WEEKLY REWIND
Colorado Mesa fell to 2-3 on the season and 1-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after a 43-7 loss to Western Colorado last Saturday at Katy O'Rady Field.
Typically, we reserve this section for a little in depth look at last week's matchup. We are going to keep it extremely brief this week.
Freshman La'Markus Reed finished with a career-high 14 tackles in his first significant time of the season. He paired with Julius Carter to have the biggest impacts on the defense as Carter had four tackles and a pick-6 for the team's lone points of the game.
Myles Newble led the offense with 23 total yards in the game with seven rushing yards and 16 receiving yards.
THE MATCHUP
Colorado Mesa and Colorado School of Mineswill meet up for the 47th time since 1975 when Colorado Mesa turned into a four-year institution. The Mavericks lead the all-time series 31-15 but the Orediggers have won three of the past four matchups including last season's 48-21 win in Golden on October 8.
This weekend's matchup with Colorado School of Mines will be the battle for the Nyikos Cup, named after longtime faculty and supporter of both schools Dr. Michael Nyikos. Dr. Nyikos was the Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Colorado Mesa and the Vice President of Student Affairs and External Relations at Colorado School of Mines. Colorado School of Mines leads the cup series 8-4.
Mines won last year's battle 48-21 with score being close at halftime until a pick-6 in the waning seconds of the half gave the Orediggers a 31-21 lead at the break. The Mavericks last win in the series came in 2021 when they defeated the No. 3 ranked Orediggers 26-21.
Last Five Matchups with Mines
Oct. 8, 2022: L, 48-21 in Golden
Oct. 23, 2021: W, 26-21 in Grand Jct.
Oct. 5, 2019: L, 56-20 in Grand Jct.
Sept. 29, 2018: L, 72-31 in Golden
Sept. 16, 2017: W, 38-36 in Grand Jct.
KNOW YOUR FOE
The Orediggers have picked up right where they left off in 2022 when they played for the National Championship game eventually losing to Ferris State. The No. 2 ranked Orediggers have already defeated then No. 3 Grand Valley State (31-28)and then No. 4 Angelo State (31-21) in their two non-conference games before running through their first three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games to begin the season 5-0.
Colorado School of Mines is led by Pete Sterbick in his first season after spending the previous four seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Orediggers. He was named the National Coordinator of the Year last season after leading the offense to several top-10 statistical finishes during the season. He is 14-11 in his career as he spent two seasons at McPherson College, an NAIA school in Kansas.
All everything quarterback Jon Matocha leads the Orediggers offense and the country in several statistical categories. He ranks fifth in total offense at 332.4 yards per game and sixth in passing yards at 304.6 per game in all of NCAA Division II. The 2022 Harlon Hill winner's favorite target is Max McLeod who is second in Divison II in receiving yards at 622 yards.
Redshirt senior outside linebacker Nolan Reeve is the leader of the Oredigger defense. He leads the team in tackles with 21 and is tied for the team lead in sacks with three. He had a season-high seven tackles in the win on the road against CSU Pueblo.
BUILT ON DEFENSE
Despite some of the numbers on defense that most look at, they are giving the Mavericks a chance in every game. They rank fourth in scoring defense allowing 29.8 points per game and seventh in total defense at slightly over 400 yards allowed per game in the conference.
The defense ranks third in the conference in sacks at 2.60 per game. Ryan Randall leads team with two and a half sacks while four others have two sacks on the year.
The Mavericks are also on the plus side of the turnover margin which they havent been in years. They are +.20 in turnover margin which ranks fourth in the conference and they currently lead the RMAC in interceptions with six, four went into the hands of freshman Jason Thome.
DAPER DEBUT
Senior Julius Carter, a transfer from CSU Pueblo, made his debut against Western Colorado and didn't disappoint. He finished with four tackles with one of those going for a loss and made an interception which he returned for a touchdown. Carter added a pass break-up and a quarterback hurry to his stat line.
Carter's pick-6 was the first for the Mavericks since Damar'ren Mitchell intercepted a Black Hills State pass on October 17, 2020 during the COVID shortened season. The total span in between pick-6's was 26 games.
The senior is scheduled to make his first start at outside linebacker on Saturday against the Orediggers.
SCHEDULE SCOOP
Colorado Mesa currently has the 26th in the country with a combined winning percentage of .632 of the teams they have played already. The teams they have competed against have a combined 12-7 record.
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foe Chadron State currently has the toughest schedule in the country as the combined opponents records they have faced is 18-2 with a .900 winning percentage. They have played Colorado School of Mines, Western Colorado and Augustana are all undefeated while Quincy has one loss.
Colorado Mesa's schedule eases up a bit after this weekend as their remaining opponents have a combined winning percentage of .433 which currently includes unbeaten Mines.
MAVS ON THE TUBE
It was recently announced that the final four home games will be broadcast on KREX/KGJT in Grand Junction. It will be on channels 5.1 and 27.1 via antenna and channel 16 for Spectrum users. Ethan Jordan will provide play-by-play with Paxton Ritchey providing the color commentary.
While those games will be broadcast on TV, fans may still also watch the game on the RMAC Network by visiting CMUMavericks.com/TV
ON THE HORIZON
Colorado Mesa will head back on the road next week in a rather short trip south as they will take on the Fort Lewis Skyhawks on Saturday Oct. 14 in Durango. The Skyhawks are currently 0-5 on the season and 0-3 in the RMAC. The Skyhawks fell 85-7 to CSU Pueblo last Saturday.
The Mavericks will be back at home on October 21 for their homecoming game as they take on the Adams State Grizzlies at Stocker Stadium with a 1:05pm kickoff. The Grizzlies are currently 3-2 on the season and 2-1 in the conference after a 21-14 win over New Mexico Highlands on September 30.
