ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul (1-1, 0-1 NSIC) returns home for the next two Saturdays, starting with a noon kickoff against the University of Mary (1-1, 0-1 NSIC) for the NSIC home opener at Sea Foam Stadium this weekend.

The Golden Bears look to keep the Sea Foam Stadium advantage in play as they welcome the University of Mary for the NSIC home opener. CSP is off to a 1-0 start at home with a week zero 38-21 win over Quincy. CSP lost its NSIC opener on the road last week 48-30 at MSU Moorhead, with the offense producing back-to-back 30-point performances to start a season since the 2001 campaign, a team that had non-conference home wins over Mayville State (42-0) and Westminster (63-28).

Concordia improved to 16-11 in home openers since moving to NCAA Division II football in the 1999 season, and 10-7 in home openers played at Sea Foam Stadium, winning seven of the last 10 home openers.

WEATHER OUTLOOK
A fall Saturday couldn't be scripted any better with sunny conditions, a small chance of rain (3%), a high of 74 and a NW 12 mph wind. Game time temperatures are forecast to range from 69 at kickoff to 73 by 3 p.m.

WATCH LIVE: NSIC NETWORK ON MIDCO SPORTS PLUS
Starting with the 2026-27 season, Concordia and the NSIC will call Midco Sports Plus the streaming home for the NSIC Network. Midco Sports Plus, a regional cable provider primarily based in North Dakota, South Dakota and parts of Minnesota, features an expanded variety of online sports coverage.
 
The NSIC Network will be part of a subscription service with annual access plans starting at under $7 per month for the full year ($79/year) or monthly service for $15 which includes NSIC coverage as well as Summit League.
 
Concordia's broadcasts will continue to feature multiple cameras with instant replay along with commentary from St. Paul-native Dan Flanagan, a graduate of Fordham University (N.Y.) where he covered multiple NCAA Division I sports teams on campus for the Rams including football and basketball in the Patriot League. Flanagan has been the broadcast voice of the Golden Bears for nearly 20 years and called multiple national, regional and conference championships.
 
For more information, view the NSIC's press release announcing the Midco Sports Plus partnership: https://cspbears.com/news/2026/7/16/athletics-midco-sports-launches-nsics-new-streaming-home.aspx
 
For streaming support and troubleshooting, visit Midco's support page: https://sports.midco.com/support
 
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 2026-27 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 gameday but purchases are card-only and include additional fees. The best way for fans to make their gameday 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.
 
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 live in-game updates, close game alerts, 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.
 
COACHES SHOW RETURNS TO TWIN CITIES RADIO
The Coaches Show with Joshua Schumacher is back on the Twin Cities airwaves for a seventh 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 features interviews with student-athletes senior defensive end Marquis Coleman and fifth-year running back Manny Harris.
 
For fans who miss the live show over the air 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!

2026 SEASON CAPTAINS
CSP head coach Joshua Schumacher and the coaching staff have announced the captains for the 2026 season. Captains were selected through a collaboration with student-athlete voting and coach input. 

Representing the Golden Bears will be fifth-years Carter Zezulka (WR), Manny Harris (RB), Ben Rehl (LB), Percy Robertson (DL) and sophomores Lincoln Graf (QB) and Logan Bockman (OL).

SERIES HISTORY: CSP 6, UMARY 6
The Golden Bears and Marauders have split their 12 previous meetings dating back to when the series began in 2006. CSP won two of the first three, and has won four of the last six including two in a row. 

Concordia is 2-4 against the Marauders at home and 2-3 at Sea Foam Stadium. 

The series has featured its share of close games with five decided by one score, with the last meeting in 2024 in Bismarck, North Dakota being a 19-13 double overtime win for CSP.

LAST MEETING, 2024: CSP 19, UMARY 13 (2OT)
The last time the two teams met, they played on a hot, sunny and windy day in North Dakota's capital city as the local weather issued a high wind warning with consistent 30-plus mph sustained wind, gusting well into the 50s. 

It was Concordia's first overtime game since a 2019 win at home over Bemidji State that was sealed with Preston Piltoff's interception as BSU went for the win on a two-point conversion attempt. CSP would secure an interception to seal the win at UMary, as well, with Ben Rehl interception a 3rd-and-goal pass from the 7-yard line over the middle at the 2-yard line. 

Concordia had the upper-hand throughout the game, with numerous opportunities to put its thumb on the scales of the outcome of the game starting with the opening coin toss which CSP won and was able to dictate the wind to its liking, playing with the wind at its back in the first and fourth quarters, outscoring the Marauders 10-0 in the opening (3-0) and closing (7-0) quarters. 

