ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday, Concordia-St. Paul football (0-3) continues its early night game surge with a 6 p.m. kickoff at Wayne State (3-0) for Family Day at Bob Cunningham Field at Memorial Stadium in Wayne, Nebraska.

WEATHER OUTLOOK
Saturday in Wayne features a high of 81 degrees and partly cloudy conditions in Northeast Nebraska, with temperatures cooling from 77 at kickoff to the mid 60s in the evening hours. Winds NW at 13 mph will subside to 7 mph by the end of the contest.

WATCH ONLINE – NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear NSIC football games will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, and supported by BlueFrame Technology.
 
Visit nsicnetwork.com/cspbears on a laptop or desktop computer, download the NSIC Network app on your mobile device or watch on your supported OTT provider such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Search "NSIC Network" and download the app for the league's full sport and team lineups. NSIC NETWORK FAQ

This week's game will also be aired live on TV in Northeast Nebraska on KWSC-TV Channel 6 in Wayne and on News Channel Nebraska, channel 99 on the American Broadband Wayne cable system.

The audio call will be courtesy Aaron Scheffler, the voice of the Wildcats on the Wildcat Sports Network and flagship radio station KTCH FM 104.9 in Wayne, or by listening online.

DOWNLOAD THE APP
Fans can download the CSP Bears fan app, free of charge and available in the App Store or on Google Play. The app contains rosters, schedules, scores, stats, news, social media and more! Customize your options to get notifications to your favorite teams, as well. Search "CSP Bears" in the app store to stay up-to-date on Golden Bear athletics.

LISTEN TO THE COACHES SHOW
The Coaches Show with Shannon Currier is back on the Twin Cities airwaves for a fourth season, 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 show airs live on Friday night and features sophomores Conner Cordts (QB) and Parker Dahlman (P).

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, Apple Podcasts, 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. Search 'CSP Bears' into your favorite podcast provider!

WEEK FOUR TEAM CAPTAINS
CSP head coach Shannon Currier features rotating team captains each week for the fourth year in a row in 2022. 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 captains are: senior defensive end Luke Dunsmoor (2x), senior defensive tackle Mel Jeudy (1x), sophomore quarterback Conner Cordts (2x) and sophomore guard Taylon Hensley (1x)

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Golden Bears have had a daunting first third of the season, with an opponent record of 8-1 through three weeks with a 3-0 Wayne State squad on the horizon.

Entering week four, CSP holds the 12th-toughest strength of schedule in Division II football, a mark that will become more firm in the coming weeks. While unable to put a positive mark in the win column, the Golden Bears have remained competitive, tied with #25 Augustana (now 3-0) late in the third quarter as the Vikings are now ranked #13 in the nation, followed by a 14-6 road loss to Southwest Minnesota State (now 2-1) after trailing 7-6 in the fourth quarter, and in week three fell 44-23 to Sioux Falls but played to a 24-23 margin after falling into a 20-0 first half deficit in a comeback attempt against a 3-0 Cougars team.

This week, the Wildcats hold a 3-0 record with road wins at UMary and Minot State along with a home win over Northern State. Next week, CSP hosts 2-1 Minnesota State who has been nationally-ranked this season followed by home games against formerly-ranked Bemidji State (1-2) and annual NSIC North power Minnesota Duluth (2-1).

SERIES HISTORY: CONCORDIA 11, WAYNE STATE 10
The Golden Bears and Wildcats will battle for the 22nd time in a series that commenced with CSP's entry into the NSIC and NCAA Division II ranks in 1999. The teams had met every year through 2019 until the series was disrupted by the cancelled COVID 2020 season, with CSP shifting to the NSIC North Division causing another gap year in 2021.

The Golden Bears bring a 2-game winning streak to the series, winning the last meeting in Wayne in 2019 (28-21) while their 2018 win at Sea Foam Stadium on a stormy Thursday night NSIC Game of the Week saw CSP weather a lightning delay as part of a 29-7 home win to snap a 4-game skid in the series.

Concordia has split 10 road games at Wayne State and have won three of the last five trips dating back to 2010 with all five contests decided by seven points or less.

Under head coach Shannon Currier, CSP holds a 6-2 record against the Wildcats, winning four straight from 2000-03 in his first term leading the program, while splitting the most recent four contests played from 2016-19.

His six wins against WSC are the second-most against any program while leading the CSP program, trailing the seven wins he's compiled against Southwest Minnesota State (7-3).

LAST MEETING, 2019: CONCORDIA 28, WAYNE STATE 21
Concordia secured a road comeback win to improve to 3-1 in the 2019 season, the first 3-1 record through four games since the 2013 squad while picking up its second-straight road victory.

