The Golden Bears weathered the first quarter perfectly, going into the stiff 20-mile per hour wind. The defense held Pitt State's offense from scoring while Concordia's offense maintained their drives enough to win the field position battle.
With the teams playing a scoreless first quarter, they switched sides and the Golden Bears went into the second with the winds at their back.
And they used the wind to their advantage, scoring under two minutes into the second quarter when senior Steven King (Johnston, Iowa) delivered a 51-yard field goal. King's kick breaks a school record, formerly held by Thom Hardin who held the mark since 1982 with his 46-yard field goal against Northwestern College.
King's 51-yard field goal was not only a school record, but a Mineral Water Bowl record as well, and is the only 50-plus yard field goal in the 45-year history of the game.
After the defense held the Gorillas to another three-and-out, the offense came back on the next drive, taking over near midfield in Gorilla territory due to a short Pitt State punt.
With a third and five on Pitt State's 40 yard line, junior Spencer Ohm (Blooming Prairie, Minn.) connected with junior Charles Gilbert (Jacksonville, Fla.) for a 13-yard first down, Gilbert hauling in the catch while absorbing a hard hit from behind.
On the next play, Concordia pitched to junior Sam Campbell (Cary, Ill.) who found Gilbert on the halfback option pass for a 27-yard touchdown.
Gilbert's touchdown reception ties the school record with 11 in a season, and is his 12th overall touchdown in 2010. All 12 of Gilbert's scores have come from 23 yards or longer.
The defense continued to hold the strong rushing attack of the Gorillas, holding them to 112 yards of total offense in the first half. Pitt State managed only 2-7 passing for 17 yards and were haunted by multiple first half dropped passes. They were able to rush for 95 yards, but as a team that averages nearly 250 on the ground per game, the 95 yards was well below their normal pace.
The 9-0 halftime lead for Concordia didn't deter the Gorillas from their run-oriented game plan, however.
In the third quarter, Concordia once again had the wind at their back and held a decisive field position advantage. Their opening drive of the second half came after the defense held PSU to another three-and-out. The offense took over on their own 42 and stalled-out just past midfield.
Senior punter T.G. Schoenberg (Woodbury, Minn.) buried the Gorillas at the one yard line, with redshirt freshman Jay Moten (Spicer, Minn.) alertly downing the ball.
It set up another three-and-out as the Gorillas punted from their own 10 yard line and a short punt set the Golden Bears up at the Gorilla 36 yard line.
But they couldn't capitalize on offense with a pair of costly drops (one in the end zone), a sack and a costly penalty.
From there, the game's momentum flipped and Pitt State's ground attack wore down the Concordia defense which had played so well in building the 9-0 lead.
Pitt State rushed for most of their 166 yards in the second half after that turning point when Concordia failed to capitalize on the great field position. They finished above their season average with 261 yards in the game.
The Gorillas finally scored on a three yard Briceton Wilson rushing touchdown with just under a minute to play in the third quarter, capping an impressive 14-play, 80-yard drive that leaked nearly six minutes off the clock and kept Concordia's offense from gaining more plays with the wind at their backs.
After Concordia went three-and-out to end the third quarter, Pitt State got back to work on the ground to start the fourth. They marched nine plays and 38 yards including their longest pass of the day, a 19-yarder to Jon Thomas. But the Golden Bears stopped the Gorillas on 3rd and 2 from the CU 29 yard line, forcing a field goal. Gorilla kicker Jake Craig hammered the 46-yard attempt through the uprights to put Pitt State ahead, 10-9.
After a fumble on Concordia's first play of their ensuing possession, Craig added another field goal from 36-yards at 6:47 in the fourth quarter for a 13-9 Pitt State lead.
The Golden Bears, trailing 13-9, started on a drive to answer. Ohm completed a nine yard pass to senior Zach Hovey (Champlin, Minn.) and two plays later found senior Hayden Vavra (Cambridge, Minn.) for 19 yards to midfield. A seven yard run by Campbell had Concordia with a 2nd and short at the Pitt 43 yard line. But they lost seven yards on the next play. Ohm rushed for six yards to get Concordia to a 4th and 4 situation, but his pass to senior Calvin Simon (Shakopee, Minn.) was broken up on an aggressive play by the Pitt secondary.
The Gorillas took over on offense with just over three minutes to play and successfully ran the clock out on Concordia.
The Most Valuable Players were Briceton Wilson on offense and Johnny Row on defense. Wilson rushed 21 times for a game-high 93 yards and a touchdown while Row had 12 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and a half sack.
Pitt State's Nate Dreiling led all defenders with 16 tackles and takes over as the national leader with 160.
Concordia's inside linebackers keyed the Golden Bear defense all day. Senior Trevor Glomski (Wabasha, Minn.) and junior Al Quaye (Champlin, Minn.) each had 14 tackles which is the highest individual total for Concordia this season. The two linebackers were Concordia's top two tackles for the season as well.
While the Gorillas had success on the ground, the Concordia secondary clamped down. Pitt State completed 3 of 12 for just 36 yards between their two quarterbacks, but Zac Dickey also rushed 15 times for 90 yards to supplement his 36 passing yards.
Offensively, Concordia had nearly 150 yards of offense in the first half but was stifled in the second half as they finished with just 198 yards of offense. Ohm completed 13-25 for 73 yards with a long of 22 but didn't have anything going downfield. As a team, Concordia had four players attempt passes and they finished 14-28 for 100 yards.
On the ground, Campbell led the team with 15 rushes for 61 yards and finished with 939 yards on the season on the ground, the highest individual total since 2005. The team rushed for 98 yards on the day.
The game featured only 17 total first downs, with Concordia gaining nine of those, and both teams converted just 1-6 on third downs in the first half. Concordia only converted 1-5 in the second half while Pitt State converted five of their last nine.
Schoenberg had his best individual punting day of the year with six pounts for a 43.2 average, a long of 51, two inside the 20.
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