ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday, Concordia-St. Paul (4-5 NSIC, 2-3 South) heads to Southwest Minnesota State (4-5 NSIC, 1-4 South) as the team heads on the road for the final two games of the season. The Golden Bears and Mustangs will kickoff at 1 p.m. at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center in Marshall.

WEATHER OUTLOOK
As of Wednesday afternoon, this Saturday's game in Marshall will be played with a 90 percent chance of rain periodically throughout the day with a high of 44 (low 34) and light ESE winds at 8 mph.

LIVE COVERAGE
The game can be watched online, free of charge as SMSU Media produces the video webcast with SMSU student Matt Metzler providing the play-by-play. For those seeking a radio call, KARL 105.1 FM carries the game in the Marshall area with Ryan Rohlik on play-by-play and Anthony Rohlik on color commentary.

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

STREAMING DEVICES
The SMSU 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 FRIDAY NIGHT
New this year, the Coach Shannon Currier Show debuted on 1440 AM KYCR radio in the Twin Cities following the prep football game of the week. The show is hosted by Wally Langfellow of Minnesota Score, and will be a weekly airing following the prep football game of the week, typically in the 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. hour. This week's show is the seventh episode and features player interviews with redshirt freshman linebacker Jake Portz and senior tight end John Damrow.

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 on the podcast 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 featured rotating team captains each week throughout the 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.

This week's game captains features a pair of familiar faces: junior offensive lineman Rich Kelly (7x) and junior defensive end Jackson Dobbs (7x) being joined by first time game captains junior quarterback Maxon Hutton and junior cornerback Dion Wallisch.

CURRIER TIES PROGRAM WINS RECORD
With the 21-13 win over Minnesota Crookston in week eight, Concordia head coach Shannon Currier tied the program's all-time wins record with a 40-35 overall record in his seven seasons, reaching the record win in 74 games which was five games faster than Mark Mauer (2004-10) who finished with a 40-39 record in his seven seasons. Currier also ranks third in career winning percentage (.533). Additionally, Currier boasts a 24-13 career record in home games and is 7-0 in home openers.

HASKINS CONTINUES PRODUCING AT NATIONAL LEADING PACE
Redshirt freshman cornerback Marcus Haskins had a pair of interceptions, a forced fumble, two more pass breakups and five solo tackles in CSP's week nine loss to Augustana. He now has seven interceptions, leading the NSIC and ranking second in NCAA Division II and with his league-leading 19 pass breakups he is leading the country with 26 passes defended on the season. He's tied for CSP's Division II-era single season interceptions record with Korey Gilbert (2000) and he holds the PBU record by five. His 19 PBU's to start his career rank fourth in CSP's DII-era for a career in just nine games played.

In addition to Haskins' on-ball ability, he has held two of the league's top receivers in check: Nate Rogers of WSC with five catches for 40 yards and Nickel Meyers of Augie to 22 yards on two catches.

While starting his career with an interception in each of CSP's first five games, he had his breakout performance in a 31-7 week two win over Upper Iowa in which he produced an NCAA DII single game high seven passes defended with six PBUs and an INT against the Peacocks.

GARRETT & DOBBS APPLY THE PRESSURE
Part of Haskins' success in the secondary is due to strong pressure up front from the defensive ends, sophomore Chris Garrett and junior Jackson Dobbs. Garrett leads the Northern Sun and is sixth in the country with 1.13 sacks per game (9 in 8 games) and he's fifth in the league with 1.31 TFL per game (10.5 in 8 games). From weeks six to eight, Garrett racked up 6.5 sacks and 7.5 TFL including a three sack effort in a 17-7 road win at UMary. His 9.0 sacks on the year are sixth most in CSP's DII history and his 15.0 career sacks in just 15 games are tied for fifth on the career charts in DII history.

Dobbs exploded with a 4.5 TFL and 4.0 sack performance in a 21-13 win over UMC, earning NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors in week eight and is now ranked fifth in the league with 6.5 total sacks and in the top-20 with 8.5 TFL. He's had at least a half sack in five different games this year. He also leads the team with seven quarterback hurries. In 26 games over his three years, Dobbs has 116 tackles, 18.0 TFL and 11.0 sacks.

