The Cardinals will put their 2-0 record on the line as they enter their third straight road contest against the undefeated Tigers of Olivet Nazarene. Concordia rolled to a 34-20 victory last week over Trinity International University after jumping out to a commanding 27-0 lead at halftime (Game Recap). The Cardinals totaled 431 total yards of offense and were an efficient 4-4 in the red zone. The defensive unit continued their dominate ways by limiting the Trojans to only 5/16 on 3rd down conversions and 0/4 on 4th down. Both the Cardinals and Tigers have both been honored this week on a national level by receiving votes (RV) in the NAIA Coaches Top 25 poll.
Game Details
Concordia (2-0) at Olivet Nazarene (3-0)
Saturday, September 16 | 1:00pm EST
Site: Bourbonnais, Illinois
Stadium: Ward Field (Olivet Nazarene University, 1 University Ave, Bourbonnais, IL, 60914)
All-time series tied 1-1
Cardinals receiving votes in NAIA Coaches Poll
First year Head Coach Joshua Schumacher has quickly led the Cardinals to national recognition after two weeks of competition. After a 2-0 start, with one win coming over an NCAA DII opponent in week 1, the Cardinals have earned recognition in the weekly NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 poll. The poll is voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the NAIA conferences. The Cardinals earned 12 votes placing them 30th overall. The Tigers received 9 more votes than the Cardinals placing them at 26th. Last season the Cardinals were recognized in the NAIA coaches' poll by receiving votes 3 times and ranked at #23 once.
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Team Stats
Concordia
Offensive PPG: 29.5 PPG (#41 in NAIA, #3 in MSFA Mid-East, #7 in MSFA)
Defensive PPG: 13.0 PPG (#6 in NAIA, #1 in MSFA Mid-East, #1 in MSFA)
Total Offense: 398.5 PPG (#38 in NAIA, #4 in MSFA Mid-East, #7 in MSFA)
Pass Offense: 234.5 PPG (#33 in NAIA, #3 in MSFA Mid-East, #6 in MSFA)
Rush Offense: 164.0 PPG (#40 in NAIA, #3 in MSFA Mid-East, #5 in MSFA)
Total Defense: 251.0 PPG (#5 in NAIA, #2 in MSFA Mid-East, #2 in MSFA)
Pass Defense: 142.5 PPG (#9 in NAIA, #2 in MSFA Mid-East, #2 in MSFA)
Rush Defense: 108.5 PPG (#18 in NAIA, #3 in MSFA Mid-East, #5 in MSFA)
Individual Leaders
Concordia
Passing:
Seth Suida (SR/Livonia, MI) - 33/56 (.589), 3 pass TDs, 1 INT, 469 pass yds, 143.4 effic.
Rushing:
Joe Conner (SO/Flat Rock, MI) - 37 att, 247 rush yds, 6.7 avg, 5 rush TDs
Joe Duff (SO/Croswell, MI) - 17 att, 65 rush yds, 3.8 avg
Ashton Gray (SR/Detroit, MI) - 7 att, 20 rush yds, 2.9 avg
Receiving:
Herman Mason (SR/Lansing, MI) - 8 rec, 131 rec yds, 16.4 avg, 1 rec TD
Donte Desalle (SO/Nashville, TN) - 5 rec, 91 rec yds, 18.2 avg
Bryant Hudson (SR/Flint, MI) - 6 rec, 87 rec yds, 14.5 avg
Jay Alvarez (SR/Lansing, MI) - 6 rec, 63 rec yds, 10.5 avg, 1 rec TD
Defense:
Amaan Payne (SO/Holt, MI) - 10 total tackles, 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks
Andrew O'Hara (JR/Cleveland, OH) - 9 total tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 INT
Jay Koski (JR/Portage, MI) - 8 total tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1.0 sacks, 1 INT
Nick Edney (FR/Garden City, MI) - 8 total tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks
Olivet Nazarene at a glance
Olivet Nazarene enters the matchup 3-0 with wins over #20 Kansas Wesleyan, Lindenwood-Belleville and Siena Heights. The Tigers have displayed an efficient offensive attack so far this season averaging 366 total yards with 12 total touchdowns. The Cardinals #1 ranked defense in the MFSA will look to slow the Tigers. The all-time series is tied 1-1 as Olivet Nazarene won 24-7 in 2013 while Concordia claimed a 24-21 victory in 2014.
2017 record: 3-0
Coach: Eric Hehman (2nd season, 7-7 overall)
Key Offensive Players: QB, Jordan Lawton - 39/54 (.722), 5 pass TDs, 423 pass yds, 168.6 effic.
RB, Erik Anderson - 33 att, 133 rush yds, 4 avg
RB, Kevin Harris - 12 att, 69 rush yds, 5.8 avg, 3 rush TDs
WR, Rashaan Gaymon - 11 rec, 162 rec yds, 14.7 avg, 3 rec TDs
Key Defensive Players: LB, Sebastian Swift - 17 total tackles, 0.5 TFL
DL, T.J. Foulks - 12 total tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1.0 sacks
LB, Caleb Coe - 11 total tackles
Team Matchup
ONU | CUAA |
Record | 3 - 0 | 2 - 0 |
Scoring | 70 | 59 |
Total Offense | 831 | 797 |
Total Plays | 156 | 138 |
Yards Per Play | 5.300 | 5.800 |
Yards Per Game | 415.500 | 398.500 |
Touchdowns | 9 | 8 |
Rushing | 4 | 5 |
Passing | 5 | 3 |
Other | 0 | 0 |
1st Downs | 49 | 39 |
Rushing Yards | 372 | 328 |
Attempts | 99 | 82 |
Yards Per Rush | 3.800 | 4.000 |
Yards Per Game | 186.000 | 164.000 |
Passing Yards | 459 | 469 |
Att-Comp-Int | 57 - 40 - 0 | 56 - 33 - 1 |
Yards Per Attempt | 8.100 | 8.400 |
Yards Per Game | 229.500 | 234.500 |
Punting Yds | 310 | 454 |
Punts | 8 | 14 |
Yards Per Punt | 38.800 | 32.400 |
Punt Ret Yds | 8 | 32 |
Returns - Average | 3 - 2.700 | 3 - 10.700 |
Kickoff Return Yds | 147 | 40 |
Returns - Average | 7 - 21.000 | 2 - 20.000 |
Interception Ret Yds | 2 | 21 |
Returns - Average | 2 - 1.000 | 3 - 7.000 |
Penalties / Yards | 11 - 104 | 11 - 132 |
Penalties Per Game | 5.500 | 5.500 |
Penalties Yards Per Game | 52.000 | 66.000 |
Fumbles / Lost | 5 - 2 | 2 - 1 |
3rd-Down Convs | 15 - 34 | 13 - 31 |
Percentage | 44.100 | 41.900 |
4th-Down Convs | 4 - 6 | 1 - 1 |
Percentage | 66.700 | 100.000 |
MSFA Mid-East League Standings
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Other MSFA Games
9/9 - University of Wisconsin-River Falls @ Missouri Baptist – 12pm
9/9 - #1 Saint Francis (IN) @ #23 Saint Ambrose – 2pm
9/9 - Valparaiso University @ Trinity International – 2pm
9/9 - Siena Heights @ #RV Robert Morris (IL) – 3pm
9/9 – Taylor @ Butler – 6:30pm
9/9 – Lindenwood-Belleville @ #13 Saint Xavier – 7pm
