#5/6 Colorado School of Mines (0-0, 0-0 RMAC) vs. West Texas A&M (1-0, 1-0 LSC) // Thursday, Sept. 5 // 6 p.m.
Alumni Field at Marv Kay Stadium, Golden, Colo.
[TV: KCDO Local3] [RMAC Network] [Live Stats] [Tickets] [Mines Media Notes] [WT Notes]

---

After three straight deep national playoff runs, Colorado School of Mines returns hoping to take the final step in 2024 with a talent-laden roster seeking a sixth consecutive RMAC title.

LIVE COVERAGE
Mines Football will be televised live on KCDO Local3 in Colorado, and stream for free on the RMAC Network. Miles Dunklin and Kienan Dixon have the call. 

FAN INFORMATION
For this week's game, please note the following important pieces of information:

- The Ore Cart Shuttles will run on game day for fans - visit the Parking page for more information.
- Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase digital tickets or print at home tickets ahead of time at minesathletics.com/tickets.
- Mines students, faculty, and staff will be admitted free with their BlasterCard. 
- Gates and the tailgating lot open two hours before kickoff at 4 p.m.
- Tailgating is permitted in Lot K only (next to Stermole Soccer Stadium). Fans are encouraged to park for free in the parking garage at 1400 Maple Street, located two blocks south of Marv Kay Stadium. Visit the Parking page for more information.
- The City of Golden's street parking requires a permit seven days a week. Fans can not park in the neighborhood surrounding the stadium. 
- The Kraemer Beer Garden in the McKee West End Zone will be open for all fans 21+. 

WEATHER REPORT
Thursday evening should be beautiful for football with morning rain showers giving way to a kickoff temperature of 68 degrees under mostly sunny skies. 

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 checked in at #5 in the AFCA and #7 in the D2football.com polls in mid-August, and moved up one spot to #6 in this week's D2football.com poll. Mines was also picked #6 in the Lindy's Magazine preseason top-25 in June.

2024 SCHEDULE OUTLOOK
The Orediggers have an all-new schedule in 2024, starting with new non-conference series in Weeks 1 and 2 against West Texas A&M and Washburn. The nine-game RMAC slate starts at Chadron State, and Mines will have home games with Black Hills State, South Dakota Mines, Western Colorado, and Fort Lewis, with additional road trips to Colorado Mesa, Adams State, New Mexico Highlands, and CSU Pueblo.

FUTURE SCHEDULING
Mines' 2025 slate will mirror 2024, with non-conference series continuing against West Texas A&M (Week 1 away) and Washburn (Week 2 home). The 2025 RMAC schedule will be a mirror of the 2024 schedule; starting in 2026, the RMAC will introduce a conference-wide bye in Week 6, and non-conference play will take place in Weeks 0 and 1, with Mines yet to announce those series. Week 0 was passed for NCAA Division II starting in 2024, but teams still will play 11 games in 12 possible weeks. 

A HISTORIC 2023
Mines enters the 2024 season looking to continue an incredible three-year run of success that has seen the program win three consecutive NCAA Super Region IV championships and appear in the last two NCAA Division II Championship games. In 2023, the Orediggers won their first 14 games on the way to the national final, going 9-0 in the RMAC for a second consecutive season and earning the #1 overall seed in the NCAA playoffs. Mines reached #1 in the AFCA and D2football.com polls for the first time in program history, spending five weeks there, and were well-rewarded after the season with a program-record 11 different all-Americans and four Academic All-Americans.

ONE FOR THE THUMB
Mines has had a dominating run through the RMAC in recent history, capturing five consecutive conference titles since 2018 (no championship was awarded in 2020) and going 45-2 in that span against the RMAC. Last year's campaign saw Mines go a perfect 9-0 for a second consecutive season (running their RMAC win streak to 21 games). Mines is only the third RMAC program to win five straight rings, and the first since Western Colorado (1973-79), with Utah (1928-33) the first to do it.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
At 5,707 feet above sea level, Marv Kay Stadium is a challenging place for opposing teams to play since it reopened in 2015, with Mines owning a .909 home winning percentage (50-5) since then. The 2023 season saw the Orediggers go a perfect 9-0 at home (with nine home games being a program record), and they have won 16 straight in Golden going back to the 2022 season. Part of the tough environment is thanks to the fans - Mines averaged more than a sellout last year, with an average of 103% of the stadium's capacity of 4,090 cheering on the Orediggers each week.

NOTING THE SERIES
Mines and West Texas A&M have met just once, a 21-13 Oredigger win in Canyon, Texas on Sept. 25, 2021 ... A couple of active Orediggers had an impact in that game as Max McLeod had two catches for 19 yards, Adrian Moreno made three tackles, and Matt Eich handed the kickoffs ... This will be the Buffs' first visit to Golden but they are no strangers to Colorado or the RMAC, playing series with Western Colorado and Adams State the last two seasons ... The two teams were supposed to play in Golden in 2020 before the season was shut down by the pandemic ... The two teams are set for a return game in Texas in Week 1 of the 2025 season ... Mines is 6-2 vs. the Lone Star Conference all-time including a win over Central Washington in last year's NCAA Super Region 4 final.

