ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday, Concordia University (1-2, 1-1 NSIC) hosts #7 Minnesota State (4-0, 3-0 NSIC) for Homecoming 2024 with a noon kickoff at Sea Foam Stadium.

WEATHER OUTLOOK
Homecoming is looking like a warm fall afternoon with a high temperature of 83 degrees, sunny conditions and winds NNE at 5-10 mph. Chance of rain is in the single digit percentages.

TICKET INFORMATION
Visitors only attending the football game are advised to enter the stadium on the east side between the visiting bleachers and Fandrei Center office building. Visitors who have purchased homecoming carnival wristbands are advised to enter through the main carnival entry in the south parking lot.

Homecoming wristbands provide access to the football game, Comet's Carnival with unlimited food and rides plus access to the Bear Garden with two adult beverages included with purchase, as well as the 5 p.m. ninth-ranked CSP volleyball match.

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 fifth 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.
 
The show typically features two segments with Coach Currier along with a segment with Langfellow joined by a pair of student-athletes. This week's podcast guests are linebacker Ben Rehl and wide receiver Drew Enke, the program's selections for CSP Defensive and Offensive Player of the Week, respectively.
 
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!

2024 TEAM CAPTAINS & HONORARY CAPTAINS
CSP head coach Shannon Currier features rotating team captains each week for the sixth year in a row in 2024. 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 safety Cyrus McClure and junior linebacker Richard Wauer from the defense, joined by a pair of offensive linemen, senior Jac Carver and junior Caydon Christensen.

This week's honorary game captains are a pair of CSP's Athletic Hall of Fame inductees and dual-sport athletes: former tight end and track & field throws specialist Nate Thienes and former wide receiver and multi-event national qualifying track athlete John Pimental.

WAUER SELECTED TO WEAR BILLY BROWN JR's #26
Junior linebacker Richard Wauer was selected to represent the football program's cherished jersey number 26 to honor the memory of Billy Brown, Jr., a linebacker who graduated from CSP in May of 2018. Billy passed away in 2018 shortly after graduating while working out near his home in the Twin Cities that summer. 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.

Wauer, formerly #9, is athletically a junior and originally from Muskego, Wisconsin. He will be in his fifth year as a Golden Bear, with his debut season canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020, and was redshirted in 2021. He's now a three-year starting linebacker and a CSC Academic All-District Team student-athlete.

An eight-time team captain in 2023, Wauer played in 10 games with three starts while working through injuries last year. He had his breakout season in 2022, starting nine times and playing all 11 games with 54 tackles to finish third on the team.

In 23 career games, he's made 114 tackles, 5.5 for loss and added a fumble recovery.

Wauer is the reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in a week three road win at Southwest Minnesota State, collecting a career-high 13 tackles (10 solo) in a 27-17 win in which CSP held SMSU to 105 rushing yards at 3.0 per carry and 2-12 on third down conversions.

On the season, Wauer is the NSIC's second leading tackler with 8.3 per game (50th in Division II) and is third in the league and 31st nationally with 5.3 solo tackles per game.

He has earned his degree in biochemistry adn now is pursuing an MBA in healthcare management, and intends to pursue further education in medical school after his football playing career with a goal of becoming a surgeon or anesthesiologist.

"As we mature as people and recognize what's most important in our life, in the end it's about the relationships you have and the impact that you've made," reflected Coach Currier. "After Billy's passing, I learned of his tremendous impact on other people through conversations with players and coaches and sometimes we don't always know that in the moment, but players made it apparent that Billy invested in their lives."

He continued, "After his passing, we recognize a special person in our program to honor Billy and keep his legacy alive. We select a player who has impact here to continue the tradition of what Billy started. I'm optimistic, but I feel like Richard Wauer is one of the best leaders I've ever been around. His commitment to his teammates, the team, overall growth, and his academics are all really remarkable. Reflecting back, when we recruited him in talking with Richard and his mom at a booth at GameWorks in Mall of America, I knew he was a special leader right away and that's a big reason we offered him. He brings a leadership component to our program."

"We are blessed to have Richard come back for another year after considering med school. He's picked up right where he left off with his leadership and overall impact. So many have benefited from Richard's actions and speaking. When people recognize their true purpose, there is a higher level of motivation, and when it's bigger than themselves it's powerful. We want our players to experience those same callings, to gain that desire to impact others in a positive way, and it all comes full circle to what Billy did in his time here at CSP."

Past players selected to wear Brown's #26:
2018: Brandon Russell (23 to 26)
2019: Jackson Dobbs (98 to 26)
2020: season cancelation
2021: Dalton Smerchek (32 to 26)
2022: Davaris Cheeks (14 to 26)
2023: Davaris Cheeks
2024: Richard Wauer (9 to 26)

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FULL CSP PREVIEW: VIEW THIS WEEK'S GAME NOTES
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ABOUT THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State, currently ranked #7 by the AFCA Division II Coaches' Poll, is coming off of a 9-3 overall record in 2023, finishing 8-2 in the NSIC in a three-team tie for second place in the standings and a game out of first place. The 2023 Mavericks fell in the first round of the NCAA Super Region 4 playoffs 51-24 at Augustana, with the Vikings handing MSU two of its three losses on the season, also topping MSU 28-10 in Sioux Falls in week eight.

This year's Mavericks, picked third in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll including one first place vote, are off to a blazing 4-0 overall start including a 3-0 league record and are the only team in the NSIC without a loss in overall play, and one of just two teams without a loss in league play joined by Augustana (2-0).

MSU has scored at least 31 points in all four games, although they also allowed 22-plus points in each of their first three contests before a season-high 40 points and season-low six points allowed in a home win over Minot State in week four.

The Mavericks lead the NSIC with 477.3 yards of total offense and are fourth in the NSIC with 304.0 yards of total defense allowed, a strong +173.3 differential. Sam Backer is the league's third-leading rusher with 78.3 yards per game and 313 yards on 7.6 per carry while Tony Anger (39-183) is 13th. Hayden Ekern is fourth in the NSIC 247.8 passing yards per game, completing 62.6 percent of his passes with an 8-2 TD-INT ratio. He's connected with the league's second-leading receiver TreShawn Watson for 98.3 yards per game (19-393) including six touchdown strikes.

Defensively, Antonio Alzheimer leads the defense and ranks ninth in the NSIC with 6.8 tackles per game (27 total) while Cody Brown (5.0 TFL) and Caleb Paulus (4.5 TFL) each rank in the top-10 in tackles for loss. Brown has 2.5 sacks, as well.