Concordia University St. Paul Athletics

LINKS:  WATCH & MOBILE LIVE STATS  ||  LIVE STATS  ||  LIVE NSIC SCORES  ||  CU GAME NOTES

ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday at 11 a.m., Concordia-St. Paul football (3-3 NSIC, 0-2 South) hosts Sioux Falls (3-3 NSIC, 1-1 South) at Sea Foam Stadium. The game is also Randy Shaver's Tackle Cancer event, with a raffle contest with 100% of donations going to the Shaver Fund.

The grand prize for the raffle contest are tickets to a Minnesota Wild hockey game as well as $30 gift cards to local corporate sponsors Davanni's, Joe Senser's, Green Mill and Jimmy Johns.

The Golden Bears will look to get the offense in gear in a big way as the Cougar defense is ranked 13th in the NSIC allowing 474.2 yards per game. Breaking it down, USF is ranked 13th against the run (216.5) and 15th against the pass (257.7) while allowing 31.0 points per game.

A closer look reveals that the Cougars are also decisively losing the time of possession battle, ranking last in the league by nearly two minutes per game with 25:35.

Meanwhile, Concordia ranks second in the league with 32:13 per game of total time. The Golden Bears are also 3-0 when winning time of possession in a game.

While the matchup provides an opportunity for the Golden Bears to earn a winning record heading into the season's stretch run, the Cougars also present a challenge with their high-powered offense.

Sioux Falls runs for 313.2 yards per game, ranking second in the league and puts up 482.2 yards of total offense per game, which is fourth. That combination leads to the team scoring 34.8 points per game.

The key to the contest could be the biggest strength for the Golden Bears in their defensive line led by senior All-American Zach Moore, who is just a half sack shy of tying the school's career sack record of 30.0 held by Matt Woodford (1996-99).

And on the other line, it will be important for senior right tackle Steven Davis and the rest of the blockers to impose their will on the Cougar front to maintain possessions to keep USF off the field for a fresh Concordia defense. Davis and the Golden Bears are ranked fifth in the nation in fewest sacks allowed (3) and sixth in the nation in fewest tackles for loss (23).