ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday, Concordia-St. Paul (1-0 NSIC, 0-1 South) hits the road for the first time of 2019 to face Upper Iowa (0-1 NSIC, 0-1 South) for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Harms-Eischeid Stadium in Fayette, Iowa.

The Golden Bears will be seeking their first road night game victory since 2013, looking to snap a nine game skid. CSP is coming off a 41-17 win over Sioux Falls while Upper Iowa is looking to rebound from a 52-0 road loss to Augustana in week one.

FOLLOW ONLINE
All Concordia football games, home and away, will be streamed online as part of the NSIC's league-wide agreement with Presto Sports (formerly Stretch Internet). All CSP football games can be viewed in Concordia's online video portal.

Fans can also watch on their smart TV through various means including Roku, Apple TV, Amazon FireTV and Android TV. Simply search "NSIC" to find the Stretch Internet/Presto Sports application which carries the full slate of Northern Sun broadcasts (all sports!), with options to sort by school or sport.

The game will also be aired locally on AM 950 KOEL out of Oelwein, Iowa with UIU commentators on the call.
 
Games can also be followed with live stats and by keeping track of the NSIC live scoreboard.

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 CSP Bears 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!

COACHES SHOW RETURNS TO TWIN CITIES RADIO IN 2019
The Coaches Show with Shannon Currier is back for a second year, once again hosted by Wally Langfellow of Minnesota Score. The show airs following the Minnesota high school football game of the week, typically on Friday evenings in the 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. hour on KYCR 1440 AM radio, available in the Twin Cities metro area. This week's guests include senior defensive lineman TJ Diallo and senior offensive lineman Ethan Aune.

For fans who miss the show or are outside of the radio station's Twin Cities reach, the entire show is accessible via the CSP Bears Podcast, available in Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play Music. It will typically be uploaded late Friday night (after the initial air time) or Saturday morning prior to the game. LISTEN ONLINE (available late Friday/early Saturday)

CSP MAKES FROGTOWN RADIO DEBUT IN ST PAUL
Concordia continues to make a positive impression in the St. Paul community with local radio station WFNU (94.1 FM) starting a regular segment to air on Saturday mornings at 9:30 a.m. The first air time is set for September 21, but the station has started recording interviews for a podcast titled "Concordia-St. Paul Scoreboard" which is available on Spotify and Anchor. Follow WFNU Frogtown Radio's CSP connections at @ScoreboardCSP and @651SportsUpdate. The first interview features was with head coach Shannon Currier, and this week's guest is senior quarterback Maxon Hutton. LISTEN

SMERCHEK FEATURED ON NSIC RADIO SHOW
Following an NSIC Defensive Player of the Week performance, junior linebacker Dalton Smerchek was featured on the NSIC Radio Spotlight show, which is available online at northernsun.org. The show is played all over the NorthernSun territory map on stations that cover opposing programs. LISTEN

2019 TEAM CAPTAINS
CSP head coach Shannon Currier will have rotating team captains each week for the second year in a row. Captains are selected by the coaching staff based on performance on the field and as a leader in practice, meetings and day-to-day activities.

This week's game captain: senior offensive lineman Rich Kelly (2x) and senior quarterback Maxon Hutton (2x) on offense and juniors Chris Garrett (2x) and Dalton Smerchek on defense.

DOBBS HONORS FALLEN FRIEND WITH NUMBER CHANGE
Senior defensive end Jackson Dobbs changed jersey numbers from 98 to 26 to honor Billy Brown, Jr., a linebacker who graduated from CSP in May, 2018. Billy passed away shortly after graduating while working out in the Twin Cities in June. The two were close friends, and head coach Shannon Currier has opted to honor Brown by selecting a player who fits Billy's work ethic and commitment to the program to wear the number each season.

Dobbs has racked up 129 career tackles, 20.5 TFL and 13.0 sacks in 29 games and is a sixth year senior.

