#21/21 Colorado School of Mines at #17/19 Southwest Baptist, Saturday, 1 p.m. CST/12 p.m. MST
Plaster Stadium, Boliver, Mo. 
[Live Video] [Live Stats] [Mines Media Notes] [SBU Media Notes]
 

---

For the fourth time program history, Mines will make an NCAA Championship appearance as they visit Southwest Baptist in a showdown of high-powered offenses.

WATCH US
Saturday's game will be streamed live by Southwest Baptist.

IF YOU GO
The forecast calls for highs in the upper 40s and sunny skies. Tickets, available at the gate beginning at 11:30 a.m., are $5 for adults and $3 for students, with children under 6 free. Tickets are cash-only. Click here for directions.

BY THE NUMBERS
573.5 - yards per game by Mines, the #1-rated total offense in NCAA D-II
104 - passing yards needed by Justin Dvorak to break the RMAC career record
22 - touchdown catches this season by Brody Oliver, leading college football
20 - all-RMAC selections for Mines
6 - team-best interceptions by Drew Stephon
4 - NCAA appearances for Mines
1 - player in Mines history to record consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons: Sam Seeton

THE MINES-SBU SERIES
Mines and Southwest Baptist have never met ... The Orediggers are 1-3 in NCAA Championships play ... SBU is making its first appearance.

IN THE RANKINGS
Mines rose to #21 this week in both the AFCA and D2football.com polls. Southwest Baptist is #17 in the AFCA and #19 in the D2football.com rankings.

WEEK 11 REWIND
Mines claimed a share of the RMAC Championship, pounding Black Hills State 83-28 in the regular-season finale. Sam Seeton rushed for a career-high 204 yards and two scores to go over 1,000 for the second straight season, Zac Guy crossed 100 yards with a touchdown, and Justin Dvorak threw for five touchdowns – three to Ty Young - on an efficient 14-of-21, 259-yard day while rushing for another score. The Mines defense generated four turnovers, including Drew Stephon's pick-six. Mines earned a share of its second title in three years and 21st in program history with an historic offensive performance. Mines racked up 717 yards and scored nine touchdowns, and compiled 458 yards on the ground, the second-most in program history. Mines' 83 points were its most in the NCAA Division II era, which began in 1992.

THE CHAMPS ARE HERE
Mines clinched a share of the RMAC championship last weekend with its win at Black Hills State, sharing it with Colorado Mesa and CSU-Pueblo. It was the 21st conference championship in program history and first since 2014. 

MINES IN NCAA PLAY
Mines is making its fourth NCAA Championship appearance. In 2004, Mines beat Midwestern State at home in the first round, 52-33, before losing at Pittsburg State 70-35. In 2010, Mines fell 35-13 at Grand Valley State, and in 2014 lost 34-23 to Ohio Dominican, both in the first round. Among active Orediggers who played in that 2014 game, Justin Dvorak threw for 409 yards and two touchdowns on 42-of-71 passing, Drew Stephon had nine tackles with an interception, and Dallas Fields had four stops with 1.5 TFL.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING!
Mines' current seven-game win streak equals its 7-0 start from 2015. If Mines were to win at Southwest Baptist, their eight-game streak would be the program's best since 2010.

LEADING THE WAY
Entering the NCAA Championship tournament, Mines leads the nation in both total offense (573.5 yards per game) and passing offense (373.3 yards per game). Mines' 318 first downs are a D-II best and they are second in third-down conversions (58.8%), and third in scoring offense (48.8).

EXPECT FIREWORKS
The meeting of Mines and Southwest Baptist will put two of NCAA Division II's most productive offenses against each other. Mines ranks #1 nationally in total offense and passing offense and #3 in scoring offense; SBU is #10 in total offense and #9 in scoring offense.

KEEPING IT CLEAN
Mines is one of the least-penalized teams in the country this season, with only 53 flags thrown against them in 11 games. That total is 15th-best in D-II, and their 466 total penalty yards is 14th-best.

DVORAK VOTED RMAC OFFENSIVE POTY
Justin Dvorak earned RMAC Offensive Player of the Year honors earlier this week to lead a league-best 20 all-RMAC selections for the Orediggers. Dvorak is the third player in program history to earn the award and first since Clay Garcia in 2010. Dvorak was a First-Team All-RMAC pick along with receivers Brody Oliver and Ty Young, left tackle Justin Traxinger, left guard Hasan Shaar, and nose tackle Dallas Fields; the Second Team included right tackle Levi Cecil, cornerback Jalen Champagne, and linebacker Drake Thenell. Mines earned 11 Honorable Mention spots including running back Sam Seeton, receiver Riley Hoff, right guard Stephen Candelaria, offensive lineman Colin Peter, safety Drew Stephon, defensive tackle Tommy Hoskins, defensive ends Matthew King and Michael Kelso, and linebackers Grant Gale, Chris Brockman, and Dean Wenger.

