FIRST AND TEN
Colorado Mesa will head out on the road for their final long road trip of the season when they travel to Spearfish, S.D. for a matchup with the Black Hills State Yellowjackets. This is the front side of a back-to-back matchup with the South Dakota schools.

Black Hills State is in the midst of back-to-back home games as last weekend they faced a tall task in the CSU Pueblo. They fell 40-14 to the No. 9 ranked ThunderWolves in the front half of the schedule. 

All eyes will be on the Maverick passing attack this weekend as they will be facing the No. 10 passing defense in the conference as the Yellowjackets are yielding nearly 275 passing yards per week.

Head coach Miles Kochevar will be seeking his first win in Spearfish and just his second win in South Dakota during his head coaching tenure.

THE ROUNDUP
The Mavericks won their third straight homecoming game after a 24-14 win over the Fort Lewis Skyhawks on Saturday October 25 at Stocker Stadium. The win also gave the Mavericks 10 straight victories over the Skyahawks dating back to the 2015 season. 

Colorado Mesa had another strong rushing game against the No. 3 rush defense in the conference. The Mavericks churned up 269 yards and three scores on the ground behind another strong effort from Aiden Taylor who finished with 163 yards and a touchdown. Fellow senior Brandon Belgrave added 77 yards and a score. 

Gibson Leafgreen led the team in tackles with eight and added a tackle for loss along with a pair of pass break-ups in the win. Senior corner Lane Branstetter added seven tackles while George Soppe posted six stops.

Senior Sullivan Moon had a solid day kicking as he averaged 43 yards per punt with a long of 47 yards. The Colorado Springs native connected on his only field goal attempt which came from 31 yards out that gave the Mavericks a 10-7 lead in the second quarter. Kash Bradley returned his lone kick of the game 18 yards following the Fort Lewis touchdown.

THE MATCHUP
Colorado Mesa and Black Hills State are meeting up for just the 14th time since the Yellowjackets joined the RMAC back in 2012. The Mavericks hold a 9-4 edge in the all-time series but are just 3-3 in Spearfish, S.D. and 1-3 in the last four matchups at Lyle Hare Stadium.

The last Maverick win in Spearfish came on September 24, 2020 during the shortened COVID-19 season. The Mavericks rushed for 392 yards and stacked up nearly 550 yards of offense in a 56-7 win over the Yellowjackets. Freshman Darius McMillan finished with three touchdown runs and Jesse Rodriquez added 158 yards and a score.

In last season's matchup, Colorado Mesa piled up a 23-7 lead and finished out a 23-13 win over Black Hills State. Brandon Belgrave rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown while Liu Aumavae threw for 117 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

Last five matchups with Black Hills
Nov. 19, 2024 in Grand Jct. (W, 23-13)
Sept. 23, 2023 in Grand Jct. (L, 25-23)
Sept. 24, 2022 in Spearfish (L, 31-28)
Nov. 6, 2021 in Grand Jct. (W, 52-9)
Oct. 17, 2020 in Spearfish (W, 56-7)

KNOW YOUR FOE
Black Hills State head coach Josh Breske is in his sixth season at the helm of the Yellowjackets. Breske has led the Yellowjackets to a 24-30 record in his five plus seasons at the helm of the program. Breske was an offensive lineman at Black Hills State from 2005-09 and was named an NAIA All-American in two of those seasons. The Yellowjackets are just 1-7 this season with three of those losses coming by just one possession. They have played three games against ranked opponents in No. 3 Grand Valley State, No. 5 Western Colorado, and No. 9 CSU Pueblo.

The Yellowjackets have one of the best big play receivers in the RMAC in TJ Chukwurah. The Arlington, Texas native has 46 catches for 726 yards and 12 touchdowns in eight games. He had 12 catches for 182 yards and three touchdowns against then No. 3 Grand Valley State and 10 catches for 109 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener against Sioux Falls.

Black Hills State has a pair of solid pass rushers in Cooper Brown and Isaiah Morales. Brown has four sacks and eight quarterback hurries while defensive tackle Morales has four sacks with two of them coming in the season opener against Sioux Falls.

THE CHASE FOR 1,000
Colorado Mesa senior running back Aidan Taylor is aiming to become the Mavericks first 1,000 yard rusher in seven seasons. Taylor has built up 808 yards rushing with 10 touchdowns this season with three games left on the schedule.

It has been awhile but Colorado Mesa's last 1,000 yard rusher came in 2017 when David Tann rushed for 1,299 yards and 19 touchdowns. Tann, a transfer from Iowa, came into the program as a safety and converted to running back.

Taylor will need to average 64 yards per game for the rest of the season to eclipse that mark. Last season, the Modesto, Calif. native came the closest to eclipsing the 1,000 yard mark finishing with 669 yards.

Looking at this week's opponent in Black Hills State, the Yellowjackets are allowing 132.9 yards per game to opposing teams which ranks third in the RMAC. Last week, they only allowed CSU Pueblo to gain 93 yards on 31 carries and earlier in the year allowed perennial power Grand Valley State to gain just 44 yards on 22 carries.

PROGRESSION ON D
The Colorado Mesa defense continues to develop as the season progresses. The Mavericks rank No. 4 in the RMAC in total defense allowing 359.5 yards per game and that includes the No. 2 pass defense allowing just 184.5 yards per game. 

Lane Branstetter, George Soppe and Andre Lopez Green each have four pass break-ups on the season while Kash Bradley has three pass break-ups and two interceptions. Junior Gibson Leafgreen has two pass break-ups and two interceptions from deep in the secondary. Hunter Hamilton provides the pass rush with one and a half sacks and five quarterback hurries in his sophomore season.

Linebacker George Soppe has 72 total tackles on the season. He ranks No. 2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in tackles per game at 9.0 behind Fort Lewis' Jacob Penney who sits at 13.6 tackles per game.

CENTURY CELEBRATION
The CMU Century Celebration stands as the cornerstone of Colorado Mesa University's year-long centennial celebration. This ambitious initiative unites our community in honoring a rich heritage while boldly envisioning the next hundred years of academic excellence.

Led by the Steering Committee and six specialized sub-committees, we're orchestrating a transformative experience that will resonate through generations. Each committee brings unique expertise to create an unforgettable commemoration of our past, present and future.

To learn more about Colorado Mesa's 100-year celebration, visit cmucentury.com

MAVS ON THE NETWORK
10 of the 11 Maverick Football games will be on the RMAC Network this season. In previous years, all Maverick athletic events were free to view but new this year those matchups will be behind a paywall with several different options available. Single games are $10, monthly subscription is $25 or a yearlong pass for $130. You can access all games through CMUMavericks.com/TV or RMACNetwork.com.

The monthly and yearlong subscriptions include access to all games on the RMAC Network including RMAC Championship events and games on-demand. 

ON THE HORIZON
Colorado Mesa will return home for their final home game of the season as they take on South Dakota Mines on Saturday November 8 for Senior Day. Prior to the game, Colorado Mesa will honor their seniors and those that are graduating and choosing not to come back. 

The Mavericks will travel to Gunnison for their final game of the season as they take on the Western Colorado Mountaineers on Saturday November 15.