2004 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
FOOTBALL WEEKLY RELEASE #10

#12 Colorado School of Mines (9-0, 6-0 RMAC) vs. Mesa State (0-9, 0-6 RMAC)
Saturday, October 30, 2004 - 1:00 pm
Brooks Field - Golden, Colorado

Click HERE for a complete .PDF version of the notes

BOB STITT • DOANE (1986)
5th season as Colorado School of Mines Head Coach
31-21 Overall Record
19-19 RMAC Record
The 2004 season is Bob Stitt’s fifth as the head coach of the Colorado School of Mines football squad. He has Mines off to school record 9-0 start (6-0 RMAC) and has guided the team to a school-record 11 straight wins dating back to last season and wins in 13 of the last 14 games. Stitt has also guided the Orediggers to their fourth straight winning season, a feat that had not been accomplished at CSM since 1912-15. During his time at the helm, Stitt has led the Orediggers to an overall record of 31-21, including a 19-19 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Stitt’s .596 winning percentage is the highest by a Mines football coach who has coached in at least 20 games and the highest for a modern day coach at CSM. In 2003, Stitt led Mines to a 6-5 mark, marking the third consecutive winning season by the program. It was the first time since 1913-15 that the Orediggers had posted three straight winning seasons. Stitt led the 2001 and 2002 teams to identical 7-4 marks and the seven wins in 2001 were the most by the program since 1958 and also the first winning season for Mines since 1991. The 2001-02 seasons also marked the first time since 1975-76 that Mines football produced back-to-back winning seasons. In addition, it marked the first time in the history of the program that CSM teams produced a combined 14 victories in consecutive seasons. During his tenure at Mines, Stitt has coached 36 All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference honorees. He has also developed nine All-Region players and two All-Americans, including Brian Sump, who was named the National Special Teams Player of the Year in 2001 and signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Chargers in April of 2003.

SERIES HISTORY: Mesa State leads the all-time series with Mines, 24-4, and has won the last six meetings. CSM has not defeated the Mavericks since 1997, a 21-18 victory.

LAST TIME vs. MESA (11/1/03): The Colorado Mines football team fell to 4-5 overall and 2-4 in conference play with a 48-18 setback at 15th-ranked Mesa State. A 48 yard field goal by Mesa’s Casey Coulter with no time remaining gave the Mavericks a 20-10 lead at the intermission. Mesa then capitalized with two early scores to start the third quarter to make it 34-10 with 11:08 to play in the third. Chad Friehauf finished 8-of-20 for 149 yards and a touchdown, while Jonny Chan caught four passes for 109 yards and a score to lead the Oredigger offense. The CSM defense was led by Grant Newton who posted a game-best 15 tackles. Charles Dukes carried the ball 22 times for 198 yards and three scores, while Jeff Mowry completed 9-of-13 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown and also ran 11 times for 42 yards. B.J. Russell amassed eight tackles to lead the defense.

LAST CSM WIN: 21-18 in 1997
LAST MESA WIN: 48-18 in 2003
LARGEST CSM WIN: 49-20 (29 points) in 1991
LARGEST MESA WIN: 62-0 (62 points) in 1988

UP NEXT FOR MINES: CSM will travel to Alamosa to take on Adams State at 1:00 pm in the Spud Bowl. The Grizzlies are currently in second place in the RMAC, just one game behind the Orediggers at 5-1.

COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES ON THE INTERNET
Now you can get all the latest and most comprehensive news on Oredigger football and Colorado School of Mines athletics 24 hours a day by visiting the Colorado School of Mines Athletic Department’s official website at ...
http://athletics.mines.edu.

JOIN THE OREDIGGER EMAIL LIST
Get all the latest news on all of Colorado School of Mines Athletics by signing up for the Orediggers’ E-Mail List. Receive daily updates, game recaps and press releases on all of Mines’ athletic teams by emailing Sports Information Director Greg Murphy at gjmurphy@mines.edu. You can sign up to receive updates on one sport, numerous sports or all sports. Please indicate in your email what sports you would like to be included on or if you would like to be included for all sports.

