ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday, Concordia-St. Paul football (1-3 NSIC, 0-0 South) opens NSIC South Division play on the road at #21 Sioux Falls (4-0, 0-0 South) with a 6 p.m. kickoff at Bob Young Field in Sioux Falls, S.D.

BROADCAST & ONLINE COVERAGE INFORMATION
Fans not able to make the road trip can watch online, follow live stats or listen to USF's radio call online courtesy KWSN 1230 AM. Keep updated with scores around the Northern Sun by visiting the live scores page.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE FOR COUGARS
While Sioux Falls is one of the two newest members to the Northern Sun, its home field advantage has been remarkable for a number of years including its new NSIC days. The Cougars have posted a 47-3 record (.940) at its home Bob Young Field. Additionally, USF is 19-7 in Northern Sun play (.731), which places the Cougars second in NSIC winning percentage only to Minnesota Duluth (224-80-5, .733).

CONCORDIA DEFENSE VS SIOUX FALLS OFFENSE
This Saturday features two strengths colliding as Concordia's nationally prominent defense looks to stop one of the nation's top offenses. Concordia's secondary ranks second in the country in fewest passing yards allowed as opponents are passing for just 107.3 yards per game. In three of Concordia's four games, opponents have failed to surpass 100 yards against the Golden Bears, and their season high allowed is just 157 yards. Concordia has four interceptions including at least one in the last three games with two last Saturday. Concordia also leads the league in fewest first downs allowed, surrendring 14.3 per game which is 12th in the nation. Concordia's defense also ranks ninth nationally in total offense allowed, averaging just 259.5 per game while the pass defense is ranked 14th in the country in pass efficiency. The result has been a defense that allows just 17.8 points per game, ranking 32nd in the country and fifth in the league.

On the other side, as good as Concordia's defense has been the Cougars offense has been as impressive. The Cougars are fifth in the country in scoring (50.5) and 15th in total offense (513.5) which leads the league in each category. USF is balanced, rushing for 222.8 per game (29th NCAA, 4th NSIC) and passing for 290.8 per game (34th NCAA, 5th NSIC).

CONCORDIA'S KEY TO VICTORY: BALL CONTROL
While the Cougars offense has put up staggering numbers, one of its greatest strengths has been winning the turnover margin. USF second in the country with 10 interceptions, is sixth with 13 turnovers created and 29th in the nation with five turnovers committed. The result is the eighth ranked turnover margin nationally with an average of +2 in the turnover column. Sioux Falls also averages 33:01 in time of possession, second in the league and 21st in the nation.

Meanwhile, Concordia is 0-3 when losing the give/take battle and 1-0 when winning it. The Golden Bears also employ an offense adept at controlling the clock, averaging 32:15 of clock per contest which ranks 31st nationally and fourth in the conference. But the Golden Bears are averaging -1 per game in the give/take, a number that will have to be flipped to hang with the Cougars on its home turf.

Concordia's offensive line has usually been up to the task to protect its skill players, too. The group is 21st in the country in fewest sacks allowed (1.0 per game) and 12th in the nation with a league leading 4.25 tackles for loss per game allowed. This while blocking for running backs that are averaging 5.1 per game on the ground for 177.5 per game rushing.

Complicating matters for Concordia's offense is a Sioux Falls defense that is also statistically sound. The Cougars rank 16th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 13.5 points per game and 17th in total defense allowing 288.5 yards per game.

SERIES HISTORY: Sioux Falls 7, Concordia 1
The Golden Bears have dropped seven straight contests overall to Sioux Falls, with the first six games of the all-time series happening when both programs were NAIA members. Concordia won the first ever meeting between the clubs in 1971, a 24-16 win for the Comets. Sioux Falls is 2-0 against Concordia since the Cougars joined NCAA Division II and the NSIC for the 2012 season. Concordia lost its last trip to Bob Young Field 31-23 in 2012.

LAST WEEK: Concordia 44, Minn. Crookston 3
Concordia was dominant in all three phases of the game last week in securing the team's first win of the year, 44-3 over Minnesota Crookston. The offense rolled up 499 yards, the defense forced three turnovers with four sacks while limiting UMC to 158 yards of total offense and the special teams produced three field goals along with big return yardage and solid field position.

Offensively, Jared Russo and Ben Schramski combined for Concordia's first team 300-yard passing game. Russo completed 22-28 for a season-high 248 yards and three touchdowns while Schramski was 3-6 for 57 yards in his collegiate debut. The team also rushed for 194 yards on 38 team rushes led by 133 yards from Tre Spears.

Concordia's defense held the Golden Eagles to under 100 yards passing for the third time in four games this season, limiting UMC's passers to 10-25 for 94 yards, two interceptions and four sacks. The run defense was also stout, holding UMC to 64 yards rushing on 29 carries.

The defense was led by Dion Roche, one of the BSN National Players of the Week, as he had an NSIC single game high four sacks while leading the team with eight tackles. He also had five hurries, two of which led to interceptions. As a team, Concordia had 10 tackles for loss as Nick Jauch had a pair of tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries. Concordia compiled 15 quarterback hurries on UMC's 15 incomplete passes.

