#12 CONCORDIA Cobbers (7-1/6-1 MIAC)	vs.	ST. OLAF Oles (7-1/5-1 MIAC)
	Game 9: Nov. 5, 2005 1:00pm Jake Christiansen Stadium Moorhead, Minn.

CONCORDIA		ST. OLAF
Notes	Statistics	Notes	Statistics
Schedule	Coaches	Schedule	Coaches
Roster	Home Page	Roster	Home Page

- Listen Live
- Recap

- 2004 CC vs. STO Box Score

- Audio Highlights of 2005 Cobber Season

Courtesy of GoCobbers.com, Release: November 3, 2005

Complete Gameday Notes in Printable PDF

GAMEDAY BASICS

GAME TIME: 1:00 pm
RADIO: Live on 1280 AM in the F-M area with Larry Knutson doing the play-by-play and color commentator Chris Ohm. Also live on the internet via the Concordia website at www.gocobbers.com.

RANKINGS: Concordia is ranked 12th in the latest D3football.com NCAA Division III poll. The Cobbers are also ranked 14th in the AFCA poll and 15th in the Football Gazette poll. St. Olaf is unranked but mentioned in “others receiving votes” in the AFCA poll.
LAST WEEK: Concordia scored 28 points in the first quarter and cruised to a 48-14 victory over Augsburg. The Cobbers racked up 567 yards in total offense and held the Auggies to only 34 rushing yards and 217 yards of total offense. Cory Johnson and Kevin Williamson each scored two touchdowns for Concordia. St. Olaf gave up 35 points in the second quarter and lost to third-ranked St. John’s 63-9. The Oles were leading 3-0 after the first quarter, but then allowed 56 consecutive points and lost for the first time all season. Despite the lopsided loss, the Oles gained 325 yards of total offensive against the stingy St. John’s defense.
LAST YEAR: In 2004, Concordia scored 28 unanswered points in the third quarter and beat St. Olaf 50-7. The victory clinched the outright title for the Cobbers. Concordia outgained the Oles 470-262 and were led by the legs and arm of Brian Schumacher. Schumacher threw for 175 and two scores and ran for 67 yards and one touchdown. The Concordia defense forced five turnovers. SERIES: Concordia leads 32-21-2
SERIES STARTED: 1921
SERIES HISTORY: Concordia has won the last three meetings between the two teams and nine of the last 11. The Cobbers have outscored the Oles 97-21. In the past 21 years, the Cobbers have rolled to a 15-5-1 record. Concordia has averaged 33.6 points in the past 10 years, while holding the Oles to a mere 14.7 points per game. St. Olaf won the first six games in the series.

GAMEDAY KICKOFF
(What you need to know about this weekend’s Concordia-St. Olaf match-up)

-- Concordia scored 40 points for the first time all season in their 48-14 victory over Augsburg last Saturday. The last time the Cobbers scored at least 40 points in a game was in last year’s second round playoff loss to Occidental (42-40).
-- Concordia scored on their first six possessions of the game last Saturday. They built a 28-0 lead in the first quarter and then kept pace by scoring two more TD’s at the start of the second quarter.
-- The Cobbers had 12 players with positive rushing yards and seven with at least 20 yards in their win over the Auggies. That represents the most runners with positive yards in a single game since Oct. 4, 2003, when Concordia had 14 players accumulate yardage in their 57-14 win over Hamline.
-- Concordia continues to lead the league in rushing offense. The Cobbers are averaging 284.0 yards per game on the ground in their first seven league games. That total is 77 yards more than the next highest ranking team. Last year Concordia averaged 238.0 rushing yards per game.
-- Concordia also leads the league in time of possession. The Cobbers are holding on to the ball for an average of 33:44 in their first seven league games. That is almost 2:00 more than the next team. Last week, Concordia had a season-high 38:53 worth of possession time. They have held the ball for at least 38:00 in their past two games.
-- The Cobber passing game has continually improved from week-to-week. Last week Concordia broke the 200-yard barrier for the first time all season. The Cobbers had 204 total passing yards against the Auggies and had a season-high 22 pass attempts.
-- Concordia is attempting their second consecutive eight-win season on Saturday. The Cobbers won 11 games last year. The last time Concordia had back-to-back eight win seasons was back in 1980 and 1981 when they won consecutive MIAC championships.
-- The Cobbers continue to lead the league in “Red Zone” defense. Concordia has only allowed opponents to score on 47.6% of their chances from inside the 20-yard line. Last week was an exception as the Auggies converted on their only chance inside the “Red Zone.”
-- Concordia senior defensive back Ben Aakre leads the team with four interceptions this season. He has picked off a pass in each of the last two games and is among the league leaders in interceptions and passes defended.
-- St. Olaf is coming off a lopsided 63-9 loss at St. John’s last week. The Oles were ahead 3-0 going into the second quarter but then gave up 35 points in the period and 57 straight points to the Johnnie attack.
-- The 63 points allowed by the Oles was the third most in school history. St. John’s has posted all five of the biggest point totals ever given up by St. Olaf.
-- Despite the one-sided victory, the Oles racked up 325 yards of total offense against the stingy Johnnie defense. That total is more than 130 yards above what St. John’s was giving up entering the game.