SILVER AND BLUE LUNCHEONS
Every Wednesday throughout the season, the Colorado School of Mines athletics department will host a Silver and Blue Luncheon in the Ben Parker Student Center. The lunch, which begins at 11:30 am, features speeches by all of the in-season coaches. For more information, call 303-384-2254.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Junior cornerback Nick Gilbreath was named to the 2004 Don Hansen’s National Football Gazette Preseason All-American Team. A year ago, Gilbreath led the team with nine pass breakups and five interceptions en route to First Team All-RMAC, Second Team All-State and Second Team All-Region honors. Gilbreath, who picked off four passes in the first five games of the 2003 season, also totaled 49 tackles, including one for loss.

PRESEASON ALL-RMAC HONOREES
Nick Gilbreath, senior wide receiver Jonny Chan and junior punt returner Justin Gallas were all named to the 2004 All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Preseason Team as voted on by the nine conference coaches. The trio was also named to the d2football.com Preseason All-Southwest Region Team.

MINES PICKED FIFTH IN RMAC POLL
CSM was picked to finish fifth out of nine teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Mesa State, the defending RMAC Champions, received six first place votes and 12 points to top the poll. Chadron State earned the other three first place votes and 13 total points to finish second in the voting. Nebraska-Kearney (23 points) was third and was followed by Fort Hays State (34), Colorado Mines (35), Adams State and Western State (44 points), Fort Lewis (57) and New Mexico Highlands (62).

MESA STATE HEAD COACH
The Mavericks are coached by seventh-year Head Coach Joe Ramunno, who is 43-35 during his time at Mesa. He is a 1984 graduate of Wyoming.

ABOUT MESA STATE
The Mavericks are 0-9 overall and 0-6 in the RMAC after finishing the 2003 season as the No. 1 team in the region at 10-1 overall (8-0 RMAC). Mesa State was the preseason favorite in the RMAC Coaches Poll and nationally ranked in the preseason in several publications.

WHEN THE MAVERICKS HAVE THE BALL
Mesa State is led on offense by quarterback Jeff Mowry who has completed 60-of-145 passes for 862 yards, four touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has also run for 256 yards and five scores on 125 carries. Charles Dukes is the leading rusher with 471 yards and three touchdowns, while Tyler Peterson has 18 catches for 248 yards and Jesse Preston leads the team with two receiving scores. The Mavericks score an average of 14.0 points per game and gain 256.4 yards per contest.

AND WHEN THEY DON’T
Mesa surrenders 36.4 points and 468.1 yards per game, both of which are last in the RMAC. BJ Russell leads the team and the conference with 134 tackles this year and has forced two fumbles. Kyle Murray has posted 75 stops, a forced fumble and a sack, while Joe Krile has registered 42 tackles and leads the team with two interceptions.

THE RANKINGS
Colorado School of Mines moved up or held steady in every national poll following its 42-17 win over New Mexico Highlands on Saturday. The Orediggers moved up one spot in the d2football.com poll to 12th three slots in the American Football Coaches Association Poll to 12th and in Don Hansen’s Football Gazette Top-40 to 13th and remained ninth in the CollegeSportsReport.com Poll.

IN THE REGION
Following is the fourth edition of the Southwest Regional Rankings with records and conference. The top six teams qualify for the postseason and the top two teams will earn byes in the first round The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will host the opening round with the top two seeds hosting second round games.

1. Texas A&M Kingsville (7-0) - Lone Star
2. Northwest Missouri (9-0) - Mid-America Intercollegiate
3. Pittsburgh State (9-0) - Mid-America Intercollegiate
4. COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES (9-0) - RMAC
5. Central Oklahoma (7-1) - Lone Star
6. Midwestern State (6-2) - Lone Star
7. Southeast Oklahoma (6-2) - Lone Star
8. East Central (6-2) - Lone Star

Pittsburgh State is the top-ranked team in all four national polls, while Texas A&M Kingsville and Northwest Missouri State come in at No. 2 and No. 3 in the national polls.

