THE WEEK IN REVIEW
In the Mavericks vs. Mavericks season opener last Thursday night, the Minnesota State Mavericks took advantage of three big plays en route to a 38-14 win over the Colorado Mesa Mavericks at Stocker Stadium. 

Quarterback Liu Aumavae finished 27-of-38 passing for 196 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, spreading completions to nine different receivers. Bryson Brown led the team with six catches for 48 yards. Trek Keyworth added five receptions for a team-high 63 yards and the Mavericks' lone passing touchdown, a 23-yard score.

On the ground, Jalen Hankins rushed nine times for 23 yards and a touchdown, while Bronco Hartson carried 15 times for a team-high 61 yards.

Colorado Mesa out-possessed Minnesota State, 32:36 to 27:24, and converted 7 of 15 third downs and 2 of 3 fourth downs. The Mavericks were flagged seven times for 59 yards and turned the ball over twice on interceptions, which Minnesota State converted into 14 points.

Defensively, linebacker La'Markus Reed led all tacklers with 14 total stops. Larry Preston added 10 tackles and two pass breakups. Punter Kale Purvis averaged 44.8 yards on five punts.

THE ROAD TRAVELED & THE DIP IN ELEVATION
Colorado Mesa will be making their longest road trips of the season in back-to-back weeks. The Mavericks will make the 613 mile bus trip to Portales, N.M. for this trip and will get back on the normal Saturday Game Day schedule. They will back this trip up with the RMAC opening trip to South Dakota Mines and Rapid City, a trip of roughly 630 miles.

Following the two trips, the Mavericks will have spent approximately 38 hours on the bus and traveled 1,286 miles.  

The elevation change could play a small factor in the game as Portales sits at a much lower elevation (~4,000 ft) than Grand Junction (~4,600 ft). The Mavericks typically play their games at elevations greater than 5,000' in elevation.

KNOW YOUR FOE
Eastern New Mexico is in transition from a run heavy, triple option system to a more open style under new head coach Art Briles. The former Baylor head coach helped develop the 'Air Raid' offense at Texas Tech and developed Baylor into a power in the mid-2010's with Robert Griffin III as his quarterback.

Briles' first game at Eastern New Mexico, the Greyhounds lost to in-state rival New Mexico Highlands 35-34 on a failed two-point conversion attempt with 1:34 left in the game. They ended up with 428 yards of offense including 220 yards on the ground. They threw the ball 40 times and gained just 208 yards off of that for a 5.2 average per attempt. 

The Greyhounds had four players attempt passes in the game with Jake South finishing with the most attempts with 18. Clifton Cooper was the team's leading rusher at 56 yards on seven carries while Lake Bennett had 51 yards on eight carries. 

Matthew Quartieri led Eastern New Mexico with eight total tackles. The senior from Raton, N.M. had 12 tackles in last season's matchup in Grand Junction. 

Caleb Jefferson had the lone pass defense in the loss but it was a good one. Jefferson intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards late in the second quarter that helped shift the field position. 

Eastern New Mexico will begin conference play in two weeks as they travel to Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Previous Matchups
Sept. 6, 2025 Grand Junction, Colo. W, 28-7
Sept. 14, 2019 Grand Junction, Colo. L, 44-37
Sept. 8, 2018 Portales, N.M. W, 34-21
Dec. 3, 1983 Grand Junction, Colo. W, 35-9

KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Tighten up the defense on explosive plays
CMU's loss wasn't about consistent execution failure but a small handful of backbreaking chunk plays against a very good Minnesota State offense. Eastern New Mexico isn't in that class, but if Briles' new-look offense finds any of those same big-play opportunities, it could turn a competitive game into a rout the other way. Discipline in the secondary and gang-tackling in space will matter more than raw talent here.

