Any time the Johnnies outgain their opponent by a nearly two-to-one margin, like they did Saturday when they rolled up 307 yards of total offense against only 183 for the Concordia Cobbers, you can almost assuredly put another tally in John Gagliardi’s win column. In Gagliardi’s 589th game as a college coach, breaking Eddie Robinson’s record for most ever at the college level, an offense that too often sputtered before finding the end zone couldn’t score enough points to support a strong defensive effort and beat the Cobbers.
While the loss doesn’t automatically end the Johnnies’ 2008 playoff hopes, it means that they will almost assuredly need to win out to get a spot in the field of 32—and even then, they will need help, either from their MIAC foes or the NCAA selection committee. With difficult a handful of difficult games remaining on the conference schedule, including trips to St. Olaf, Bethel, and rival St. Thomas, the Johnnies have dug themselves a formidable hole to work its way out of.
Here is a look at some of the numbers that shaped the latest thrilling chapter in the Johnnie/Cobber rivalry:
No Passing Zone: The Concordia Cobbers are certainly not known for their inventive or effective passing offense. Year in and year out, the run the MIAC’s most run-intensive offense, especially when leading as they were for virtually all of the game Saturday.
On Saturday, the Johnnies held the Cobbers to 27 yards on 5-of-7 passing and sacked quarterback Jesse Nelson twice. The longest Concordia pass play of the day only went 8 yards and they didn’t gain a single first down through the air. This performance by the St. John’s defense has been typical of recent meetings between the two teams. In the past five meetings leading up to the game, Concordia had averaged 4 completions on 14 attempts for less than 60 yards per game. The Cobbers also totaled 6 interceptions against just two passing touchdowns.
The inexperienced secondary was a source of concern for many St. John’s fans heading into the season, but the Johnnies turned in their third straight strong effort against the pass. On the season, St. John’s opponents have completed less than 50% of their passes (37-of-76, 49%) for only 373 yards (124 yards per game) and have throw 3 interceptions to go along with two scoring passes. By comparison, the much-maligned Johnnie pass offense has completed two-thirds of it’s passes (50-for-75) in totaling 615 yards and 5 scoring passes against just two interceptions.
Stop Living in the Red: Typical of any close, low-scoring game, field position was of the utmost importance and the vast majority of the game was played between the 20’s. For the entire game, the Johnnies ran only one play from the red zone, the 20-yard Joe Boyle-to-Jakob Reding touchdown pass shortly before halftime. The Cobbers had even less luck moving the ball deep into St. John’s territory. Their only 7 red zone plays in the game were in the first drive of the second quarter. While that drive ended at the 1-yard line thanks to a solid goalline stand by the Johnnies, it did set up the Cobbers’ safety two plays later. In the second half, Concordia never advanced further than the St. John’s 34-yard line.
Both teams’ punters and punt coverage teams played a key role in the field position battle. Concordia punter David Williamson managed to land two of his 10 punts inside the Johnnie 20-yard line and averaged 37 yards per punt. Johnnie punter Russell Gliadon was even more effective, averaging 35.6 yards per punt on 7 tries, with three punts pinning the Cobbers inside their own 20-yard line. For the game, the Johnnies managed just 5 punt return yards while the Cobbers were help to only 4 yards. Neither punter had a touchback.
Ole-Line: After starting slowly in the season opener, the St. John’s offensive line turned in a strong performance in a dominant Week Two win over the UW-River Falls Falcons. Unfortunately, the previously week’s success didn’t carry over to the match-up with the Cobbers.
A week after paving the way to 215 yards rushing on 57 carries (3.8 yards per) in the pouring rain, running holes were few and far between against a much-stiffer Concordia run defense. The Johnnies tallied only 85 rushing yards on 35 attempts (2.4 yards per) and were led in rushing by quarterback Joe Boyle (13 carries, 51 yards). No running back exceeded Jeff Schnobrich’s 9 carries for 26 yards. Especially troubling was the 2nd quarter safety. On a play that started from the Cobber 1-yard line, Schnobrich took a pitch a few yards deep in the end zone and didn’t come close to getting back to the goal line as he was swarmed by a handful of Concordia defenders.
It was much the same story with the St. John’s pass protection. After reducing their sacks allowed from four to one in the first two games, the Johnnies again allowed four sacks—plus three official, and at least as many unofficial, quarterback hurries—to the relentless Cobber defensive line. Starting quarterback Michael Crees took the brunt of the pressure as he was sacked twice in five pass plays.
Quick Hits: The second quarter safety suffered by the Johnnies was their first since they took an intentional safety in the closing seconds of their win at Concordia in 2006. Since then, the Johnnies have recorded three safeties of their own… The Johnnies fumbled the ball seven times on Saturday, but only lost two of them. The Cobbers didn’t have a single fumble or interception in the game… The Johnnies haven’t forced a turnover since Derek Stifter’s 68-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter against East Texas Baptist in the season’s first game… Ben Vanderheyden became the second Johnnie to top the 100-yard mark for receiving yards in a game this season. He had 5 catches for 102 yards, topping Jeff Schnobrich’s 7-catch, 101-yard effort against East Texas Baptist.