MINES LAST TIME OUT (10/23/04)
The 15th-ranked Colorado School of Mines football team set a school-record with its ninth straight win to open the season as it knocked off New Mexico Highlands, 42-17, in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon at Brooks Field. The 2004 Homecoming Game Sponsored by Sprint drew a stadium record 3,163 fans. The win moves Mines to 9-0 overall (6-0 RMAC) and extends its school-record winning streak to 11 in a row. The Cowboys fell to 3-6 (2-4 RMAC). The previous best start to a season at Mines was in 1939 when the squad went 8-0. CSM raced out to a 28-0 lead with 3:24 to play in the fourth quarter in cruising to the win. Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf hit senior wide receiver Derek Lis for a 6-yard touchdown to open the scoring on Mines’ first drive less than two minutes into the game. Sophomore Garrett Mehl helped account for the next two touchdowns as he threw a 7-yarder to senior wide receiver Jonny Chan with 10 second to play in the first half and then scored his third rushing touchdown of the season from 4-yards out. Friehauf then hit sophomore running back Bryan Florendo on a screen pass which Florendo turned into a 59-yard score to make it 28-0. A 37-yard field goal by Rocky Stevens with 39 seconds left in the first half were the lone points for NMHU in the first 30 minutes. The Cowboys sliced the deficit to 28-10 on the first play of the second half as Jonny Ruff scampered 67-yards to the end zone. However, the Orediggers responded as Friehauf hit sophomore wideout Derek Dykstra from 1-yard out with 8:25 to play in the third and then connected with Chan on an 82-yard scoring pass five minutes into the fourth quarter. Friehauf finished 25-of-33 for 366 yards and four touchdowns. Chan caught seven balls for 168 yards and two touchdowns, while Florendo ran five times for 56 yards and hauled in eight passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. Junior linebacker Jared Heath registered a game-best 12 tackles and had an interception, while senior strong safety Daniel Leger registered nine tackles, including three sacks.

STITT IN OPENERS
CSM Head Coach Bob Stitt is now 4-1 in season openers at Mines after a 34-28 win at Washburn to open the 2004 season. CSM lost its first game under Stitt, 43-34, to MidAmerica Nazarene but has rebounded to win its last four season openers. In the last 17 openers, CSM is 15-3. In overall season openers, CSM is 57-53-5.

THE DRIVE FOR FIVE BEGINS ... IN 2005
The win over Fort Hays State on Oct. 2 assured the Orediggers of finishing above .500 for the fourth straight season, a first since 1912-15. In 2005, the Orediggers will go after their fifth consecutive winning season, a feat that has never occured at CSM.

65 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The Oredigger Football Program is celebrating the 65th Anniversary of one of the greatest teams in school-history. The 1939 team posted a perfect 8-0 record and outscored its opponents, 268-45, that season. Leading the way was running back Lloyd Madden who was college football’s leading scorer that year with 141 points and ended the season rushing for 1,316 yards on 92 carries (14.3 yards per carry) and scoring 23 touchdowns. That same year, he captured the Blanchard Trophy as Colorado’s Most Outstanding Athlete.

NINE IS FINE
Saturday’s win against New Mexico Highlands extended the Orediggers school-record winning streak to 10 straight dating back to 2003. Dating back to last year, CSM has won 13 of its last 14 contests on the gridiron. The last loss was on Nov. 1, 2003, a 48-18 loss at Mesa State.

NINE WOULD BE FINE, PART II
Saturday’s win also moved the Orediggers to 9-0 overall and set a school-record for most wins in a season. The previous best mark was set by the 1939 team which posted a perfect 8-0 mark, while the 1912 team went 8-1.

RECORD BREAKER
Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf keeps adding to the career records he has broken at Mines. He holds school records for pass attempts (1,022), completions (637), passing yards (8,404) and touchdowns (73).

“HAUF” THE HOOK
Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf has been on fire this season and is seriously contending for the Harlon Hill Trophy, presented annually to the top player in Division II. He has completed 248-of-335 (74%) passes for 3,177 yards, 28 touchdowns. Friehauf, whose passing efficiency is 177.7, has thrown just six interceptions and had his streak of consecutive passes without an interception end at 180 against Fort Hays. Friehauf is ranked first in the nation in total offense (398.6 ypg), second in passing efficiency (177.7) and has the Mines passing game ranked first in the nation at 366.9 yards per game, second in total offense (537.0 ypg) and 10th in scoring (39.4 ppg) among Division II schools.

