FIRST AND TEN
Colorado Mesa will hit the road for the second time this season as they travel to the Steel City for a matchup with the CSU Pueblo at a new time of 11am due to predicted Thunderstorms. 

Both teams are coming off of losses to ranked opponents with the Mavericks loss to No. 13 Central Washington and the ThunderWolves loss to No. 3 Grand Valley State. 

Colorado Mesa and CSU Pueblo remained a part of the AFCA National Poll despite the losses with the Mavericks still receiving votes and the ThunderWolves checking in at No. 22.

The Mavericks are playing their third straight matchup against teams receiving at least one vote in the AFCA National Poll. Texas A&M-Kingsville was receiving votes while Central Washington was ranked No. 13 in last week's matchup. 

ROUNDUP
The Mavericks dropped their third straight home opener last Saturday with a 28-12 defeat at the hands of NCAA Super Region IV runner-up and No. 13 ranked Central Washington at Stocker Stadium. After the Mavericks led 9-0, Central Washington scored 28 unanswered before a Sullivan Moon field goal late stopped the run. 

Charlie Smith led the Maverick defense with 12 tackles and teamed with freshman Hunter Hamilton on a sack. Smith wasnt the only linebacker to make some noise as Colin Stuhr intercepted the a Wildcat pass on the first play from scrimmage which helped the Mavericks to a 9-0 lead in the first quarter of play.

The offense couldnt get a whole lot going as they finished with 205 total yards. Leslie Richardson and Liu Aumavae combined to go 12-for-21 for 143 yards. Myles Newble led the ground attack with 27 yards on four carries. Each of the four primary runners made runs of over 10 yards.

Last Five Home Openers
Sept. 14, 2024: L, 28-12 vs. CWU
Sept. 2, 2023: L, 30-10 vs. TAMUK
Sept. 17, 2022: L, 31-17 vs. S.D. Mines
Sept. 2, 2021: W, 40-3 vs. Wil. Jewell
Oct. 10, 2020: W, 10-7 OT vs. Chadron

THE MATCHUP
The Mavericks and ThunderWolves will be squaring off for the 25th time since 1976 on Saturday. The ThunderWolves hold a record of 16-7-1 against the Mavericks in the series with the last Maverick win coming on October 1, 2016 in Grand Junction. That game had a little controversy in it but nonetheless was a Maverick victory. 

This year's matchup will be the fourth meeting out of the last five that has occurred in Pueblo. The ThunderWolves are scheduled to play against the Maverick in Grand Junction next season on September 20.

After having success right after the ThunderWolves brought the football program back in 2008, the Mavericks have defeated the ThunderWolves just three times. They are just 3-12 in the last 15 meetings against the Pack with wins coming in 2008, 2009 and 2016. 

Last Five Matchups with CSU Pueblo 
Oct. 28, 2023: L, 59-20 in Pueblo
Oct. 29, 2022: L, 33-28 in Grand Jct.
Oct. 2, 2021: L, 19-13 (OT) in Pueblo
Oct. 19, 2019: L, 44-28 in Pueblo
Oct. 13, 2018: L, 36-14 in Grand Jct.

KNOW YOUR FOE
CSU Pueblo opened the season during zero week with a conference game against South Dakota Mines where they won 35-6. They followed that up with a ranked win over Texas Permian Basin 40-23. They stubbed their toe in a hotly contested matchup with No. 3 Grand Valley State 24-21 last week at The ThunderBowl. 

The ThunderWolves are coached by Colorado Mesa alum Phil Vigil who is in his second season at the helm. Vigil is 10-4 in his one plus seasons in Pueblo after being the head coach at Western New Mexico the two seasons prior. With the Mustangs, he took over a team in shambles and went 1-10 in his first season before a five win improvement to 6-5 the following season.

CSU Pueblo is led offensively by arguably the best receiver in Division II football in Reggie Retzlaff. The Corona, Calif. native has caught 25 passes for a Division II leading 552 yards and five touchdowns in just three games. All five of those touchdowns have come off the arm of quarterback Devin Larsen a transfer from Western New Mexico.

The Pack defense has a two headed monster that they rely on in linebacker Jon Nuschy and defensive back Daniel Bone. Nuschy leads all Pack defenders with 29 tackles while Bone is second on the team with 27 tackles. Makeah Scippio leads the RMAC in sacks with four.

REUNION WEEK
The two coaching staffs in this week's matchup have several ties to the opposing schools including the two head coaches.

Colorado Mesa head coach Miles Kochevar spent two seasons as the Defensive Coordinator at CSU Pueblo under then head coach Jon Wristen. CSU Pueblo head coach spent five years with the Mavericks as their quarterback from 2004 to 2008. He ranks third all-time in passing yards with 4,583 yards.

Colorado Mesa assistant coach Levi Suiaunoa spent time at CSU Pueblo as an assistant coach with Coach K while CSU Pueblo assistants Mac Alexander, Brayle Brown and Jordan Dodge spent time one the Colorado Mesa coaching staff during their careers. Alexander played both football and basketball at Colorado Mesa during his career.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Sophomore Charlie Smith is leading the Maverick defense in tackles with 23 through two games played. He finished with 11 in the win over Texas A&M-Kingsville and 12 in the home opening loss to Central Washington. The Arvada, Colo. native has played in 13 games and has made four starts in his career.