2. Control the line of scrimmage against a run-heavy ENMU attack
Eastern New Mexico just averaged 6.1 yards per carry against Highlands. If that's not a fluke, CMU's front seven needs to win first and second down to force Briles' still-unsettled quarterback situation (reportedly a four-way competition heading into the opener) into obvious passing situations, where a new signal-caller is most likely to make mistakes.

3. Establish the run game early
CMU found some life running the ball against Minnesota State's stout defense — that should translate well against an ENMU defense that just got gashed on the ground itself and played 37+ snap-heavy minutes in the opener. Controlling tempo and the clock plays to CMU's strength and keeps a shaky ENMU quarterback rotation off the field.

4. Capitalize on ENMU's newness
Briles is a first-year coach installing new schemes on both sides of the ball with a roster full of transfers. First road games under a brand-new system are exactly where communication breakdowns typically show up.

5. Bounce-back mentality
CMU has real recent history here. They beat Eastern New Mexico 28-7 last season behind a strong defensive performance. That, plus playing a team also nursing a Week 1 loss, makes this a good measuring-stick game for how CMU responds after getting beat up by a ranked opponent.

QB PLAY
Fifth-year Liu Aumavae got the start behind center for the opening game of the season against Minnesota State and finished the game 27-for-38 for 196 yards and a touchdown. He also threw one interception and was sacked one time.

He completed 71.1 percent of his passes which was the second highest mark in his career. His highest came during his first season with the program when he was 16-for-18 (88.9) against Fort Lewis on October 26, 2024. 

He found nine different receivers with his career-high 27 completions in the game. The number of completions eclipsed the 24 completions he had last season against CSU Pueblo on September 20. 

THE DUO IN THE BACKFIELD
The duo of Jalen Hankins and Bronco Hartson appear to be the leaders for getting the lion's share of the carries this season. Hankins, the converted H-Back from a season ago, is the listed starter and finished with 23 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. 

Converted quarterback Bronco Hartson led the team in both carries and rushing yards in game one of the season. Hartson finished with 61 yards on 15 carries in his first game as a running back. He averaged 4.1 yards per carry and had a long of eight yards.

Exander Carroll earned three carries and picked up 13 yards on the ground as the Mavericks No. 3 option. 

The Mavericks also utilize the jet sweep often times although they only ran it one time against Minnesota State in Week Zero. Bryson Brown made the lone carry for the receivers gaining two yards on the play. Expect Noah Greer to also get carries in the future.

THE DEFENSE UP FRONT
The Mavericks are going to start putting some beef up front on the defensive line. Head coach Miles Kochevar mentioned that adding some bigger bodies along the front, especially in obvious running downs, could slow some of these upcoming teams down.

Colorado Mesa is slated to start freshman Nikolasi Tonga'uiha (6-0, 290) at the nose this week. The Phoenix, Ariz. native saw time in the season opener and is expected to get more time. Omarius Dimry-Lockhart (6-0, 280) will still rotate in often and expect Sione Suliafu (6-0, 260) to get action in short yardage downs.

One of the changes they are making is moving Montrose native Andreas Distel from offensive guard over to the defensive line. Distel checks in at 6-4, 300 and could force teams teams to double team him to open the linebackers up on running downs.

Hunter Hamilton's speed around the edge and Kade Street's length are ideal to cause havoc on the edges on passing downs.

Brody Robinson, Ian Hafey, and Jack Pankey all saw action along the defensive line during the season opener against Minnesota State. Hafey led the group with seven tackles. 

BUMP'S BACK
Senior linebacker La'Markus Reed led Colorado Mesa in tackles in the first game of the season Reed recorded 14 tackles in the season opener against Minnesota State after missing a majority of the last two seasons with injuries. The 14 tackles were a career-high for Reed.

The Waxahachie, Texas native played in seven games as a freshman. He finished with 46 total tackles including two sacks during the 2023 season. He had a season-high 13 tackles in the game against Colorado School of Mines on October 7.

Reed is slated to start this week and will be asked to do a lot of the same this week against the Greyhounds run and gun offense. 

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.