ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday, the Concordia-St. Paul football team (1-9 NSIC, 0-6 South) will close out the 2015 season at Augustana (8-2 NSIC, 5-1 South) at Kirkeby-Over Stadium with a 1 p.m. kickoff.

HANK GOFF UPDATE
ESPN College GameDay producers have now confirmed that the feature on Hank Goff will air this Saturday, November 14 as part of ESPN College GameDay sometime between 9:15 a.m. and 9:35 a.m. More on Goff below.

SEASON FINALE IMPLICATIONS
Concordia's game at Augustana comes along with postseason implications as the Vikings are the fifth ranked team in the NCAA Super Region 3 rankings and ranked #22 by D2Football.com, also the top team in the receiving votes section of the AFCA Top-25. The Vikings are tied for first in the NSIC South Division and are in second in the league's overall standings, providing the host a chance to win or share the overall and division championships on its senior day.

NEW LEADER ON THE CSP SIDELINE
This week, Concordia announced a change in the head coach position as Derek Branch has been appointed interim head coach to lead the team in the final week. Branch has been a full time assistant for nine years, beginning his tenure in the program in 2007. While he was running backs and tight ends coach as an assistant on the 2015 staff, he also has significant experience coaching the offensive line. He is a 2004 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stout with a degree in marketing and business education. At UW-Stout, Branch was an All-America honorable mention offensive lineman in 1999 and 2000. He began his coaching career as a student assistant while completing his degree. He was a graduate assistant coach at The University of South Dakota, earning a master's degree in health, physical education and recreation. He also spent two years on the Hamline University coaching staff where he was a defensive line coach prior to being promoted to offensive coordinator for the Pipers.

Branch replaces Concordia's 10th head coach, Ryan Williams who compiled a 19-35 overall record in five seasons leading the Golden Bears before stepping down on Wednesday. His record includes an 18-35 mark in the NSIC and a 10-23 record in the South Division. Williams' head coaching tenure with Concordia was highlighted by a 6-5 rookie campaign in 2011 along with a pair of 5-6 runs in 2013 and 2014. The 2014 squad won its final four games to finish with the program's best finish (4-3) in South Division play, taking third.

SERIES HISTORY: AUGUSTANA 7, CONCORDIA 4
The Golden Bears picked up a 17-7 win last year at Sea Foam Stadium to snap a six game losing streak in the series to the Vikings. While Concordia is 4-7 overall against Augie, the Golden Bears have picked up two of their wins in Sioux Falls with a 2-3 road record against the Vikings. Concordia's last win in Sioux Falls was September 1, 2007 (20-19) as the Golden Bears won their first two trips to Sioux Falls by one point each, also winning 17-16 in 2004.

The series began in 2004 and the teams played in non-conference four years in a row, splitting the four contests. The Vikings joined the NSIC in 2008 and won the next six games, with last year's win for Concordia being its first over Augie since the Vikings joined the league.

LAST MEETING, 11/8/14: CONCORDIA 17, AUGUSTANA 7
The Golden Bears bruised the Vikings for a third straight win, using 206 rushing yards by senior Tre Spears in his second straight 200-plus yard rushing performance, scoring both of Concordia's touchdowns. Spears helped the team rush for 328 yards on 47 team attempts for a 7.0 average, controlling the clock for 35:48 to 24:12. The big day helped Spears top the 1,000-yard mark on his way to the league's rushing title.

The Concordia defense also made big plays in big spots, with each team making four trips to the red zone is was Concordia scoring three times for 17 points while the defense limited Augie to one score for seven points. Concordia also stopped Augustana on its lone fourth down attempt while the Golden Bears converted their only try, which were key additional factors in a close, low scoring affair.

Leading 10-7 midway through the fourth quarter with a 4th and 4 from the Augie 27 yard line and facing a 15-plus mile per hour wind, redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Schramski connected with senior wide receiver Cordell Smith for 13 yards and a first down. On the next play, the offensive line parted the Augustana defense as Spears burst up the middle for a 14-yard touchdown run.

The result gave Concordia a 17-7 lead with under four and a half minutes to play.

Augustana came storming back, hitting on a pair of big plays - a 50-yard kickoff return and a 43-yard pass to the Concordia 7-yard line. But junior Jordan Nieuwsma wrestled an interception away from an Augie receiver on a fade right in the corner of the end zone with under four minutes to play.

The Vikings stopped the Golden Bears on three plays and blocked Concordia's punt, setting up the Vikings at the 7-yard line again with just under two minutes left. But a strong defensive stand forced the Vikings to attempt a 29-yard field goal that was wide left with under a minute to play, allowing Concordia to run the clock out.

