ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Friday night at 6 p.m., the Concordia-St. Paul football team (1-5 NSIC, 0-2 South) will play its third nationally-ranked opponent on the road when it visits #2 Minnesota State (6-0 NSIC, 2-0 South) at Blakeslee Stadium in Mankato.

SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears have split their last two meetings at Minnesota State, losing 30-10 in 2012 but winning 2010 when the Mavericks were ranked #11 in the nation in a season that had Concordia reach the Mineral Water Bowl.

Overall, MSU leads the series 6-2 including a 3-1 mark at Blakeslee against the Golden Bears. The series started in 2004, and Concordia is 1-5 since MSU joined the NSIC in 2008 and 0-3 against MSU under head coach Ryan Williams.

PREVIEWING THE MATCHUP
Like the Sioux Falls meeting two weeks ago when the Cougars were ranked #21, the Mavericks now boast the highest ranked scoring offense and defense in the Northern Sun. MSU enters play averaging 48.7 points while allowing 11.2 per game, a blistering +37.5 scoring margin.

Concordia still features the number one passing defense in the conference (26th nationally), surrendering 174.2 yards per game through the air while MSU has the 11th ranked pass offense at 197.2.

And although the Mavericks average under 200 yards passing, it's been an efficient weapon for the second ranked team in the country as MSU has a league-leading 165.0 passing efficiency with 17 touchdowns to just six interceptions while averaging 15.6 yards per completion downfield.

With predicted winds ranging from 15-to-20 at kickoff, Concordia will look to hold the Mavericks to long third downs to play into its strength in the pass game.

It will not be an easy task as the Mavericks average 248.0 yards per game on the ground and 5.2 per carry with 18 rushing scores (three per game) on the year while Concordia's run defense has been solid, ranking near the middle of the pack allowing 162.0 yards per game.

The Mavericks hold the league's top-ranked total defense as well, limiting opponents to just 282.8 yards per game with Concordia's offense averaging 338.0.

CONCORDIA'S OFFENSIVE LINE VS MINNESOTA STATE'S PRESSURE
In another strength vs. strength contrast, Minnesota State's pass rush has racked up 20 sacks, second most in the league while Concordia's offensive line has only allowed five, second fewest in the league. The Golden Bears rank 12th nationally in fewest sacks allowed (0.83 per game) and lead the league in fewest tackles for loss allowed (4.83 per game).

Up front, last week the Golden Bears had to shuffle the starters due to an injury to center Matt Bjork. As a result, Brett Morris shifted from right guard to center, Lawrence Walker and Josh Coyne flipped positions with Walker moving to left tackle and Coyne to left guard, with Nat Schmidtke getting the start at right guard. The same starting group is expected to face the Mavericks in week seven.

CAPTAINS CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
Concordia's four captains, Tre Spears (RB, Chicago, Ill.), Cordell Smith (WR, Mequon, Wis.), Jordan Halverson (LB, Fridley, Minn.) and Abdullah Asad (SS, Chicago, Ill.) are all climbing the career leaders this season.

Spears became the eighth running back in school history to top 2,000 career rushing yards in week two, while Smith became the sixth wide receiver to top 2,000 career receiving yards last week in week six.

Tre Spears now has 2,452 career rushing yards, ranking sixth in team history. He has 11 career rushing touchdowns and averages 4.5 per carry. This year, Spears is the league's fifth leading rusher and is aiming for his first career 1,000-yard rushing season although currently just off pace at 88.8 yards per game. He's rushed for 533 yards at 4.3 per carry as a senior while also pulling in a career-high 22 catches for 112 yards with another score in the air. He has nine career 100-yard rushing games including two this year.

Cordell Smith, a two-sport athlete for the Golden Bears who completed his senior year on the hardwood last spring (12.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg) is currently the program's sixth-ranked receiver with 2,004 career yards. He also ranks eight in receptions (130) and fourth in receiving touchdowns (24). He's averaging career-highs of 4.3 catches per game and 59.0 yards per game as a senior, adding four touchdowns. Overall, he has 26 catches for 354 yards on the year and is also the primary punt returner with an 8.5 career average and a touchdown among 14 career returns. He has four career 100-yard receiving games with a season high 97 (7 rec) this season against Northern State.

Jordan Halverson missed most of his 2013 junior season with a season-ending injury suffered in week three. Awarded a medical redshirt, Halverson has a shot to threaten the career tackles record at Concordia. He's currently eighth all-time with 253 stops, just 89 shy of Brian Doyle's career record of 342 (2001-04). Halverson had 73 tackles in his redshirt freshman season and 105 with 14.5 for loss and four sacks as an All-NSIC Second Teamer during his sophomore year in 2012. He made 12 tackles before suffering the injury last year but has 63 in his second crack at a junior season in 2014. Last week, Halverson had a career-high 16 tackles against Wayne State to move him up to fifth in the conference and 30th in the nation at 10.5 tackles per game.