Statistically, CSP held a 20-9 edge in first downs, a 349-145 edge in total offense and 247-43 in rushing offense. But UMary forced three Golden Bear turnovers and picked up three fourth-down stops in CSP's four fourth-down attempts. 

Neither team was efficient in the red zone, as CSP held UMary to 13 points on five red zone chances while CSP had 16 points on its four red zone visits. 

Jaylin Richardson had a big day with 32-188 rushing and a pair of touchdowns while adding 3-53 receiving including 49 after the catch, combining for 241 all-purpose yards and surpassing 3,000 for his career while finishing the day with 3,167. 

Despite facing the wind to start the game, UMary was able to convert 3-of-5 third downs to stay on the field for 11:06 of the first quarter, but came up empty on fourth down on one possession and had a 17-yard punt into the wind on another possession, showcasing how much the wind would be a factor. 

CSP took over at the UMary 34-yard line on its first possession, but got backed up after a pair of penalties, forcing a 4th-and-18 from the UMary 42-yard line for Jeff Isotalo-McGuire to drill a school-record long 60-yarder for the first lead. 

UMary answered with an 8-minute drive to the CSP 32-yard line, but were forced to punt deep in CSP territory with the 17-yard punt effectively pinning CSP inside the 20. 

Concordia responded in the second quarter by consuming the clock on long, plotting drives that resulted in a pair missed fourth-down conversions in Mary territory, but keeping the Marauders from using the wind to do anything other than tie the game late in the second quarter with a short field goal in the red zone. 

The same happened in the third quarter, with CSP owning the clock and coming up empty on fourth down. UMary took advantage of the wind on a punt that CSP was unable to handle, setting up the game's first touchdown on a short field and a 10-3 UMary lead.

When the field flipped for the fourth quarter, Richardson had a pair of double-digit yard runs to bookend a scoring drive, a 13-yarder at the end of the third quarter and an 11-yard touchdown to tie the game. 

From there, CSP had a fumble go out of the back of the end zone on a scoring opportunity, turning it over to UMary, and a pair of missed field goals to send the game into overtime. 

Concordia's defense came through in overtime, getting a 3-and-out and forcing a Marauder field goal on the opening drive with Isotalo-McGuire answering to tie the game at 13-13. In the second overtime, Richardson ripped off runs of 18 and a 7-yard TD for the lead, setting up Rehl's third-down game-sealing INT. 

CSP quarterback Jackson Compton completed 8-15 for 102 in challenging conditions for his first career start. Richardson set career-highs in rushing yards (188) and all-purpose yards (241) in his ninth career 100-yard rushing performance. 

Rehl had a pair of fourth-quarter and overtime plays on defense, breaking up a third-down pass to stop a UMary drive, and picking up the game-ending INT in double-overtime on a day when he had a pair of tackles. CSP had 10.0 TFLs and 3.0 sacks with Brayden Hilgemann leading the team with six tackles, all solo. 

UMary quarterback Sofian Massound completed 17-30 for 102 yards, a TD and an INT. Mujeeb Rufai led the Maraduers with 36 receiving yards and Andrew Trandahl had 34 all-purpose yards on 9-16 rushing and 4-18 receiving. 

LAST WEEK: MSU MOORHEAD 48, CSP 30
Despite putting up 366 yards of offense and 30 points on the road, Concordia-St. Paul dropped its NSIC-opener 48-30 to MSU Moorhead. 

Golden Bear sophomore quarterback Lincoln Graf completed 16-26 for 179 yards and a pair of touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown to pace a CSP offense that produced 366 yards on 67 plays and featured balance with 168 rushing and 198 passing.
 
Graf found running back Manny Harris for two touchdown strikes as Harris had 6-88 receiving and added 7-26 rushing and led the team with 131 all-purpose yards.
 
Concordia's three-headed monster in the backfield all had 89-plus all-purpose yards as they continue to maximize touches to Harris, BJ Davis and Joel Lacy.
 
Davis 10-77 rushing and sprung a 33-yard rushing touchdown and had a 19-yard kickoff return for a 96-yard day. Lacy had nine carries for 64 yards and added 4-25 receiving for an 89-yard day.
 
The trio each had seven or more carries and Lacy and Harris combined for 10 receptions on 12 targets. CSP rushed for 168 yards on 40 attempts.
 
The offense was outdueled by first-year starting quarterback Drew Huebner who completed 17-28 for 240 yards and three touchdowns, adding 13-99 and a pair of rushing touchdowns. He connected with Kelly Johnson for 9-117 and two touchdowns and Kalen Lucas for 5-60 and a touchdown. The Dragons rushed for 242 yards on 33 carries and passes for 240 yards on 17-28 passing for a 482-yard night of total offense.
 
