#4/7 Colorado School of Mines (4-0, 2-0 RMAC) at Colorado Mesa (2-2, 1-1 RMAC) // Saturday, Oct. 5 // 1 p.m.
Stocker Stadium - Grand Junction, Colo.
[RMAC Network] [Live Stats] [Tickets] [Mines Media Notes]

---

The battle for the Nyikos Cup takes place in Week 5 as #4/7 Colorado School of Mines heads across the Rockies to visit Colorado Mesa.

LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday's game will stream live and for free on the RMAC Network.

WEATHER REPORT
It will be hot in Grand Junction on Saturday with a forecast high of 89 under sunny skies and increasing winds through the afternoon.

AT THE HELM
Pete Sterbick enters his second season as head coach of Colorado School of Mines, going 14-1 in 2023 and earning AFCA Regional Coach of the Year honors. The Orediggers' coaching staff returns largely intact with offensive coordinator Tim Brandon and defensive coordinator Tripp Thomas back for their second and third seasons, respectively, in those positions, while a familiar face in Yon Boone rejoins the staff as special teams coordinator.

MINES NAMES CAPTAINS
Mines has elected four captains for the 2024 season: quarterback Evan Foster, offensive tackle Nic Van de Graaf, and linebackers Jaden Healy and Adrian Moreno. All are first-year captains.

IN THE POLLS
Mines was selected atop the RMAC preseason coaches' poll on July 31, earning 79 points and seven of 10 first-place votes to lead Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo. In the national polls, Mines stayed at #4 in the AFCA coaches' poll and #7 in the D2football.com media poll this week. It marks the 27th consecutive week that Mines has been in the national top-10 of both polls, and the 67th straight AFCA and 68th consecutive D2football.com poll they have appeared in the top 25.

FOR THE NYIKOS CUP
The winner of the Mines-Mesa game gets to keep the Nyikos Cup to go with the bragging rights for the next year. The alumni associations of the two universities established the cup in 2010 in honor of Dr. Michael Nyikos, who was Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Mesa, as well as Vice President of Student Affairs and External Relations at Mines. In February 2002 Dr. Nyikos was appointed to the Mines Board of Trustees, and reappointed in March 2006. He served as Chairman of the Board, and was also a member of the Board of the Mines Foundation until his death in February 2009. The Orediggers have won it nine times to CMU's four and are the current holders of the cup after 2023's win.

Nyikos Cup All-Time Results            
2010     @Mines 46, Mesa State 10        
2011     Mines 28, @Colorado Mesa 20        
2012     @Mines 37, Colorado Mesa 7        
2013     Mines 27, @Colorado Mesa 10        
2014     @Mines 37, Colorado Mesa 23        
2015     @Colorado Mesa 31, Mines 17        
2016     Colorado Mesa 41, @Mines 40 OT        
2017     @Colorado Mesa 38, Mines 36        
2018     @Mines 72, Colorado Mesa 31        
2019     Mines 56, @Colorado Mesa 20        
2021    @Colorado Mesa 26, Mines 21        
2022    @Mines 48, Colorado Mesa 21        
2023    Mines 52, @Colorado Mesa 0

NOTING THE SERIES
Mines and Colorado Mesa are meeting for the 48th time ... The two have met every year since 1977 save for the canceled 2020 season ... The series has been very competitive in recent years with Mines winning six of the last 10 meetings but Mesa taking three straight wins between 2015 and 2018 and then again in 2021 ... The Orediggers won the first meeting 21-7 in 1975 ... Either Mines or Colorado Mesa - or both - have been RMAC champion in every season since 2014 ... Mines is 7-18 playing in Grand Junction and has won two of their last five trips there, in 2019 and 2023.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Colorado Mesa is 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the RMAC owning wins over Texas A&M-Kingsville and Chadron State, and losses to two ranked teams in Central Washington and CSU Pueblo. Defense has been a hallmark for the Mavericks, who allow only 273.8 total yards and 121.5 passing yards per game. Charlie Smith's 44 tackles lead the team ahead of Liban Songolo with 42. Offensively, points have been hard to find as CMU averages 15.0 per game, passing for 164.5 yards and rushing for 84.75 yards per game. Aiden Taylor leads the team in rushing with 190 net yards and a touchdown, while Liu Aumavae starts under center with 495 pass yards and two touchdowns this season. The Mavs spread the ball around in the air with Jack Burke catching both touchdowns this season and Quezon Villa leading in yards at 183. 