Turnovers in the red zone would not only be the story of the game's finish, but how the game started as well. Augustana quarterback Trey Heid entered the game with 22 touchdowns and two interceptions on the season, but Concordia wasted no time in doubling that total as junior Jimmy Mireri picked off a Heid pass at the 10-yard line in the first quarter and senior safety Abdullah Asad picked off a Heid pass at the 38-yard line in the first quarter.

Concordia forced three turnovers in the game, only giving the ball away once.

Schramski finished the day 9-15 passing for 63 yards, but added 55 yards on eight rushing attempts. He was only sacked once and didn't throw any interceptions while guiding Concordia to a third straight win under center in just four career starts.

Sophomore Darius Chapes supplemented the running game with nine carries for 68 yards including breaking off a 44-yard long.

Schramski's favorite target was Smith as they connected four times for 40 yards while senior tight end Jermaine Clemon had three catches for 22 yards.

Augustana's offense was led by running back CJ Ham with 12 carries for 94 yards and three catches for 27 yards. Dajon Newell added six runs for 51 yards and Matt Heller had five catches for 118 yards.

Concordia held Heid to just 108 passing yards as he completed just 11 of 26 while taking two sacks and throwing two interceptions. Backup Chase Marso completed 4-7 for 111 yards and a touchdown but was also intercepted in the end zone.

Concordia's defense provided a solid team effort as junior Jordan Halverson led the team with nine tackles and 1.5 for loss and Mireri added eight tackles and an interception. Junior defensive end Dion Roche picked up 1.5 sacks on five tackles. The team had eight tackles for loss and three sacks in the game, hurrying Augie's quarterbacks five times and breaking up four passes downfield.  Eight different defenders were in on Concordia's eight tackles for loss.

Meanwhile, Concordia's offensive line protected its backfield once again, allowing just four tackles for loss and a sack while Augie had just two quarterback hurries and one breakup. Ben Skelly led the Augie defense with 15 tackles including 1.5 for loss and a fumble recovery.

LAST WEEK: SMSU 48, CONCORDIA 24
Concordia put up season-highs of 411 yards of total offense and passed for a season-high 321 yards while dominating the clock for 35:27-24:33, but SMSU had too much firepower in putting the Golden Bears away on senior day. SMSU had 522 yards of offense, converting 29 first downs compared to Concordia's season-best 23.

Senior tight ends Jake Munkwitz and Anton Bedeaux had career days for the team as Munkwitz had career-highs of five catches for 53 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown while Bedeaux had career-highs of four catches for 72 yards and a career-long 32 yard catch.

While the senior tight ends were the top targets, Concordia's passing game featured two quarterbacks who each played a half. Redshirt freshman Trevor Tillett made his third start in a row, completing nine passes for 148 yards and a touchdown, averaging 16.4 yards per connection. Sophomore Ben Schramski relieved Tillett in the second half, completing 16-30 for 173 yards and two touchdowns. The two quarterbacks hooked up with 10 different targets throughout the game.

Two of the three combined passing touchdowns went to junior Sammy Baucham, who had three catches for 31 yards. He caught a touchdown from each QB with his first score coming from 20 yards out to tie the game early in the second quarter from Tillett.

Concordia's run game combined for 90 yards on 32 carries and was once again a three-player attack. Alex Carr led the group with six rushes for 49 yards followed by Charles Arnold who started and carried six times for 34 yards. Darius Chapes added a few nice runs, finishing with 14 yards on six attempt as the trio combined for 97 yards on 18 carries.

The Concordia defense was led by safety Jamie Fore's 11 tackles while Josh Trifunov, Jordan Halverson, Chazz Roberts, Jackson Dobbs and Sam Johnson all had eight tackles. Brandon Russell also had a first quarter interception, the first of his career.

ABOUT THE VIKINGS
Augustana enters the season finale needing a win to remain in the NCAA Super Region 3 playoff hunt. The Vikings are currently ranked fifth in the region with the top seven teams earning the right to compete in the Division II playoffs. The Vikings survived a scare last Saturday at Winona State, defeating the Warriors on the game's final play on a six yard touchdown pass from Trey Heid to Charlie Hayes as time expired to tie the game at 34 with Lucas Wainman converting the PAT.

Aside from a national ranking and playoff aspirations, the Vikings are also competing for NSIC Overall and South Division championships. A win over Concordia would clinch at least a share of the South Division title. The Vikings have already secured their second straight winning season under head coach Jerry Olszewski and the seeks its first trip to the Division II playoffs since 2010 and the fourth in program history.

