ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday is homecoming at Sea Foam Stadium, with Concordia (1-4, 1-3 NSIC, 0-0 South) hosting #15 Minnesota State (4-1, 3-1 NSIC, 1-0 South) with a noon kickoff on what is expecting to be a hot, sunny October afternoon. This is the sixth homecoming in MSU's eighth trip to CSP since Sea Foam Stadium was constructed in 2009. It's also the third-straight homecoming appearance for the Mavericks (2022, 2024, 2025). CSP is also looking for its first-ever win over MSU at Sea Foam Stadium.

WEATHER OUTLOOK
As the weekend forecast continues to change, starting with 70s and rain in earlier forecasts this week, it now appears that Saturday's homecoming game will be a hot one, with a high of 89, sunny conditions and a S 15-25 mph wind. 

TICKETS - PURCHASE IN ADVANCE ONLINE
Fans are highly encouraged to purchase tickets online at cspbears.com/tickets prior to game day. All ticketed events for the 25-26 academic year will utilize the Vivenu online ticket platform found at that link and fans must scan a mobile ticket to enter. Tickets will still be sold on site on game day but purchases are card-only and include additional fees. The best way for fans to make their game day entry as smooth as possible is to purchase tickets online in advance. CSP Students, Faculty and Staff will be able to download their free passes through Vivenu.

Homecoming ticket options include a football-only ticket, as well as a homecoming wristband which allows access to Comet's Carnival for unlimited food, rides and two adult beverages along with admission to CSP's football and volleyball (5pm) contests. 

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.

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 Hudl (formerly 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.

COACHES SHOW RETURNS TO TWIN CITIES RADIO
The Coaches Show with Shannon Currier is back on the Twin Cities airwaves for a sixth 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 radio interview guests are junior offensive tackle Gavin Layton and junior linebacker Dominic Stencel.

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 YouTube podcasts. 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!

2025 TEAM CAPTAINS
CSP head coach Shannon Currier features rotating team captains each week for the seventh year in a row in 2025. 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 junior wide receiver Carter Zezulka (5x) and senior tackle Austin Carrillo on offense, and defensive captains as sophomore cornerback Jordan Johnson (2x) and sophomore defensive end Isaiah Wray (4x). 

SERIES HISTORY: MSU 16, CSP 2
The Golden Bears are looking to snap a 13-game losing streak to the Mavericks dating back to 2010 when CSP secured a 28-26 win at #11 Minnesota State en route to a Mineral Water Bowl season, the third for Concordia during the 2003-to-2010 seasons. 

The Golden Bears faced Minnesota State during two of its three Mineral Water Bowl campaigns, also defeating MSU during the 2005 NSIC Championship season which was CSP's second of three MWB's. 

The series dates back to 2004, when MSU was a member of the North Central Conference (NCC), with the first two meetings being non-conference contests.

Minnesota State joined the NSIC for the 2008-09 academic year and the teams have played every year.

Concordia holds a 1-8 home record against MSU, with the lone home win being in 2005 at Griffin Stadium. MSU has been victorious in each of its eight trips to Sea Foam Stadium (2009-present) with this year's game being the sixth time the schools will play on CSP's homecoming.

Coach Currier is 0-8 all-time against MSU and 0-4 against the Mavericks at Sea Foam Stadium. 

MSU has been ranked in 12 of the 18 all-time meetings and is #15 in the AFCA poll in the 2025 contest.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS
The Mavericks finished 7-3 in the NSIC, tied for second place in 2024 before making a run to the NCAA Division II national semifinals and finishing 11-4 overall. Entering 2025, the Mavericks were picked to finish first overall and first in the NSIC South Division. 

MSU is off to a 4-1 overall start to the season, opening with a convincing 38-14 home win over perennial DII power Northwest Missouri State. 

MSU's four victories have had the same common ingredients: 34-plus points scored and under 20 points allowed with a minimum margin of victory of 18 points.

MSU had its lone loss at Minnesota Duluth, 17-14 on the road to a Bulldogs squad that is now ranked #13 in the country and 5-0 overall.

This will mark MSU's third road game in a four week span. The Mavericks play strong defense, ranking 10th in the country against the pass (153.4/game) while securing six interceptions, 16th-most in Division II and the eighth-most turnovers forced (11), and rank 10th in the country with 13.2 points allowed per game with a high of 17.

Offensively, MSU is fifth in the country in tackles for loss allowed, 12th in the country in fewest sacks allowed and 24th in the nation with 436.8 yards of total offense per game. 

TreShawn Watson is ranked 11th in the country with 159.0 all-purpose yards per game and leads the country with 616 receiving yards while Sam Backer leads the ground attack where he ranks 39th in the country (5th NSIC) with 343 yards and fifth in the country with eight total TDs.

Quarterback Maximus Sims is 24th in Division II with a 158.4 passing efficiency, leading the NSIC with 13.9 yards per completion.

MSU kicker Connor Fournier leads the NSIC with 1.40 field goals/game (15th DII) and is 26th in the country with a 77.8 FG percentage.

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FULL PREVIEW IN THIS WEEK'S GAME NOTES
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