THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Colorado Mesa controlled the clock and the line of scrimmage for long stretches Saturday afternoon, but big plays through the air lifted CSU Pueblo to a 35-23 RMAC win in front of 5,338 fans at the ThunderBowl.

The Mavericks (2-3, 1-2 RMAC) piled up 27 first downs to Pueblo's 18, rushed for 248 yards and held the ball for 36:08. CMU dominated the opening quarter, keeping the ball for more than 12 minutes and holding the ThunderWolves to 17 yards. Kale Purvis capped an 11 play, 52 yard drive with a 31 yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

Pueblo (5-0, 3-0 RMAC) answered with two Navi Bruzon touchdown passes in the second quarter. Purvis connected from 35 yards with five seconds left to cut the deficit to 14-6 at the half. He added a 24 yarder in the third to finish 3-for-3, but the ThunderWolves scored three touchdowns in that quarter to build a 35-9 cushion.

CMU refused to fold. Starting at its own goal line, the Mavericks marched 100 yards in 11 plays behind a 33 yard Jalen Hankins run and 41 yards from Amari Brown. Cole Hansen finished the drive with a 9 yard scoring pass to Alex Turpin. On Pueblo's next possession, Ty LaCrue forced a fumble that Noah Williams recovered. Hansen kept the ensuing drive alive with an 11 yard run on fourth down, then hit Bryson Brown for a 7-yard touchdown with 22 seconds left. The Mavericks shut out Pueblo in the final quarter.

Hankins led CMU with 75 rushing yards. Hansen ran for 55 and threw both touchdowns. Dante Vigil and La'Markus Reed each made nine tackles, and Jackson Hansen averaged 23.3 yards on kick returns.

The ThunderWolves have now won nine straight in the series with the last Colorado Mesa win coming in 2016. 

KNOW YOUR FOE
The Chadron State Eagles are coming off their first playoff appearance since the 2012 season and the season started on the rough side. The Eagles lost to now ranked Northern State then won a huge State of Nebraska matchup with rival Nebraska-Kearney on September 3, 24-21 in Chadron. They opened RMAC play with three straight losses including two to nationally ranked Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo. 

Head coach Jay Long is one of the longest tenured coaches in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference having spent the last 15 seasons at Chadron State. Long is 71-72 in his tenure with the Eagles but was the head coach at Black HIlls State when the Yellowjackets transitioned into the RMAC. 

Offensively, the Eagles are heavily reliant on quarterback Aidan Thompson who has thrown for 607 yards and two touchdowns and added 59 yards and a score on the ground. Thompson is coming off his best game of the season as he threw for 238 yards and a touchdown in a narrow loss to Mines. The Oklahoma Baptist transfer had a touchdown pass and touchdown run in the Eagles win over rival Nebraska-Kearney.

Chadron State has always had strong defenders and in particular edge rushers. This year, William Stemler fills that role from the departed Hunter O'Connor and hasnt missed a beat. Stemler has 22 total tackles and a team-leading four sacks and two hurries. He had two sacks last weekend against Colorado School of Mines and had a season-high six tackles against Western Colorado.

Eagle linebacker Jarred Marquez leads the team in tackles with 46. He is coming off a season-high 13 tackles against Colorado School of Mines.

The Eagles, like Colorado Mesa, have a back stretch of winnable matchups in the final five games of the season. They will start that stretch after the bye week with Adams State at home on October 17. 

Last Five Matchups
Sept. 27, 2025 Chadron, Neb. L, 34-27
Sept. 28, 2024 Grand Junction, Colo. W, 18-3
Nov. 4, 2023 Grand Junction, Colo. W, 38-22
Nov. 5, 2022 Chadron, Neb. W, 38-37 (OT)
Sept. 25, 2021 Grand Junction, Colo. W, 24-17

THROUGH THE GAUNTLET
Saturday's matchup at Stocker Stadium closes out the toughest stretch of the season for both teams, and only one will head into the bye week with a win.

The Mavericks' 2026 schedule opened with four 2025 NCAA playoff teams in the first six weeks: Minnesota State, Western Colorado, CSU Pueblo and Chadron State. CMU is 2-0 against the rest of its schedule but 0-3 against that group so far. That includes losses to then-No. 8 Western Colorado and No. 5 CSU Pueblo in the last two weeks. Chadron State, last year's RMAC runner-up, is the last of the four.

The Eagles have had an equally difficult start. Picked fourth in the RMAC preseason poll, Chadron has already played the three teams picked ahead of it and lost all three: 30-9 at Western Colorado, 33-6 to CSU Pueblo and 16-12 to Colorado School of Mines. The Eagles' only RMAC touchdown so far came on the final snap of the Mines game.

The two programs were picked next to each other in the preseason poll. Chadron finished fourth with 60 points, and Colorado Mesa was fifth with 52. Last season, the Eagles won the meeting 34-27 in Chadron.