SERIES HISTORY: CONCORDIA 9, UPPER IOWA 4
The Golden Bears hold a 9-4 all-time record heading into the 14th meeting between the programs dating back to Upper Iowa's entrance into the NSIC in 2006. Concordia is 2-3 in away games at Upper Iowa including three losses in a row in Fayette. CSP's last win at Upper Iowa was a 57-56 decision in overtime in 2009. Last year, CSP snapped a three game losing streak to Upper Iowa in the all-time series with a 34-7 in CSP's home opener at Sea Foam Stadium.

Head coach Shannon Currier holds a 1-2 record against Upper Iowa and is 0-1 on the road against the Peacocks. In Currier's first term in 2000-to-2003, Upper Iowa was not yet a Division II program or member of the NSIC.

LAST MEETING, 2018: CONCORDIA 34, UPPER IOWA 7
The Golden Bears rebounded from a stunning season opening loss in the final seconds at #20 Sioux Falls with a convincing 27-point win over Upper Iowa in the home opener.

The win was fueled by a 271-to-17 rushing yardage advantage but the team scored with multiple big plays in the first half to establish the lead: a 73-yard run by Lajuan Preston in the first quarter, a 17-yard blocked punt return by Emanuel Jones (block by Grant Ericksen) and a 61-yard pass from Dom McKinzy to MJ Williams in a 17-point second quarter that also included a 43-yard field goal by Jonas Schenderlein.

The explosive first half led a 282-to-140 advantage in total offense including 157 passing yards with 100 coming in the second quarter.

CSP's 271 rushing yards included 28 attempts for 146 yards in the second half to grind out the clock for the win, fueling a 33:15 to 26:45 edge in time of possession in the contest.

Shaq Johnson led the ground effort with 22 carries for 110 yards and a pair of receptions for 26 yards including a 17-yard TD catch which set the record for most receiving TDs by a running back in the program's DII-era (1999-present).

Under center, McKinzy had 11 carries for 56 yards and a long of 32 while completing 12-of-21 for 184 yards and two TDs. He connected with Williams for six receptions and 93 yards with the TD while Marcus Gustaveson had two catches for 51 yards and a long of 36.

Concordia finished the game with 455 yards of total offense while holding UIU to 353. To get to 353, Upper Iowa passed for 336 yards but with CSP stifling the running game to 17 yards, it took the Peacocks 60 passing attempts to reach the 336 total.

Defensively, the CSP pass rush was a factor as Chris Garrett posted 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hurries and a forced fumble while Jackson Dobbs recovered the fumble and added 1.5 tackles for loss and a half sack from the opposite end.

CSP held UIU to 3-of-17 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth.

ABOUT THE PEACOCKS
The Peacocks got off to a slow start to 2019, falling 52-0 at Augustana as the Vikings topped 400 yards (411) while keeping UIU under 200 (198). UIU allowed 294 through the air and 117 on the ground, while mustering 33 rushing yards and 165 passing.

The Vikings rolled up 24 first downs to Upper Iowa's 10, converting 8-of-12 on third down to UIU's 3-of-13 including a 1-of-6 fourth down rate.

The turning point came early, after Upper Iowa stopped Augustana to nine yards on its opening drive, the Peacocks fumbled the punt reception on their own 11-yard line, setting Augie up with a first and goal from the three, scoring on the next play.

Mitchel Siech led the Upper Iowa defense with nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss as the Peacocks had nine total tackles for loss in the defeat. Laith Smith and Kyle Domin each had 2.0 tackles for loss, as well.

Jake Schuman completed 13-of-26 for 165 yards but was intercepted twice and sacked three times, turning his 46 yards rushing yards gained into five net rushing yards.

Bralin Simon had the offensive highlight with a 63-yard reception while three others had at least three catches.

Jon Deprey led UIU with 26 rushing yards on three carries with a long of 20.

Upper Iowa was picked 11th overall and seventh in the south division in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing 3-8 overall and 1-6 in the south a year ago.

The Peacocks are two years removed from a stretch of play where UIU posted six wins in a season four times from 2013 to 2017.

Of Upper Iowa's eight losses last year, four came by seven points or less including three home losses.

The program brings back returning All-NSIC selections Mitchel Siech (LB) and Alex Schneider (OL) who were honorable mention selections last season.