ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday at noon, Concordia-St. Paul (0-4) will host Minnesota State (3-1) for homecoming at Sea Foam Stadium, marking the team's first afternoon game of the 2022 season after opening with a pair of home and a pair of away night games.

WEATHER OUTLOOK
Saturday in St. Paul is forecast for a high of 72 degrees with mostly sunny conditions and a light 5-10mph SE wind.

HOMECOMING TICKETING INFORMATION
Fans are encouraged to pre-purchase tickets, leading to a better user experience entering Sea Foam Stadium. Fans with pre-purchased single-game tickets are directed to enter the stadium through the east entry behind the visitor bleachers at the stadium's entry adjacent to the north end of Fandrei Center. Single game tickets may also be purchased at this entry location. Fans who have already pre-purchased single-game tickets to the football game can still purchase Homecoming wristbands at a discounted price due to the ticket admission cost incorporated with the wristbands.

Fans who have pre-purchased Homecoming wristbands or are interested in purchasing Homecoming wristbands should visit the main CSP ticketing area located adjacent to the south side of Fandrei Center, or the southeaster corner of Sea Foam Stadium in the main CSP homecoming tent entry. Wristbands provide access to the football game as well as Comet's Carnival, which runs from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and features unlimited food, beverages and rides as well as two adult beverages in the Bear Garden. Homecoming wristbands can still be purchased online through CSP Athletics main ticketing website.

Wristbands for those with pre-ordered tickets to the game or on the CSP Football Pass List:

• $15 for ages 13+, $10 for ages 3-12, and free under 3
• Day of: Check in at the CSP Guest Entrance.  You will be able to purchase wristbands there.

Wristbands for everyone else:

• Pricing: Adults (13+) $30 | Children (3-12) $15

Purchase wristbands online (*recommended method*)

• Available here under "Comet's Carnival": (cspbears.com/tickets). On homecoming day, proceed to the CSP Guest Entrance Tent. You will pick up your wristbands there, which will get you into the game and Comet's Carnival. Make sure you have your QR code ready to scan
• --or--
• Purchase Day of: Go to the CSP Guest Entrance Tent, and you can purchase wristbands there, which will get you into the game and Comet's Carnival.

Due to Comet's Carnival for Homecoming, there will not be an Alumni Tailgate.

Parking Lot H is for reserved and handicapped parking only. Lot E is open for general tailgating, fans are encouraged to arrive prior to 10 a.m. as space is limited.

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
 
All home games will feature the play-by-play broadcasting provided by Dan Flanagan, the voice of the Golden Bears for over a decade. The St. Paul, Minnesota native studied broadcasting at Fordham University (N.Y.) where he was the voice of the Rams' football and basketball teams in the NCAA Division I Patriot League.
 
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 will feature junior center Sam Marshalek and sophomore linebacker Brayden Hilgemann.

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 5 GAME CAPTAINS
CSP head coach Shannon Currier and the Golden Bear coaching staff have continued the program's tradition of selecting rotating weekly game captains for the fourth season in a row. Captains are selected by the coaching staff based on performance on the field and as a leader in practice and day-to-day activities.
 
The week five game captains are senior defensive end Luke Dunsmoor (3x), sophomore punter Parker Dahlman (1x), sophomore quarterback Conner Cordts (3x) and sophomore wide receiver Jack Munsterteiger (1x).

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Golden Bears have had a daunting first third of the season, with an opponent record of 15-1 through four weeks with a 3-1 Minnesota State squad on the horizon. Concordia has faced the league's only three unbeaten teams.

Entering week five, CSP holds the 3rd-toughest strength of schedule in Division II football, a mark that will continue to become more firm in the coming weeks with the addition of a 3-1 Minnesota State squad, and back-to-back 2-2 NSIC North Division foes to open division play against Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth.

While unable to put a positive mark in the win column, the Golden Bears have remained competitive, tied with #25 Augustana (now 4-0) late in the third quarter as the Vikings are now ranked #11 in the nation, followed by a 14-6 road loss to Southwest Minnesota State (now 3-1) 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 4-0 Cougars team.

SERIES HISTORY: MINNESOTA STATE 13, CONCORDIA 2
The Golden Bears and Mavericks square-off for the 16th time this Saturday at Sea Foam Stadium as CSP looks to snap a 10-game losing streak to MSU. CSP is also seeking its first home win (0-6) and first win under head coach Shannon Currier (0-5) against the Mavericks.