In the secondary, senior strong safety Abdullah Asad forced a pair of turnovers with an interception and a fumble recovery while making six tackles.

The special teams effort was led by senior kicker/punter Tom Obarski, who was named the NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week and one of the BSN Division II National Players of the Week. Obarski tied a school record with three field goals, with all three coming from 45-plus yards with a long of 48. He pinned two of his three punts inside the 20 and had three kickoff touchbacks. His 14 points in the game are the second most by a kicker in team history.

The return game was bolstered right out of the gate by freshman Uzziah Davis as he took the opening kickoff back 47 yards to setup a Russo to Cordell Smith touchdown moments later. Davis had two returns for a 40.0 average.

ABOUT THE COUGARS - LAST WEEK: USF 73, MSU MOORHEAD 21
The Cougars are coming off an impressive performance with season-highs of 663 yards of total offense along with picking off five passes to spoil MSUM's homecoming. The win was USF's 399th in the 96th year of program history (399-401-20) as the Cougars will be hunting for win number 400 this Saturday. The Cougars swept the NSIC North Division opponents on their schedule to the tune of a 202-54 margin. Sioux Falls improves to 4-0 to start a season for the 10th time in the last 12 years including the second time in three years at the Division II level. USF is seeking its first 5-0 start as a Division II member, with the last 5-0 start being during 2010's 13-1 campaign with an NAIA national runner-up finish. In their final five NAIA seasons, USF was 69-2 with national titles in 2006, 2008 and 2009 with runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2010.

ONE TOUCHDOWN LOSSES MOUNTING
The Golden Bears opened up the 2014 season with three hard luck losses, all by one touchdown. In the opener, Concordia went toe-to-toe at #3 UMD, falling 20-13. In week two, Concordia held decisive total offense advantages but turnovers led to a 28-21 defeat at home against Northern State. In week three, Concordia once again fell by a 20-13 margin at U-Mary. A 41-point win in week four over UMC has given the Golden Bears a +20 scoring margin on the season despite a 1-3 record.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
In Concordia's week four win, Dion Roche and Tom Obarski earned BSN National Player of the Week honors. Roche's performance was ranked 10th by the website while Obarski was ranked 14th. Obarski also earned NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week honors as he made 3-3 on field goals (all from 45+), pinned two of three punts inside the 20 and had three kickoff touchbacks. Roche had an NSIC single game high 4.0 sacks, led the defense with eight tackles and had five hurries of which two led to a pair of interceptions.

TEAM CAPTAINS
Concordia's 2014 team captains, as voted on by the team are offensive seniors Tre Spears and Cordell Smith; and defensive senior Abdullah Asad and junior Jordan Halverson.

UZZIAH DAVIS IMPACTING RETURN GAME
Concordia freshman Uzziah Davis has been outstanding in the return game for the Golden Bears, ranking 11th in the country with 374 kick return yards which also leads the Northern Sun. His 25.5 average is fourth in the conference and he's second on the team with 103.8 all-purpose yards per game. He has accounted for seven of the team's 13 plays of at least 25 yards on the year including the longest play which was his 47 yard kickoff return to open the 44-3 win against Minnesota Crookston. He has five returns of at least 30 yards including one punt return for a long of 43.

TOM OBARSKI SHATTERING KICKING RECORDS
Senior Tom Obarski is rewriting Concordia's kicking and punting record book. He already has the longest field goal in program history at 59 yards (sophomore vs Augustana) and has made four 50-plus yard field goals. He holds career records for field goals made (33) and punting yards (7,125), is second in PAT kicks made (101) and yards per punt (38.7) and sixth in total points scored (200) and just 36 points shy of the record for most points scored by a kicker (Brody Johnson, 236).

He leads the league in field goals made (7) and percentage (87.5%), is third among kickers in scoring (7.8) and is fifth in punting average (38.4). He's also the only kicker perfect in PAT's (10-10).

He's been an All-NSIC First Team punter (2013) and an All-NSIC Honorable Mention kicker (2012) in his career while earning Fred Mitchell Award watch list or monthly honors in all four seasons.

CORDELL SMITH CLOSES IN ON 2,000 RECEIVING YARDS
Senior wide receiver Cordell Smith is 56 yards short of becoming the sixth player in program history with 2,000 career receiving yards. He currently ranks 10th in career receptions (125) adn fourth in career receiving touchdowns (23). Smith had a pair of touchdown catches last week with three catches for 81 yards including a long of 46 for Concordia's opening touchdown.

He's 10th in receptions (21) and eighth in receiving yards (294) in the conference.

Smith is a two-sport star for Concordia, also excelling on the hardwood where he has exhausted his eligiblity. Last year, Smith had his best season averaging 12.5 points and 6.0 rebounds while hitting 40.7% from three-point range and getting to the foul line 103 times in 24 games played.