GREAT GAMES IN 2004
Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf has turned in some outstanding performances in 2004. He has turned in the fourth and eighth best single game total offensive yards performances this season against Western State (502 yds) and Chadron State (484 yds). He also holds the 17th best passing day of 415 yards against Western State and the 18th best against Chadron State (411 yds). In addition, Friehauf has completed 33 passes against Fort Hays State and Fort Lewis, good enough for the 16th best in Division II this year in a single game.

CHASING THE RECORD BOOK
With his 369 yards of total offense at Nebraska-Kearney, Friehauf moved into 26th place all-time in Division II with 8,948 career yards. Friehauf is also 13th all-time in Division II with a 151.68 pass efficiency and is also just 128 passing yards and 11 touchdowns from entering the top-15 all-time in both categories. If he keep his pace of 353 passing yards per game, Friehauf will finish the regular season with 3,883 yards, fourth best in a single season in Division II.

RECORD BOOK PART II
Chad Friehauf is just 715 yards away from breaking the all-time single season Division II record for total offense in a season. With 3,587 yards of offense this season, he needs to average 357 yards over the last two regular season games to break the record of 4,301 yards set by Wilkie Perez of Glenville State in 1997.

FRIEHAUF vs. WESTERN STATE
Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf will be sad not to see Western State on the schedule anymore. In three career games against the Mountaineers, he completed 67-of-101 (.663) passes for 1,135 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception. He surpassed the 400 yard mark two times and CSM was 3-0 against the Mountaineers.

THE EAGLES HAVE FINALLY LANDED
CSM’s 40-39 victory over Chadron State on Sept. 25 was the Oredigger’s first over CSC since a 51-28 victory on Oct. 16, 1993, a span of 10 games. It was also just the second win over the Eagles in the last 17 meetings.

AND SO HAVE THE LOPERS
CSM’s 34-10 victory at Nebraska-Kearney on Oct. 9 was the team’s first win over Kearney since 1939. UNK had won the previous nine meetings between the schools.

RULE OF TWO
The number two has been pretty kind to Mines recently. In 17 of the last 20 games, Mines had at least one player find the end zone two times and CSM has posted a 15-5 record in those games.

TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE
How many coaches in the country would go for two points to win a game in the final minute at home? Not many, but one resides in Golden, Colo. CSM Head Coach Bob Stitt opted to go for two points after pulling to within 39-38 with 35 seconds left against Chadron State on Saturday. The gamble paid off as quarterback Chad Friehauf hit a wide open Derek Dykstra in the end zone for the win.

HOP ON THE “VAN”
In Pittsburgh, the Steelers have tended to ride Jerome “The Bus” Bettis in dire times. Here in Golden, the Oredigger football team can always turn to senior running back Craig Van Horn when a big play is needed or when the team needs to grind out yards. Case in point, the win over Missouri Rolla on Sept. 4 when Van Horn ran 20 times for a career-high 185 yards and a touchdown. In addition, Van Horn came through in a large way against Chadron State on Sept. 25 as he busted through the line and went 36 yards to the house on a fourth-and-one on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut the CSM deficit to 25-22. He also grinded out 123 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries in a win over Fort Hays State on Oct. 2. His run of 71 yards against UMR was the longest by an Oredigger in more than 15 years and second best in the RMAC this season.

GO FLO GO
Van Horn’s backup, sophomore Bryan Florendo, is showing why the loss of the senior at the end of the season won’t be a tough pill to swallow. In the last two games, he has run the ball 22 times for 116 yards and a touchdown and also caught 14 passes for 184 yards and two more scores. He had eight catches for 121 yards and one touchdown in Saturday’s win over N.M. Highlands. It was the second time he went over 100 yards receiving this year as he caught six passes for 101 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown in a Sept. 25 win over Chadron State. Florendo has carried the ball 47 times this year, for 328 yards and has 41 catches for 465 yards and four scores. He has runs of 69, 18, 16 and 14 yards this season.

THE CHAN CHAN MAN
Senior wide receiver Jonny Chan is now the all-time leading receiver in Mines history. He holds CSM career records in receptions (165), receiving yards (2,862) and receiving touchdowns (29). For the year, he has caught 55 passes for an RMAC-best 936 yards and a team-best 10 touchdowns. His 104.0 yards per game is first in the RMAC and 10th in Division II. Chan has five 100-yard receiving games and one 99-yard game this season. He has also caught a touchdown in seven of the nine games this season.