The Dragons set the tone for how their night would go offensively on the first drive. Concordia's defense had a pair of strong plays, as Airion Bradley secured a tackle for loss on first down and Cal Nitti made a tackle for a 2-yard gain in the open field to force the Dragons' new quarterback into a 3^rd-and-9 from their own 26-yard line.
 
MSUM converted the third down, and would pick up a 3^rd-and-2 near midfield, as well, marching for an opening drive touchdown.
 
The Dragons were nearly flawless on third downs, converting 8-of-9 and punting just once, and the opening drive red zone touchdown was the first of seven trips to the red zone for MSUM.

Concordia responded with an efficient offensive possession with Graf coming up with a third-down conversion of his own, finding freshman Jonah Schimelpfenig for a 22-yard hookup on 3^rd-and-3 from the MSU 49 to move into scoring position.
 
Two plays later, Graf found Harris on the back shoulder for an acrobatic 22-yard catch to the 1-yard line, setting up a Graf plunge on second down to make it a 1-point game early on.
 
On MSU Moorhead's ensuing drive, they didn't need any third-down conversions to move into the red zone, but linebacker Ben Rehl tipped a 2^nd-and-goal pass with sophomore safety Aydin Buchanan intercepting it near the goal line to stop the Dragons.
 
Graf continued to drive the Golden Bears, as he completed his first seven passes of the day. Early in the second quarter, BJ Davis converted a 3^rd-and-3 from the MSUM 33-yard line by finding open space around the left tackle with wide receiver Tony Edwards III securing the edge with a critical block to send Davis to the end zone for CSP's first lead, 13-7 with 13:19 to play in the half.
 
But with the quarter flipping to the second, so did the wind, which was a consistent 15-plus mile per hour factor at CSP's backs in the first quarter, but with the Dragons backs in the second and third.
 
MSUM would score three times after CSP took its lead, getting touchdowns with 10:46, 5:22 and 2:07 in the quarter to take a 27-13 halftime lead.
 
In the third quarter, MSUM scored a pair of touchdowns while Concordia managed just a field goal, a 49-yarder by James Graves which had cut the margin to 34-16 with 3:56 to play in the quarter, capping off CSP's longest drive of the game, an 8:03 methodical march to go 52 yards on 12 plays for the three points.

In the fourth quarter, with the wind on its side, CSP went back to work, as Graf found Harris for a pair of 26-yard touchdown passes, the first capped a 91-yard touchdown drive on nine plays in 3:21 of action with 12:31 to play to make it a 41-23 game.
 
Despite CSP's late run with the third-quarter field goal and fourth-quarter touchdown, the Dragons kept finding the end zone with a late third-quarter touchdown with under a minute left, and a fourth-quarter score with 5:28 to play before the second Graf-Harris connect in the final two minutes.

MAKING GAINS: 2025 OPENER VS 2026 OPENER
What a difference a year makes, as CSP fell 38-7 on the road to open last season at Quincy before reversing it for a 38-21 win at home to open the 2026 season under first-year head coach Joshua Schumacher. 

In last year's game in 2025, Quincy QB Bradyn Little completed 22-28 for 256 yards, three passing TDs and two rushing TDs. This year, CSP bottled him up as Little completed 17-33 for 152 yards, one TD and three INTs while sacking him five times. 

On the flip side, last year Quincy held CSP to 10 first downs, 23-39 rushing and 17-27 passing for 138 yards with an interception. This year, CSP opened with 20 first downs, 36-164 rushing, 23-35 passing for 210 yards and no turnovers.

TURNOVER CITY
Concordia opened the 2026 season by forcing three turnovers against Quincy, all interceptions (TJ Easley-Jones & CJ Jackson) including one for a 32-yard touchdown by Clarence Chaney. The pick-six was the first since Preston Piltoff's 92-yarder against SMSU in 2019. 

The last time CSP forced more than three turnovers in a game was a 27-21 road win at Minot State in 2025 and the last time CSP had three interceptions in a game was in 2016 against Wayne State, a 45-10 loss to the Wildcats as the offense committed six turnovers in the game despite the defense picking off three interceptions. 

Since 2002, nearly all of CSP's Division II-era (1999-present), CSP has had three or more interceptions in a game 12 times and holds a 9-3 record when picking off three-plus passes and is 6-1 when doing so at home.

Through two weeks, CSP is +3 in the take-give and has four interceptions while the offense has yet to throw an INT. The Golden Bears are sixth in the country in interceptions and tied for first in the nation in fewest INTs thrown. CSP's turnover margin is 24th in the nation and third in the Northern Sun. 