LAST YEAR VS. CMU
Mines retained the Nyikos Cup, shutting out Colorado Mesa in a comprehensive 52-0 win at Stocker Stadium. John Matocha became the RMAC's all-time leader in career passing touchdowns, Noah Roper rushed for three first-half scores, and a stifling Mines defense generated four turnovers in earning the clean sheet. Matocha, in three quarters of play, had an efficient 21-of-26, 197-yard, two-touchdown afternoon to go with 62 rushing yards, with Roper producing his second straight 100+ yard day going for 101 and three touchdowns on only 14 carries. Flynn Schiele caught a couple of touchdowns with Nick Stone and Sean Roberts the others. Jackson Zimmermann snagged two first-half interceptions, Zach Hester recovered a third-quarter strip sack fumble by Nolan Reeve, and Will Ramsey had his first career interception as well.

WEEK 4 REWIND
Records were shattered as the Orediggers scored 35 first-quarter points on the way to a 52-24 win over Black Hills State before a record 6,958 fans at Marv Kay Stadium. Flynn Schiele set the stadium record with the second-most receiving yards in program history, catching 13 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns, and Max McLeod became Mines' second 4,000-yard career receiver with his nine-catch, 89-yard, three-TD day. Evan Foster had a career day throwing for six touchdowns among his 434 yards and 27-for-35 efficiency, including four touchdown passes in the first quarter alone. Mines jumped out to a 35-7 first-quarter lead and never looked back as the defensive starters held the Yellow Jackets at bay in the first half. The Orediggers compiled 581 yards of total offense to BHSU's 382, and held the Yellow Jackets to 76 net yards on the ground.

WEEK 4 QUICK HITS

- Evan Foster had a career day passing for six touchdowns on 27-of-35 completions and 434 yards.
- Flynn Schiele and Max McLeod each caught three touchdowns, with Schiele producing career-highs with 13 catches for 297 yards, and McLeod nine for 89. Nick Stone added five receptions for 44 yards.
- Landon Walker scored a 53-yard touchdown as he averaged 13.1 yards per carry, compiling 92 yards on just seven attempts.
- Joel Diaz's career-high eight tackles led the Mines defense.
- Devyn Lauer-Duarte had five tackles and half for a loss, while Jaden Healy had five stops, 1.5 TFL, a break-up, and two pressures.
- Matthew Eich was 7-for-7 on PATs and hit a 28-yard field goal.
- Blake Doud averaged 53 yards per punt with a long of 63.

GOING STREAKING
Mines is currently riding a 24-game RMAC winning streak that dates back to the 2021 season. That counts as the longest active conference winning streak in NCAA Division II and fifth-longest in college football behind Mount Union (D-III, 60), Aurora (D-III NAAC, 41), North Central (D-III, CCIW, 35), and Michigan (FBS, Big Ten, 28).

FREAKY GOOD
How impressive was Flynn Schiele's game against Black Hills State? Here are a few notes to consider. Not only was his 297-yard output the most in NCAA Division II this season (by more than 50 yards), it was the most in D-II in the better part of a decade since Hillsdale's Trey Brock went for 302 in the 2017 season. Schiele came only 13 yards away from breaking one of the longest-standing records at Mines as he put together the second-best receiving yards total in program history behind only Mike Collodi's 310 yards set against Westminster (a team that hasn't even had football since 1979) in 1970. For his work, Schiele was recognized as this week's RMAC and NFFCC Colorado Player of the Week.

CAUGHT IN 4K
Sixth-year senior Max McLeod hit a major milestone last week, becoming the second 4,000-yard receiver in program history joining Brody Oliver.  McLeod's 89 yards against Black Hills State took him to 4,002 in his career, and he is now nine yards shy of breaking Oliver's Mines record in that category. McLeod had an all-timer of a 2023 season that saw him earn consensus first-team all-America honors while setting the Mines program records for both single-season receptions (115) and receiving yards (1,656). The nation's leader in both categories in 2023, McLeod is college football's active leader in career yards (4,002), and stands 981 yards from the D-II all-time record of 4,983 held by Ferris State's Clarence Coleman (1998-2001). The 26th 4,000-yard receiver in D-II history, he and Oliver are the only two to reach 4K from the same program. McLeod's 48 career touchdown catches currently ranks in the top 20 all-time in D-II history as he chases Oliver's RMAC record of 59.

Mines Career Receiving Yards Leaders        
1. Brody Oliver (2014-2018)    4,010        
2. Max McLeod (2021-pres.)    4,002        
3. Justin Gallas (2001-2005)    3,561        

Mines Career Receiving Touchdowns Leaders        
1. Brody Oliver (2014-2018)    59        
2. Max McLeod (2021-pres.)    48        
3. Josh Johnston (2018-22)    40        

NCAA Active Receiving Yards Leaders        
1. Max McLeod, Mines (D-II)    4,002        
2. Collin Brunstein, Illinois Col. (D-III)    3,803        
3. Zakhari Franklin, Illinois (FBS)    3,678        
4. Scott Fraser, Grove City (D-III)    3,433        

NCAA Active Receiving TDs Leaders        
1. Collin Brunstein, Illinois Col. (D-III)    54        
2. Max McLeod, Mines (D-II)    48        
     Trey Madsen, North Central (D-III)    48        
4. Tyler Kahmann, Emporia St. (D-II)    41        

FOSTER'S BIG DAY
Evan Foster's career day against Black Hills State included some eye-popping numbers as he completed 27 of 35 passes (77.1%) for a whopping 434 yards and six touchdowns. Those weren't just career highs for Foster - they represented one of the most productive quarterback performances in Mines history. Foster is the first Oredigger to throw for over 400 yards since Isaac Harker in 2018, and the first to throw six touchdowns in a game since Justin Dvorak did so in the 2016 season opener.

OREDIGGERS AMONG D-II LEADERS
Running back Landon Walker has had a terrific start to the 2024 season, leading Mines with 402 yards on the ground and the RMAC with seven rushing touchdowns. Walker averages a whopping 8.5 yards per carry, which is second-best in the nation, and he also ranks 10th in scoring, fifth in rushing touchdowns, and 16 in rushing yards per game. Meanwhile, the WR combo of Max McLeod and Flynn Schiele are both among the nation's best; both rank in the D-II top-10 in receptions (Schiele 2nd at 8.3/gm, McLeod 7th at 7.3) and top-20 in yards (Schiele 5th at 526, McLeod 19th at 392). And the man running it all, Evan Foster, hasn't been too shabby either - he ranks in the D-II top-10 in total offense (8th, 303.3 ypg), passing yards per game (8th, 298.3 ypg), and completion percentage (6th, 72%). 

FIELD FLIPPER
It's not often that a punt goes viral, but Blake Doud's 80-yard bomb in Week 1 against West Texas A&M racked up more than 3 million views on Twitter and another million-plus on Instagram across a number of national accounts. The punt came from the Mines 19, carried to the WT 20, and was swatted off the opposite goal line by longsnapper Josh Wojciechowicz before being downed at the 1 by Konnor Mickelsen. Doud is averaging 45.6 yards per punt this season, sticking nine of his 16 inside the 20 (and four inside the 5). He is sixth in D-II in punt average this year, and Mines as a team ranks fifth in net punting.

BE LIKE EICH
The one special teams piece Mines needed to replace in the offseason was at kicker, but it turns out that it was a familiar face winning the job. Matthew Eich, after starting as a true freshman and sophomore in 2021 and 2022, redshirted last year, and is back in 2024 with a perfect start on field goals (4-for-4) to go with 17-of-18 PATs made. His field goals have included a career-long 47-yarder this season.

THIIIIIRD DOWN
Mines' offense has done a good job of staying on schedule this season, converting an RMAC-best 31-of-56 (55.4%) third-down opportunities. That ranks fifth-best in NCAA Division II through four weeks.

DEFENSIVE DEPTH
Mines' defensive trademark over the past few seasons has been its depth in rotation, and that has continued in 2024 with 38 different players registering tackles over the first four games. Jaden Healy leads the way in both tackles (22) and tackles for loss (6.0) with Adrian Moreno's 21 tackles and Joel Diaz's 20 ranking second and third. Diaz and Devyn Lauer-Duarte have interceptions, as well, while Dominic Caggiano leads the team with 1.5 sacks. 

START ME UP
Veteran left tackle Nic Van de Graaf is the Orediggers' active leader in starts as he will play his 45th career start at Colorado Mesa. Linebacker Adrian Moreno is set to join him in the 40-start club currently sitting on 39, and long-snapper Josh Wojciechowicz isn't far behind at 37 career starts (including a team-best 35 consecutive).

HELMETS HONOR PAST OREDIGGERS
To commemorate Colorado School of Mines' year-long 150th birthday celebrations, the Orediggers will wear four different throwback-inspired helmets this season. For this week's game, Mines will wear the second of the set, a script "Mines" wordmark in silver, to honor teams that wore the same logo from 1986 to 1990. The helmet also features a stripe embedded with the years of each of the program's 16 RMAC championships. Mines will wear two more logos later in the season to honor different eras, and will return to their familiar chrome Blaster the Burro logo in Week 11. 

2024 Mines Helmet Decal Schedule
Weeks 1-3    Block M        
Weeks 4-5    Script "Mines"        
Week 6-7    The Miner        
Week 8-10    Chrome Oval M        
Week 11    Chrome Blaster        

NEXT UP
Mines returns home to host South Dakota Mines on Oct. 12 at noon.