#12 Colorado School of Mines (5-0, 5-0 RMAC) at Western Colorado University (0-5, 0-4 RMAC), Saturday, 1 p.m.
Mountaineer Bowl, Gunnison, Colo.
[Streaming: RMAC Network] [Live Stats] [Mines Media Notes]
 

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Out to a 5-0 start this season, #12 Colorado School of Mines looks to keep its momentum up with a trip to Western Colorado on Saturday.

WATCH US
Every Mines game this season will be seen live and for free on the RMAC Network at minesathletics.com/tv. Fans can also watch on their smart TV by searching "RMAC" in the app store of their Roku, Apple TV, or Amazon Fire device.

TICKETS
Tickets at the Mountaineer Bowl are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. More ticket info is available via gomountaineers.com.

WEATHER REPORT
The Saturday forecast for Gunnison calls for cloudy skies with highs in the upper 50s and a slight chance of rain at game time.

BY THE NUMBERS
50 - career touchdown catches by Brody Oliver, which has him tied for the RMAC all-time record
21 - total touchdowns Isaac Harker has produced this season (18 passing and 3 rushing), which ranks #2 in NCAA D-II
9 - straight wins by Mines dating back to the final four games of the 2017 season, the third-longest streak in program history
3 - consecutive games that the Mines defense has produced points, with a fumble return TD vs. CSU-Pueblo and safeties against N.M. Highlands and Colorado Mesa
0 - sacks allowed by Mines vs. Colorado Mesa. Mines' five sacks allowed this season are the fewest in the RMAC

MINES VS. WESTERN COLORADO
Colorado's longest continuous football rivalry, Mines and Western Colorado will meet for the 94th time on Saturday ... Western leads the series 52-39-2 ... The two first met in 1925 (a 15-6 Western Colorado win) and, save a five-year break for World War II, have met at least once every year since ... Mines has won 9 of the last 11 games in the series, but Western Colorado has won two of the last three, including a 45-31 win in Gunnison in 2016 ... At 7,771' feet above sea level, the Mountaineer Bowl is the highest football field in the world, nearly 2,000' higher than Marv Kay Stadium.

IN THE POLLS
Mines broke into the AFCA Top 25 poll two weeks ago at #17, and moved up three spots last week to a tie for #14 and finally two more spots to #12 this week. CSU-Pueblo appears at #15 as does Mines' Oct. 20 opponent, Azusa Pacific, at #24.

OREDIGGERS ON TOP OF THE RMAC
Mines is the lone remaining unbeaten team in the RMAC at 5-0, but has yet to play the two remaining 4-1 teams, Chadron State and Dixie State. See this week's RMAC standings.

ON A ROLL
Mines has won nine straight games dating back to last season, which is the third-longest win streak in program history. Mines' longest streaks are:

MINES LONGEST WIN STREAKS
14 - 2003-04    
11 - 2013-14    
9 -  2017-18    
8  - 2010    
8  - 2016    

CAN'T STOP SCORING
After last week's offensive outburst, Mines now ranks #3 in NCAA Division II in scoring offense at 48.2 points per game and #2 in total offense at 551.0 yards per game; both marks lead the RMAC. But turns out that the 72-point output against Colorado Mesa was one for the record books: it marked the sixth-highest point total in Mines history, and was only the ninth time overall that the Orediggers surpassed 70 points in a game. It was Mines' third-highest RMAC scoring day ever:

MINES MOST POINTS IN A GAME
1903    vs. Longmont High, 106-0    
1890    vs. Colorado, 103-0    
2016    vs. Black Hills State, 83-28    
1907    vs. Wyoming, 77-0    
2003    vs. New Mexico Highlands, 75-45    
2018    vs. Colorado Mesa , 72-31    
2012    vs. South Dakota Mines, 71-7    
1939    vs. Western Colorado, 71-7    
2017    vs. New Mexico Highlands, 70-0    