The stakes go beyond Saturday. The entire RMAC takes a bye on Oct. 10, and the Mavericks return on Oct. 17 against Colorado School of Mines with the Nyikos Cup on the line. Four of CMU's last five games are against teams from the bottom half of the preseason poll, so a win over Chadron would give the Mavs a .500 record heading into the second half of the season. A loss would drop either team to 1-3 or worse in RMAC play, with little room left to climb back into the conference race.

KEYS TO THE GAME
Both teams are in search of a win after brutal early-season schedules. Chadron was picked fourth in the RMAC preseason poll and has already faced the three teams picked ahead of it. The Mavericks are in a stretch of facing three straight 2025 playoff teams coming off a 35-23 loss at No. 5 CSU Pueblo. The Eagles have lost three straight, including a 16-12 home loss to Colorado School of Mines last week. Chadron beat CMU 34-27 in Chadron last season.

1. Finish drives with touchdowns, not field goals. 
Colorado Mesa moved the ball well at Pueblo, with 27 first downs and 387 yards on 81 plays. The Mavs scored on all five red-zone trips, but three of those ended in Kale Purvis field goals. Mesa trailed 35-9 before scoring two late touchdowns. Through five games, CMU has scored on 15 of 17 red-zone trips, with 11 touchdowns. Chadron's defense tightens up near the goal line: Mines scored only twice on five red-zone trips last week.

2. Keep running the ball and controlling the clock. 
The run game had its best day of the season at Pueblo, with 248 yards on 45 carries (5.5 per carry), and CMU held the ball for 36:08. Jalen Hankins led the way with 75 yards, and freshman Amari Brown ran six times for 41 yards on the fourth-quarter drive that went 100 yards for a touchdown. Chadron's run defense has struggled. Mines ran for 158 yards last week (Max Barnes had 110), and Pueblo ran for 262 against the Eagles the week before.

3. Protect the quarterback and the football.
Chadron's pass rush broke out against Mines. The Eagles entered the game with three sacks on the season and sacked Joseph Capra six times, three of them by Ryder True and two by William Stemler. Stemler led RMAC league games in sacks last season. CMU allowed two sacks at Pueblo, both on Cole Hansen. The Mavs also threw an interception that Pueblo turned into a one-play touchdown drive. CMU now has 8 giveaways and 5 takeaways this season.

4. Make the Eagles one-dimensional. 
Chadron's offense has struggled in league play, scoring 27 points in three RMAC games (9.0 per game). Its first RMAC touchdown came on the final snap against Mines. The Eagles ran for just 39 yards last week, so the offense depends on All-RMAC quarterback Aidan Thompson. He was 19-of-38 for a season-high 238 yards with a TD and an INT, and Garet Schlabs caught six passes for 89 yards. The Mavs held Pueblo to 131 rushing yards (3.9 per carry) and 3-of-9 on third down, but gave up 287 passing yards at 13.0 yards per attempt. Limiting big plays in the passing game is the priority.

5. Win the special teams battle and clean up penalties. 
Special teams produced big swings in the Chadron-Mines game. The Eagles blocked a punt, Mines blocked a 50-yard field goal attempt, and the two teams missed four field goals combined. Chadron kicker/punter Shay Prichard went 2-of-4, including a career-long-tying 50-yarder. Purvis was 3-of-3 on field goals at Pueblo and put three punts inside the 20. Discipline is another area to watch: CMU was flagged 11 times for 92 yards at Pueblo, while Chadron had just three penalties for 20 yards against Mines.

STAYING GROUNDED
The Mavericks ground game has steadily improved all season. They had two rough games against Minnesota State and Western Colorado but also had a pair of games where they went over 200 yards in a game against Eastern New Mexico and last week against CSU Pueblo.

In the matchup with CSU Pueblo, Colorado Mesa had 248 yards rushing which was the first time the ThunderWolves gave up more than 200 yards rushing this season. In fact, the 248 yards rushing is the most CSU Pueblo has given up since October 5, 2024 when they gave up 308 yards rushing to New Mexico Highlands, a span of 22 games.

Bronco Hartson is more of the bruising back that leads the team in carries and yards with 230 yards on 68 carries. Jalen Hankins is a nice compliment with more speed and slashing mentality with 207 yards on 43 carries (4.8 yards per carry). Amari Brown and Exander Carroll have been behind but have had nice change of pace games this year. Brown had a career-high 41 yards on six carries against his hometown team CSU Pueblo.

The jet sweep hasnt been as fruitful in years past but still exists. Bryson Brown, Noah Greer and Ky Oday all have jet sweep carries with Oday having the lone touchdown. 

The Mavericks have picked up good rushing yards from their quarterbacks too. Cole Hansen is Colorado Mesa's third leading rusher at 112 yards while Liu Aumavae is coming off his best rushing appearance in three seasons in the Mavroon and White. 

WE GOT NOTHING BUT TIME
Part of the Mavericks strong run game means that you can control the clock and thats exactly what Colorado Mesa has done this season. They are No. 2 in the RMAC and No. 20 in the nation in time of possession as they average 32:53 of possession per game.

