Football Set To Face Concordia In First Road Test

The Gustavus Adolphus football team will travel to Moorhead, Minn. to take on the Cobbers of Concordia on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 1:00 p.m. The game will be the first road test for the Gusties as they started the season with a three-game home stand. Gustavus enters the game with at 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the MIAC, while Concordia is 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the MIAC.

Game Notes

The Series – Saturday’s game will be the 79th meeting between Gustavus and Concordia on the football field. Gustavus holds the advantage in the all-time record at 42-34-2. The last meeting between the two teams ended in a miracle 20-19 Gustavus win in Moorhead, Minn.

Passing Game Has Season Best – In the 19-14 loss to St. Olaf on Saturday, the Gusties showed signs of brilliance in the passing game. Quarterback Logan Becker recorded a season best 198 yards passing while going 19-for-31 with one interception. On Gustavus’s six-play 73 yard scoring drive that gave them a 14-13 lead with 3:32 left in the game, Becker was 4-for-4 for 44 yards through the air, and had two rushes for 30 yards. So far this season, Becker has a passer rating of 109.62 and is averaging 204 yards of total offense per game.

Low Scoring, Grind It Out – Saturday’s game will feature two low scoring grind-it-out teams in the MIAC. Concordia ranks seventh in the conference, scoring 25.2 points per game, while Gustavus ranks ninth at 16.3 points per game.

Tough To Pass On – Gustavus enters the game with the second best pass defense in the MIAC. Opposing quarterbacks have gone 38-for-76 through the air for a total of 435 yards this season. The Gusties have picked off six passes are giving up an average of 145 yards passing per game this season.

Third Down? No Problem – Gustavus boasts the second best third-down conversion percentage in the MIAC at 47.7% (21-44). The Cobbers rank ninth at 35.1% (20-57).

Sack Time – The Cobbers enter Saturday’s matchup as the top sack specialists in the MIAC. Concordia has recorded 13 sacks for a total of 84 yards this season. Gustavus has four sacks for 32 yards, and has given up eight for a loss of 58 yards.

Creighton Has Career Day– Sophomore wide receiver had a breakout game against St. Olaf on Saturday, bringing in five catches for a career high 49 yards. Due to the loss of wide receiver Elliot Herdina due to an injury last Saturday, Creighton’s role in the passing game will be elevated, as will Cody Sukalski’s and Muresuk Mena’s.

No Easy Extra Point- Gustavus will look to improve its extra point kicking game this weekend. The Gusties are 4-for-6 thus far for a percentage of .667. Their opponent Concordia is a perfect 14-for-14 on the season.

Gustie LBs Tops In Tackles – Gustavus linebackers fill three of the top-ten spots on the MIAC tackle list this season. Dustin Kammerer ranks fifth with a total of 24 tackles, while Jade Kotila and Zach Lundquist rank 10th with 21. Kammerer is averaging eight tackles per game to lead the Gusties. Concordia’s top tackler is Zach Debeltz, who has registered 27 total tackles for an average of 6.8 per game.

Attack Through The Air – Gustavus will look for a spark in the vertical passing game this Saturday as it faces the eighth ranked pass defense in the conference. Concordia has given up 1048 yards through the air in four games this season for an average of 262 yards per game. Opposing quarterbacks are 68-for-111 for a percentage of 61.3 against the Cobbers, as they have given a league-high 11 touchdown passes.

Bad Memories – Concordia walked out of Jake Christiansen Stadium with a sense of shock and awe at the conclusion of the game with Gustavus last season. Gustavus rolled out of the Red River Valley after defeating the Cobbers 20-19 in one of the more spectacular finishes of the MIAC season. Concordia gained 398 total yards and allowed just 23 yards passing (123 yds total), yet Gustavus was able to pull out the victory thanks to a miracle 86 yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Greg Lane with just :39 seconds left in the game. Although the Gusties were dominated in the box score, the finish will go down as one of the most memorable in Gustavus football history.