OLIVER TIES RMAC TD RECORD
Brody Oliver's record-setting career added another notch in the record book last week as he caught two touchdowns to take him to 50 in his career, tying for the RMAC all-time record. His next scoring grab will surpass Richie Ross of Nebraska-Kearney, who caught 50 between 2002-05. In week 2, Oliver became only the ninth player in RMAC history (and second Oredigger) to cross 3,000 receiving yards, he is now seventh in RMAC history at 3,314 yards, only 248 short of breaking Justin Gallas' Mines record of 3,561 compiled from 2002 to 2005. Oliver is NCAA football's active leader in receiving touchdowns, and it isn't even close: the next-highest total is 36, by Tiffin's Charles Holland, and Oliver's 50 TDs are 20 more than the active FBS leader, Middle Tennessee State's Gatlin Casey.

RMAC CAREER RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS
1. 50, Richie Ross, Nebraska-Kearney (2002-05)    
1. 50, Brody Oliver, Mines (2015-pres.)    
3. 47, Anthony Edwards, N.M. Highlands (1984-88)    
4. 38, Kyle Kaiser, Nebraska-Kearney  (2007-10)    
5. 35, Tyrone Johnson, Western State (1990-93)    

RMAC CAREER RECEIVING YARDS
1. 4882, Richie Ross, Nebraska-Kearney (2002-2005)    
2. 3996, Anthony Edwards, N.M. Highlands (1984-1988)    
3. 3717, Tyrone Johnson, Western State (1990-1993)    
4. 3687, Johnny Cox, Fort Lewis (1990-1993)    
5. 3561, Justin Gallas, Mines (2002-2005)    
6. 3355, Kyle Kaiser, Nebraska-Kearney (2007-2010)    
7. 3314, Brody Oliver, Mines (2015-pres.)    
8. 3266, Trevor Weston, Nebraska-Kearney (1997-2000)    
9. 3144, Donald Byrd, Western N.M. (2011-2014)    
10. 2975, Mike Smith, Nebraska-Kearney (1994-1997)    

HARKER EARNS ANOTHER RMAC HONOR
Quarterback Isaac Harker earned his second RMAC Offensive Player of the Week award this season on Monday after producing big numbers against #24 Colorado Mesa. Harker completed 22 of 28 passes for 377 yards and five touchdowns, including strikes of 77, 50, and 43 yards. Despite playing less than three full quarters in the blowout, he produced a pair of 100+ yard receivers in Sean O'Dell (148) and Brody Oliver (104). He also ran for 55 yards averaging 9.2 yards per carry.

MAYBERRY KEEPS TD STREAK, EYES MINES MARK
Cameron Mayberry had a relatively quiet day against Colorado Mesa, rushing 14 times for 61 yards and a touchdown as Mines spread the wealth offensively in the blowout. His day his consecutive touchdowns streak to 14 games, however; in those 14 games, Mayberry has found the end zone 26 times. Mayberry could make history in the coming weeks as he is closing in on the Mines record of 2,576 career yards held by Greg Marshall (1989-92). With 2,393 yards in essentially a season and a half of play, Mayberry is 183 yards away from the record. Mayberry is currently eighth among active NCAA Division II running backs in career touchdowns (29).

LEADING THE WAY
Nearing the halfway point of the season, Mines finds itself atop the RMAC statistical rankings in nearly every major category. Mines has the RMAC's top scoring offense (48.2 points per game) and second-best scoring defense (18.6 ppg), the top total offense (551 ypg) and second-best total defense (347.6), and the #1 run defense (103.4 ypg), #2 run offense (218.8 ypg), and #1 pass offense (332.2 ypg). Individually, Mines players are all over the NCAA rankings as Brody Oliver leads the nation with 12 total touchdowns and is fourth in receiving yardage at 643, Cameron Mayberry is fourth in rushing yardage (625) and eighth in rushing touchdowns (8), and Isaac Harker is third in passing touchdowns (18) and seventh in yards (1,567).

