ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul (3-2 NSIC, 0-1 South) dropped its homecoming game 27-7 to #2 Minnesota State (5-0, 1-0 South) on Saturday afternoon at Sea Foam Stadium in front of 1,992 fans.

CU Football vs MSU Mavericks 10.5.2013 - Images by Justin Oakman

The rain held off for most of the contest, played under 58-degree temperature with a slight breeze from the east and overcast conditions.

Minnesota State used an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown by Dennis Carter to score first. Senior Chris Campbell blocked the PAT but MSU recovered in the end zone for a two-point conversion as MSU took an 8-0 lead.

After two MSU field goals (one in the first, the other in the second quarter), the Mavericks faced a 3rd-and-2 from the CU 44 yard line. Quarterback Jon Wolf was stopped in the backfield for a loss, but stepped out of the tackle and darted straight down the middle of the field for a 44-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0, which was the halftime score.

The result was MSU putting together two big plays while Concordia squandered two first half scoring opportunities. The first was an interception on a 3rd-and-5 from the MSU 34 yard line, with MSU's Kris Fleigle intercepting the pass at the 26-yard line to stop the scoring opportunity. On Concordia's next possession, junior Jared Russo completed a 7-yard pass to sophomore Gabe Boyce that left the Golden Bears four yards short of a first down at the MSU 23. Concordia missed the field goal with MSU responding with Wolf's 44-yard touchdown dash.

Boyce came two receptions shy of matching the single-game record as he hauled in 10 receptions for 82 yards to lead the offense.

In the second half, the Concordia defense held MSU to just two field goals while junior James Peterson connected with sophomore Corey Cole for a 19-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter as teh Golden Bears outscored the Mavericks in the second half.

The Golden Bears won the time of possession battle with 31:01 to 28:59 but lost the turnover margin as MSU forced three turnovers (all interceptions) while Concordia had one fumble forced and recovery.

Concordia rushed for 84 yards on 25 team attempts led by junior Tre Spears with 42 yards on 13 carries. Peterson added 39 yards on five rushes including a long of 34.

Russo completed 16-20 through the air for 127 yards and was backed-up by Peterson, completing 3-7 for 45 yards and the team's lone touchdown. Both quarterbacks were intercepted (Russo once, Peterson twice) and were both sacked once each. Prior to today, Concordia's offensive line had surrendered just one total sack.

The Mavericks rushed for 222 yards on 40 attempts led by Wolf's 107 yards on 11 rushes. Wolf had the Mavericks' only offensive touchdown. He completed 8-17 for 128 yards through the air.

Maverick kicker Sam Brockshus was 4-4 on field goals with a long of 41 yards.

Concordia punter Tom Obarski put all four of his punts inside the 20 with a 42.0 average, but Carter took one of the four back for the 84-yard touchdown.

Concordia's defense was led by senior Mike Willett's 11 tackles from the safety position while senior Chris Campbell and junior Nick Jauch each had nine tackles. Campbell added a tackle for loss, fumble recovery and pass breakup while blocking the PAT.

Senior Zach Moore and junior Abdullah Asad combined on a sack in the second half, forcing a fumble that Campbell jumped on. Moore had four quarterback hurries and three tackles while Asad made seven stops.

The Golden Bears hit the road next Saturday for a 6 p.m. night game at Upper Iowa in Fayette.