JUST IN CASE
Junior wide receiver Justin Gallas is having his best season and could challenge Chan’s career marks next season. Through nine games this season, Gallas leads the team in receptions (67) and is second in the RMAC in yards (850) and is second on the team in touchdowns (6). His 94.4 yards per game is second in the conference and 21st in Division II. He has four 100-yard receiving games this season, including a 12-catch, 166-yard, one touchdown performance in a win at Fort Lewis on Oct. 16. His 12 cathces were tied for 10th most in a single game in Division II this year.

S “LEDGE” HAMMER
Senior strong safety Daniel Leger, a three-time Honorable Mention All-RMAC selection, is on pace to become the first CSM player to record at least 100 tackles in four straight seasons. Leger posted a team-high 109 tackles as a freshman, set a school-record and led the conference with 110 stops as a sophomore and made 103 tackles a year ago. He leads the team with 87 stops this season, and is tops in the RMAC with 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks. Leger was named the RMAC and d2football.com National Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in an Oct. 9 win at Nebraska-Kearney. He led the team with 10 tackles, three for losses, a sack and two interceptions in the game. He posted three sacks in Saturday’s win over New Mexico Highlands.

THE “HEAT”HER
Junior linebacker Jared Heath made quite a name for himself last season as he led the team and finished second in the RMAC with 114 tackles. His efforts led him to Honorable Mention All-RMAC and Third Team All-Region accolades. His 10.4 tackles per game ranked 26th in Division II a year ago. He is second on the team with 79 tackles this year, including eight for losses.

FOR ALL-PURPOSES
Last year, the Orediggers had three players who amassed more than 100 all-purpose yards per game. That includes rushing and receiving yards, as well as punt, kick and interception return yards. After nine weeks, the Orediggers appear to be on their way to the same feat as senior wideout Jonny Chan (153.4), senior running back Criag Van Horn (142.6) and junior wide receiver Justin Gallas (114.8) are above the century mark and rank third, fourth and eighth, respectively in the RMAC. Chan is also ranked 19th in Division II.

100/100 MEN
Last season, the Orediggers experienced a rare feat as wide receiver Jonny Chan and running back Craig VanHorn each went over the 100-yard mark in the same game on two occasions. This season, the duo of Van Horn and junior wide receiver Justin Gallas have each topped the 100-yard mark on two occasions, including the Oct. 2 win over Fort Hays State. In that game, Chan just missed the century mark with 99 receiving yards.

TOPPING THE CENTURY MARK
The Orediggers have had at least one wide receiver top the 100-yard plateau in each of the last 14 games. Jonny Chan has done it 10 times, while Justin Gallas has been over 100 yards four times during that span. In the Sept. 25 win over Chadron State, Chan went for 105 yards and sophomore running back Bryan Florendo had 101 receiving yards.

EXPERIENCE UP FRONT
The Oredigger offensive line is one of the most experienced groups under Head Coach Bob Stitt. The line features senior Gary Metz and junior Travis Yenne at right tackle and left guard, respectively, while sophomores Nick Belden, an Honorable Mention All-RMAC pick last season, (center) and Zach Ballard (left tackle) and redshirt freshman Stephen Immel (right guard) are listed at No. 1 on the depth chart at their respective positions. Metz is a four-year starter and Yenne a three-year starter, while Belden started nine games last season and Ballard the final seven games. The five up front have allowed just nine sacks all season. Last season, the Orediggers had allowed nine sacks after three games.

OH DANNY BOY
Sophomore linebacker Danny Sprague has made quite a name for himself since making his first collegiate start in a 37-7 win over Fort Lewis on Oct. 18, 2003. In that game, the Wheat Ridge High School graduate racked up a team-high eight tackles, including two for loss, and two sacks en route to RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. In a 40-39 win over Chadron State on Sept. 25, he registered 17 tackles, which is tied for 15th best in a Division II game this season. He is third on the team with 75 tackles this year.

PICK OFFS
Over the last four seasons, the Orediggers have featured a defensive back who has notched at least five interceptions. Sophomore free safety Tim Miller has kept the streak alive this year with five interceptions through nine games. Last year, cornerback Nick Gilbreath recorded five picks, in 2002, Grant Newton picked off an RMAC-leading eight passes, while Tolu Lasaki recorded seven picks in 2001.

