Moorhead, Minn.-- Horan's take on the schedule and the rest of the MIAC: "Last year we played a lot of the tough teams on the road (MIAC runners-up St. Thomas and St. John's as well as Gustavus and St. Olaf). This year we will get those teams at home, which will be a huge boost for us. I think every team in the MIAC will be improved, plus they will all be gunning for us now that we are the defending champs, so it will be a tough test every week in the conference."

Horan's remark about last year's schedule underscores the feat that the Cobbers were able to pull off. Not only did they go undefeated, but they did it by playing the two second place teams on the road and facing two other up-and-coming teams that were capable of beating anyone in the league.

This year the tables will be turned as Concordia has one of the most exciting home schedules in recent memory. After opening with cross-town rivals MSU-Moorhead in the annual Power Bowl, the Cobbers will jump out of the conference gate by hosting St. Thomas. Concordia will then travel to Carleton before returning home to face Gustavus and one of the most talented young quarterbacks in the league in flame throwing sophomore Jordan Stolp.

Concordia will then travel to one of the schools with a new coach when they face Paul Miller and the Hamline Pipers. Miller did an outstanding job with St. Olaf in the early 1990's and takes over a team that is poised to make a run at the top of the MIAC. After facing Hamline, the Cobbers will return back to "The Jake" to square off against revenge-minded St. John's. Once again the champion of the MIAC could run through the team clad in red and white and a repeat victory over the Johnnies would go a long way in helping the Cobbers defend their title.

Concordia will go back-to-back with upper echelon teams when they travel to Bethel the week after St. John's. The Cobbers will follow that up with their only two-game road trip of the season. Concordia will face off against Augsburg and their all-conference quarterback Marcus LeVesseur on October 29.

The Cobbers will then finish off the 2005 regular season with a pair of games in the Fargo-Moorhead area. St. Olaf, one of the team's with the most talented crew of young players, comes to town to finish off the MIAC season. Concordia then finishes the regualr season with a game against UM-Morris in the Fargodome.