There is a definite feel in and around the Colorado Mesa University camps that fall is in the air.

It has nothing to do with cooler temperatures or shorter days and everything to do with what happens at 1 p.m. Saturday at Stocker Stadium. That's when the Mavericks kickoff their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule against Chadron State College.

Basically, everything from this point on, well, matters.

“This is going to be a great challenge for us coming out of the gate,” CMU coach Russ Martin said. “Its conference play and we are ready for it.”

Saturday's game is the conference opener for both teams, and the opener homer for the Mavs. And each team has taken a slightly different path to this point.

Chadron, a perennial fixture in the NCAA Division II playoffs over the last two decades, enters the game at 1-1 with a 33-6 season-opening loss at Montana State and a 19-7 road win at Angelo State. The Mavs have been on the end of a pair of road losses (38-19 at Humboldt State and 40-3 at Northern Colorado) that were not near as lopsided as the scores may indicate.

But none of that really matters heading into Saturday's game.

“This is as an important game as there can be for us because it is the conference opener,” Martin, in his first season as CMU head coach, said. “It's a great opportunity for us to see how much better we have gotten since last week and to see how much better we can be.”

It hasn't been long since these two teams last met, the Eagles pulled out a 24-17 overtime win in Nebraska last November, but a lot has happened since that game. Both schools have new head coaches in place, Jay Long, a Chadron grad, took over the Eagle program last winter, while former Chadron coach Bill O'Boyle and his defensive coordinator Todd Auer are now assistants on Martin's staff.

So there is an air of familiarity surrounding this game. There is also a sense of urgency to get off to a fast start in conference play. And in order to do that, the Mavs will have to face a powerful offensive attack.

Junior Glen Clinton (5-foot, 10-inch, 200-pounds) paces a solid running attack that has been kept in check for the most part so far this season but has the potential to bust out for a big game. Clinton has 178 yards on 28 carries and a score, leading a team effort that is averaging 143 yards a game.

Sophomore quarter Jonn McLain has completed 19 of 40 tries for 114 yards and a score and has yet to be picked off.

“They are not as big up front as what we've seen this year but they can run the ball better than anyone we will see this year,” Martin said. “They give you a lot of different looks and are very precise. The big thing for us is how we handle that.”

Part of the problem the Eagles pose, Martin said, is that they do not substitute much, which makes it more difficult to see what's coming. The same guys will lineup in multiple formations which doesn't tip the defense off as to what kind of play may be called.

Defensively, the Eagles are about as close to being balanced as a defense can get, as far as yards given up so far this year. Opponents are averaging 355 of total offense a game so far with 176.5 of that coming on the ground.

Senior linebacker Kevin Lindholm (6-2, 220) anchors the defense, 19 tackles in two games, while defensive backs Lane Haller (6-3, 205 sophomore) and Bryce Huebner (5-10, 190 senior) have combined to make 30 tackles.

Martin said the Mavs will stick with what they know – pounding the ball behind sophomore running back Jake Cimolino, who has carried 30 times for 208 yards and a score - while hoping the passing game continues to improve. Red-shirt freshman quarterback Deke Cisco has thrown for 165 yards and a score, to Cimolino, while completing 20 of 41 passes but has been picked off four times and sacked eight times.

Game Notes

Both teams enter the game relatively healthy. Martin said senior defensive lineman Domonique Lewis will miss his third game of the year while Clint Imlay will sit this one out with a wrenched knee. Offensive lineman Teddy Silano could see action despite a broken hand.

This is the 22^nd meeting between the two schools dating back to 19991. The Eagles hold a 16-5 edge in the series, including having won eight in a row. CMU's last win was in 2003, a 21-14 victory in Chadron.

Chadron State College Eagles (1-1)
Saturday September 15 | 1:00pm (MDT) | Live Stats | Live Audio (KEXO 1230AM) | Live Video
All-Time Series: 5-16
Last Meeting: 2011 - CSC 24-17 ot

Last Week for the Eagles: Chadron State was able to fend off the Angelo State Rams 19-7. The Eagles racked up 278 yards of offense including 185 yards on the ground. In the opening week of the season, Chadron fell to Division I-FCS power Montana State 33-6 in front of 20,000 fans.

Chadron State has won the last 8 meetings with the Mavericks dating back to 2004. Colorado Mesa's victory in 2003 capped an undefeated RMAC season for the Mavericks giving them the RMAC Championship.

Projected Starters