In the win, CSP started strong with a first quarter 49-yard field goal (Danny Laudet), finished the first half strong with a Maxon Hutton to Marcus Gustaveson 6-yard touchdown strike with 27 seconds to play in the half to make it a 14-10 deficit entering the break.

In the second half, CSP started strong as Laudet delivered a red zone field goal from 21-yards out on a 6-plus minute drive to open the half, cutting it to a 14-13 game.

And the Golden Bears finished strong, with Darios Crawley-Reid scoring on the ground from three yards out with three minutes to play to finish a steady 12-play, 75-yard drive in the end zone and a 28-21 lead following the 2-point conversion pass to Jabril Clewis.

Prior to the game-winning fourth quarter drive, Hutton had the biggest play of the game, a 76-yard touchdown run on third down with 5:20 to play in the third quarter to give CSP its first lead since 3-0 in the first quarter.

The Concordia defense stepped up in the third quarter after allowing 258 yards in the first half, CSP held WSC to just 54 yards including 0-3 on third downs, all around midfield.

Hutton produced his second career 100-yard rushing performance (16-120, TD) while completing 16-24 for 172 yards and a TD through the air while playing turnover-free at the QB position.

CSP rushed for 191 yards at a 5.5 average as a team with Crawley-Reid adding 9-46 and a TD and Lajuan Preston adding 6-26 while surpassing the 1,000 yard mark for his career.

MJ Williams was the top receiving option with 4-50 with Gustaveson adding 3-46 and crossing the 1,700 career receiving yard threshold while the TD was the 18th of his career.

Chris Garrett led the defense with eight tackles, 2.0 for loss, a forced fumble and a fourth quarter pass breakup on fourth down to end the Wildcats final comeback attempt.

Laudet, who made a pair of field goals, averaged 51.0 yards on four punts including a school record 82-yard long from his own 2-yard line, pushing WSC back to its own 25 despite CSP's field position on the kick.

Laudet's day in the kicking game helped CSP offset disadvantages in first downs (17-28), rushing (191-227), passing (172-213), total offense (363-440) and time of possession (27:31 to 32:29) although CSP did win the turnover margin, 1-0, leading to Laudet's first quarter field goal.

WSC was led by QB Tavian Willis who was 10-13 for 129 yards and a TD passing, adding 16-68 rushing. Alex Thramer also played QB, completing 7-12 for 84 yards and a TD, adding 6-37 rushing.

Ryyan Wilkins led the WSC ground game (14-70) while Taurean Grady had 4-64 receiving and a TD with Corbin Foster adding 4-62 receiving.

LAST WEEK: SIOUX FALLS 44, CONCORDIA 23
Concordia produced a season-high with 306 passing yards while rushing for 105 yards against a USF defense that had been issuing -11 rushing yards per game entering play.

Sophomore quarterback Conner Cordts produced a career-high of 365 yards of total offense, completing 18-46-1 for 306 yards and three TDs while rushing for a career-high 59 yards on eight attempts with a long run of 35. He was only sacked once by a Cougar defense that was among the nation's best with 6.5 sacks per game entering play.

It was CSP's first 300-plus yard passing performance as a team since November 4, 2017 in a road loss to Augustana where Ron Johnson completed 27-54 for 349 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions in a 28-13 loss.

The big offensive night led to a season-high 23 points, as Cordts struck via the big play, hitting his targets in space and in stride.

After falling behind 20-0 with 3:52 to play in the first half, CSP finished the half strong, marching 72 yards in 13 plays with Sam Henson converting a field goal from 25 yards out in the red zone with 46 seconds to head into half with points, and momentum.

In the second half, CSP started with the ball and Cordts connected with redshirt freshman wide receiver Troy Ellison for his first career catch underneath, hitting him in stride over the middle with Ellison doing most of the work with his feet, racing for a 32-yard touchdown and a 20-10 deficit early in the third quarter.

Although USF answered with a quick TD, the Cordts came back and hit Joey Farley over the middle near the first down line with Farley catching the ball in stride and at top speed, hitting the gas for a 75-yard TD on the first play of the drive to make it 27-16 with 10:18 to play in the third.

CSP's comeback ran out of steam, as USF sccored the next 10 points, but Cordts wasn't finished, escaping pressure in the pocket, collecting himself under duress and finding a wide open Jaire Moore out of the backfield down the left sideline for a 64-yard strike.

Cordts' touchdowns came from 32, 75 and 64 yards to three different targets on a night when he completed passes to 10 different receivers while his 18 completions for 306 yards averaged 17 yards per completion.

Defensively, CSP had its hands full with a balanced USF attack as the Cougars rushed for 250 yards and four touchdowns at 5.8 per carry and Adam Mullen completed 15-22 for 268 yards and two more scores, averaging 17.9 per completion.

Thuro Reisdorfer led the ground game with 19-159 and two scores while Landon Freeman added the other two TD runs on 13-49 rushing.

