FIRST AND TEN
Colorado Mesa will be on the road for the final game of the regular season as they travel just the short distance to Gunnison for a battle with the Western Colorado Mountaineers. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00pm from Mojo Field at the Mountaineer Bowl. 

Western Colorado started the year off winning their first eight games before losing their last two heading into this weekend's matchup. They were No. 9 in this week's regional rankings and desperately need a win on Saturday.

Colorado Mesa comes into the matchup on a three game winning streak with wins over Fort Lewis and sweeping the South Dakota schools in Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines.

The Mavericks will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak to the Mountaineers in the matchup.

THE ROUNDUP
After a slow start to the game, Colorado Mesa used a strong push at the end of the first half to carry them to a 38-12 win over the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers. The Mavericks scored a pair of touchdowns in the final two minutes of the first half and outscored South Dakota Mines 21-9 in the second half for the win. 

The Colorado Mesa offense took nearly the entire first half but got clicking to the tune of 416 yards of total offense with solid distribution between passing and running games. Cole Hansen threw for 233 yards and four scores while the running back room pounded out another 183 yards and a touchdown. Aiden Taylor led the way with 109 yards. 

Kash Bradley led the team in tackles with seven and was able to pick off a pass during the win. Bradley wasnt the only one with a pick as Braiden Vaughn came away with his first career interception in the win. 

Sullivan Moon enjoyed one of his best days of the season kicking the football. He connected on his lone field goal attempt from 29 yards out and averaged 61.7 yards per punt in the win. Moon boomed a 72 yarder that resulted in a touchback and still netted 52 yards.

THE MATCHUP
Colorado Mesa and Western Colorado are meeting up for the 50th time in the two programs' four-year history. They also met up on different occasions while Colorado Mesa was a junior college prior to 1975. The Mavericks currently have a one win edge in the series 25-24 with the Mountaineers on a five game winning streak.

The Mavericks dominated the series from 2000 until 2019 winning 17 of the 20 matchups during that time span. The Mountaineers have won the past five matchups in a row with an aggregate point total edge of 175-85 during the streak. 

In last season's matchup, Western Colorado ran away with the game 37-7 in Grand Junction on their way to hosting a playoff game in Gunnison. The lone Maverick touchdown came on the heels of an Aiden Taylor 13-yard run in the third quarter to cut the Mountaineer lead to 24-7. 

Last five matchups with Western
Nov. 16, 2024 in Grand Jct. (L, 37-7)
Sept. 30, 2023 in Gunnison (L, 43-7)
Oct. 1, 2022 in Grand Jct. (L, 42-34)
Oct. 30, 2021 in Gunnison (L, 23-9)
Sept. 21, 2019 in Grand Jct. (L, 30-28)

KNOW YOUR FOE
Western Colorado has been led by the longest tenured coach in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in Jas Bains. The Fresno State alum has been at Western for 15 seasons now and has built a power. He has a 73-85 career record but an impressive 40-10 record since the 2020 COVID-19 season. The Mountaineers schedule is severly backloaded with their four toughest games in their final four games of the season. They defeated Mines 40-17 before falling to No. 7 CSU Pueblo and at Chadron State both coming on last second field goals.

Drew Nash is everything to the Mountaineer offense as he is both the leading rusher and passer for Western Colorado. He has over 2,300 yards and 26 touchdowns through the air and added 432 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Twice this season he has had six total touchdowns which came against Adams State and Black Hills State.

Defensively, reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Year Ricky Freymond has likely seen several doubles or tight end chips throughout the season as he has two and a half sacks. But, that has freed the likes of Ian Loomis who has five sacks and leads the Mountaineers with 79 tackles this season.

STAT MILESTONES
The hunt for 1,000 yards is in it's last weekend as senior Aiden Taylor needs just 40 yards to become a 1,000 yard rusher for Colorado Mesa. The last 1,000 yard rusher for the Mavericks was Iowa transfer David Tann who rushed for 1,299 yards during the 2017 season.

Sophomore George Soppe is on the verge of hitting a milestone on the season. Soppe is 11 tackles shy of reaching 100 tackles on the season and becoming the first 100 tackle defensive player since Blake Nelson had 107 tackles in 2016.

WHAT'S ON THE LINE
The Mavericks have a chance to play spoiler in a big way this weekend. They have a chance to snap a five game losing streak to Western Colorado and they have the opportunity to do it in Gunnison. The win would also bump the Mountaineers out of the NCAA Playoffs as they enter the week in the No. 9 position in the Super Region 4 rankings.

A win over Western Colorado would be a first for head coach Miles Kochevar over the Mountaineers. Coach K has been defeated in each of his first three seasons by his competitors from the mountains. 

A win on the road would also give the Mavericks a 3-3 record on the road. That would mark the third straight year of the Mavericks finishing with a record of .500 or better away from Grand Junction. 

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
This week will be the final game for the Mavericks before heading into the offseason filled with recruiting future Mavericks, strength and conditioning programs, one-on-one coaching sessions, and spring football to prepare for the 2026 season.