#7/7 Colorado School of Mines (11-0/10-0 RMAC) vs. Sioux Falls (8-3/8-3 NSIC), Saturday, 12:05 p.m.
Marv Kay Stadium, Golden, Colo.
[TV: KWGN Colorado's Own Channel 2] [Streaming: RMAC Network] [Live Stats] [Mines Media Notes] 
 

---

The postseason comes to Marv Kay Stadium as Mines and Sioux Falls meet for the first time in the NCAA Tournament.

WATCH US
For the fourth time this season, and the first time ever in the postseason, Saturday's game will be simulcast live on KWGN Colorado's Own Channel 2, and stream live on the RMAC Network, which is also available on smart TV services like Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire. Miles Dunklin, Justin Adams, and John Simmer will have the call. 

TICKETS AND PARKING
Digital tickets are available through Mines' online ticketing portal. Pricing remains the same as the regular season, but no passes or season tickets are accepted for NCAA play. Mines students will be admitted free courtesy of Student Life. Parking in Lot K (north of the soccer stadium) is available for $10 - a reminder to all fans that Lot K does not open until 10 a.m. Free parking is available anywhere else on campus. 

WEATHER REPORT
Saturday's forecast is for highs in the mid-50s and sunshine.

CAPTAINS NAMED FOR 2019
Mines has elected four captains for the 2019 season: senior linebackers Jimmy Bauer and James Kohlschmidt, senior running back Cameron Mayberry, and senior tackle Grant Stewart. Stewart is a returning captain from 2018.

SUSTAINED SUCCESS
Since 2010, Mines has won the RMAC championship five times with as many NCAA Tournament appearances, including in 2018. The Orediggers are 46-12 in five seasons under Gregg Brandon with RMAC crowns in 2016, 2018, and now 2019; in that span Mines has had one national player of the year, nine All-Americans, 10 Academic All-Americans, and 105 all-RMAC selections.

REIGNING, DEFENDING, UNDISPUTED
Last week, Mines wrapped up only the second 11-0 regular season in program history (and first since 2004) with a 70-28 win at Chadron State. The Orediggers won consecutive RMAC title for the first time ever, and completed their fifth unbeaten RMAC season ever, joining 2004 (11-0), 1939 (8-0), the war-shortened 1918 season (4-0), and 1914 (5-0-1).

ANOTHER ONE
This season provided the Orediggers with their 23rd conference title all-time (and 13th in the RMAC), but they also did something no Mines football team has done in over a century: win back-to-back championships. Not since 1906 and 1907, under the Colorado Football Association, had the Orediggers won consecutive titles; they had never repeated as RMAC champions. Their last outright title came in 2004.

MINES ENTERS POSTSEASON AT #7 IN POLLS
Mines stayed at #7 in both the AFCA and D2football.com rankings this week. The Orediggers have been ranked in every poll this year since debuting at #17 in preseason.

BRINGING THE POSTSEASON HOME
This will be Mines' sixth journey in the NCAA Championship tournament, all coming since 2004. Mines has made the second round twice, in 2004 and 2016, and is hosting for the fourth time, although only the second at Marv Kay Stadium (2004 was at the old Campbell Field, and 2014 was at Mines' temporary home of the NAAC in Arvada). This week's Super Region 4 match-ups are:

[1] Minnesota State (11-0) - Bye    
[2] Tarleton St. (9-0) vs. Texas A&M-Commerce (8-2), 12 p.m.     
[3] Mines (11-0) vs. Sioux Falls (8-3), 12 p.m.     
[4] CSU-Pueblo (10-1) vs.  Augustana (9-2), 1 p.m.     
all times Mountain    

NICE TO MEET YOU
Mines has never played a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, nor has Sioux Falls played an RMAC member since moving to D-II. 

KNOW YOUR ENEMY
Sioux Falls looks very similar to Mines in a lot of ways: an outstanding defense, a balanced offense, and a love for possessing the ball. The Cougars own the nation's #2 total defense at 246.7 yards allowed per game, while rushing for 213 and passing for 219. Like Mines, they are adept at controlling the clock averaging 33:08 of possession per game. Quarterback Caden Walters has thrown for 2,353 yards and 24 touchdowns to just three interceptions, while Thuro Reisdorfer leads the running game with 984 yards and 12 touchdowns. Defensively, Sioux Falls is an exceptional +14 thanks to 17 interceptions this year led by Tucker Stout (5) and Ryan Neiman (4). 

ON THE DEFENSIVE
On paper, Mines vs. Sioux Falls looks like it could be a defensive showcase as it'll be the only NCAA First Round game to put two top-ten defenses against each other. Sioux Falls has NCAA D-II's #2 total defense (246.7 ypg) and Mines the #9 (265.1 ypg); Sioux Falls features the #9 passing defense and #15 rushing defense, while Mines owns the #1 rushing defense and #1 third-down defense.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Since the opening of Marv Kay Stadium, Golden has been very friendly to the Orediggers with a remarkable homefield advantage. Mines is 24-3 at home since the first game in 2015.