DVORAK NEARS RMAC PASSING YARDS RECORD
Speaking of Justin Dvorak, the redshirt senior has firmly planted himself as the favorite in the Harlon Hill Trophy race with his eye-popping numbers. Through the 11-game regular season, he led NCAA Division II with 4,012 passing yards, 48 passing touchdowns, 55 total touchdowns, and 4,295 yards of total offense. He is the active leader in all of college football in career passing yards (12,894), touchdown passes (129), and total offense (13,961). Dvorak is already the RMAC recordholder in career touchdown throws and total offense, and is 104 yards away from setting the RMAC passing yardage mark.

NO-BRODY BETTER
No Mines receiver has had a season like Brody Oliver has had in 2016. The redshirt sophomore produced Mines single-season records for yards (1,434) and touchdowns (22), the latter mark also an RMAC record that leads all divisions of college football. Oliver put together 10 100+ yard games and caught touchdowns in 10 consecutive games to start the season.

SEETON MAKES HISTORY
In the long history of Mines football, there have been only six 1,000-yard rushing seasons. And of those six, only one man - Sam Seeton - owns two of them. Seeton ran for 1,150 yards a year ago, and now has 1,088 yards in 2016. He could break his own season carries record, as well, with 221 compared to his 249 a year ago.

RESURGENT RUN GAME
After not rushing for more than 140 yards in any of their first five games, the Orediggers have established the run game as a huge part of their offense during the second half of the season. Starting with the South Dakota Mines game, Mines has chalked up rushing totals of 369, 268, 260, 148, and 446 yards to take their season average to 200.2 yards per game and a whopping 298.2 yards in that five-game span. While Seeton has keyed the bulk of that, Zac Guy's 8.5 yard-per-carry average has produced 499 yards and seven touchdowns this year, and Justin Dvorak has proven his mobility with 283 net yards and seven scores. 

CONNECT FOUR 
It's not just Oliver's big numbers, as all four of Mines' starting receivers are making major contributions on offense. Deep threat Ty Young has put together a 745-yard, 13-touchdown season that ranks among the best all-time in Mines history, while Riley Hoff has 707 yards and six scores. Zach Richter has been one of Dvorak's most reliable options in short yardage with 64 catches for 565 yards and four touchdowns. Dvorak isn't afraid to go to his running back Sam Seeton, either; he has 26 catches for 165 yards and a score.

TIMELY TAKEAWAYS
Mines' defense is now +12 on turnovers for the season. Mines is especially good in crunch time, generating nine fourth-quarter turnovers this year, including in six of the last seven games. 

BALL HAWKING
Speaking of turnovers, Mines has produced 17 interceptions this season, with six coming from Drew Stephon. Stephon had his first pick-six of the season last week at Black Hills State. Mines' 17 picks this year are its most since snagging the same number in 2012.

YOINK!
Linebacker Drake Thenell has had a knack for jumping on loose balls this year, with three of Mines' seven fumble recoveries to his credit. That ranks seventh-best in NCAA D-II.

GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION
With starter Dean Wenger out last week, redshirt sophomore Jimmy Bauer earned the opportunity for his first start on the outside at Black Hills State. How'd he do? OK - Bauer produced a career-high 10 tackles, force two fumbles (both recovered by Mines), and break up a pass.

CAN'T KEEP THEM DOWN
Mines has been one of the best teams in the country this year on third down, ranking second in D-II with a 58.8 percent conversion rating. As a result, Mines is also the best first-down generating team in D-II with 318.

SCOUTING SBU
The Bearcats are 10-1, champions of the GLVC, as they earned their first-ever trip to the postseason. They have one of the nation's top offenses, producing 42.7 points and 505 yards per game. Quarterback TJ Edwards is a dual threat, throwing for 3,012 yards and 33 touchdowns and rushing for 600 yards and 10 touchdowns. Bubba Jenkins has been one of the nation's best feature backs with 1,560 yards and 16 scores, averaging 141.8 yards per game on the ground. Kendrick Payne has 1,008 yards and 13 touchdowns in the air. Defensively, SBU allows 26 points and 394.5 yards per game, and are +6 on turnover margin. Shaun Hutchinson has led them with 94 tackles (13.5 for a loss), while lineman Via Manuma has been outstanding with 19 TFL, 11.5 sacks, and eight hurries.