ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday at noon, Concordia-St. Paul (3-4 NSIC, 2-2 South) hosts Minnesota Crookston (1-6 NSIC, 1-3 North) in the final week of NSIC North-South Division crossover play at Sea Foam Stadium. The Golden Bears look to even out their overall record as well as their record against the NSIC North Division (1-2) as the program hosts CSP Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day.

WEATHER OUTLOOK
As of Wednesday afternoon, this Saturday's game is headed towards a windy afternoon (NNW, 20-30mph), a high of 40 degrees and a 40 percent chance of rain with clearing in the afternoon - similar conditions to last week's 17-7 win in Bismarck at UMary.

FACULTY/STAFF APPRECIATION DAY
An annual program tradition, this week marks the program's Faculty & Staff Appreciation game where each player on the team personally invites one Concordia staff or faculty member to the game to recognize their importance to the student-athlete's overall experience on campus. Each faculty/staff member will be recognized with a certificate and gift along with on-field recognition at halftime.

STREAKS ON THE LINE
After extending UMary's losing streak against the NSIC South Division to 16 games last week, Concordia will face a Minnesota Crookston squad entering play having lost 23 in a row against the NSIC South and carrying a 1-26 record against the opposite division. Concordia's win at UMary last week snapped a 13-game road losing streak, and now the Golden Bears will try to protect an 11-game winning streak against UMC. Concordia is now 10-17 against the NSIC North Division and has won at least a game against the division every year since division play started in 2012.

LIVE COVERAGE
The game can be watched online, free of charge as School Space Media produces a multiple camera broadcast with veteran broadcaster Dan Flanagan handling the play-by-play. The St. Paul native is a graduate of Fordham University (N.Y.) where he trained in broadcasting in multiple sports including the Rams football team in the Patriot League. Flanagan has been broadcasting for Golden Bear athletics since 2008. He'll be joined by color commentator Logan Anderson, former voice of Morningside College on 620 AM KMNS in Sioux City, Iowa where he earned a degree in mass communications.

Additionally, live stats are available as is the NSIC live scoreboard to follow league action in real-time.

For fans looking for an audio-only feed, the Crookston radio station, KROX 1260 AM will have the call by Leo Blavin. While the radio station covers the Crookston area in northern Minnesota, the audio call will be available online at www.kroxam.com.

STREAMING DEVICES
The School Space Media streamed webcast is now available through widely used streaming devices like the Roku, Amazon FireTV, Apple TV and Android TV. Simply search for NSIC to find the Stretch Internet application for the conference to watch games on your TV and in HD (where available).

DOWNLOAD THE CSP BEARS GAMEDAY FAN APP
Follow the Golden Bear football team along with the rest of your favorite CSP Bears squads by downloading the new gameday fan app, hosted by From Now On. The app provides users with a unique and customizable experience, allowing each user to select the sports they want to follow and how they are connected to CSP (fans, students, faculty/staff, alumni, etc). The app will also be a new way to stay updated on the action as well as to be the first to find out about promotions and special events!

LISTEN TO THE COACHES SHOW WITH COACH CURRIER - WEDNESDAY THIS WEEK
For fans who miss the show or are outside of the radio station's Twin Cities reach, the entire show will also be accessible via the CSP Bears Podcast, hosted by Buzzsprout and also available in Spotify, iTunes, Google Play Music, Stitcher and TuneIn Radio. Or, if you're around the house, tell Alexa to play the CSP Bears Podcast! It will be available either late Friday night after the initial airing or on Saturday morning.

CHECK BACK FOR ENHANCED PREVIEW COVERAGE
For fans hungry for the most Golden Bear football content on the web, check the GAME NOTES index page as well as the CSP FOOTBALL WEEKLY index. The two pieces are created with different goals. Game notes, typically released on Thursday afternoons, is to serve concerned media members covering CSP, the opponent media market and those covering NSIC/DII football while the football weekly piece (released Thursday or Friday) is a document produced by the coaching staff to update alumni, family and recruits on behind-the-scenes life in Concordia football. Together they combine to tell the full story of Concordia football, especially when combined with the multimedia options with the CSP Bears Podcast and Coaches Show.

2018 TEAM CAPTAINS
Concordia head coach Shannon Currier has announced plans to have rotating team captains each week throughout the fall season, starting back in the first week of fall training camp. Captains are selected by the coaching staff based on performance on the field and as a leader in practice, meetings and in general day-to-day activities.

