Colorado Mesa will close out the regular season with a non-conference game against No. 13 Azusa Pacific Saturday (Nov. 12). 

Series History
Saturday will be the first meeting between Colorado Mesa and Azusa Pacific. 

Polls
Azusa Pacific is ranked No. 13 and Colorado Mesa received votes in the latest American Football Coaches Association Poll. 

Conference Champs
Colorado Mesa won the 2016 RMAC Championship with a 48-38 win over South Dakota Mines. The Mavericks finished with an 8-2 RMAC record. The conference title is the 11th in program history. 

NCAA Playoffs
Colorado Mesa moved up one place to seventh n the latest NCAA Super Region Four Poll. The top-seven teams in the region will advance to the NCAA Playoffs. Saturday's game will also have playoff implications for Azusa Pacific who is ranked sixth in Super Region Three. The last time Colorado Mesa made the NCAA Football Playoffs was 2007.

1,000-Yard Rusher
David Tann could become the first CMU player to rush for over 1,000 yards since Jake Cimolino ran for 1,136 yards in 2013. He enters Saturday's game with 908 rushing yards. Tann leads Div. II in total points scored (144) and total touchdowns (24). He ranks fourth in the RMAC in rushing yards per game (91.4) and ranks third on the team in receiving yards (481). 

Scoreless Quarter
The Colorado Mesa offense was held scoreless in the third quarter against South Dakota Mines last week. It was the first quarter that CMU has been held scoreless since the second quarter against Dixie State, a span of 12 scoring quarters. 

He's Back!
After not punting for nearly two and a half games, punter Austin Pitchford made up for it punting a season-high six times for 234 yards. 

Tackle Machine
Junior defensive end Blake Nelson made 14 tackles against South Dakota Mines, the most by a CMU player this season. He also had two tackles for loss and one sack. Nelson leads the Mavericks with 86 tackles (39 solo, 47 assisted) and has 11 tackles for loss, second most in the RMAC. 

Academic All-Region
Junior defensive back Dustin Rivas earned CoSIDA Academic All-Region honors and will be eligible for Academic All-American honors. Rivas was named the RMAC Academic Defensive Player of the Year and carries a 3.35 in business administration. He has played in nine games, starting seven, and recording 53 tackles, fifth most on the team. He ranks 10th in the nation with five interceptions and has three blocked kicks, fourth in the nation. Rivas has returned 10 punts for 133 yards. 

Scoring
Colorado Mesa ranks seventh nationally in scoring offense (43.9 ppg) and 12th in red zone offense (.895). Colorado Mesa's 87 points against New Mexico Highland's is the most scored by any college football team this season regardless of division.

Offense
The Mavericks rank sixth in Div. II in total offense (521.7) and 12th in rushing yards (249.3 ypg). Mesa has the two highest offensive yard games in Div. II this season, 933 yards against New Mexico Highlands and 826 yards against Adams State. The Mavericks 933 yards is the most by any college football team this season regardless of division. 

Looking Ahead
Colorado Mesa will find out Sunday if it earned a NCAA Playoff birth. Selections will be announced Sunday (Nov. 13) at 3 pm on NCAA.com.