Senior running back CJ Ham enters the game 41 yards shy of his first career 1,000 yard rushing campaign. He has 959 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdown runs, averaging 4.7 yards per rush. He's also approaching Augustana records, needing 27 carries, three rushing touchdowns and 156 rushing yards from the school's single season records.

As a team, Augustana ranks sixth in the NSIC and 38th in Division II football with 449.7 yards of total offense per game and after setting the school record in total offense in 2014 (5,124 yards), the Vikings are a monster performance away from the milestone again this year, needing a 627 yard effort on Saturday.

CONCORDIA TEAM CAPTAINS
Concordia has had four captains for the 2015 season, junior Corey Cole (QB, Fillmore, Calif.) and senior Cole Parker (LT, Brookfield, Wis.) on offense and seniors Hank Goff (DL, Minnetonka, Minn.) and Jordan Nieuwsma (FS, Lakeville, Minn.) on defense.

ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY TO FEATURE HANK GOFF ON NOVEMBER 14
A project that has been in the works since August, an ESPN camera and audio crew was at the October 17 game against #1 Minnesota State at Sea Foam Stadium to gather footage of Hank Goff. An ESPN producer along with veteran journalist Gene Wojciechowski were in St. Paul to collect interviews and day-to-day footage of Goff the week of October 26 for the piece.

ESPN College GameDay will run a Veteran's Day feature segment on Saturday, November 14, the same day Goff and the 16-player senior class (and graduating underclass) will play their final game as college players at Augustana.

ESPN has gravitated towards Goff's background as a top prep state champion recruit who started his career at FCS South Dakota State where he led the Jackrabbits in tackles for loss as a true freshman before leaving the program due to academic issues. Goff then enlisted in the Marines and was deployed to Afghanistan as a machine gunner. His story came full circle when adapting to his post-military life when he returned to college football with Concordia.

Goff is a returning All-NSIC South Division honorable mention performer and was tabbed by USA College Football as a Preseason All-America Second Team selection.

His story was first published by his uncle, Austin Murphy in Sports Illustrated with other media outlets including Fox Sports 1, Midco Sports Net and now ESPN College GameDay publicizing Goff's background which is punctuated by his military service and redemption on the college gridiron.

As a Golden Bear, Goff has made 60 tackles with 15.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, also breaking up nine passes with a pair of interceptions and foced fumbles. As a senior, Goff has faced constant double teams while opposing offenses have intentionally avoided his side of the line of scrimmage. He's still managed to tally 22 tackles, 7.0 for loss and a pair of sacks with three pass breakups and a blocked kick.

His top game of 2015 came in week eight on the road at Wayne State, registering a career-high seven tackles, tying his career-high of 2.0 tackles for loss with a blocked PAT and a forced fumble.

ILB NOTES: HALVERSON BREAKS CAREER TACKLES RECORD
Senior inside linebacker Jordan Halverson became the fifth player in program history to eclipse 300 career tackles with his 11 tackle performance at SCSU in the 2015 season opener. He broke the career tackles record with 12 tackles in week five against Winona State.  He also ranks eighth in team history in tackles for loss with 32.5.

In 2015, Halverson has 83 tackles (8.3/game) to rank ninth in the NSIC while leading the Golden Bear defense. Halverson is a two-time All-NSIC South Division Second Team linebacker (2012, 2014) and was a 2015 USA College Football Preseason All-America Second Team selection.

Fellow starting inside linebacker Jahphet Grant ranks 22nd in the NSIC with 6.9 tackles per game (62 total) including an 18-tackle outburst against Bemidji State. Grant has two double-digit tackle games while Halverson has four.

CAREER TACKLES LEADERS
1. 381 - Jordan Halverson (2010-2015)
2. 342 - Brian Doyle (2001-04)

CB NOTES: MIRERI PROVIDES  A BLANKET ON THE CORNER
Senior cornerback Jimmy Mireri is etching his name into the Concordia record books as well. With a pass breakup in the opener at SCSU, Mireri became the sole record holder for career passes defended (INT + PBU) and now has 45. His 41 pass breakups is also a career record. He has surpassed double-digits in breakups in three straight years, with 14 as a sophomore and junior and 10 this year. he has his first career interception in 2013 and added three more INT's in 2014.

In addition to his strong cover skills, Mireri is also a strong tackler and is able to make plays with the ball. He made 63 tackles as a sophomore and junior, and has 52 as a senior. He has 217 career tackles with 152 of those being solo stops.

He ranks eighth in the NSIC in passes defended, averaging 1.0 per game and his 10 total pass breakups rank seventh in the conference.

Last year, Mireri scored a pair of touchdowns as well, one via a 36-yard reception and the other on a 90-yard kickoff return.

