#17 Colorado School of Mines at New Mexico Highlands, Saturday, 1 p.m.
Sanchez Stadium, Las Vegas, N.M.
[Streaming: RMAC Network] [Live Stats] [Mines Media Notes]
 

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Coming off a statement win over a top-10 team, #17 Colorado School of Mines puts its 3-0 record on the line at an upstart New Mexico Highlands squad that has started 2-1. 

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 are $8 for adults and $4 for seniors and youth. Tickets can be bought in advance online. 

WEATHER REPORT
The forecast calls for a beautiful day for football with sunny skies and highs in the mid-70s.

BY THE NUMBERS
2,197 - career rushing yards for Cameron Mayberry, putting him 380 away from the Mines record
90 - yards that Logan Bock ran a fumble back for a touchdown against CSU-Pueblo, Mines' longest defensive TD since 2002
16.0 - points per game allowed by the Mines defense this season, which leads the RMAC
3 - straight RMAC offensive player of the week winners: Brody Oliver (week 1), Isaac Harker (week 2), and Mayberry (week 3)
#1 - NCAA Division II statistical ranking for Brody Oliver in receiving TDs (8) and Cameron Mayberry in rushing TDs (6)

THE MINES VS. NMHU SERIES
New Mexico Highlands leads the series 27-23-2 dating to 1956, but Mines has gone 15-3 since 2000 ... Mines has put up big numbers against NMHU the last few years, winning 54-14 in Las Vegas in 2016 and 70-0 at home last year ... Mines has won five in a row, scoring 50+ in each of the last three ... Mines has not lost in Las Vegas since 2012, a 42-37 thriller.

IN THE POLLS
Mines broke into this week's AFCA Top 25 poll at #17, the first time Mines has been ranked since the preseason of 2017, when they were #16. The Orediggers are also #21 in the D2football.com poll. The RMAC had three teams in the AFCA top 25 this week with Colorado Mesa, which visits Mines on Sept. 29, moving up to #14, and CSU-Pueblo falling to #22. Mines' non-conference opponent on Oct. 20, Azusa Pacific, is #24.

WITH HONORS
Mines has now had four RMAC players of the week out of three weeks, with the most recent honorees being Cameron Mayberry (offensive) and Logan Bock (defensive). Bock also picked up the NFFCC Player of the Week honor as Colorado's top player, becoming the first defensive player in Mines history to do so. Mayberry ran for 203 yards and three touchdowns against CSU-Pueblo to earn his third career honor; Bock had an incredible all-around game with a 90-yard fumble return for touchdown, another forced fumble, 2.0 sacks, 3.0 TFL, and a team co-high 10 tackles overall. 

TO THE HOUSE
Logan Bock's 90-yard fumble return for a touchdown against CSU-Pueblo wasn't just a game-changing play - it put the senior into the Mines record books. Although an official fumble return record isn't kept at the institutional and RMAC levels, his scoop and score is certainly the longest in the NCAA D-II era dating back to 1992, and is believed to be the longest fumble return in Mines history. It was the longest Mines touchdown of any type since 2008, when Corey Huck took a kickoff back 100 yards against Mesa State, and was the longest defensive touchdown since Grant Newton returned an interception 93 yards to score against Western New Mexico in 2002.

MAYBERRY EXTENDS TD STREAK, SURPASSES 2K
Cameron Mayberry had a monster day against CSU-Pueblo, rushing 34 times for 203 yards and three touchdowns. His day extended a streak of 12 consecutive games with a touchdown for Mayberry; in those dozen games, Mayberry has found the end zone 24 times. Mayberry also surpassed 2,000 career yards last week and sits at 2,197 three games into his junior year - closing in on the Mines record of 2,576 held by Greg Marshall (1989-92). Mayberry now has three career 200+ yard games (217 vs. Dixie State and 312 vs. Adams State last year), and seven career 150+ yard games.

OLIVER MOVES UP THE RECORD BOOK
Brody Oliver has racked up huge numbers this season, and as a result he's attacking several Mines and RMAC career records. Already the Mines career touchdowns leader, Oliver's 46 career TD grabs ranks third in RMAC history as he approaches the record of 50 held by Richie Ross (Nebraska-Kearney, 2002-05). His next scoring grab will tie him for second with NMHU's Anthony Edwards. In week 2, Oliver became only the ninth player in RMAC history (and second Oredigger) to cross 3,000 receiving yards, and his 3,075 yards are approaching Justin Gallas' Mines record of 3,561 compiled from 2002 to 2005. 

