The Colorado Mesa football team heads back out on the road for a key Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup with the CSU Pueblo ThunderWolves on Saturday. The Mavericks are coming off a 24-17 win over Chadron State last weekend at Stocker Stadium to keep their record unblemished at 3-0.
 
ON THE BRINK
In this week's American Football Coaches Association poll, Colorado Mesa received 30 votes to finish just outside the top-25. The Mavericks aren't the only team that is receiving votes from the conference, this week's opponent, CSU Pueblo, received two votes. Western Colorado is just ahead of Colorado Mesa in votes with 64.
 
Colorado School of Mines is the highest ranked RMAC team in the poll at No. 5 after a 4-0 start and a win over West Texas A&M this past weekend.
 
3-0 START
Colorado Mesa is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2018 where the team finished 7-4 after the hot start. Just two other schools in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference boast an undefeated record right now, No. 5 Colorado School of Mines and Western Colorado.
 
Interesting enough, Colorado School of Mines and Western Colorado square off this week while Colorado Mesa and CSU Pueblo take on each other, pitting the top four teams in the conference against each other this week.
 
OFFENSIVE ATTACK
Offensive Coordinator Brayle Brown and Co-Offensive Coordinator Mike Barela have the Maverick offense just about where they like it. The duo has positioned the offensive unit as the ninth-best team in total offense in NCAA Division II as they are averaging 487 yards per game.
 
What they may be most pleased about is the balance the unit has between passing offense and rushing offense. The Colorado Mesa passing offense, led by first-year quarterback Karst Hunter, is averaging 262.7 yards per game which is good enough for No. 49 in the country and second-best in the conference. The rushing attack is averaging 224.3 yards per game which ranks No. 19 in the country and is the best in the RMAC.
 
THE BIG THREE
Lionell McConnell, Elijah Lilly and Dwight Blakey have formed a unique trio that is leading the Maverick receivers this season. McConnell leads the group with 11 catches for a team-high 241 yarsd and two touchdowns while Lilly has eight catches for 153 yards and a touchdown. Blakey is tied with McConnell for the team lead in catches with 11 for 110 yards and a rushing touchdown.
 
Each has led the team in receiving in one of the three games this season. Lilly had the hot hand in the opener against William Jewell, McConnell had a big game against Highlands and Blakey had eight catches against Chadron State.
 
Who will have the hot hands this week or will someone new emerge?
 
212
You may hear or have heard the defense chanting "212" during the game or in practices last season and this season. This refers to the motto of the defense and we will try to give you a brief explanation where that comes from.
 
Water boils at 212 degrees and creates steam. Steam is extremely powerful and can power a locomotive which doesn't stop for anything in its path.
 
BOUNCE BACK
Safety Damar'ren Mitchell had a bit of a bounce back game in the win over Chadron State. Mitchell was all over the field making plays and finished with a career-high 14 tackles just one week after only recording five tackles in the win over New Mexico Highlands.
 
In the fourth quarter, Mitchell intercepted his first pass of the year that stopped a potential scoring drive for Chadron State. It was the Louisiana-Lafayette transfer's eighth career interception at Colorado Mesa in 17 games played.
 
THE FRONT LINE
One of the unsung heroes on the defensive unit is the play of the defensive line. Logan Bayus, Pierre Hayes, Torren Calhoun, Dirion Hutchins and Brian Rattery have been stalwarts all year. Sprinkle in Kuluni Mafi and newcomers Michael Gayden and Chase Davis, this unit is one of the best in the RMAC.
 
The group has five and a half sacks to their credit in three games this year and have helped slow opponents run attack in the process. Calhoun leads the team in sacks with two and a half and has added two hurries and a strip sack.
 
RETURN GAME
The Mavericks boast the top kick return unit in the country averaging over 41 yards per return. In fact, they are averaging more than 9.1 yards better per return then the No. 2 team Wingate.
 
A big reason for that is the return efforts of Elijah Lilly. The graduate student ranks No. 2 in NCAA Division II in kick return average at 41.6 yards per game. Lilly has broken off a 20+ yard return in every game this season including a long of 68-yards in the win over New Mexico Highlands.
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH CSU PUEBLO
CSU Pueblo leads the all-time series 13-7-1 and have won the past three matchups and nine of the last ten matchups in the series. Colorado Mesa has not won in Pueblo since 2009 when they won 21-13 in CSU Pueblos second year of bringing the program back.
 
The Mavericks last win in the series came in 2016 on a 20-19 win in Stocker Stadium but it wasn't without some controversy. The ThunderWolves were stopped at the goal line as time expired despite it appearing as if the ThunderWolves made it into the endzone.
 
SCOUTING THE THUNDERWOLVES
CSU Pueblo has been one of the league's stalwarts since they brought the program back for the 2008 season. This season they got off to a slow start playing against a pair of national powers early in Grand Valley State and Texas A&M Commerce, both of whom have either accepted Division I invitations or are rumored to be making the jump. The Pack fell in both matchups before rattling off two straight wins over conference foes Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines.
 
The ThunderWolves have always relied heavily on the run game and this season appears to be no different.  They are averaging over 118 yards per game on the ground with both quarterbacks factoring in as two of the top six rushers for the ThunderWolves. Central Washington transfer Michael Roots leads the team in rushing with 279 yards on 46 carries including a 145-yard output last weekend against the Hardrockers.
 
Steven Croell and Devin Williams have split time at the quarterback this year with Croell attempting more passes and thrown four touchdown passes. The duo has completed a little over 57 percent of their passes for a little over 186 yards per game.
 
Max Gonzalez leads the ThunderWolves in tackles with 27 including 10 against Black Hills State. Trevor Philio is the leader in sacks with two while four defenders have one interception each.
 
THE COACH
Head coach Tremaine Jackson enters his second season at the helm of the Maverick football team. He guided Colorado Mesa to a 2-1 mark during the COVID shortened 2020 season.
 
He was hired in December 2019 just prior to the COVID pandemic and thus has had to wait almost 19 months to compete in his first game that could go towards a championship.
 
Coach Jackson has made several stops along his coaching path that ranges from all levels. Most recently he made stops at Texas State as the defensive line coach and at Abilene Christian as the defensive coordinator.
 
RMAC PRESEASON POLL
Colorado Mesa was picked to finish in fourth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as voted on by the coaches. The Mavericks finished last season's abbreviated schedule with a 2-1 mark with wins over both Chadron State and Black Hills State. Their lone setback came to South Dakota Mines at home in what turned out to be the final game of the season.
 
Colorado School of Mines was selected to win the conference with seven first place votes and 76 points. Mines finished the 2019 season with a 12-1 mark and a perfect 10-0 mark in the RMAC.
 
CSU Pueblo was second in the poll followed by Chadron State to round out the top four.
 
ON THE HORIZON
The Mavericks will return home next week for a showdown on October 9 against Adams State at Stocker Stadium. The game has many events surrounding it with Breast Cancer Awareness week where the team will be wearing pink accessories and CMU Alum Kathy Howa will be bringing her Swing for Life Foundation to the game as well.
 
Saturday's game will have the annual Steak and Crab Fest Fundraiser prior to the game. All you can eat Steak, Crab, Baked Potatoes, Texas Toast and beverages for $75 that benefits the Colorado Mesa wrestling programs from 2pm all the way up until kickoff at 6pm. Get your tickets at CMUMavericks.com/tickets.
 
The game will also be special for the two head coaches in the game. Check out next week's preview to find out why.