Starting opposite Mireri at the corner has been a combination of DeCeon Schumann and Jordan Nieuwsma. Schumann has four starts, has made 30 tackles with two interceptions including a 42-yard INT return for touchdown in CSP's 28-13 win at Minot State. He also has five pass breakups and seven passes defended. Nieuwsma has started seven times this year between safety and the corner. He's made 34 stops with 2.0 tackles for loss and seven pass breakups. Nieuwsma is ranked 10th in the league in pass breakups while Schumann is 21st in passes defended.

A midseason position change has placed Uzziah Davis in the secondary as well, as he has been backing up the corner position as of late while making three tackles each of the last two weeks including a pass breakup against Sioux Falls.

OLB NOTES: JOSH TRIFUNOV
Senior outside linebacker Josh Trifunov has been one of Concordia's top tacklers over the last few years with 99 as a sophomore, 89 last year as a junior and is third on the 2015 team with 57 as a senior. He has 263 career tackles, ranking eighth in school history, 12 shy of moving up to seventh. He's also made 25.5 tackles for loss (13th), 12.0 sacks (14th) and 11 pass deflections in his career.

In 2015, Trifunov ranks fourth in the Northern Sun and 42nd Division II with 7.0 sacks (0.7/game). He also ranks 15th in the NSIC with 9.0 tackles for loss (0.9/game) and 43rd in the league with 5.7 tackles per game (57 total).

Starting opposite Trifunov on the outside is junior Sam Johnson with a career-high 45 tackles, 5.5 for loss and three passes defended along with an interception returned 43 yards against Minnesota State. Junior David Reed also sees considerable action at the position with 19 tackles and 4.5 for loss. He had 3.5 tackles for loss against and a season-high six tackles against Sioux Falls.

QUARTERBACK NOTES
For the second straight season, opening day starting quarterback Corey Cole suffered a season ending injury. Last year, it was in the second quarter of week two. In 2015, Cole went down in the season opener at the end of the third quarter. Cole has played parts of three games under center for the Golden Bears, passing for 306 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 179 yards (6.8 avg) and a touchdown in that limited time. Prior to making the conversion to quarterback, Cole spent two years as a receiver/returner, registering 22 catches for 264 yards and a touchdown and compiling 450 kick return yards (26.5 avg) and a 100 yard touchdown along with 86 punt return yards (6.1 avg).

Sophomore Ben Schramski earned the first crack at replacing Cole under center. In 2014 as a redshirt freshman, Schramski started the final five games and sent the team into the offseason with a four game winning streak as signal caller.

In 2015, Schramski has completed 96-201 for 1,072 yards and eight touchdowns while adding one rushing touchdown.

With 11 career starts and parts of 18 overall games, Schramski has 1,866 passing yards and 12 touchdowns with 258 rushing yards and three TDs.

In week eight at Wayne State, redshirt freshman Trevor Tillett made his first career start at quarterback and has now made three straight starts. On the year, Tillett is 45-94 for 513 yards and three touchdowns. He had his first extended action under center in week seven against MSU, completing 13-27 for 106 yards and a touchdown while playing the entire second half. He continued the hot hand at WSC in week eight by completing 18-36 for 217 yards and a score.

Concordia has not announced a week 11 starting quarterback against Augustana, but the team's two deep continues to list Tillett in the top position.

VICKERS BREAKING OUT AS ALL-PURPOSE ALL-STAR
Redshirt freshman wide receiver and return specialist Alquawn Vickers has been one of the most dynamic playmakers in the Northern Sun, leading the league with 159.8 all-purpose yards per game which ranks 17th in the country.

He is the national leader with 1,119 combined return yards and is second in the country with two kick returns for touchdown (99, 91), and ranks third in the NSIC with a 25.6 kick return average (34th in DII).

He set the program's kickoff return yardage record for a single season in week eight and now has 39-998 to break Joseph Mapson's 2003 record of 29-809 yards.

He's been one of the top receiving targets on the team as well, leading the squad in receptions (37) while ranking second on the team in yards (463) and receiving touchdowns (3) although his five total touchdowns leads the team. He had his top receiving game in week eight at Wayne State with highs of nine catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns, and also had an eight catch, 87 yard performance against Winona State in week five.

He earned NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in week three in CSP's 28-13 win at Minot State with his 99-yard kickoff return for touchdown. He also has kick returns of 91 for a score, 80, 44, 43 and 41 yards among his top plays.

RUNNING BACK COMMITTEE
Concordia has featured three different running backs as starters and four different players have led the team in rushing throughout the season. Alex Carr leads the team with 352 rushing yards while averaging 4.8 per carry. He has the team season-high 144 yards on 16 carries in the opener at St. Cloud State and the team's longest run of 43 yards.