Ethan Wittenburg had the top receiving line in the game at 5-128 with a TD.

CSP safeties Rhett Sheehan and Cyrus McClure once again led the charge on defense with nine tackles each while sophomore linebacker Brayden Hilgemann had seven stops.

NOTES ABOUT THE WILDCATS
After a 3-0 start, Wayne State has cracked the 'receiving votes' section of the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll, the second-straight year the program has earned votes. It's WSC's first 3-0 start since the 2012 season, and they'll be hunting their first 4-0 start since 1993 when they finished 9-1 overall.

Senior wide receiver Mason Lee is coming off of his first career 100-yard performance (5-130, TD) at Minot State, has a 16-game reception streak and has caught a pass in 32 of 33 games dating back to week four of his freshman year in 2018. He has 10-215 on the year while Jadon Johnson has 9-239 with three TDs.

Nick Bohn is the signal-caller, with 536 yards on 60.4 (29-48) passing and a 181.72 rating while Tavian Willis adds 7-11 (63.6) passing for 103 yards and a TD.

The duo ranks sixth nationally with a 179.96 rating, 11th in the country with 17.75 yards per completion while engineering the nation's best red zone offense (100%).

Bohn is also a rushing threat with 181 rushing yards on 4.9 per carry while Willis adds 51 yards on a 6.4 average. Anthony Watkins is the lead back with 204 yards and three TDs, averaging 3.8 per carry.

Alex Kowalczyk leads the defense with 28 tackles, adding 2.5 TFLs and an INT while Jaxson Johnson (3.5 TFL, 3.0 sacks, INT) and Jaylan Scott (3.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks, INT) add pressure. Tanner Cooper leads the team with 2 INTs while adding 12 tackles on a defense that has 5 INTs and two fumble recoveries.

The Wildcat defense ranks 12th in the country on third downs (22.9%), 36th on fourth downs (25.0%) and 15th in the red zone (57.1%)

INDIVIDUALS IN THE NCAA/NSIC RANKINGS
Several Golden Bear players are ranked among the NCAA.org statistical leaders. Below is a breakdown, with NSIC rank in ( ):
3rd - Cyrus McClure, 1.0 INT/game (1st)
15th - Jaylin Richardson, 7.03 yards/carry (1st)
31st - Sam Henson, 1.0 field goals/game (3rd)
44th - Rhett Sheehan, 9.0 tackles/game (5th)
45th - Conner Cordts, 643 passing yards (4th)
45th - Jaylin Richardson, 127.7 all-purpose/game (7th)
46th - Conner Cordts, 239.3 total offense/game (4th)
49th - Conner Cordts, 13.40 yards/completion (7th)
55th - Jaylin Richardson, 239 rushing yards (5th)
62nd - Conner Cordts, 16.0 completions/game (5th)
64th - Conner Cordts, 4 passing TDs (3rd)
66th - Sam Henson, 50.0 field goal pct. (5th)
75th - Parker Dahlman, 37.0 punting avg (11th)
93rd - Conner Cordts, 115.0 pass efficiency (7th)
104th - Cyrus McClure, 1.0 passes defended/game (11th)
118th - Conner Cordts, 50.5 completion pct. (10th)
120th - Rhett Sheehan, 4.3 solo tackles/game (16th)
123rd - Brayden Hilgemann, 7.3 tackles/game (8th)
166th - Jaylin Richardson, 3.3 receptions/game (13th)
174th - Gayflor Flomo, 68 combined kick return yards (16th)

TEAM IN THE NCAA/NSIC RANKINGS
The Golden Bears are featured in a number of key statistics through two weeks on a national and conference level. Below is a breakdown of CSP's top 50 team rankings nationally, as well as top-8 in the NSIC, with NSIC ranks in ( ):
1st - 0 Blocked Kicks allowed (1st)
1st - 0 Blocked Punts allowed (1st)
3rd - 27.0 penalty yards/game (1st)
4th - -2.00 Punt Return defense (1st)
11th - 4.00 penalties/game (4th)
24th - 145.3 Passing Yards Allowed/game (2nd)
28th - 1.00 Sacks allowed/game (2nd)
29th - 4.67 TFLs allowed/game (3rd)
29th - 4 Passes Intercepted (4th)
56th - 41.3 3rd Down defense (4th)
57th - .692 Red Zone defense (6th)
62nd - 224.7 Passing Offense (4th
63rd - 21.75 kickoff return average (4th)
63rd - 35.67 Net Punting average (4th)
69th - 12.72 Passing Yards/completion (8th)
71st - 369.0 Total Offense/game (6th)
78th - 3 Passes had intercepted (6th)
80th - 55 1st Down defense (8th)
81st - 144.3 Rushing Offense (7th)