GRAF KEEPS ROLLING
Sophomore quarterback Lincoln Graf became the 10th freshman to start a game at QB since CSP has been a DII program (1999-pres), and the first to do so as a true freshman. In 2025, he played in four and started three games, coming down with a season-ending injury in his third start. He's opened his sophomore year as the starter with a 63.9% (39-61) completion percentage, 389 yards and a 4-0 TD-INT ratio with a rushing touchdown. 

He's now played in six career games with five starts, completing 91-143 (63.6%) for 1,060 yards, a 9-0 TD-INT ratio and a rushing touchdown. With Graf at the helm, CSP has only committed one offensive turnover in his snaps, a second-half fumble last week at MSU Moorhead. 

BUSY BACKFIELD FOR THE BEARS
Concordia has had a productive running back room to start the season with BJ Davis (19-131) and Joel Lacy (18-129) leading the way on the ground, followed by Manny Harris (16-50). The trio has only had a combined six yards for loss among 53 shared rushing attempts. Lacy averages 7.2 per carry followed by Davis at 6.9.

The backfield committee also shines in the pass game, with Harris leading the roster with 12 catches for 111 yards, while Lacy is second on the team with 9-72 receiving. Davis has tallied one catch for seven yards, and also has 2-42 on kickoff returns. 

The trio also has a knack for the end zone, as Davis, Harris and Lacy each have two touchdowns: Davis two rushing, Harris two receiving, and Lacy one of each.

REHL LEADS THE DEFENSE
Fifth-year linebacker Ben Rehl was having his best season in 2025 before being sideline with an injury midway through the year. Despite playing in less than half of the games (five), Rehl still finished with 33 tackles. He had one of the top performances in program history in a road win at Minot State, putting up the eighth-most tackles in a game with 17. 

In 2026, he leads the team with 12 tackles, 2.0 TFLs and five pass breakups. He ranks third in the nation in passes defended (PBU & INT) with 2.50 per game. 

In 28 career games, Rehl has 146 tackles, 11.5 TFLs, nine pass breakups, three interceptions and three sacks. 

QUALITY KICKING GAME
Three different players have contributed to the kicking game in 2026 led by returning punter Caden Carsen who has buried three of his 10 punts inside the 20 with one fair catch, a long of 44 and a 34.6 average.

Freshman James Graves has handled place kicking, making 10-of-11 kicks with 2-2 FG and a long of 49 and 8-9 PATs. Graves is tied for the national lead in field goal percentate (2-2, 1.00) and 26th in the country and third in the NSIC with 1.0 field goals made per game. 

Ryan Schroeder, a fifth-year transfer from Drake, has handled a majority of the kickoffs with a 57.9 average and one touchback. Schroeder not only handles kickoffs, but is listed as on the two-deep at both the kicker and punter spots. 

BIG PLAYS ON DEFENSE & SPECIAL TEAMS
Through two games, CSP has the advantage in total sacks (6-4) and interceptions (4-0), turnover margin (+3), has blocked a punt and recovered an onside kick. Jude Onuoha leads the team with 2.0 sacks while three others have 1.0 each and two others have a half sack, four different players have an interception and CSP's blocked kick was by Joel Lacy.

Concordia is 18th in the nation with 3.0 sacks per game on the young season. 

FOURTH DOWN DOMINANCE
The Golden Bears are off to a perfect 7-7 start in fourth down conversions, picking up three in the 38-21 win over Quincy and four in the 48-30 road loss at MSU Moorhead.

Further, opponents have yet to convert a fourth down against CSP in two chances, both in the win over Quincy.

ABOUT THE UMARY MARAUDERS
The Marauders are coming off of a 4-7 overall season, finishing 10th in the NSIC with a 3-7 league record and sixth in the NSIC North with a 2-4 divisional record. 

UMary was picked 11th overall and sixth in the NSIC North entering the 2026 season in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

The Marauders are off to a 1-1 overall start, defeating Rocky Mountain College in a non-conference road game in Glendive, Montana before falling 48-7 to #4 Minnesota State in their home opener to open conference play. 

Ryan Blair quarterbacks the Marauder offense, completing 32-49 (65.3%) for 305 yards with a 2-2 TD-INT ratio. He has connected with Karsyn Jablonski for 11-146 and 2 TDs while Lucas Gonzales adds 5-63 receiving in a receiving group that has had 10 different targets haul in a catch through two games. 

Carl Henry (15-53) and Hudsen Sheldon (8-53) lead a ground game that also features Xavier Brackenridge (21-40, TD) and Andrew Trandahl (8-20) in a backfield that has had 10 different ball carriers. 

Christopher Federico leads the defense with 22 tackles followed by Cameron Brusven's 16. Travis Biery and Vegas George each have a pair of sacks. Abram Jopp has a pair of interceptions and is third on the team with 14 tackles, while Jett Solomon has three pass breakups and a sack and is fourth on the team with 10 total tackles.