Darius Chapes leads the team in carries (83) to Carr's 74, rushing for 292 yards and a team-high two rushing touchdowns. Charles Arnold has started twice including last week and is third on the team in yards (55) and has a 4.2 average.

Carr has led the team in rushing four times followed by Chapes three times and Arnold twice. Carr leads the group with five starts followed by Chapes with four and Arnold with two.

Quarterback Ben Schramski led the team in rushing with 55 yards in week two against MSU Moorhead, adding a touchdown among 15 carries but sacks have taken a toll on his overall net rushing with 44 total yards on the year.

WR NOTES: JASON ONEY MAKING BIG PLAYS
Sophomore Jason Oney has been a consistent target of CSP's quarterbacks, second on the team with 34 receptions while leading the team with 483 receiving yards and a 14.2 average. He's hauled in multiple catches in eight of 10 games including five games of four or more grabs. He had a career-high eight catches in week five against Winona State for 59 yards, while his 30 yard touchdown grab at Minot State in week three was his first TD and set a career-long. He established a career-high 73 yards (on six catches) in week seven against Minnesota State, matching his career long reception of 30 yards.

In week eight at Wayne State, Oney topped his career long and career high in yards with four catches for 104 yards and an 81 yard reception, the longest play of scrimmage for CSP this season.

Junior Sammy Baucham has also had a nice season as he's third on the team in catches (18), yards (223) and leads the team with four touchdown catches and a long touchdown of 69 yards in week two against MSU Moorhead. He had a two touchdown catch performance in week 10 against SMSU, as well.

BIG CHANGES TO THE KICKING GAME
The Golden Bears have featured one of the top kickers and punters in the country the last four years in Tom Obarski, who was with the Cincinnati Bengals training camp into September until the final roster cuts. Obarski was an All-America kicker and punter and holds numerous game, season and career records.

This year, sophomore Sam Maedke has handled punting duties while freshman Jonas Schenderlein won a competitive four player battle for placekicking duties.

Maedke ranks seventh in the NSIC with a punting average of 36.4 yards and is second in the league with 16 punts inside the 20. Maedke has also limited returns this season as he's second in the league with 23 punts fair caught and only has two touchbacks among his league-leading and school record 75 punts. He has also set the team records for season punting yards (2,731), single game punts (12) and single game punting yards (469).

Schenderlein has only had seven field goal attempts on the year, making his first career try from 43 yards in the opener at SCSU and he has converted 2-3 from 40-plus yards, also delivering on 2-2 from 20-29 yards. His second make was also from 40-plus, making a 42-yard try against Minnesota State in week seven. He has converted 19-20 PAT's and opponents have an average starting field position at the 27 yard line on his kickoffs, including six touchbacks out of 34 attempts.

ROBERTS & DOBBS IMPACTING THE DEFENSIVE LINE
While Hank Goff grabs the headlines on the defensive line, younger players Chazz Roberts (sophomore) and Jackson Dobbs (R-Fr.) have been solid additions to Goff up front.

Roberts leads the defense and is 13th in the NSIC with 9.5 tackles for loss and has been consistent in collecting at least a half TFL in all but three games including 3.0 in week five against Winona State. He also has 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two blocked kicks while racking up 44 tackles including a career high eight tackles in week 10 against SMSU.

Dobbs also has a 3.0 TFL performance to his credit as part of a 6-tackle, 3.0-TFL, 1.0-sack effort in a 28-13 road win at Minot State in week three. Dobbs has 41 tackles, 6.0 for loss, 1.5 sacks and has recovered both of Roberts' forced fumbles. He has had at least a half tackle for loss in five games as a first year starter.

NOTES ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE
Senior Academic All-American Cole Parker fronts the group having been a four year starter with versatility in his career to play the guard and tackle positions. A right tackle as a junior, Parker was voted an Academic All-America First Team choice and as a senior left tackle, he repeated as an Academic All-District selection, advancing to the Academic All-America ballot (to be announced).

The starting offensive line returned four players to start the year, with Josh Coyne at left guard, Brett Morris at center and Nat Schmidtke at right guard with redshirt freshman Terrell Taylor winning the starting role at right tackle. But injuries have knocked Coyne and Morris to the sideline for most of the year with redshirt freshman Rich Kelly getting a lot of playing time at the guard and center spots. Other redshirt freshmen, Ray Blossfield and Austin Mertens have also received playing time while junior transfer Conner McGraw has earned a pair of starts as well.

Coyne and Morris were All-NSIC South Division honorable mention performers in 2014 as sophomores.