The Mavericks are 1-2 in games where they win the time of possession battle with the lone win coming against Eastern New Mexico on the road in the second game of the season. 

South Dakota Mines is the conference leader in time of possession and are 4-1 on the season with their lone loss coming to the Mavericks at home in the RMAC opener for both teams. 

PRESEASON POLLS & ALL-RMAC
Colorado Mesa was picked to finish fifth in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll after finishing in a tie for fourth-place during the 2025 season. The Mavericks finished 6-5 last season and 5-4 in the conference, tied with Colorado School of Mines whom they defeated on October 24. 

Colorado Mesa earned a total of 52 votes that came with a second place vote and a third place vote as voted on by the league's 10 sponsoring schools.

CSU Pueblo was picked to repeat as the RMAC Champion with 80 points including eight first place votes and one second place vote. Western Colorado was picked second with 69 total points with one first place votes, five second place votes and two third place votes. Colorado School of Mines was picked third with 62 points on two second place votes and four third place votes.

2025 NCAA Playoff team Chadron State was picked fourth with 60 points on one first place vote, one second place vote, and three third place votes. 

The Mavericks had four players named to the Preseason All-RMAC team. Three of the four selections came on the offensive side of the ball with Alex Turpin earning a spot at tight end and seniors Calem Grimble and Cooper Mumford earning spots across the offensive line. Turpin played in all 11 games in 2025 and caught 22 passes for 180 yards and four touchdowns while Grimble and Mumford played in and started all 11 games on the left side of the offensive line.

Senior defensive back Gibson Leafgreen was named to the Preseason All-RMAC Team on the defensive side of the ball. In 2025, he played in 11 games and finished with 56 total tackles, four passes defended and two interceptions. 

EYES ON THE SCHEDULE
• Season opener at home on a Thursday night
Colorado Mesa will host NSIC power Minnesota State on Thursday August 27 at 6:00 PM to open the season. It will be the first meeting between the two schools and will be the first time the Mavericks have opened the season on a Thursday at home since the 2021 season when they defeated William Jewell 40-3.

• Back-to-back road trips to open conference play
The following two weeks the Mavericks will have their longest two game road trip of the season — first at Eastern New Mexico on September 5, then at South Dakota Mines to open RMAC play on September 12.

• Gauntlet of 2025 playoff teams
The Mavericks will take on three straight 2025 NCAA Playoff teams — Western Colorado (home, Sept. 19), CSU Pueblo (road, Sept. 26), and then Chadron State (home, Oct. 3). That's a brutal three-week stretch right in the heart of the schedule.

• Six home games 
The schedule features six home games and five road games for the upcoming season, with three of the final five games at home and the two final road games being the shortest trips of the season.

• Halloween Matinee 
A Halloween afternoon kickoff will feature the Mavericks taking on New Mexico Highlands at Stocker Stadium on Saturday October 31, with many different spooky promotions expected and the possibility of a special surprise.

• Bye week placement
The bye falls on October 10, right after that brutal playoff-team gauntlet — a fortunate breather before the back half of the conference schedule. The entire Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference will observe a bye during that week with practice and meeting times varying throughout the week.

• Beyond 2026
Colorado Mesa and West Texas A&M announced a four-year football schedule agreement beginning in 2028, with games scheduled for August 24, 2028 (at Canyon, TX), August 23, 2029 (at Grand Junction), August 29, 2030 (at Canyon), and August 28, 2031 (at Grand Junction). Coach Kochevar has a personal connection there — he served as West Texas A&M's defensive coordinator from 2016–18. 

WHAT'S NEW THIS YEAR 
• Coach to player communication
Beginning this year in Division II, coach to player communication is legal and will be available in all games the Mavericks play in. The technology uses encrypted radio and in-helmet speakers that allow coaches to communicate to players on the field. The individuals will be allowed open communication until there are 15 seconds left on the play clock each play.

Colorado Mesa utilizes CoachComm communications systems with the coach's communications and has their solution for the Coach to Player system.

• Tailgate Time
Colorado Mesa will introduce premium tailgating this year with different level options. The premium package includes a 10x20 space that includes tent, tables, chairs, bottled water, two coolers and 40lbs. of ice while the select package comes with a 10x10 space that includes tent, tables, chairs, bottled water, cooler and 20lbs. of ice. The final option is the traditional tailgate where you get one reserved parking spot used to tailgate at your own will.

All of this is brought to us by our friends at FCI Constructors.

• Five-for-5
On August 5, the NCAA approved a new age-based or clock eligibility model that allows student-athletes a streamlined five-year period to compete, starting upon full-time enrollment or after turning 19. 

This new rule replaces complex redshirt tracking and waivers and takes full effect for incoming cohorts starting in the fall of 2027. This rule also eliminates most traditional extension waivers outside of the major exceptions of military service, religious missions or pregnancy.