When Colorado Mesa University steps onto Nottingham Field Saturday to face Northern Colorado, it could be like looking into a mirror image, for both football teams. While there are plenty of differences between the two intra-state programs, the direction each program is taking and the situations that have led up to the 1:35 p.m. kickoff in Greely are strikingly similar.

“They are a night and day football team from what they were last year,” first-year CMU coach Russ Martin said. “They play harder and are more disciplined. They are a very good football team.”

That might sound like an over-the-top kind of compliment for a team that opened its season by losing 41-0 while amassing a paltry 124 yards of total offense. But considering the opponent was Utah, the game was in Salt Lake City and the Bears trailed just 7-0 with two minutes left in the first half, Martin's view of UNC is a fair and accurate one.

“They will be, if not the most talented football team we face all year, one of the most talented,” Martin added. “This game will be a very good test for us to measure how far we have come since game one.” That was a 38-19 loss to Humboldt State, a game that was much closer than the final score indicates. Three turnovers and a couple of big plays were too much for the Mavs to overcome. And the similarities don't stop there.

Both programs are in rebuilding phases. UNC is trying to break a 12-game losing that includes a 0-11 mark in 2011 under then first-year coach Earnest Collins, Jr. CMU is looking to take steps forward after going 3-7 last year and Martin has the Mavericks on the right track.
And while each team is looking for the first win of the season and momentum heading into its respective conference schedules, Martin is more interested in gauging the improvement of his young team.

“(This game) will allow us to measure if we are as good as we can be,” Martin said. “We need to find out just how good we can be compared to how well we are playing.”

While there are similarities between the programs, there is a distinctive difference - NCAA affiliation. The Bears are members of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), known as Division I-AA from 1978 through 2005, while the Mavericks make their home in Division II. UNC, being a FCS program, has 63 scholarship players on its roster and many of those were recruited by Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) programs. And that could pose some significant problems for the Mavs as UNC will have the edge in sheer number of players and quality of depth.

“They have a lot of size and a lot of speed,” CMU junior linebacker Jake Edmiston said. “They are bigger and faster but we just have to worry about us and taking care of the little things.”

Offensively, the Bears are paced by junior quarterback Seth Lobato (6-foot, 5-inches, 230-pounds) and a pair of junior running backs in Tromaine Dennis (6-1, 210) and Quentin Hildreth (5-7, 205). Lobato completed 10 of 24 tries for 74 yards last week but led the team in total offense last season, throwing for 2,448 yards while rushing for 233. Dennis and Hildreth combined to pick up 57 yards on 16 carries against Utah.

Clarence Bumpas anchors a defense that is both big and quick. Bumpas, a 6-2, 236 junior linebacker, recored 10 tackles last week while fellow linebacker Herve Tonye-Tonye (6-0, 237) had nine. Up front, Lexington Smith posses problems at 6-4, 288 while Marcel Gibbons (5-11, 189) leads the secondary. Both recorded eight tackles last week.

Martin said the Mavs will build on a solid rushing attack that was highlighted by sophomore running back Jake Cimolino, who picked 125 yards on 17 tries and a score while red-shirt freshman quarterback Deke Cisco had 23 carries for 76 yards and a score.
Martin said he would like to see the passing game, Cisco completed 10 of 21 throws for 96 yards and a touchdown, become more consistent.
“At times, we ran the ball quite well,” Martin said. “We were able to get after it and our tempo was good, at times. But we need to be able to throw it better. That's what we are after, we want to throw well when we want to throw it.”
NOTES
 
The Mavericks came out of the Humboldt game relatively healthy. Martin said sophomore linebacker Clint Imlay was to have a MRI sometime this week and his status would be known after that. Senior defensive lineman Domonique Lewis, who missed the season opener will suit up and play Saturday.

The game will be the seventh time the two programs have played each other and the first since 1997. The game is a rematch of the first-ever at Nottingham Field, a 58-7 victory for the Bears on Sept. 8, 1995.

The game will be broadcast on Altitude Sports & Entertainment and will air a total of six times. A gameday rerun will air at 9 p.m. followed by rebroadcasts at 3 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday and 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

Northern Colorado Bears (0-1)
Saturday September 8 | 1:35pm (MDT) | Live Stats | Live Audio | Altitude Sports
All-Time Series: 0-5
Last Meeting: 1997 - UNC 28-7

Last Week for the Bears: Northern Colorado travelled to Salt Lake City and took on the Utah Utes. The Bears lost 41-0 to the FBS school but played them to an even 0-0 first quarter. Utah racked up 419 yards of offense including 198 on the ground.

This will be the first game Colorado Mesa has played against an FCS (Old Division I-AA) school since they played Southern Utah in 2002 (L 0-7).

Projected Starters

Maverick Offense						Maverick Defense
QB	12	Deke Cisco	RFr.	6-3  190	Glendale, Ariz.	DE	57	Justin Brown	6-1  250	Castle Rock, Colo.
RB	32	Jake Cimolino	So.	6-0  205	Fort Bragg, Calif.	NT	96	Zach Beach	6-1  245	Castle Rock, Colo.
H	1	Alex Zemezonak	So.	5-9  170	Phoenix, Ariz.	DE	53	Matt Mitchell	6-0  230	Scottsdale, Ariz.
Y	6	Robert Felberg	Sr.	6-2  230	Aurora, Colo.	OLB	9	Koa Asing	6-2  230	Aiea, Hawaii
X	83	Nathan Neville	Jr.	6-3  200	Littleton, Colo.	ILB	33	Jake Edmiston	6-2  220	Palisade, Colo.
Z	14	Austin Rodriguez	Jr.	5-11  185	Littleton, Colo.	OLB	47	Clint Imlay	6-3  215	Mesa, Ariz.
LT	51	Austin Bennett	So.	6-3  280	Lakewood, Colo.	CB	22	Jordan Price	5-8  170	Fort Worth, Texas
LG	58	Brett Boyer	Jr.	6-3  270	Loveland, Colo.	S	4	Trevor deBraga	6-0  195	Fallon, Nev.
C	66	Matt Mankoff	Sr.	6-1  265	Denver, Colo.	S	2	Michael Brady	5-11  190	Highlands Ranch, Colo.
RG	69	Nick Leonard	RFr.	6-2  260	Broomfield, Colo.	S	5	Trent deBraga	6-0  200	Fallon, Nev.
RT	75	Trevor Stapp	Sr.	6-3  285	Tempe, Ariz.	CB	27	Travis McRae	5-11  180	S. Jordan, Utah