Concordia's last win over MSU was a 28-26 triumph in 2010 at Blakeslee Stadium for the program's first-ever win in Mankato paced by a game-winning blocked field goal by future NFL Draft pick and Super Bowl champion Zach Moore. The win improved CSP to 2-3 against MSU in the first five meetings in the series. CSP went on to earn a trip to the Mineral Water Bowl in an 8-3 finish to NSIC play that season, the program's third Mineral Water Bowl bid, each coming between 2003 and 2010.

In the 10-game skid to MSU, CSP has not come closer than a 20-point margin, however.

Concordia's lone home win over MSU was in the 2005 season at Griffin Stadium (35-21) prior to MSU joining the NSIC in a non-conference contest before CSP went on to capture the NSIC Championship and earn the program's second trip to the Mineral Water Bowl in a three span (2003, 2005) and second of three overall (2003, 2005, 2010).

LAST MEETING, 2021: #17 MSU 58, CSP 10
The Golden Bears fell to #17 Minnesota State on the Mavericks' homecoming game at Blakeslee Stadium.

Concordia rushed for 148 yards on 27 attempts as a squad on the road led by Brandon Marenco's breakout game with 8-67 and a 36-yard TD run. But MSU countered by producing 53-350 on the ground with five rushing touchdowns, only needing to attempt 13 passes (5-13) with two of those going for scores.

MSU scored via the big play to build its lead, ripping off a 41-yard TD run, 53-yard punt return and 42-yard TD pass for a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter en route to a 38-0 halftime lead.

Concordia secured a second half INT from linebacker Andrew Egnarski, setting up a short 25-yard Sam Henson field goal.

The defense added 9.0 team tackles for loss with defensive end Jake Richardson adding a sack.

Offensively, Brian Lankford-Johnson had 9-39 rushing with a long of 27 and Jaylin Richardson rushed 11 times for 38 yards with a long of 15.

MSU racked up its 350 team rushing yards despite lacking an individual 100-yard rusher with Charles Coleman leading the team with 88 yards on just six carries with a pair of touchdowns. JD Ekowa also had a pair of rushing TDs from the QB position, rushing four times for 27 yards while completing just 1-8 passing for 16 yards and an INT.

Hayden Ekern was the more effective MSU passer, completing 4-5 for 81 yards and two TDs and adding 9-27 rushing.

LAST WEEK: WAYNE STATE 48, CONCORDIA 21
Facing a third undefeated team in four weeks in a fourth-straight night game caught up with the Golden Bears, who fell 48-21 at Wayne State last Saturday.

Trailing 14-0 early in the second quarter, sophomore running back Jaylin Richardson broke free for a 31-yard run and capped off the drive a few plays later with a 9-yard touchdown run.

Trailing 20-7 with just over five minutes to play, the Golden Bears opened a drive from their own 25 yard line with a fumble on a broken play, setting up the Wildcats with a short field, scoring on a 3rd-and-goal from the 8-yard line for a 27-7 advantage.

CSP was then unable to capitalize on a short field after a WSC missed onside kick attempt with the Wildcats executing with 55 seconds left before halftime to score with seven seconds on the clock in a 27-point quarter for a 34-7 halftime lead to put the game out of reach going into the locker room.

Concordia added a pair of touchdowns, Conner Cordts' first career rushing score in the third quarter and a Bryce Sievers to Julius Reynolds 13-yard strike early in the fourth on Reynolds' first career catch and Sievers' second career TD pass.

Richardson finished the game 10-56 rushing, added 2-19 receiving and a 20-yard kickoff return for a team-high 95 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.

Wide receiver Drew Enke had 3-73 receiving with a long of 51 yards while Jack Munsterteiger had a team-high four catches, a career-best, going for 36 yards.

Cordts finished 9-15 for 111 yards without an INT and was only sacked once. Sievers completed 4-7 for 44 yards and a TD while adding a 15-yard run and Jaylen DeVries also handled QB duties for a pair of fourth quarter drives, completing a pair of passes for 35 yards and a long of 26 while adding four rushing attempts with a long of six yards in his CSP debut.

Wayne State was led by quarterback Nick Bohn who completed 15-19 for 227 yards and three TDs, adding 11-46 rushing with a rushing TD. Backup QB Tavian Willis was 3-5 for 39 yards.

The Wildcats rushed for 252 yards and four TDs without a 100-yard rusher, led by Anthony Watkins (14-89, TD) and Jacob Keiser (9-82, TD).

