What: CUC Football at Lakeland University
Where: Taylor Field, Plymouth, WI
When: Saturday, Sept. 29, 1:00 PM
Links: Video/Live Stats

Officially, the Concordia-Chicago Cougars carry a 1-2 record into their football game this Saturday at Plymouth, WI. But by another perspective, Saturday can be thought of as a new season for the Cougars and likewise the seven other teams in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. In that respect, all will be 0-0 and ready to challenge in what could be a totally unpredictable year in the NACC.

In preparation for this first conference game, CUC head coach Mike Juscik says that the last two weeks since the Sept. 15 Albion game have worked to the Cougars' advantage. "The bye week is a nice thing to have before you start conference play," observed Juscik. "This last week, instead of focusing on an opponent, we focused on ourselves, got back to basics. We could go back and revisit some areas of how to do things, improve on things that you might not have as much time during the course of a regular 'game week.' We feel good about those practices last week, and now we've had a good week so far getting ready for Lakeland, We're excited for the chance to go and play this game, get the conference season started."

While last week may have featured some "back to basics" and some tuning up, the Cougars did see some things in the first three weeks that warrants some attention from football observers. Running back Lance Moise continues to lead all Division III rushers with 718 yards, and average of 239.3 per game. On the whole, the CUC rushing game has had its shining moments, with an offensive line providing lots of room for not only Moise but also Tylor Martens, Andre Jones and even freshman quarterback Jordan Sepulveda. All this has led to an average of 350 team rushing yards per game (fifth in the nation). The quarterback trio of Sepulveda, Griffin Beaudette and Rob Granquist has mixed in enough passing to provide balance to the offense and give the Cougars a very respectable mark of 12 scores (11 TDs) in 16 trips to the red zone. Defensively, the Cougars have had stalwart performances from "usual suspects" Rodolfo Payan and Caleb Casey but have also seen some of the "new guys" chip in. Linebacker Matt Henning is second on the team in tackles and has been a solid contributor on special teams, and defensive end Abdul-Haleem Ajibola has 17 tackles to his credit so far, including 1.5 sacks.

The Cougars have the seemingly unenviable task of going on the road to face the four-time defending NACC champion Lakeland Muskies. While Lakeland was tabbed by the league coaches and SIDs in the preseason poll to make it a fifth title this year, the Muskies' 0-3 start may be giving a few observers cause to rethink their predictions. In fairness, the Muskies have played a very tough schedule in the first three games - Carroll University, #17 Trine University and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. But Lakeland is adjusting after several losses to graduation, most notably All-NACC quarterback Michael Whitley. Lakeland struggled to get a passing game going in the first few games, and the ability of the CUC pass rush and secondary to pressure the Muskies could certainly hold one of the keys to this game.

The Muskies have had production on the ground from Larry Rivers and Charl'Tez Nunnery, and they also have the availability of Dezmon Eddie, who was a huge factor in last year's game in Plymouth with 308 rushing yards. Defensively, Jerry Stokes leads the Muskies with 25 tackles, including 4.5 sacks, and he has been involved in two of the team's three takeaways - one interception and one forced fumble. 

Many questions abound as these to teams get ready to battle on Taylor Field this week. But Coach Juscik is adamant that only one thing will matter: "It doesn't matter who it is we're playing. This is about us this week. We'll do our best to take care of our effort, our execution. If we just make it about that, this can be a good week."