While adept pass rushers, the duo is also solid in the run game, ranking fourth and fifth on the team in tackles, Dobbs with 38 and Garrett with 37.

BACK-TO-BACK NSIC DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Following CSP's week seven win at UMary (17-7) and week eight win over Minnesota Crookston (21-13), the Golden Bears were awarded NSIC Defensive Player of the Week.

At UMary, it was redshirt freshman safety Dez Bassett jumping in front of a Marauder pass and returning it 77 yards for a touchdown to break a scoreless tie in the third quarter on the road. He also had a pass breakup on UMary's final fourth down play to end their comeback attempt late in the fourth quarter. Bassett, a Mankato native who earned his first start in week three at MSU in his hometown, is second on the team with 50 tackles while starting seven of nine games. He also has 2.5 TFL and four pass breakups.

Following CSP's week eight win over Minnesota Crookston, junior defensive end Jackson Dobbs earned the honor while producing 4.5 TFL and 4.0 sacks, the second highest totals in the Northern Sun this season with the four sacks being the third most in the country in a game this year.

PORTZ HAVING IMPACT ROOKIE SEASON
Continuing with the defensive theme, redshirt freshman linebacker Jake Portz has been solid all season long, ranking 16th in the NSIC with 63 total tackles. He's added 4.0 TFL and a sack, has a pair of double-digit tackle performances and has made at least four tackles in eight of nine games. His career high of 12 tackles was in week three at Minnesota State and he is coming off a 10-tackle performance against Augustana. He's racked up 34 tackles across the last four games with at least seven in each outing.

RUN GAME PRODUCING BIG RESULTS
The Concordia ground game has produced 200-plus yards five times in nine games this year including four out of CSP's five home contests. After rushing for 1,277 yards at 3.6 per carry in 2017, the Golden Bears have already surpassed their rushing total with 1,622 yards and a 4.4 per carry average.

Sophomore Lajuan Preston leads the team with 557 rushing yards including three 100-yard performances. Preston ranks seventh in the league with 557 rushing yards and was ranked as high as 15th in the country in rushing average last week but no longer has enough carries to qualify for the national leaderboard. He's still averaging 6.6 per rush in a breakout season.

Prior to Preston assuming the rushing lead back role, it was sophomore Shaq Johnson who was off to a strong start with 367 yards and a 5.6 average along with 49 receiving yards and five combined touchdowns in four games. He was injured for the season in CSP's week four 29-7 win over Wayne State, however.

The Golden Bears have a deep rushing attack as senior quarterback Dom McKinzy is third on the team with 322 yards and has a team-high three rushing touchdowns and backup quarterback Maxon Hutton has 66 yards on the ground with a TD. Transfer running backs Emanuel Jones (49-166, 2 TD), junior Garrett Gardner (28-119) and redshirt freshman Jeremiah Johnson (16-44, 1 TD) also factor into the regular mix. Jones is a transfer from Northwest Missouri State, Gardner from Wyoming and Johnson from Akron.

SERIES HISTORY: CSP 11, SMSU 10
With last year's 37-20 win for the Golden Bears in the 2017 season finale at Sea Foam Stadium, the Golden Bears snapped a 20-game NSIC South Division losing streak and also took the lead in the all-time series 11-10 against SMSU heading into the 22nd meeting. After SMSU won the first three contests in 1979, 1980 and 1999, the Golden Bears ripped off six straight wins with at least 30 points in five of those wins. A three game winning streak by SMSU from 2006 to 2008 evened the series at 6-6 before CSP won three more in a row from 2009-11. The Mustangs then won four of the next five before last year's win for CSP.

Concordia is 5-5 all-time in Marshall and 5-1 all-time against SMSU in head coach Shannon Currier's coaching career.

LAST YEAR: CSP 37, SMSU 20
The last time CSP and SMSU met came in last year's season finale, as the Golden Bears claimed a 37-20 victory on their home turf at Sea Foam Stadium.

In that contest, freshman running back Shaq Johnson and junior kicker Jonas Schenderlein both had big days, as the two combined to contribute to 31 of CSP's 37 points.

Johnson had a breakout game with 175 rushing yards on 17 attempts, also running for two touchdowns. The freshman RB from Florida also threw a 63-yard TD pass on a trick play in the win.