Abdullah Asad is a fourth year starting safety and is up to 11th in career tackles with 228 along with 15.0 tackles for loss, 12 passes defended and four interceptions. He pulled in his fourth interception last week against Wayne State, his second of the year. He's made 34 tackles on the season after seeing his tackles increase each of his first three years (56-63-75).

OBARSKI CONCORDIA'S GREATEST KICKER/PUNTER COMBO IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Senior Tom Obarski has done it all as a kicker and punter for the Golden Bears, earning All-NSIC First Team honors last year as a punter and All-NSIC Honorable Mention as a sophomore as a kicker. He has delivered a career-long 59-yard field goal in his career as a Golden Bear which as a Division II season-long and an NSIC/Concordia record long, four field goals of 50-plus yards and 13 from 40-plus yards. From short range, Obarski is highly accurate, converting 23-27 from inside of 40 yards while making a Concordia 36 field goals over his four years. He also has tied the school record with three field goals in a game three times in his career (twice this year), which had previously been done twice in program history. He has kicked the longest four field goals in program history and nine of the longest 10 (all from 47+). He's also made two of the longest three field goals in league history (59, 56) and four of the longest nine.

As a punter, Obarski's career 38.6 average ranks second in team history (0.7 behind the record average) and his 2012 and 2013 averages (40.8, 40.6) rank second and third in a season in program history. He holds the career record for most punting yards (8,559) while pinning 49 of his 199 punts inside the 20, forcing 27 fair catches and hitting 22 for 50-plus yards.

On kickoffs, his booming leg has produced 39 career touchbacks on 147 attempts including 10 on 27 kickoffs this year with a career high 61.6 average.

This year, Obarski is the only player in the league with a perfect 100.0% rate on PAT's (12-12), is second in the league and seventh in the nation at 90.9% on field goals (min. 10 attempts) and leads the league and is 10th in the nation with 10 field goals made.

He's a four-year Fred Mitchell Watch List or monthly honoree in addition to his prior All-NSIC honors.

FG	M-Att	Pct	01-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-99	Lng	Blk
2011	9-12	75.0	0-0	3-3	1-1	4-5	1-3	56	0
2012	10-14	71.4	0-0	3-3	5-6	0-2	2-3	59	0
2013	7-16	43.8	0-0	1-2	5-6	0-7	1-1	51	0
2014	10-11	90.9	0-0	3-3	2-3	5-5	0-0	48	0
Totals	36-53	67.9	0-0	10-11	13-16	9-19	4-7	59	0
PUNTS	No.	Yards	Avg	Long	TB	FC	I20	50+	Blk
2011	52	1792	34.5	56	2	9	10	1	0
2012	56	2285	40.8	64	3	7	10	7	0
2013	58	2357	40.6	68	1	6	21	9	0
2014	33	1246	37.8	54	4	5	8	5	0
Totals	199	7680	38.6	68	10	27	49	22	0
KO	No.	Yards	Avg	TB	OB
2011	28	1608	57.4	3	2
2012	50	2931	58.6	15	3
2013	42	2356	56.1	11	1
2014	27	1664	61.6	10	1
Totals	147	8559	58.2	39	7

JAUCH & ROCHE PUTTING PRESSURE IN THE BACKFIELD
Senior linebacker Nick Jauch and junior defensive lineman Dion Roche have been causing problems in opposing backfields all season with Roche ranked fourth in the league with 5.5 sacks and Jauch ranked third in the league with 10.5 tackles for loss. Roche had a 4.0 sack performance in Concordia's win over UM Crookston while Jauch also ranks among the league leaders in sacks with 3.5 (sixth).

Jauch has produced 25.0 career tackles for loss including back-to-back seasons with at least 10.0 (10.0 last year). He also has seven quarterback hurries and 40 tackles as a senior. Roche has been in the backfield frequently as a newcomer to the team, with 7.5 tackles for loss and 11 hurries along with an impressive 38 tackles from his defensive line position.

Roche currently ranks 24th in the nation in sacks per game (0.92) while Jauch ranks 19th in tackles for loss per game (1.8).

UZZIAH DAVIS A DEADLY RETURNER
Freshman Uzziah Davis, listed as a defensive back when he reported to fall camp has been a versatile threat with the football in his true freshman season. He ranks fourth in the country and leads the NSIC with 627 total return yards. He leads the team with 117.0 all-purpose yards per game and has the team's longest two plays of the season, 49 and 47 yard kickoff returns. With 11 returns of 28 or more yards, he has 11 of the team's longest 15 plays of the season. He has been used exclusively on the offensive side of the ball, with five rushes for 12 yards and seven receptions for 63 yards.