OREDIGGERS LAY 70 AT CHADRON STATE
Mines completed its first perfect regular season since 2004, running all over Chadron State in a statement 70-28 win to improve to 11-0. The Orediggers wrapped up an unshared and undisputed RMAC title with 440 yards rushing and 683 total yards, rolling into the postseason with only their second 11-0 record in program history. Michael Zeman continued his torrid second half of the season with 228 yards and two touchdowns while Brandon Farmer returned to his familiar running back spot and went off for a career-high 141 yards and two scores. John Matocha threw for four touchdowns on 243 yards as both Mason Karp (123 yards) and Josh Johnston (102 yards) went over the century mark, with Johnston catching three touchdowns.

BRANDON EARNS RMAC COACH OF THE YEAR
Gregg Brandon picked up his second straight RMAC Coach of the Year honor on Wednesday after guiding the Orediggers to an undefeated regular season. The Orediggers own one of the nation's best defenses as well as a potent offense, and entering the NCAA Tournament they are one of only three teams nationally to own both a top-10 offense and defense.

MATOCHA LEADS 25 ALL-RMAC SELECTIONS
Quarterback John Matocha was named the RMAC Offensive Freshman of the Year to lead 25 all-RMAC selections on Wednesday. Matocha has dazzled as a true freshman, taking the reins in Week 2 and throwing for 2,352 yards, 27 touchdowns, and just five interceptions while also rushing for 533 yards and 10 scores. Matocha ranks second in NCAA Division II with a 73.8 completion percentage and was a four-time RMAC and two-time NFFCC Player of the Week this season. Mines had a league-high six First-Team All-RMAC picks among their 25.

KEATING, ULLESTAD WIN ACADEMIC HONORS
Last week, Geoff Keating and Cody Ullestad were named CoSIDA Academic All-District for the second straight season. Keating, a senior safety with a 3.96 GPA majoring in mechanical engineering, and Ullestad, a senior center majoring with a 3.70 GPA also majoring in mechanical, were also both all-RMAC picks.

HE'S ZE-MAN
Michael Zeman has had a heck of a month. After being thrust into the starting running back role against Fort Lewis, he produced a solid 100 total yards (76 rush/24 rec.) with a touchdown, and even threw a touchdown to John Matocha. Fast forward a week to Azusa Pacific and Zeman went off for 298 rushing yards and three touchdowns; he was even better at South Dakota Mines with a new program record 321 yards (breaking Cam Mayberry's 312 set in 2017) along with 65 yards receiving and a record-tying four rushing touchdowns. Then he ran for "only" 183 yards and a touchdown against Dixie State, and wrapped up the regular season with 228 yards and two touchdowns at Chadron. All told, Zeman has an RMAC-best 1,298 yards rushing this season.

MILLENNIUM MEN
Two weeks ago, Zeman became the seventh different Oredigger to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a season. Remarkably, of the nine total 1,000-yard seasons in program history, six have come in the last six years:

Cameron Mayberry, 2018, 1,615 yards        
Cameron Mayberry, 2017, 1,563 yards        
Lloyd Madden, 1939, 1,316 yards        
Michael Zeman, 2019, 1,292 yards        
Sam Seeton, 2016, 1,268 yards        
Sam Seeton, 2015, 1,150 yards         
Tevin Champagne, 2014, 1,084 yards        
Bryan Florendo, 2006, 1,018 yards        
Dan Palmer, 2011, 1,016 yards        

IT STARTS UP FRONT
The Mines offensive line has been a patchwork at times this year due to injuries, losing one starter (Riley Miller) in preseason and now starting five different combinations in nine games including three different starters at each of the guard spots. Only left tackle Grant Stewart and center Cody Ullestad have started all 11 games. But no matter what the combination, the o-line has been spectacular, producing the RMAC #1 and NCAA #6 rushing offense at 276.7 yards per game, including five 290+ yard rushing games and outings of 395, 400, 286, and 440 the last four  weeks. Mines has given up just 17 sacks in 11 games.

THIIIIIIRD DOWN
Mines has the nation's stingiest defense on third down this year, allowing only a 22.4 percent conversion rate to lead NCAA Division II. The Orediggers have not allowed more than five third-down conversions in a game all season, including an 0-for-13 shutout against Fort Lewis, 2-for-13 at SDSMT, a 2-for-16 performance against Adams State, and a 2-for-13 game at Chadron State last week. 

NO RUNNING
Mines completed the regular season with the nation's #1 rushing defense, the first time in program history it accomplished that. The Orediggers' 57 yards per game allowed includes just two games of more than 100 yards given up (Chadron State's 109 yards in the rain was the most allowed all year) - the Orediggers have limited opponents to under 50 yards six times in 11 games.

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK
The hard hat is a longtime symbol of Mines students (every freshman receives one when they embark on the M Climb) and engineers everywhere. This season, the Mines bench is featuring a Turnover Hard Hat, which is awarded to and signed by a player generating a takeaway. So far the hard hat has been worn by 11 different players, with Kobe Brewster leading the way with four takeaways, all on interceptions.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Mines/Sioux Falls winner will meet the Texas A&M-Commerce/Tarleton State winner on Nov. 30 in the second round.