For the third straight week, juniors Rich Kelly and Kelly Pierce will walk out to midfield for the pregame coin toss which will be the fifth time overall for Kelly on the offensive side. Joining them for the second week in a row is sophomore Chris Garrett while junior Marcus Gustaveson is now a three-time game captain this season.

GARRETT SHOOTS UP SACK LEADERBOARD
Sophomore Chris Garrett's recent sack explosion has vaulted him to the top of the Northern Sun with 1.33 sacks per game which ranks third in the country. He has racked up 5.5 of his 8.0 sacks in the last two weeks with 2.5 against Northern State two weeks ago and 3.0 last week in the 17-7 win at UMary. He also ranks sixth in the league with 1.42 tackles for loss per game and 8.5 total TFL. He's also fourth on the team with 30 total tackles this season which leads CSP defensive linemen. In just 13 career games, Garrett is already sixth in Concordia's Division II era with 14.0 career sacks, averaging more than a sack per game. He also has 74 career tackles and 17.5 career TFL with six forced fumbles.

BASSETT COMING OFF NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK PERFORMANCE
While Chris Garrett has been harassing quarterbacks, the secondary has taken advantage with redshirt freshman safety Dez Bassett being the most recent defensive back to pounce on an opportunity. Last week, he jumped in front of a Marauder pass near the sideline and returned it 77 yards for a touchdown to break a scoreless tie in the third quarter en route to a 17-7 win at UMary. He also had a pass breakup to end the Marauders' final drive in the fourth quarter to seal the win and had six total tackles in the game. He is now tied for second on the team with three pass breakups and four passes defended.

HASKINS CONTINUES NATIONAL LEAD
Redshirt freshman cornerback Marcus Haskins continues his national lead in passes defended with 19 in seven games, adding his 14th pass breakup in week seven at UMary. He also ranks seventh in the country in interceptions per game (0.71) with his five picks tied for the league lead. His 14 PBU is tied for the single season school record (DII era) and five interceptions are third since 1999, just two shy of the DII era record. His five interceptions came in each of his first five career games played.

GROUND GAME RUNS BEHIND BIG BEARS
Concordia's ground game has been a strong group effort this season as sophomores Lajuan Preston (69-445) and Shaq Johnson (65-367) have led a deep running back committee. Emanuel Jones (38 carries), Garrett Gardner (24) and Jeremiah Johnson (11) have all been regularly featured in the backfield along with blocking back Andre Eubanks. Senior quarterback Dom McKinzy (63 carries) and backup junior Maxon Hutton (14 carries) have also been featured prominently in the run game.

It's a successful equation because of the one one constant: the offensive line. Led by veteran returning starters Terrell Taylor and Rich Kelly, the Golden Bears have also received strong play across the line from Samuel Kessler (center), Ethan Aune (guard/tackle), Cris Wasylciw (tackle), Tanner Haechten (guard) and redshirt freshmen Matthew Montgomery and Tyson Kauffman.

Behind the big Bears up front, Concordia ranks third in the league in time of possession (31:47) and fifth in rushing offense (179.3). CSP has topped 200 rushing yards four times this season and is coming off a school record of 63 rushing attempts at UMary in week seven. Concordia's season low of 94 yards came against the top team in the country on the road (28-94) and is the only time the team has been held under 100 rushing yards. Further, the offensive line is ranked fifth in the league with fewest tackles for loss allowed per game (5.43).

SERIES HISTORY: CONCORDIA 12, MINNESOTA CROOKSTON 3
After winning the first-ever meeting between the programs 16-0 in 1994 in Crookston, the series was revived in 1999 when Concordia joined the Northern Sun. The Golden Eagles were not kind to the Golden Bears in the early NSIC years, with UMC winning three in a row from 1999 to 2001. But the Golden Bears picked up a 48-7 home win at Griffin Stadium in 2002 and have won every meeting since, scoring at least 28 points each game while UMC has not scored more than 24. Concordia has topped 40 points seven times during the current 11 game winning streak and produced back-to-back shutouts in 2006 (49-0) and 2007 (48-0) in games played at the old Metrodome in Minneapolis. Concordia has only hosted UMC four times in St. Paul, winning all four matchups and the Golden Eagles have only made two trips to Sea Foam Stadium which opened in 2009: a 38-20 win for CSP in 2011 and a 44-3 win in 2014.

