What: CUC Football at Benedictine University
Where: Benedictine Sports Complex, Lisle, IL
When: Saturday, Nov. 16 at 12 noon

This Saturday's battle of Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference teams features two teams who have exceeded expectations this year, at least according to several preseason prognosticators. The Concordia-Chicago Cougars, who come in at 5-4 overall, 3-3 (third place) in the NACC, were tabbed to finish seventh out of eight teams in the conference's preseason poll of coaches and SIDs, Meanwhile, Benedictine was predicted for a fifth place finish but, at 6-3, 5-1 NACC, will be playing for a share of the conference title, although Aurora University has already clinched the NACC's automatic berth to the Division III playoffs.

Perhaps the coaching changes at both CUC and Benedictine may have accounted for the under-estimating of both sides back in August. For CUC head coach Jason Aubry, one of his talking points during his first season has been consistency, and letting others know what they can expect from the CUC Cougars on a regular basis. "I don't care so much about records or stats as I want us to play consistent football. This season, we have not always been the most consistent team. If we play consistently this week, we put ourselves in a position to win." The Cougars have put themselves in that position often enough this season, that when asked about the possibility of a six-win season, Aubry responded, "it would be huge for our first year here...five wins is a great year, but six wins - even better."  

The 2019 season has already seen the Cougars pocket their most wins since their NCAA III playoff season of 2012. Last week's 28-25 win at Rockford University also put the Cougars at 4-1 on the road. Only once before has a CUC team won five games on the road in a season, and that was in that magical 2012 season. Keep in mind that 10-game seasons (and five or even six road games in a season) did not become the norm until the 1990s, and that only two other teams have posted comparable road records (4-0 in 1937, 4-1 in 2009).

As the final game of the season, Saturday will be the finale for the careers of nine players. Aubry doesn't have any "Knute Rockne speeches" planned, instead deferring to the "soundbytes" that the team has come to hear and practice on a daily basis. "Our TOI mantra (team over individual), who we are as a family, our mission to serve others, doing things the right way...telling them things on a daily basis, like I love them - because I do. They'll hear the same thing from their first day in the program to their final day, and that's the biggest thing."

Lance Moise, who sat out last Saturday's game, will make his final entries into the CUC record books, including a career rushing yards total for future Cougar running backs to pursue. Moise goes into this final game with 4,518 yards, already over 500 yards past the previous standard set by Khyree Copeland (2007-10).

Last week, the Cougars faced an uphill climb for much of the day until they turned the tide in the fourth quarter. Defensive lineman Gustavo Alba had a monster game with 10 tackles, including three sacks and two tackles in the backfield on running plays. Alba's last sack preceded the Cougars' final drive, one which produced a 31-yard touchdown pass from Griffin Beaudette to Da'Nas Pinellas. Other noteworthy performances from the game included Juan Urrea, who ran for a career-high 112 yards and scored three touchdowns, and Tyler Dudley, who collected 12 tackles and a fumble recovery in CUC territory to thwart a Rockford scoring drive.

Last year, CUC and Benedictine combined for over 1,000 yards of offense in a 54-41 Eagles' victory. The principles in that games will have a chance for more of the same tomorrow. Moise ran for his single-game high of 326 yards and four touchdowns, while the Eagles were led by quarterback Tyler Jarnagin and running back Joshua Williams. Both of them are having strong years, with Jarnagin completing 58 percent of his passes for 1770 yards and 15 touchdowns, and Williams rushing for 843 yards and seven touchdowns. Wide receiver Alex Lopez has been the favorite target of Jarnagin's, with five catches per game and 592 receiving yards with eight touchdowns. Benedictine's defense features one of the most active players in the conference in linebacker Scottie Bobeck,  with 96 tackles and three interceptions on the year.

Fans going to the game, please note the starting time an hour earlier at 12 noon. Links to live coverage of the game can be found at www.cucougars.com/coverage.