CSP's defense was led by career-high tackling efforts by sophomore El-Osiris Jeudy (8) and freshman cornerback Zantavious Graham (7) while the front seven produced seven TFLs and a sack with safety Davaris Cheeks adding a fumble recovery and Isaac Reed adding a blocked PAT.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State has been nationally-ranked this season and is coming off of a 31-28 homecoming win over UMary in a back-and-forth game that saw the visiting Marauders open up 14-0 before MSU scored 24-straight. UMary countered with two more touchdowns to reclaim a fourth quarter 28-24 lead before MSU went back on top. The Mavericks needed an interception in the end zone to thwart UMary's late game comeback bid. MSU's lone loss came two weeks ago, falling 23-22 at Northern State, while picking up close wins at Bemidji State (37-34) in the season opener and at home against Minnesota Duluth (17-10) in week two.

MSU is being out-gained by opponents, allowing 365.5 yards per game (225.7 passing, 139.8 rushing) while the offense has piled up just 304.8 yards per game (207.7 passing, 97.0 rushing). But while the total offense tells one story, the other side of the story is the nation's third-best punt return unit, leading the NSIC with 25.31 yards per return led by Trey Vaval's second-ranked punt return average (25.7) on 10 returns (10-257) and Nyles Williams at 27.0 yards per return on three attempts (3-81). The kickoff return unit is also explosive with Vaval averaging 31.7 (3-95) and Williams at 21.7 (10-217). Vaval leads the league and is 11th in the country with 343 combined return yards while Williams is right behind him in the NSIC and 16th in the country with 298. MSU also features the nation's fifth-ranked punter as Max Pelham leads the NSIC with a 43.9 punt average and the team holds the same ranks with a 41.39 net average, allowing MSU to eat up yardage disparities on special teams.

Freshman Camden Dean is leading passer of three quarterbacks for MSU, completing 28-48 (58.3%) for 427 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions. Mitchell Randall (22-53-3) adds 304 passing yards and a touchdown and Hayden Ekern has played in one game, completing 9-16 for 100 yards with a TD and an INT. Randall adds 45 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown on the ground with his 38.3 rushing yards per game right in line with the team's rushing leader, Shen Butler-Lawson (36-154, 2 TDs). Dean and Ekern also have added a rushing TD from the QB position.

While the QB position has shifted through the early parts of the season, the team's top target, Jalen Sample, has racked up 21 catches for 303 yards and three touchdowns while playing in each of the first four games with Nyles Williams adding 13-197 and a TD. Sample ranks fourth in the league in receptions and receiving touchdowns and fifth in receiving yards.

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 ( ):
4th - Cyrus McClure, 0.8 INT/game (1st)
18th - Jaylin Richardson, 6.70 average/carry (1st)
52nd - Parker Dahlman, 39.4 punt average (6th)
56th - Conner Cordts, 13.23 yards/completion (6th)
56th - Sam Henson, 0.75 FG made/game (4th)
61st - Jaylin Richardson, 118.3 all-purpose yards/game (7th)
62nd - Conner Cordts, 754 passing yards (5th)
68th - Jaylin Richardson, 290 rushing yards (5th)
73rd - Conner Cordts, 210.5 total offense/game (5th)
79th - Conner Cordts, 14.25 completions/game (7th)
80th - Sam Henson, 42.9 FG pct (8th)
95th - Conner Cordts, 4 passing TDs (6th)
103rd - Conner Cordts, 115.9 pass efficiency (9th)
110th - Rhett Sheehan, 7.5 tackles/game (7th)
118th - Conner Cordts, 51.8 completion pct (12th)
135th - Conner Cordts, 30 points responsible for (9th)
174th - Brayden Hilgemann, 6.8 tackles/game (15th)
200th - Drew Enke, 169 receiving 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-half (7) in the NSIC, with NSIC ranks in ( ):
1st - 0 blocked kicks allowed (1st)
1st - 0 blocked punts allowed (1st)
4th - -2.0 punt return defense (1st)
5th - 27.75 penalty yards/game (3rd)
6th - 3.50 penalties/game (3rd)
38th - 1.25 sacks allowed/game (4th)
41st - 5.00 TFLs allowed/game (4th)
43rd - 175.5 passing yards allowed/game (4th)
44th - 36.67 net punting (4th)
49th - 3 passes had intercepted (4th)
51st - 1 blocked kicks (4th)
53rd - 4 interceptions (6th)
56th - 41.1 3rd down conversion pct (5th)
66th - 12.71 yards/completion (7th)
69th - 216.0 passing offense/game (5th)
70th - 21.0 kickoff return average (6th)
71st - 76.5 red zone defense (7th)
81st - 77.8 red zone offense (6th)
98th - 130.8 rushing yards/game (7th)