IT’S MILLER TIME
Sophomore safety Tim Miller seems to have a nose for the ball. In addition to his team-high five picks, he has broken up eight passes, forced a team-leading three fumbles and recovered one fumble He is fourth on the team with 51 tackles and ranks 10th in Division II in interceptions (0.6 ipg) and 14th in forced fumbles (0.38 ffpg).

READY, WILLING AND ABEL
True freshman kicker Aaron Abel has been reliable after the first eight games as he has converted 42-of-47 extra point attempts. He is also 3-of-6 on field goal attempts, including a long of 30 yards.

BEND, BUT DON’T BREAK
The Oredigger defense has adopted the “Bend, but Don’t Break” philosophy so far this season. The group has come up with the big play when needed, as evidenced with two interceptions in the end zone against Missouri-Rolla and a third one to stop a drive deep in CSM territory. One week earlier in the season opener, the Orediggers stopped Washburn on a 4th and one play at midfield with 55 seconds to play that sealed the win. In a win over Chadron State on Sept. 25, the defense stopped Chadron State three times all afternoon. Late in the first half, CSM forced a fumble on its own 2-yard line, on the second last drive for the Eagles, Mines stopped them on a fourth and eight from the CSM 25-yard line and also the final drive of the game when sophomore free safety Tim Miller picked off a deep pass.

DEFENSE IN THE SECOND HALF
The CSM defense has been close to lights out in the second half, surrendering just 7.6 points over the final 30 minutes. If you take away the 21 points allowed in the second half to Chadron State, the total comes down to just 5.2 over the other eight games. Mines has held seven of its nine opponents to seven or fewer points in the second half and has posted two second half shutouts.

ZERO ON THE BOARD
The shutout of Western State on Sept. 11 was the first for the Oredigger defense since the 2002 season opener at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Aug. 31. CSM won that game, 14-0. Mines has not had two shutouts in the same season since 1958 when they blanked Omaha and Colorado State.

GOOD FINISHERS
The Orediggers have proved that they are good finishers this season as they have outscored their opposition, 177-68, in the final 30 minutes of play.

CAN’T PICK ON NICK
Colorado School of Mines junior cornerback Nick Gilbreath has shown that his selection to the Preseason All-RMAC and All-American Teams has been well deserved. He is fifth on the squad with 49 tackles and leads the team with nine pass breakups. He has also intercepted two passes.

STREAKS
Several Orediggers will be looking to keep streaks alive this week. Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf has thrown a touchdown pass in 15 straight games and has a streak of seven straight 300-yard passing games, while senior wide receiver Jonny Chan has caught at least one pass in 20 straight games, dating back to the 2002 season finale. Mines has also had a 100-yard receiver in 14 consecutive games.

PARTY CRASHERS
The Orediggers have played the roll of spoiler three times this season as they have crashed their opponents Homecoming Party. The first time was on Sept. 11 when CSM blanked Western State, 58-0. On Oct. 9, the Orediggers spoiled Nebraska-Kearney’s Homecoming with a 34-10 victory and on Saturday, CSM ruined Fort Lewis’ Homecoming with a 37-17 win. The Orediggers made it a pefect 4-for-4 in Homecoming’s this year with a 45-17 win over New Mexico Highlands in the 2004 CSM Homecoming Game Sponsored by Sprint.

CLOSING IN ON THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
The CSM football team stands at 6-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and a win this week against Mesa State would clinch at least a tie for the RMAC title for Mines. Adams State, the Orediggers opponent in the regular season finale on Nov. 6, is one game behind Mines in the RMAC race at 5-1. The Grizzlies host Western State this Saturday. If both Mines and Adams win on Saturday, it would set up an RMAC title game on Nov. 6 in Alamosa. CSM has not won a conference championship since 1958.

THE UNDEFEATEDS
Colorado School of Mines is one of just seven teams who remain undefeated in Division II heading into Week 10 of action. Four of the teams reside in the Southwest Region, including top-ranked Pittsburgh State (9-0), No. 2 Texas A&M Kingsville (7-0), No. 3 Northwest Missouri (9-0) and Mines (9-0).