SPEARS CLIMBS THE RUSHING LEADERS
Senior running back Tre Spears became the eighth 2,000 career rusher in program history earlier this year and now has 2,291 career rushing yards which ranks sixth all-time. He had 885 yards as a sophomore in 2012 and 967 yards last yeaer as he is seeking his first 1,000 yard rushing season. He's averaging a career-high 93.0 yards per game as a senior on 4.8 yards per carry. He has a pair of 100-yard rushing games, going for 150 against Northern State and 133 against Minnesota Crookston. He has nine 100-yard rushing games in his career including four 150-plus rushing yard efforts with a career high of 187 as a sophomore against Minnesota Crookston.

He's also been featured in the pass game this year, with at least two receptions in each game. He's second on the team with 15 receptions, totalling 84 yards and a touchdown. He had five and six catches in weeks two and three against Northern State and U-Mary, respectively.

This year, Spears is the fifth leading rusher in the conference with 372 yards.

RUSSO UNDER CENTER
Senior Jared Russo has been effective since assuming the starting quarterback responsibilities in week two when starter Corey Cole left due to injury. He's thrown six touchdowns to just two interceptions in three games while completing 63.3% of his passes for 592 yards. Among his six touchdowns was a 6-yard touchdown pass to himself in week two against Northern State, on a pass that was batted back to him at the line of scrimmage.

Russo is no stranger to the position, starting a handful of games as a redshirt freshman in 2010 and starting all 11 games as a junior in 2013. In his career, Russo is one of 10 players in program history to register at least 3,000 career passing yards with 3,340. He ranks seventh in program history with 30 touchdown passes, as well.

ROCHE BECOMES A FORCE ON THE DEFENSIVE LINE
Junior Dion Roche has made an immediate impact for the Concordia defensive front and is third in the league (13th nationally) with 1.13 sacks per game (4.5 total) including a four sack performance against Minnesota Crookston to earn BSN National Player of the Week honors. Impressive for a defensive lineman, Roche is third on the team with 28 total tackles including 6.0 for loss and a team-high nine hurries.

JAUCH AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN TFL
Senior linebacker Nick Jauch is leading the league with 2.1 tackles for loss per game (8.5 total) on the season and fourth on the defense with 25 tackles. He's tallied 2.5 sacks and five quarterback hurries. He has 133 career tackles, 23.0 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks in 31 games played as a Golden Bear.

HALVERSON & TRIFUNOV LEAD IN TACKLES
Juniors Jordan Halverson and Josh Trifunov lead the team in tackles, with Halverson producing 39 and Trifunov 36. Trifunov also has an interception and three pass breakups. Halverson is seventh in the league in tackles while Trifunov is 11th. Halverson has cracked the career top-10 tackles ranking with 229 while Trifunov has 153 career tackles including last year's team leading 99 stops.

MIRERI PROVIDES BLANKET COVERAGE ON THE CORNER
Junior Jimmy Mireri is one of the top cover corners in the conference, coming off a season with 13 pass breakups and an interception last year as a sophomore and seven as a freshman. This year, Mireri has 20 tackles in four games with one pass breakup and one interception. He has 122 tackles in his career with 23 total passes defended (21 PBU, 2 INT).

ASAD CRACKS ALL-TIME TACKLES LIST
Senior strong safety Abdullah Asad has made 215 career tackles, currently tied for 10th all-time. He's set new career-highs each of the last three years (56-63-75) and has 21 in the first four games of 2014. Additionally, Asad has 14.0 career tackles for loss, 11 passes defended (8 PBU, 3 INT) and 2.5 sacks.

COLE HITS THE INJURY REPORT
Junior Corey Cole won the starting quarterback job out of fall camp and provided a dynamic playmaking ability in week one at UMD when he carried 18 times for 177 yards against a stout Bulldog run defense that currently leads the league in rushing yards allowed. He accounted for 307 yards of total offense in his quarterback debut. In week two against Northern State, he left due to injury early in the second quarter and did not return. He has not returned to the field or the team's official two deep since.

Prior to winning the quarterback job, Cole battled for the position each year as a Golden Bear before being moved to wide receiver and kick returning his first two years. He had 22 catches for 264 yards and a touchdown, 17 kick returns for 450 yards (26.5) and a touchdown and 14 punt returns for 86 yards (6.1) before moving back to quarterback. In his career, he has 27 rushes for 240 yards (8.9 per carry) and a touchdown. He was 18-34 for 174 yards passing before the injury and he has yet to throw his first passing touchdown.

He's the younger brother of former standout offensive guard Curtis Cole, a starting offensive lineman for the 2010 Mineral Water Bowl Golden Bear team.

BAUCHAM BREAKING OUT
Sophomore Sammy Baucham has started breaking out for the Golden Bears with a pair of four reception games in a row. He's now fourth on the team in receptions with 10, one behind tight end Jermaine Clemon (11-142) and is third on the team in receiving yards with 92. Last week against UMC, Baucham hauled in his first career touchdown among his four catches for 52 yards with a long of 25. He had one catch for 19 yards as a redshirt freshman last year.