What: CUC home Football v. Beloit College
Where: Concordia Stadium, River Forest, IL
When: Saturday, Sept. 1, 1:00 PM
Links: Video/Live Stats
Download Game Notes Here ($2 at the gate)

Aug. 29, 2018 - The 96th season of football at Concordia University Chicago is at hand, and the Cougars will play the first of a 10-game schedule and six-game home schedule when they host the Buccaneers of Beloit College on Saturday afternoon.

The Cougars (3-6 in 2017) enter this season's opener with two plot lines headlining the script. The first is the beginning of the Mike Juscik era of CUC football. Juscik has been the Cougars' defensive coordinator since 2014 but was promoted to the head coach's position early in the summer following the retirement of Randy Awrey. Juscik will retain his D.C. duties, while Jim Kiernan begins his sixth year as CUC's offensive coordinator. The second plot line can be deduced by a look at the CUC sideline, as the Cougars will have an opening day roster of 103 players. This came about through a record-size recruiting class of 69 players, all of whom are ready to make their impact for the maroon and gold beginning Saturday afternoon.

As has been tradition at CUC in recent years, this first game of the season will be the football team's Senior Day. The Cougars will recognize 10 players and their family members for their contributions to the good of the program. The players include Isaiah Alvarez, Robert Barragan, Scott Bussard, Gideon Coble, Thaddous Daniel Jr., Rob Granquist, Daryus Lemons, Randy Nava, Rodolfo Payan and Jeshua Torrens. 

The Opponent: Beloit College (1-9 in 2017) played its first football game in 1889 and is beginning its 128th season of football. The Buccaneers are members of the Midwest Conference. They are coached by Seth Duerr, who is beginning his fifth season at Beloit. 

The Series: Saturday's game will be just the fourth in the all-time series. CUC has won the first three by scores of 24-14 in 1974, 35-13 in 1975 and 51-50 in 2015. In the 2015 game, which was also a season opener played in River Forest, Granquist tossed a 10-yard pass to Ryan Allison and added a two-point conversion pass to Rashad Lofton with 13.8 seconds left to squeeze out a wild victory.

When CUC Has the Ball: The Cougars return key players on the offensive side, including four starters on the O-line which includes tackle S, Bussard and center/co-captain Justice Silvera. The running game features 2016 conference Freshman of the Year Lance Moise, who has averaged over 100 yards per game over his first two seasons, while Tylor Martens will provide an effective option in the backfield. Granquist, who threw for a combined 2136 yards and 19 TDs in 2015 and 2016, will direct the Cougars' multi-receiver passing game. The top receiving threat looks to be junior Corey Dooley, while newcomers Semaj James and Da'Nas Pinellas are among several who will look to move the chains with each reception.

Beloit returns four of its top five tacklers from last year's defense. CUC will have to account for a pair of active linebackers in Andrei Prikhodko (36-19, 3 TFLs, 1 INT) and Mike Lafayette (34-19, 1.5 TFLs). Players to watch in the secondary include Patrick Nicolas (26-21, 1 INT) and Caleb Wachal (30-11, 7 pass break-ups). The Buccaneers' defense recorded 12 takeaways in 2017 (7 fumble recoveries, 5 INTs).

When Beloit Has the Ball: Erick Mitchell moves up to the number one quarterback role after seeing action in eight games last year and completing 33 of 70 passes for 517 yards and 5 TDs. Mitchell will have two of the top receivers from 2017 returning in Tyler Korous (25-147, 2 TDs) and Travis Price (20-181, 1 TD). The rushing game, which averaged 180.4 yards per game last year, will return two of its top threats as well in Joey Werner (119-643, 3 TDs) and Tyree Smith (113-505, 2 TDs). Senior right guard Jake Karlicek anchors what is otherwise a young offensive line.

The Cougars feature a good amount of their experience in the linebacker and secondary units. Thaddous Daniel Jr. (44-32, 3.5 TFLs) and Rodolfo Payan (27-30, 3.5 TFLs) were among the top three in CUC tackles last year, while Caleb Casey (33-21, 2 forced fumbles) and Demetrius Rufus (21-11, 3 INTs) lead the secondary. The defensive line is young, but Collin Salmon Jr. and Gustavo Alba are among those stepping up to play more impactful roles.