Schenderlein knocked home three field goals on three attempts, also converting all four of his extra point attempts. The Jena, Germany native made two 51-yard field goals and a 39-yard kick in contrast to four missed field goals for the Mustangs. Schenderlein also kicked four touchbacks in the victory. It was the first time in school history that a kicker had made multiple 50-plus yard field goals in a single game and pushed him to a school record for most career 50-plus yard field goals which he has extended to seven in 2018 with his 55-yarder against Augustana in week nine.

On the defensive side of the ball, four Golden Bears had 10+ tackles, including LB Antonio Zepeda (17), DB Dion Wallisch (14), LB Blake Evans (13), and DB Brian Szutkowski (10). Wallisch also had six pass breakups on game, and Evans forced a fumble and recorded half a tackle for loss.

The Golden Bears struck first with one of Schenderlein's 51-yard field goals, but the Mustangs answered back with a 23-yard touchdown strike from Boyer Bouman to Nate Huot. Huot had 19 catches for 164 yards and a touchdown in the contest.

The Golden Bears would regain the lead near the end of the first quarter with a 80-yard TD run from Johnson, and would stay in the driver's seat for the rest of the game. SMSU would come within ten points in the fourth quarter, but no closer as the Golden Bears sealed the victory with another 1-yard Johnson TD run.

Gabe Steed led the Golden Bears in receiving with 88 yards, including a 63-yard TD reception on the pass from the RB Johnson. Marcus Gustaveson also hauled in a 45-yard TD pass in the victory.

The key to victory for CSP was big plays. Though the Mustangs out-gained the Golden Bears on offense and had more than double the amount of first downs, CSP averaged 8.3 yards per play compared to SMSU's 5.7. Concordia also forced the only turnover of the day.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
Southwest Minnesota State comes into their matchup with the Golden Bears sporting a 4-5 record (1-4 NSIC South).  SMSU lost their first three games, came back with three straight wins, and since then have gone 1-2 with their most recent game being a 38-26 loss to Winona State.

The Mustangs are led by a prolific passing attack, as senior QB Blake Gimbel is 10th in the country and second in the conference with 289.4 passing yards per game. Gimbel is completing 61.6% of his passes (2nd NSIC) and has thrown 22 touchdowns (2nd NSIC).

Gimbel's top target this season has been junior transfer Daniel Davis. Davis leads the NSIC in receiving yards per game with 106.0 yards per game, and is second in the league with 6.8 catches per game. Davis has also caught nine TDs, tied for the third highest mark in the NSIC. Receivers Connor Wilke (25 catches, 31.4 yards per game) and Aaron Murphy (21 catches, 33.3 yards per game) as well as 6'8 TE Carter Kirk (23 catches, 29.1 yards per game) have also been top targets.

In the running game, junior RB Max Simmons leads the way. Simmons, has rushed for 54.3 yards per game on 4.3 yards per carry, scoring three rushing TDs. The 5'9, 168 lbs back has also caught 18 passes for 130 yards and two TDs.

On defense, senior linebacker Shane Ratkovich has been a force, racking up 91 tackles (2nd NSIC), including a conference-leading 17.5 tackles for loss. Ratkovich has also forced two fumbles and blocked a kick for the Mustangs.

In the secondary, sophomore Lucas Fisher and junior Cory Hollowell have made a big impact. Hollowell is tied for third in the conference in passes defended (11 PBUs and two INTs) and third on the team in tackles with 55. Fisher has three interceptions, a forced fumble, and is fourth on the team in tackles with 45.

The Mustangs are third in the conference in turnover gained with 19. However, they have also lost seven fumbles and thrown eight interceptions on offense.

The Mustang defense has given up a decent amount of yards in the 2018 season, ranking 10th in the conference by giving up 162.7 rushing yards per game and 12th in passing defense by allowing 232 yards through the air per contest.

SMSU has been efficient on third down, converting 39.7% of the time. They have also had success on fourth down, getting the first down 57.1% of time. Their fourth-down defense has been top notch, second in the conference at 26.3% but trailing CSP's 25.0% fourth down mark.

The Mustangs have tried the second-least amount of field goals in the NSIC this season, converting just three kicks in five attempts.