#21/21 Colorado School of Mines at #15/14 Ferris State, Saturday, 12 p.m. EST/10 a.m. MST
Top Taggart Stadium, Big Rapids, Mich.
[Live Video] [Live Stats] [Mines Media Notes]
 

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Mines is into the NCAA Championship Second Round for the first time since 2004, visiting Ferris State in the Sweet 16 in a match-up of two of the nation's hottest teams.

WATCH US
Saturday's game will be streamed live by Ferris State.

IF YOU GO
The forecast calls for highs in the lower 40s and overcast skies. Tickets are available on game day and in advance via Ferris State's web site. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, and $5 for students.

BY THE NUMBERS
13,103 - career passing yards by Justin Dvorak, a new RMAC record
4,778 - miles traveled by the Orediggers over the last three weeks
316 - rushing yards per game for Mines over the last six weeks
87 - rushing yards needed by Sam Seeton to break the 77-year-old Mines single-season record
24 - touchdown catches this season by Brody Oliver, leading college football
12 - years since Mines last made the NCAA Second Round
8 - consecutive wins for Mines

THE MINES-FERRIS STATE SERIES
Mines and Ferris State have never met ... The Orediggers are 2-3 in NCAA Championships play ... FSU is appearing for the eighth time and third consecutive year.

IN THE RANKINGS
Mines was #21 in the final regular-season AFCA and D2football.com polls. Ferris State was #15 in the AFCA poll and #14 in the D2football.com ranking.

CARE TO DANCE?
Mines is making its fourth NCAA Championship appearance in 2016. The Orediggers also earned bids in 2004, 2010, and 2014. Their only other Second Round appearance came in 2004.

ROUND 1 REWIND
Zac Guy ran for four touchdowns to key a potent ground attack as #21/21 Colorado School of Mines went on the road to beat #17/19 Southwest Baptist 63-35 in the NCAA Championship First Round. Mines rolled out 614 yards of offense including 405 on the ground led by Guy (209 yards, 4 touchdowns) and Sam Seeton (146 yards, 1 touchdown). Justin Dvorak was an efficient 19-of-27 for 209 yards, three passing touchdowns, and another on the ground. The Orediggers never trailed as they got out to a quick 21-0 lead. The Mines defense held SBU below their scoring average with 10 tackles for a loss.

MINES IN NCAA PLAY
Mines is making its fourth NCAA Championship appearance in program history. 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. 

WE'RE GOING STREAKING!
Mines' current eight-game win streak equals the program's best run of form since 2010. A win at Ferris State would be the best streak since 2004, when the Orediggers went 12-0 before falling in the NCAA Second Round. Meanwhile, Ferris State (also 10-2) has won six straight heading into the Second Round, scoring 40 or more in each of those wins.

DOUBLE DIGITS
Mines' victory last week means they have recorded 10 wins for only the third time in program history. The Orediggers were 12-1 in 2004 and 10-2 in 2014.

FREQUENT FLYER MILES
Mines' 1,233 mile trip to Big Rapids, Mich. is the longest travel distance in this year's NCAA Second Round. The Orediggers have been road warriors over the last three weeks, starting with a 407-mile journey to their regular season finale at Black Hills State in Spearfish, S.D., and a 749-mile trip to Boliver, Mo. and Southwest Baptist in the NCAA First round. With return trips, Mines will have racked up 4,778 miles over the last three weeks - enough for a non-stop flight to London, England.

TWO OF THE BEST
The Mines-Ferris State game will feature two nominees for NCAA Division II's biggest individual prize, the Harlon Hill Trophy. Mines quarterback Justin Dvorak and FSU quarterback Reggie Bell are two of 42 nominees nationwide for the Harlon Hill, whose winner will be announced Dec. 16.

THAT'S A LOT
Justin Dvorak's 51 passing touchdowns this season leads NCAA Division II by a wide margin (the next best total is 41), and Dvorak now has a chance to tie or break the NCAA D-II single-season record of 54, co-held by Shippensburg's Zach Zulli (2012) and Valdosta State's Dusty Bonner (2000). Last week, Dvorak set the RMAC career passing record, becoming the first league quarterback and only the seventh in D-II history to surpass the 13,000-yard mark. Dvorak is 7th all-time in D-II history in yards and 2nd all-time in touchdowns (132). He now owns the RMAC career records for yards, total offense, and touchdowns.

LEADING THE WAY
Through 12 games, Mines leads NCAA Division II in total offense per game (576.8), first downs offense (349), and third-down conversion rate (59.6). The Orediggers are second in D-II in passing offense (359.6), scoring offense (50.0), tackles for loss allowed per game (3.25), and also rank in the national top-10 in fewest fumbles, passing efficiency, completion rate, and fewest penalty yards per game.

KEEPING IT CLEAN
Mines is one of the least-penalized teams in the country this season, with only 56 flags thrown against them in 12 games. That total is 16th-best in D-II, and their 491 total penalty yards is 19th-best.

SEETON NEARS HISTORY
Sam Seeton is on the verge of several Mines season and career records. With 2,416 career yards, he is 161 away from breaking Greg Marshall's career mark of 2,576, set in 1992; Seeton closer to the long-held single-season rushing record of 1,316 set by Lloyd Madden in 1939; Seeton has 1,230 yards this season, 87 away and the second-most all-time in Mines history. Seeton is the only running back in program history to record two 1,000-yard seasons.

WHAT A GUY
If you're going to play in the NCAA Championship, you may as well do it big. Zac Guy took that to heart last week with a career game at Southwest Baptist, heading a huge rushing day for Mines with 213 yards and a record-tying four touchdowns. Guy is only the second player in Mines history to score four times on the ground in a single game, while his yardage total was a career-best. Guy averaged a whopping 9.3 yards per carry and had touchdowns of 20, 18, 30, and 59 yards.

DVORAK VOTED RMAC OFFENSIVE POTY
Justin Dvorak earned RMAC Offensive Player of the Year honors last 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.

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 (1,461) and touchdowns (24), 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.

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, 446, and 405 yards to take their season average to 217.3 yards per game and a whopping 316 yards in that six-game span. The key has been Mines' outstanding offensive line, with five all-RMAC selections (Justin Traxinger, Hasan Shaar, Colin Peter, Stephen Candelaria, and Levi Cecil) that has also allowed only 16 sacks in 472 passing downs and is second in the nation in fewest tackles for loss allowed (3.25 per game).

TIMELY TAKEAWAYS
Mines' defense is now +13 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 eight games. 

BALL HAWKING
Speaking of turnovers, Mines has produced 18 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' 18 picks this year are its most since snagging the same number in 2011.

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.

SCOUTING FERRIS STATE
The Bulldogs are 10-2 after a 65-34 win over Midwestern State in the First Round. They own NCAA D-II's #6-ranked rushing offense (275 yds/gm) led by dual-threat QB Reggie Bell, who has run for 1,107 yards nad 15 TDs and passed for 2,046 yards and 11 TDs.Jahaan Brown (824 yds, 7 TD) is the feature back.Malik Taylor is Bell's top target with 733 yards and 4 TDs. Defensively FSU is very good against the run (106.7 ypg) but allows 247 pass yards a game. Zach Sieler (14 sacks, 20 TFL) and Anthony Darkangelo (114 T) have led the defense.