RMAC CAREER RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS
1. 50, Richie Ross, Nebraska-Kearney (2002-05)    
2. 47, Anthony Edwards, N.M. Highlands (1984-88)    
3. 46, Brody Oliver, Mines (2015-pres.)    
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. 3266, Trevor Weston, Nebraska-Kearney (1997-2000)    
8. 3144, Donald Byrd, Western N.M. (2011-2014)    
9. 3075, Brody Oliver, Mines (2015-pres.)    
10. 2975, Mike Smith, Nebraska-Kearney (1994-1997)    

LEADING THE WAY
Mines finds itself all over the NCAA statistical rankings early this season, and has something no other team in college football can boast: the national leaders in both receiving touchdowns (Brody Oliver, 8) and rushing touchdowns (Cameron Mayberry, 6). Isaac Harker is #4 in passing TDs and 17th in passing yards, while Oliver ranked #4 in receiving yards per game (134.7 per game) and Mayberry is #5 in rushing yards (143 per game).

COWBOYS AND OREDIGGERS
Mines' offense has had some huge numbers against New Mexico Highlands the last two years, with Cameron Mayberry and Brody Oliver especially enjoying big days against the Cowboys. Last year, Mayberry ran for 189 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries, and caught another 43-yard touchdown, while Oliver caught five passes for 124 yards and two scores; Mines' 54-14 win in 2016 was Oliver's breakout game as he caught four touchdowns on nine catches with 164 yards receiving overall, and Mayberry scored his first career touchdown in that game. The defense hasn't been too shabby either - Mines pitched a shutout against NMHU last year with interceptions by Logan Braden and Chase Nicholas.

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 three games, Mines has produced seven 20+ yard touchdowns, including four of 60+ yards. Mines' longest scoring plays of the year thus far are:

90 - Logan Bock fumble recovery (vs. CSU-Pueblo)    
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)    
29 - Riley Hoff pass from Isaac Harker (at Black Hills State)    

NO RUNNING
Mines enters this week with the RMAC's #1 run defense at 100 yards per game allowed, coming off a game where they faced the nation's #1 run offense in CSU-Pueblo (390 yards per game) and held them to just 112 yards. Mines' leader in the front seven has been linebacker Averie Mansfield, who co-leads the team with 20 total tackles, has 2.5 for a loss, and forced the red-zone fumble that Logan Bock returned for a touchdown last week against CSU-Pueblo.

KEATING'S COMEBACK
Defensive back Geoff Keating showed flashes of being a defensive leader in 2017, racking up eight tackles in less than two games starting at cornerback before suffering a season-ending injury in week 2 against New Mexico Highlands. Fast forward a year later, and a healthy Keating has moved to safety and is Mines' co-leading tackler through three games, with 20 total stops (9 solo), a team-best 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and team-best two interceptions, not to mention a pair of break-ups and a forced fumble. Keating's productivity against CSU-Pueblo: an eight-tackle, 1.5 TFL, 1 FF, 1 INT game that would've been player-of-the-week-worthy in any other game.

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 32.7 percent on third-down chances (17-of-52) and 27.3 percent on fourth down (3-of-11) to force eight turnovers on downs and 19 punts. Even more impressive has been the red zone defense; through three games, opponents have made only eight trips inside Mines' 20 (Adams State had none, Black Hills State and CSU-Pueblo four each) and scored on only five of them, including 1-for-4 for CSUP last week.

MARSHALL STEPS UP
Scott Marshall has been reliable at placekicker all season long, but he was forced into extra duty last week as he had to take over punting duties for an injured Austin Toussaint midway through the game. Marshall excelled in the role, averaging 40.8 yards per punt on six boots, including a booming 53-yarder that was downed at the three on his first attempt. Marshall also hit all five of his PATs and put all six of his kickoffs into or out of the back of the end zone for touchbacks.

VIVA LAS VEGAS
Usually on RMAC road trips, there are a few members of the roster who look forward to playing closer to home, but despite being only a few hours up I-25 from the Land of Enchantment, Mines does not have any New Mexico natives on its roster in 2018. However, Mines does have three natives of that other Las Vegas - senior receiver Riley Hoff, junior safety Tyler Mahan, and freshman quarterback Roberto Valenzuela. No word on if this week's trip will cure any homesickness.

LAST YEAR VS. NMHU
Mines dominated every facet of the game as they shut out New Mexico Highlands in a 70-0 romp last year at Marv Kay Stadium. The Orediggers ran for 462 yards and rolled out 672 yards of total offense as Cameron Mayberry had four total touchdowns, Josh Odom rushed for two, and Brody Oliver caught a pair. The Mines defense, keyed by three turnovers, worked Mines' first shutout since 2014 and first clean sheet in an RMAC game since 2013, holding the Cowboys to 244 yards of total offense. Mayberry rushed for 189 yards with three touchdowns on the ground, and Mines' 462 yards rushing were the second-most in program history. Logan Braden and Chase Nicholas had interceptions to lead the defense.

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines will return to Marv Kay Stadium for Homecoming Weekend on Sept. 29, hosting #14 Colorado Mesa at 12 p.m.