Colin Stuhr has the lone full sack on the season and has five tackles on the season. Stuhr had an interception against Central Washington which came on a deflection off a receiver on the Wildcat's first play from scrimmage.

Freshman Hunter Hamilton has had a nice start to his collegiate career. In the two games, he has seven tackles, a half a sack and a quarterback hurry and is scheduled to start his second consecutive game along the defensive line.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY
Kicker Sullivan Moon was named the RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week after connecting on two field goals and a 67-yard punt in the loss to No. 13 Central Washington.

Moon hit on a punt that traveled 67 yards through the air and then again on the roll. It is the longest punt since 2022 when Ben Sargent also hit on a 67-yarder and is the longest since September 24, 2011 when Michael Brady unleashed a 78 yard punt against New Mexico Highlands.

While Moon connected on a big punt, the Mavericks were also able to block a Central Washington punt in the first quarter. Eli Keith was able to get a hand on a punt that wound up traveling just three yards. 

MAVS ON THE TUBE
Colorado Mesa and KREX/KGJT TV are continuing their partnership by allowing patrons to view all RMAC and home games this year through the RMAC Network. Viewers will be able to access the video broadcasts through CMUMavericks.com/TV along with WesternSlopeNow.com.

While those games will be broadcast on TV, fans may still also watch the game on the RMAC Network by visiting CMUMavericks.com/TV

RMAC PRESEASON POLL
Colorado Mesa was picked to finish fourth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference this season after finishing with a 6-5 record a season ago. The Mavericks finished in a tie for fourth place with Black Hills State last season with a record of 5-4. CMU started the conference season with a 1-3 record but closed out the season by winning four of their final five games that included a season finale win over New Mexico Highlands. 

2023 National Runner-up Colorado School of Mines was the unanimous selection to win the RMAC again as they garnered seven first-place votes. They were followed by Western Colorado, who qualified for the 2023 NCAA Playoffs, and CSU Puebl0 to round out the top three teams.

COACHING STAFF QUICKIES
Offensive line coach and Offensive Coordinator Trevor Wikre is back where his college football career took place in Grand Junction. Wikre played both defensive and offensive line and holds a place in college football lore after an incident during his playing days. Wikre damaged his pinkie finger at the end of practice during his senior year and had to get it surgically repaired. His options were to get it repaired right and lose his final season of football or amputate and miss one game and play the remaining four. He chose the latter and his story reached People Magazine, Sports Illustrated, the New York Times and ESPN.

Assistant Defensive Line Coach Austin Berk is a former Colorado State Ram player who prepped at Grand Junction High School. His father, Mike Berk, was an All-American offensive lineman for the Mavericks in 1985.

Colorado Mesa added Darrell Funk to the coaching staff during the offseason and he is slated to assist Trevor WIkre with coaching the offensive line. Funk will be making his second appearance on the Maverick sidelines as he coached then Mesa State in the early to mid-90s. Funk has made stops at Colorado State, Ball State, San Diego State, Michigan, Akron, Purdue, Indiana State, Texas-San Antonio, and most recently at BYU.

SIGHTS ON THE SCHEDULE
This will be the second straight season the Mavericks will play a full 11-game schedule and are one of six schools taking advantage of the new zero week in Division II college football. After their season-opening game, Colorado Mesa will have a 'bye' week next week before their home opener with Central Washington. 

The Mavericks will play in five games that feature teams ranked or receiving votes in the preseason AFCA poll and the two Super Region IV finalists from a season ago. They will play three of those five teams at home beginning with the home opener on September 14 against No. 8 Central Washington. Texas A&M-Kingsville (RV), CSU Pueblo (RV), Colorado School of Mines (5), and Western Colorado (15) are all on this season's schedule. 

This season's homecoming game is set for Saturday October 19 as Colorado Mesa will play host to New Mexico Highlands at 1pm from Stocker Stadium. The Mavericks will look to make it 11 in a row against the Cowboys.

OUT ON THE RANGE
The NCAA membership passed a proposal to permit football games to be played a week prior to the Thursday precedeing September 6. The change allows schools the flexibility to schedule and play 11 contests over 12 weeks. It provides the ability to schedule a bye week during the season, benefitting student-athlete health and safety.

New this season all across college football, tablets will be allowed on the sideline to help with game planning and scheme adjustments. In the RMAC, coaching staffs are allowed five tablets to be used with two in the coaching box and three on the sidelines. 

ON THE HORIZON
The Mavericks will return home for the first of their back-to-back home weekends at Stocker Stadium. They will take on the Chadron State on Saturday September 28 and will look to extend their win streak to six games against the Eagles. 

The Mavericks will remain home after the matchup with Chadron State in Grand Junction as they will play hot to two-time NCAA Division II runner-up Colorado School of Mines at Stocker Stadium on October 5.