IT STARTS UP FRONT
Mines has been known for its high-octane offenses over the years, but the Orediggers have never had an offense quite as balanced or as versatile as what they've shown in 2018. Mines ranks #2 in NCAA Division II in total offense, but is #23 in rushing and #6 in passing. In either case, it all starts with the offensive line: the unit has kept Mines clean no matter what they're doing, allowing an RMAC-low five sacks in five games (19th nationally), and ranking 19th in D-II in tackles for loss allowed (4.2 per game). Behind the line, Mines is averaging some healthy per-attempt numbers with 5.4 yards per rush and 9.6 yards per pass attempt.

BIG PLAY BURROS
Everybody knows that Orediggers love blowing things up - Mines has an explosives club, after all. That pyrotechnic proclivity has transferred to the football field this year as Mines has produced big plays left and right. In five games, Mines has produced 15 20+ yard touchdowns, including eight of 50+ yards. Mines' longest scoring plays of the year thus far are:

MINES LONGEST SCORING PLAYS OF 2018
90 - Logan Bock fumble recovery (vs. CSU-Pueblo)    
77 - Sean O'Dell pass from Isaac Harker (vs. Colorado Mesa)    
70 - Cameron Mayberry run (vs. CSU-Pueblo)    
67 - Brody Oliver pass from Isaac Harker (vs. Adams State)    
60 - Brody Oliver pass from Isaac Harker (at Black Hills State)    
58 - Cameron Mayberry run (vs. CSU-Pueblo)    
55 - Michael Zeman run (vs. Colorado Mesa)    
50 - Brody Oliver pass from Isaac Harker (at Colorado Mesa)    

BINGO?
Linebacker Logan Bock has seemingly done it all for Mines' defense this season. The redshirt senior has been a force with 26 tackles, 5.0 for a loss, and 3.0 sacks. Bock also has a chance this season to complete a rare defensive "bingo" - if he can snag an interception, he would have at least one of every major defensive statistic (tackle, sack, interception, break-up, forced fumble, fumble recovery, kick block, and safety). Bock already has two forced fumbles, one recovery, two break-ups, a kick block, and a safety this season, as well as a defensive touchdown. The last Orediggers to come close were Dean Wenger in 2017 and Kole Kadavy in 2014; both were a safety short of the full line.

WE CAN DANCE IF WE WANT TO
The Orediggers have recorded safeties in two consecutive games, first thanks to Averie Mansfield and Logan Bock at New Mexico Highlands, and then last week when James Kohlschmidt made an end-zone tackle against Colorado Mesa. The last time Mines had safeties in back-to-back games was in 2014, when Mines recorded two-pointers in the first two games of the season against South Dakota Mines and William Jewell. The Mines defense has produced points in three straight games if you include Bock's fumble return for a touchdown against CSU-Pueblo.

GET OFF THE FIELD
One thing the Mines defense has been very good at this year is getting off the field. The Orediggers have held opponents to 28.4 percent on third-down chances (23-of-81) and 29.4 percent on fourth down (5-of-17) to force 12 turnovers on downs and 32 punts. Mines ranks in the national top 30 in both categories (29th in 3rd-down defense, 28th in 4th-down defense). Even more impressive has been the red zone defense; through four games, opponents have made only 13 trips inside Mines' 20 and scored touchdowns on eight.

LAST YEAR VS. WESTERN COLORADO
Mines ran for 380 yards and held Western to only 141 yards of total offense in a 45-7 win last year at Marv Kay Stadium. Mines had a day to remember on the ground as Cameron Mayberry went for 155 yards and three touchdowns, Zac Guy had 95 yards and two scores, and quarterback Ben Bottlinger ran for 91 yards and a touchdown. Logan Braden had a pair of interceptions and Jared Cooper had two of Mines' five sacks to lead the defense.

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines will head back across the Rockies on Oct. 13 to visit Fort Lewis. The Orediggers will return home Oct. 20 to play Azusa Pacific.