GAMEDAY KICKOFF

Marquee Match-Up –
Concordia’s Defensive Line vs. St. Olaf’s Offensive Line
This game will be dictated by the front four of the Cobbers. If Concordia’s lightning-quick fast foursome of Travis Almquist, Tyler Ledyard, Matt Martinson and Greg Mantz can put pressure on St. Olaf quarterback Jason Wilsey, then the Cobbers will be able to contain the Oles’ high-octane offense. Last year Concordia was able to pressure Wilsey all game long and forced five turnovers on the day. A repeat performance is a must in order to help out the Cobber secondary and keep the quick-hitting St. Olaf passing attack from getting on track.
The Coaches
Concordia head coach Terry Horan (Concordia ’89) is in his fifth year as head football coach at Concordia College. Last season he helped the Cobbers to an 11-1 overall mark and a perfect 8-0 MIAC record - and the program’s 18th conference title. For his efforts he was named the AFCA Region Coach of the Year as well as the MIAC Coach of the Year. He has compiled a 25-8 conference record and a 30-12 overall mark in his first four seasons. In his first three seasons, St. Olaf head coach Chris Meidt has laid the foundation for a championship program. The Oles have compiled a 16-14 mark since 2002, and have boasted large recruiting classes every year during Meidt's tenure.
The Lefse Bowl
Welcome to the annual Lefse Bowl game between Concordia and St. Olaf. The winner of today’s game gets rewarded with the ugliest traveling trophy in all of college football. To the victors, go the spoils of the Troll Trophy. The Troll Trophy stands about 12 inches high, is covered with a moss-like substance and stands on a wooden base. It doesn’t invoke images of Paul Bunyan’s axe or the Little Brown Jug, but it does have character and tradition.
More Than Just A Troll
Today’s game has more significance then who will get to keep the troll for the year. The winner of the game will be in the driver’s seat for an at-large bid in the West Region. Whichever team comes out with the victory will only have one loss (at the hands of the third-ranked team in the country) which is one less loss than any second place team in the Wisconsin or Iowa leagues will have after today. Plus, the selection committee takes into account the strength of the conference and the MIAC is one of the most highly regarded leagues in the nation. All this adds up to the winner of today’s Cobber/Ole match-up most likely being able to pack their bags for the playoffs.
Alone At The Top
Concordia senior quarterback Brian Schumacher has racked up a team-high 1,449 yards in total offense this season. Over the past two seasons, he has accumulated 4,033 total offensive yards, the most by any player in the MIAC over that time span. After Saturday’s 48-14 win over Augsburg in which he had 272 total yards, he is now in fourth place on the school’s all-time list. Ryan Hebrink (’04) holds the school record with 6,420 total offensive yards.
Can’t We Just Get A CD?
Kicker Brian Halverson is on the brink of breaking another record. He needs only one more field goal to break the program record for field goals made in a career. He currently has 29 field goals in his 3-plus years in maroon and gold. He is 6-of-9 (.667) in field goal attempts this season and 29-of-40 (.725) for his career. Earlier in the season he broke the school record for points scored in a career. He already holds the record for most consecutive field goals, most extra points made in a season and a career, field goals made in a season and field goal percentage in a season.
Nationally Speaking
And then there was none. There are no Cobbers ranked among the top 40 in any statistical category. Brian Halverson is the closest as he is ranked 46th in field goals per game (0.8). Proving that football is truly a team game, the 12th-ranked Cobbers are in the top of the nation in four different categories. Concordia ranks eighth in rushing offense (280.0 yds/game). The other three areas are all on defense. The Cobbers rank 11th in rushing defense (74.5 yds/game), and are 24th in total defense (263.8 yds/game) and 24th in scoring defense (14.5 pts/game). St. Olaf has two players scattered about in four different categories. Quarterback Jason Wilsey is 18th in passing efficiency (155.30) and 29th in total offense (262.5). Kicking specialist Paul Fortman is 5th in field goals per game (1.3) and 20th in punting average (39.8). As a team the Oles pop up in six different categories. They are eighth in team net punting (35.76 yds/punt). Offensively they are 12th in total offense (480.6 yds/game), 13th in scoring offense (40.5 pts/game), 25th in rushing offense (226.6 yds/game) and 36th in passing offense (254.0 yds/game). They also rank 25th in turnover margin (1.1).