#17 Colorado School of Mines at Adams State, Saturday, 1 p.m.
Rex Stadium, Alamosa, Colo.
[Streaming: RMAC Network] [Live Stats] [Mines Media Notes] 
 

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The eagerly-awaited 2019 season opens on the road Saturday as #17 Colorado School of Mines visits Adams State in the 72nd meeting between the RMAC rivals.

WATCH US
Saturday's game will stream live on the RMAC Network, which is also available on smart TV services like Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire. 

WEATHER REPORT
Early forecasts for Saturday call for temperatures in the mid-70s with a small chance of a shower or isolated thunderstorm.

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 four times with as many NCAA Tournament appearances, including in 2018. The Orediggers are 35-12 in four seasons under Gregg Brandon with RMAC crowns in 2016 and 2018; in that span Mines has had one national player of the year, nine All-Americans, 10 Academic All-Americans, and 80 all-RMAC selections.

OREDIGGERS PICKED SECOND BY RMAC COACHES
The RMAC preseason poll released on July 24 had Mines second behind CSU-Pueblo, as the Orediggers picked up a first-place vote and 88 points overall. 

RMAC Preseason Football Coaches' Poll
1. CSU-Pueblo (10) - 100 pts.    
2. Colorado School of Mines (1) - 88 pts.    
3. Chadron State - 73 pts.    
4. Colorado Mesa - 72 pts.    
5. Dixie State - 68 pts.    
6. South Dakota Mines - 50 pts.    
7. New Mexico Highlands - 44 pts.    
8. Adams State - 36 pts.    
9. Black Hills State - 30 pts.    
10. Western Colorado - 28 pts.    
11. Fort Lewis - 16 pts.    

MINES EARNS NATIONAL LOOKS
Mines has appeared in plenty of preseason polls, including at #17 in the AFCA coaches' and D2football.com top 25 rankings. The Orediggers also appeared in several magazine preseason rankings including #12 in both Lindy's and Street & Smith's and #9 in the College Football Yearbook America.

MAYBERRY, STEWART GET PRESEASON LOOKS
Two Oredigger returners have been getting national attention over the summer as tackle Grant Stewart and running back Cameron Mayberry have each been preseason all-Americans. Stewart picked up two nods, from Lindy's and College Football Yearbook America (both first-team), while Mayberry was a D2football.com and Lindy's second-teamer.

LAST YEAR VS. ADAMS STATE
The Orediggers had little trouble in last year's season opener, dispatching Adams State 49-7 in a weather-shortened game. Brody Oliver matched an NCAA Division II record with four first-quarter touchdowns, and tied the Mines and RMAC single-game marks with five overall, to capitalize on a fine performance by Isaac Harker, who threw for 317 yards and five touchdowns. The Mines defense was absolutely dominant, holding ASU to only 132 total yards and eight first downs; the Grizzlies ran for only 25 yards in the game. Both Geoff Keating and Kobe Brewster came up with interceptions as the Mines secondary limited ASU quarterback Nick Rooney to just 17-of-41 passing for 107 yards. The game was declared final early in the fourth quarter due to persistent lightning in the area.

MINES VS. ADAMS STATE SERIES NOTES
Adams State narrowly leads the all-time series against Mines, 36-33-2 ... This will be the 72nd game in a series that began in 1947 with a 20-13 ASU win ... The Orediggers have dominated the series in recent years, winning six in a row, 11 of the last 12, and 16 of the last 19 since the turn of the century ... Mines-Adams State games have been high-scoring as of late, with one team putting up 35+ in each of the last seven meetings ... Mines has scored 42 or more in each of their last six meetings, all Oredigger wins ... This is the first time Mines has played at Alamosa in a season opener.

ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM
The Mines run game had a phenomenal 2018 averaging 224.9 yards per game led by the duo of Cameron Mayberry and Brandon Farmer. Mayberry was a consensus All-American collecting a Mines-record 1,615 yards and 23 touchdowns; Farmer was a dangerous second look with 573 yards and eight touchdowns averaging a team-best 7.3 yards per carry. In 2019, though, Farmer will move to the slot where the Orediggers hope he can be a match-up nightmare; the #2 slot will be occupied by promising redshirt sophomore Michael Zeman, who ran for 131 yards and a score in nine games last year, averaging 6.9 yards per touch.

MAYBERRY CHASES RECORDS
Mayberry is already an all-timer, but his senior season could see his put several Mines records out of reach. He already owns the program career marks for yards (3,383) and touches (527), as well as the single-season and game versions of both records. He tied Lloyd Madden's long-standing single-season rushing touchdown mark last year with 23 (Madden did the same in 1939), and this year is eyeing one last career record: Greg Marshall's 48 rushing touchdowns set between 1989 and 1992 (Mayberry has 44). With 46 total career touchdowns scored (44 rushing, 2 receiving), Mayberry takes the mantle of active NCAA D-II leader in that category from former teammate Brody Oliver, who ended his career with 59 receiving touchdowns last year.

NCAA Division II Active Career Rushers
Nate Gunn (Minnesota State)  -  3,413 yds    
Cameron Mayberry (Mines)  -  3,385 yds   
Stevie Green (Fayetteville St.)  -  3,355 yds
Nelson Brown (Cal [Pa.])  -  3,174 yds  
Antonio Wimbush (Carson-Newman)  -   2,880 yds 

NCAA Division II Active Career Total Touchdowns
Cameron Mayberry (Mines)  -  46 TD (44 rush/2 rec.)
Nelson Brown (Cal [Pa.])   -  39 TD (37 rush/2 rec.)
Nate Gunn (Minnesota State)  -  37 TD (36 rush/1 rec.)
Shane Zylstra (Minnesota State)  -  36 TD (36 rec.)
David Graham (Hillsdale)  -  35 TD (34 rush/1 rec.)

QUARTERBACK BATTLE
The preseason quarterback battle saw a familiar face emerge as the starter as Ben Bottlinger won the job, with graduate transfer Will Brock, junior Travis Lockhart, and true freshman John Matocha in the mix. The 2017 starter, Bottlinger has appeared in 15 games over the last three seasons, completing 134 of 240 passes for 1,825 yards and 12 touchdowns, while also rushing for 340 yards and four scores. In the 2017 season he started eight times in nine appearances. Bottlinger's only appearance against Adams State was in clean-up duty last year as he attempted one pass in Mines' final series.

LOCKED ON TARGET
Mines' passing game was second-best in the nation last year, generating 331.9 yards per game. The question this season is who will be catching passes, after the graduations of Brody Oliver, Riley Hoff, and David Sommers, who combined for more than 7,100 yards and 82 touchdowns in their careers. But Mines has a key starter returning in Sean O'Dell, who had a breakout 2018 with 61 catches for 849 yards and four scores; running backs Brandon Farmer and Garrett Hyles also move over to receiver, while youngsters Zach Hoffman and Josh Johnston are ready to step up on the outside. Mines also plans to use a true tight end more this season with veteran Zach Peterson the starter there.

D-LINE DEPTH
Mines' defensive line was arguably the strongest component of its 2018 defense as they limited opponents to 101.1 yards per game and only nine touchdowns on the ground. The good news: the unit returns deep experience in 2019. At defensive end, junior Luke Jeter has appeared in 20 games over the last two seasons with 39 tackles and 9.0 for a loss in that span; at nose tackle Jack McAdams is coming off an all-RMAC season with 14 tackles, 2.0 TFL, and a sack as the starter with 2017 starter Scott Adams (30 TT, 4.5 TFL, 2.5 S) returning after missing last year due to injury. The defensive tackle spot is held by returning starter Brockton Sterling, who was all-RMAC last year with a line-best 42 tackles, 7.5 TFL, and 5.0 sacks.

LINEBACKERS BRING BACK EXPERIENCE
Like the defensive line, the linebacking unit returns a ton of experience this season. Jimmy Bauer, an all-RMAC pick at the strongside last year, moves over to the LEO position vacated by Logan Bock's graduation. Bauer is a two-year starter coming off a 35-tackle, 4.5 TFL season. Mack Minnehan takes his SLB spot a year after he appeared in all 12 games and made 43 tackles as a redshirt freshman, along with a pick-six against Chadron State. Two familiar faces occupy the two inside spots in two-time all-RMAC honoree Averie Mansfield and James Kohlschmidt. Mansfield led Mines last year with 62 stops and 10.0 for a loss and has 23 career starts under his belt; Kohlschmidt has been a key rotational linebacker over the last three seasons and had 33 tackles with three sacks and two turnovers generated last year. Mines has plenty of interior depth with veterans Gabriel Kortz, Dawson Johnson, and RJ Phillips in the mix.

MAKRANSKY ISLAND
In his first year as an Oredigger, cornerback Anthony Makransky certainly lived up to expectations as he produced 47 tackles and was second in the RMAC with 16 passes defended (14 break-ups and 2 interceptions). After transferring from Wyoming, he broke up at least one pass in eight different games in 2018. Makransky's 14 break-ups were the most by an Oredigger since the NCAA began tracking the statistic in the mid-1990s.

KEATING COLLECTS ACADEMIC HONORS
Safety Geoff Keating returns to lead the secondary after an impressive 2018 both on the field and in the classroom. He ended last season as Mines' second-leading tackler with 59 including 6.0 for a loss and two interceptions, and he broke up seven passes. In the classroom, he was just as outstanding as he earned CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-America and National Football Foundation Colorado Chapter Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. Keating's NFFCC award as the Centennial State's top football scholar is the third by an Oredigger in the last five years. Keating has a 3.95 GPA majoring in mechanical engineering.

HARKER FINDS CFL SUCCESS
Last year's starter at quarterback, Isaac Harker, is living the pro dream in Canada as the backup for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who are in the middle of their season. The all-American impressed in camp and moved into the backup role immediately, and has appeared in two games completing 17-of-27 passes for 200 yards. The Roughriders are 7-3 and currently a half-game back in the West Division.

GARCIA GETS HALL CALL
In August, Mines Athletics announced that former quarterback Clay Garcia will be part of its Hall of Fame class to be inducted on Oct. 19. Garcia - a native of Alamosa - was a two-time All-American and 2010 Harlon Hill Trophy finalist throwing for 7,657 yards and 61 touchdowns in two season as a starter. Garcia was the 2011 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in football, and was the first student-athlete in Mines football history to be a two-time Academic All-American.

COACHING STAFF HAS NEW FACES
The Mines coaching staff has several new faces in 2018, most notably offensive coordinator Pete Sterbick, who arrives from Montana Tech (coincidentally the only other school in the United States with the nickname "Orediggers"), where he put together some of NAIA's most high-powered offenses over the last four seasons. He replaces Nick Fulton, who took the same job at Northern Colorado. Other new additions are tight ends coach Andrew Loudenback, defensive assistant Tripp Thomas, and kickers/punters coach Scott Groner.

MINES, ANGELO STATE INK SERIES
Next year, Mines football will play in Texas for the first time since 1931 when it heads to Angelo State in week 1. With a new RMAC schedule cycle following the departure of Dixie State this year, weeks 1 and 2 will be non-conference games as Angelo State will make a return trip to Golden in 2021. Mines has not played in the Lone Star state since a visit to Texas Tech in 1931.

ENGINEERING THE WAY
Mines student-athletes don't major in underwater basket weaving, although most of them would be happy to develop an autonomous submarine robot that could mass produce the baskets for you. Of the Mines football student-athletes who have declared a major, here's the breakdown for 2019:

Mechanical Engineering - 55    
Chemical Engineering - 10    
Petroleum Engineering - 10    
Civil Engineering - 9    
Computer Science - 7    
Chemical & Biochemical Engineering - 4    
Electrical Engineering - 3    
Engineering & Technology Management (M.S.) - 3    
Economics - 2    
Metallurgical & Materials Engineering - 1    
Computer Science (M.S.) - 1    
Geophysical Engineering - 1    
Geological Engineering - 1    
Mineral and Energy Economics (M.S.) - 1    
Mining Engineering - 1    
Environmental Engineering - 1    

This year's team also includes five graduate students, of which three hold Mines undergraduate degrees: Jimmy Bauer (geophysical engineering B.S., engineering & technology management M.S.), Riley Miller (computer science B.S. and M.S.), and Zach Peterson (civil engineering B.S., engineering & technology management M.S.). In addition, Anthony Makransky is a University of Wyoming graduate working on a Mines master's degree in mineral and energy economics, while Will Brock is a graduate of Presbyterian College and is majoring in engineering & technology management.

NEXT UP
Mines opens at home Sept. 14 against Black Hills State, with a noon kickoff. Single-game and season tickets are on sale now.