FIRST AND TEN
Colorado Mesa will host South Dakota Mines on Saturday for their final home game of the season. The Mavericks will honor 20 players prior to the game that will be playing their final home football game for Colorado Mesa.

South Dakota Mines is in the midst of a three-game losing streak  with all three being by two possessions or more. The Hardrockers will host Adams State in the final game of the regular season.

A win would mean a lot for the Mavericks as they are looking to go 4-1 at Stocker Stadium and a win would also clinch the third straight winning season under Coach K.

The Mavericks will be giving away 1,000 T-Shirts sponsored by Canvas Credit Union. The shirts have the tagline "A Century Runnin' Strong" on them and are an off-white color. The shirt design was by a student from Colorado Mesa who won a design contest.

THE ROUNDUP
The Mavericks got into  a shootout with Black Hills State last weekend with both teams combining for nearly 1,000 yards of total offense. Colorado Mesa prevailed with a 45-38 win over the Yellowjackets after outscoring them 10-3 in the fourth and final quarter of action.

Colorado Mesa once again got it done on the ground as they churned up 225 yards on 34 carries with a 6.6 yards per carry average. Brandon Belgrave finished with 117 yards and two touchdowns while Cole Hansen and Noah Greer also had touchdowns on the ground. Belgrave had the long touchdown of the day with a 75-yard scamper on the first play of the third quarter.

George Soppe led the Mavericks in tackles and finished with a game-high 13 while Lane Branstetter and Jake Sinz each had nine tackles in the win. Branstetter and AJ Adams each had pass break-ups.

Marvin Jones averaged over 22 yards per kick return with a long of 26 yards in the game. Sullivan Moon was 1-for-2 on his field goal attempts as he missed from 52 to end the first half and nailed one from 33 late in the game. He also averaged 42 yards per punt with a long of 49 yards.

THE MATCHUP
Colorado Mesa and South Dakota Mines are meeting up for just the 10th time in both program's long history. The Mavericks own an all-time edge in the series 6-3 and are ironically 4-1 on the road in Rapid City with the first loss coming in last season's contest. 

Colorado Mesa is just 2-2 all-time at Stocker Stadium and have not beaten the Hardrockers in Grand Junction since 2018. That season the two teams played in the season opener and the Mavericks finished with a 7-4 record.

In last season's matchup, South Dakota Mines thwarted any thoughts the Mavericks had for the postseason after defeating Colorado Mesa 17-14 in Rapid City. The Hardrockers got a field goal and a touchdown in the opening drives of the fourth quarter and were able to hold on. The Mavericks scored late and were able to recover the onside kick before throwing an interception in the Hardrocker redzone.

Last five matchups with S.D. Mines
Nov. 9, 2024 in Rapid City (L, 17-14)
Sept. 16, 2023 in Rapid City (W, 38-30)
Sept. 17, 2022 in Grand Jct. (L, 31-17)
Nov. 13, 2021 in Rapid City (W, 13-10)
Oct. 24, 2020 in Grand Jct. (L, 24-9)

KNOW YOUR FOE
South Dakota Mines is headed by Charlie Flohr in his sixth season with the Hardrockers. Flohr was a longtime assistant at traditional power Northwest Missouri State serving in many roles including offensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator and quarterbacks coach. This season, the Hardrockers dropped their first four games of the season before winning back-to-back games against both Fort Lewis and Black Hills State in the 140th Black Hills Brawl and Battle for the Homestake Trophy. Both wins occurred in South Dakota as the Hardorckers have not won outside the state.

South Dakota Mines is going to look to pass the ball first on offense with redshirt freshman Gage Baker. The Surprise, Ariz. native has two 300-yard passing games this season including a four touchdown performance against Highlands. He has nearly 1,900 yards and 11 touchdowns through the air.

Defensively, the Hardrockers feature a tackling machine in Will Lester who has 76 total tackles on the season. They also have a defensive back Lane Thomas who leads the team in interceptions and pass break-ups with two and eight respectively. 

GROUND TO AIR ATTACK
Colorado Mesa quarterback Cole Hansen was named the National Football Foundation Colorado Chapter Player of the Week after his performance against Black Hills State. Hansen was 20-for-24 passing for 291 yards and two touchdowns and added to the ground attack with seven carries for 49 yards and a touchdown. It was the highest passing yardage total since September 23, 2023. 

The Mavericks have gone over 2,000 yards on the ground with 22 of their 36 touchdowns on the season coming in the ground game. They have the second best rushing attack in the conference and the 14th best nationally at 232.2 yards per game. 

The hunt for 1,000 yards took a hit last weekend as senior Aiden Taylor only had 43 yards on 12 carries as the Yellowjacket keyed on him from the outset. Taylor needs 149 yards in two games or an average of 74.5 yards per game to reach 1,000 yards. It would be the first 1,000 yard rusher since the 2016 season when David Tann accomplished the feat.

Looking at the Hardrocker defense heading into the matchup, they allow 261.7 yards of passing offense (9th in the RMAC) and 152.2 yards on the ground (6th in the RMAC) for a total of 413.9 yards of total offense. Look for the Mavericks to mix the run and play-action pass game for the second straight week.

WHAT'S ON THE LINE
Despite being out of the playoff picture this season, Colorado Mesa is still playing for several things with two games to play.

One win in their final two games would give the Mavericks their third straight winning season under head coach Miles Kochevar. It would also be 10 of the last 11 seasons the Mavericks will have finished the season with a record above .500. 

Colorado Mesa is also looking to finish the home schedule with a 4-1 record if they end up victorious on Saturday. They already have wrapped up a winning record at home which is the second under Coach K. 

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 be on the road for the final game of the season next weekend. They will stay close as they are slated to play their rivals from Gunnison, the Western Colorado Mountaineers who enter this week ranked No. 11 in the AFCA Coaches Poll after losing to CSU Pueblo last weekend.