia NCAA Team/Individual Rankings
- 2016 St. Thomas NCAA Team/Individual Rankings
Pick 6 - 6 Items To Help You Take It To The House:
1. Running Cobbers – Concordia boasts the conference's most potent running attack. Good for 15th in the nation, CC averages a robust 276.0 yards on the ground per game with the next closest team (St. John's) averaging 189.0 rushing yards per contest. The Cobbs have two of the MIAC's top five rushers in Chad Johnson (3rd, 72.5 yards per game) and Michael Herzog (5th, 67.0 yards per game).
2. Load the Box – Loading the box just might be what St. Thomas does on Saturday. The game will be won in the trenches as the top rushing attack in the MIAC goes up against the best run defense in the league. The Tommies surrender just 48.6 rushing yards a game which is seventh in the country.
3. Smart Football – Saturday's game could come down to the team that makes the fewest mistakes. Concordia has committed the fewest penalites in the MIAC as they have drawn 18 flags this season.
4. Protect the Pocket – Collectively, the Cobber's five up front is among the nation's elite in pass blocking. Through the first four games Concordia has surrendered just two sacks with fourth in the nation and second in the MIAC behind Bethel.
5. Sub-100 Yards – Concordia has thrown for under 100 yards in each game this season. They average a league low 66.7 yards through the air per game. If CC were to not hit the century mark this weekend it would be the first time since 2006 that a Concordia team threw for under a hundred yards for five straight contests. The difference between the 2006 team and the 2016 squad? That team went 4-6 while a win this weekend would already equal the win total from that losing season.
6. Homecoming Extras - CC is now 4-2 in Homecoming games since 2010. CC went 6-4 in the 2000's at Homecoming. Head coach Terry Horan is 10-5 in Homecoming games. The 1990's and 1980's were the most dominant decades for Homecoming games. The Cobbers went 8-2 in the 90's and 9-1 during the 80's. Since 1970, Concordia has recorded a record of 32-13 in Homecoming games.
Scouting the Tommies:
Concordia welcomes defending National Runner-Up St. Thomas to The Jake as the Homecoming opponent for the first time since the 2008 campaign when the Tommies escaped Moorhead with a narrow 14-13 win.
Once again STU enters play against the Cobbers undefeated as they are 3-0 at home and 2-0 on the road. Their biggest win came two weeks ago in Collegeville as they defeated St. John's 33-21 in another highly anticipated bout in their storied rivalry.
St. Thomas' high-octane offense is under the direction of junior Alex Fenske. Under the guidance of the Marshall, Minnesota native STU is humming to the tune of 49.8 points per game which is sixth in the nation. e and 2-0 on the road. Their biggest win came two weeks ago in Collegeville as they defeated St. John's 33-21 in another highly anticipated bout in their storied rival.
Fenske missed all of the 2014 season due to injury and was forced to take a back seat to John Gould in 2015. He threw for 1,481 yards in seven games his freshman year before the injury.
Fenske saw limited action last season as Gould's backup as he appeared in seven games but he is back under center as the starting signal caller. Fenske has thrown for 979 yards and is fourth in the MIAC at 195.8 yards per game. He has tossed nine touchdowns and plays virtually mistake free football as he has thrown just one interception thus far.
The junior is protected by five mammoth offensive linemen with four of them weighing 274 pounds or more. He only throws about 20 passes a game and completes just over half of those attempts but when Fenske connects with his receivers it is for big gains. Fenske averages 18.1 yards per completion which is third in the country and only one yard behind the national leader.
MIAC football fans will notice the absence of 2015 Division-III Offensive Player of the Year Jordan Roberts. The former South Dakota State Jackrabbit suffered a leg injury and has only appeared in two games.
Taking his carries has been the tandem of sophomore Tucker Trettel and freshman Josh Parks. Parks is second in the conference in rushing yards per game (75.0) and the duo is tied for third in the MIAC in rushing scores with five apiece.
St. Thomas' top two receivers are Joe Reed and Nick Waldvogel. Reed is fourth in the league in both yards (333) and touchdowns (4) while Waldvogel's three scores rank sixth in the league.
The Tommies own the MIAC's top defense and the third best defense in the nation. Through five games they have given up just 196.6 yards per game. As aforementioned, their rush defense gives up under 50 yards per game.
St. Thomas surrenders 148.0 yards through the air a game but they do have a lockdown corner in Michael Alada. The Hill-Murray High product averages one pick per game which is third in the country.
STU's defense is comprised of ball hawks that swarm to the football. The team already has 55 total tackles for loss which is second in the NCAA between all three divisions.
The Tommies play well in all three phases of the game as their gimmicky special teams change the way opponents' scheme and game plan. The Tommies don't allow opponents any yardage on punts which is third in the country.
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 - QB #9 Michael Herzog – With the Cobbers' numbers in the passing game, it will be important for Herzog to be able to keep the Tommies defense honest. Herzog has a top-notch offensive line in front of him that will give him time. The Detroit Lakes native needs to make the right reads in the triple-option and get the ball out to his targets on the perimeter.
Defense – LB #59 Alex Berg – The sophomore linebacker looks more and more like a veteran each week. Last week he turned in the best performance of his young career as he wound up with a career-high 16 tackles. The tackle total was the highest by a Cobber this season. He also had 1.5 sacks and 2.0 tackles for loss en route to earning MIAC Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career.
Cobber Coaches' Show - Oct. 6:
