GOLDEN, Colo. -  The battle between #12 Colorado School of Mines and #6 Angelo State was an instant classic, but the Orediggers ended up on the wrong end of a 30-27 overtime decision at Marv Kay Stadium. 

Trailing 27-20, the Rams (2-0) scored on a 37-yard Nate Omayebu touchdown to tie the game with 2:57 to go in regulation, then hit the game-winning field goal on Asa Fuller's 36-yard overtime boot after the Orediggers (0-2) missed their attempt. Mines was playing its second straight game against a top-10 opponent, and the game was a rematch of the 2021 NCAA Super Region IV final won by the Orediggers.

John Matocha was held to 13-of-26 for 167 yards and a touchdown as Michael Zeman rushed for 77 yards and a score. Josh Johnston had four catches on eight targets for 65 yards. 

The Rams' Zach Bronkhorst threw for 173 yards and two interceptions, but pushed his side back into the game with his elusiveness in the second half as Omayebu had 126 total yards and Alfred Grear had 81 yards and a score. The Rams rushed for 264 total yards.

Mason Pierce had a pick-six and Joel Diaz made a key goal-line interception as well. Cam Forrest led Mines with nine tackles and Cameron Reller had eight with a sack.

Angelo asserted itself right off the bat but the Mines defense halted a 20-play drive with a goal-line stand at the 1; the Rams found points their next time down the field with a 35-yard Fuller field goal to lead 3-0 after a quarter.

Mines got things going in the second quarter and tied it on a 43-yard Matthew Eich boot, then took the lead on their next series as they engineered a nine-play drive capped by Zeman's two-yard run up the gut for a 10-3 lead. Angelo State tied it two plays later when Grear burst loose for a 60-yard touchdown run, and threatened to go ahead before halftime before Diaz intercepted Bronkhorst to end the threat and leave it 10-10 at the interval.

Another big play gave the Rams the lead early in the third thanks to Kason Philips' 46-yard breakout, but the Orediggers immediately responded with a 30-yard Matocha to Karp strike. Three series later, the defense and Pierce got in on the scoring with his 27-yard interception return to the house to grab a 24-17 lead.

ASU was held to a 41-yard Fuller field goal to open the fourth quarter, and Mines answered on their next drive with Eich's own 41-yarder to lead 27-20 with 6:32 left. Both teams punted their next possessions, but Angelo State cashed in with under three minutes left as Omayebu broke free and tight-roped the sideline for a 37-yard score and a tie game. Mines made nothing of their final possession in regulation, and the defense did its job with back-to-back sacks of Bronkhorst by Reller and Nolan Reeve to prevent a winning score. 

In overtime, Mines went first and didn't convert a first down, with a 45-yard field goal try going wide left. The Rams gained six forward yards and also tried the field goal, with Fuller hitting from 36 yards for the win.