Despite the 12-3 record and 11-game winning streak, head coach Shannon Currier (2000-03 & 2016-present) is only 3-2 against UMC in his career against a program he coached with as offensive coordinator & recruiting coordinator in 1995 and 1996.

LAST MEETING, 2016: CSP 41, MINNESOTA CROOKSTON 18
The last time the Golden Bears and Golden Eagles faced off, Concordia traveled to northern Minnesota and took home a 41-18 win on September 10th, 2016.

Junior QB Ron Johnson had a big game in the win, as he passed 18-27 for 239 yards and three TDs. He also pitched in 14 yards on the ground and a rushing TD.

CSP did most of its damage in the first half in that contest, as the Golden Bears led 31-7 midway through the game. Johnson completed 14 of his his first 15 passes, including a string of 13 in a row.

CSP first cashed in on a one-yard Johnson TD run to start the scoring, but the Golden Eagles were able to even the score at 7-7 with a two-yard TD rush of their own.

The Golden Bears took control from there, as Jonas Schenderlein knocked home a 42-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter. A big second quarter for the Golden Bears included two touchdown passes from Johnson to senior tight end Bruce Russell (9, 40) and a 70-yard interception return for a TD by senior defensive back Dominic Nabak.

Senior running back Darius Chapes also had a big game for the Golden Bears, as he rushed 11 times for 97 yards and caught two passes for 21 yards and a touchdown. Chapes was one of eight Golden Bears to catch a pass on the day.

Nabak was the second-leading tackler (6) for the Golden Bears on the day, trailing senior linebacker JJ Przybylka who amassed 17 stops (4th most in team history) on the afternoon. Eleven of Przybylka's tackles were of the solo variety, and he also chipped in a half of sack.

After a Chapes 10-yard receiving TD to start the second half, UMC answered back with a field goal and a safety on botched snap to make the score 38-12. The Golden Bears scored their final points of the game midway through the fourth quarter on a Schenderlein 52-yard field goal, the 4th longest in team history at time time (now 6th longest)

Along with a big game from Johnson, the CSP defense executed in the important moments to help lead the Golden Bears to victory. Concordia held Minnesota Crookston to 4-of-12 on third down and 0-of-3 on fourth down.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
UMC comes into the contest with a 1-6 record. The Golden Eagles snapped a 26-game losing earlier this season with a 29-21 win over Minot State earlier this season. The win was also broke a 56-game road losing streak, dating back to the 2007 season. The Golden Bears claimed four wins at home against the Golden Eagles in that stretch.

UMC averages the least amount of points (10.7) and allows the most (46.0) in the league. UMC averages 240.3 yards of total offense (16th, NSIC), including 99 yards per game on the ground (14th) and 179.4 yards through the air (16th).

Junior QB Jalin Scott has led the Golden Eagles offense, passing 46-91 for 653 yards and two TDs. Scott has also rushed 103 times for 1.4 yards per carry, also running for four TDs. UMC has featured multiple QBs in 2018, as Tristan Robbins and Jeremy Neuman both have over 100 yards passing.

Freshman Andy Groebner has been the leader in catches (21), yards (405) and TDs (2) for the Golden Eagles.

Elijah Todd has led the ground game for the Golden Eagles, averaging 48 yards a game and 4.3 yards per carry. Kevin Evans is also a big part of the rushing attack for UMC, carrying the ball 51 times for 101 yards at 2.0 per carry.

The Golden Eagles have the second-worst turnover margin in DII football, as they have turned the ball over 22 times (10 interceptions, 12 fumbles) and forced six turnovers (one interception, five fumbles recovered).

The leading defensive player in most statistical categories for UMC has been Ali Alkhatib. The senior LB ranks 11th in the NSIC with 55 tackles, and leads the Golden Eagles with 5.0 TFLs, 1.0 sack, and an INT. Defensive back Will Cole is second on the team with 51 tackles and 4.0 TFL.

UMC has allowed opponents to convert 47% on 3rd down while converting just 32% on offense. The Golden Eagles have been more effective on 4th down, converting on 58.8% (4th NSIC).

The kicking game for the Golden Eagles has struggled, as they have knocked home just 2-of-5 field goals and 7-of-9 extra points. They are also 15th in the NSIC in net kickoff coverage, averaging 33.0 yards per kickoff.