After dropping out of the national rankings for the first time in more than 70 weeks, the St. Thomas football team seeks to rebound against No. 18-ranked Concordia-Moorhead Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

St. Thomas’ three-game win streak came to an end last weekend after a 35-24 loss to Bethel in which the Tommies threw three interceptions and fell behind 21-0 at halftime. Coach Glenn Caruso said the team has already put the painful loss behind and shifted focus to bettering itself.

“We work really hard to try and not focus on anything else other than this week,” Caruso said. “We know this: We realize what we can control and what we can’t, and what we can control is how we practice and how we play.”

Concordia is coming off a 42-7 drubbing of Hamline last week in which 13 different players carried the ball. The Cobbers rank in the top three of the country in average time-of-possession per game at 35:47, and they will rely on excellent depth in the backfield to wear down the Tommies. Linebacker Tim McClanahan said St. Thomas will combat that with impressive depth of their own.

“They have a lot of good players, so their running backs are never tired and they’re always fresh,” McClanahan said. “Thirty-five minutes of offense time is a lot, so we have to make sure everyone’s ready, from the first guy to the last.”

Fullback Alex McLean leads Concordia in rushing attempts, yards and touchdowns, but four other Cobbers have gained more than 190 yards on the ground this season. Caruso said the Tommies will need to be wary of the Cobbers’ balanced rushing attack and added that the key to holding them in check will be stopping Concordia on third down.

“There’s something to be said for being balanced in the run game to where it’s not always one player and one area. They do a really good job of controlling the ball and controlling the clock,” Caruso said. “It’s about the defense getting off the field on final downs and not allowing drives to continue. That’s what it comes down to.”

McClanahan said the Tommies’ mentality on defense will be to force the Cobbers into third-down situations and then rally together to get off the field.

“We need to keep doing a great job on second down, stopping the run, and then on third down, someone’s gotta make a play and step up and knock down a pass and get a sack so we can get off the field,” McClanahan said.

Two-time all-MIAC quarterback Griffin Neal leads a Cobbers attack that Caruso described as markedly different than others featured in the MIAC.

“It’s a wing-based offense with a lot of option principals, but then they spread it out quite a bit,” Caruso said. “They’ve spread it out more in the last three years than I can remember them spreading it out in the prior 15.”

Neal became the all-time leading passer in Concordia history and tied the school record for touchdown passes in the victory against Hamline last week. A three-year starter, Caruso said Neal displays great comfort with the offense and an ability to disperse the ball.

“(Neal) is a guy who’s played in their system and started for three years, and I think that speaks a lot about his ability to run the entire package,” Caruso said. “He understands their concepts, and when a team takes one thing away, he does a better job than most at coming back to secondary receivers.”

Wide receiver John Baune – the younger brother of Brett Baune, Concordia’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns – leads the Cobbers with 41 catches for 519 yards and six touchdowns and was one of nine different players to catch a pass last week.

Neal is third in the MIAC with 1,676 passing yards this season but is also second on the team in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. McClanahan said Neal reminds him of Augsburg quarterback Ayrton Scott and added that the Tommies will need to defend him the same way they did the Auggies’ dual-threat quarterback.

“(Neal) is pretty similar to Ayrton Scott. He’s a good playmaker, and he can move the ball on the ground and in the air,” McClanahan said. “What you have to do is keep him in the pocket, keep him contained and then hustle from the backside and chase him down if he doesn’t stay in.”

Defensive lineman Nate Adams, the reigning MIAC lineman of the year and first team all-MIAC selection, leads a Cobber defense that ranks first in points-per-game allowed, total yards-per-game allowed and rushing yards-per-game allowed. After leading the MIAC with nine sacks last season, Adams again sits atop the conference with 4.5 this year.

Offensive lineman Zach Brennan said the key to stopping the MIAC’s best defense will be sticking to the fundamentals.

“We have to get good a punch and then just keep our chests up,” Brennan said. “Their whole defense is really talented, but we need to keep working and hopefully our coaches will put us in good situations.”

The Tommies did not allow a sack last week against Bethel, but Brennan said the Cobbers’ defensive scheme will be different from the one the Royals featured.

“They’re very aggressive; they’re a little like Augsburg because they’re flying around,” Brennan said. “Bethel is more of a read team, so these guys are going to get off the ball and try and knock us off our midline.”

St. Thomas sits fifth in the MIAC standings, while Concordia currently sits one spot behind conference-leading Bethel. Tight end Charlie Dowdle said that because the Cobbers are fighting for the MIAC title while the Tommies are fighting to keep their playoff chances afloat, Saturday’s game will have extra significance for both teams.

“Concordia is a really good team, and they’re fighting for a playoff spot too, so they’ll be coming in here looking to knock us out,” Dowdle said.

Tom Pitzen can be reached at pitz2014@stthomas.edu.