SCOUTING THE BUFFALOES
West Texas A&M makes their inaugural trip to Golden with a 1-0 record, beating D-II debutante Sul Ross State 42-21 in Week 0. The Buffaloes ran the ball effectively in that game with 383 yards and five touchdowns on the ground led by quarterback Sean Johnson, Jr., who rushed for 167 yards and four scores and also threw a touchdown going 20-of-26 for 139 yards with a pick. Tre'Jon Henderson added 84 yards and a TD on 17 carries and Jamaal Joseph rushed for 55 yards. Early turnovers kept Sul Ross in the game until WT pulled away with three second-quarter touchdowns, and the Buffs' defense held Sul Ross to just 175 total offensive yards including 59 on the ground.

STARTING THE WEEKEND EARLY
The game with West Texas A&M will be the 47th time Mines has played on a Thursday ... Thanksgiving games were common prior to World War II, and the Orediggers played 32 times on Turkey Day between 1888 and 1947 ... Mines' first Thursday game was in its very first season, 1888, beating Denver Cricket Club 12-0 on Thanksgiving ... Mines has played a Thursday season opener just six previous times: against Washburn in 1954 and 2008, against CSU Pueblo in 2016 and 2017, against Western Oregon in 2021, and against Grand Valley State in 2023 ... This will be only the eighth time playing on a Thursday since the 1954 season ... It is the fourth time Marv Kay Stadium has hosted a Thursday game; Mines is 3-0 in its other games ... The old Brooks Field hosted eight Thursday games ... Mines is 17-26-3 on Thursdays.

PRESEASON HONORS
Both D2football.com and Lindy's Sports had the same four Oredigger honorees on their preseason all-America teams, with WR Max McLeod, LT Nic Van de Graaf, P Blake Doud, and CB Jackson Zimmermann each recognized. McLeod, Doud, and Zimmermann were each all-Americans after the 2023 season.

ALL-AMERICAN QUARTET
Mines had a program-record 11 different players earn at least one all-America team recognition last year, and four of them return for the 2024 season. Wide receiver Max McLeod was a consensus first-team selection across all five major selectors, punter Blake Doud was named first team by three different organizations, cornerback Jackson Zimmermann picked up AP first team and D2CCA second team honors, and linebacker Adrian Moreno was a Don Hansen Honorable Mention pick.

PORTAL IMPACT
Mines once again did not lose a player in the transfer portal during the offseason, but the Orediggers picked up four key pieces from the FBS and FCS levels to bolster their roster. Two of those transfers appear on the initial two deep - redshirt junior defensive lineman Dominic Caggiano (South Dakota) and graduate transfer receiver Mark McCurdy (Davidson) - while two redshirt freshmen joined the program in quarterback Austin Gonzalez (Southern Mississippi) and tackle Noah Atherton (South Dakota State).

OFFENSIVE FIREWORKS
Under Pete Sterbick as OC between 2019 and 2022, Mines' offense routinely ranked among the best in the nation, leading the RMAC in scoring all three of those seasons, and also ranking atop the RMAC in total offensive yards twice and in the NCAA top-10 twice. In 2023, Mines had the highest numbers of Sterbick and now-offensive coordinator Tim Brandon's careers so far, producing 46.5 points per game (#3 in D-II) and 508.5 yards per game (#2).

UNDER CENTER
For the first time since 2019, Mines will have a starting quarterback not named John Matocha as his longtime backup Evan Foster is the heir apparent. The sixth-year senior, a native of Olathe, Kan., had backed up Matocha since the 2021 season, appearing in 24 career games and completing 76 percent of his passes for 616 yards and six touchdowns. A mobile scrambler, Foster has also rushed for four touchdowns in his career. He leads a QB room that returns everyone else on the depth chart including the game-experienced Jake Sype and Sean McNair.

MCLEOD CHASES HISTORY
Sixth-year senior Max McLeod is coming off 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 NCAA Division II's active leader in career yards (3,610), he stands 1,373 yards from the D-II all-time record of 4,983 held by Ferris State's Clarence Coleman (1998-2001) and 400 yards shy of former Oredigger Brody Oliver's RMAC and Mines record of 4,010 yards (2015-18). McLeod's 44 career touchdown catches currently ranks 19th 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.)    3,610        
3. Justin Gallas (2001-2005)    3,561        

Mines Career Receiving Touchdowns Leaders        
1. Brody Oliver (2014-2018)    59        
2. Max McLeod (2021-pres.)    44        
3. Josh Johnston (2018-22)    40        

BIG TARGETS
McLeod is far from the only weapon returning in the Orediggers' receiving corps. Mines brings back its top three receivers by yards from 2023 - McLeod (1,656), Flynn Schiele (1,013), and Nick Stone (481) - as the trio combined for 29 touchdowns and 223 receptions a year ago. A promising group of underclassmen led by Aksel Richard, Pierce Richards, Josh Best, and tight end Blake Smotherman, who all had catches last year, provides depth, and Mines adds graduate transfer Mark McCurdy from Davidson after he had 19 total touchdowns in his career with the Wildcats.

THE BACKFIELD
Mines returns the hard-charging Landon Walker to head up the running backs after Walker ran for 790 yards and 12 touchdowns - and caught three more scores - last year. Braelon Tate and Konnor Mickelsen had breakout seasons to move up the depth chart last year, combining for more than 500 yards and six touchdowns, and the Orediggers have a very talented group of redshirt freshmen ready to mix in after a strong spring and fall camp. 

VAN DE GRAAF LEADS O-LINE
The offensive line was hard-hit by graduation, losing four starters including Upshaw Award winner Levi Johnson and all-American center Steele Petty. But, the Orediggers return all of their depth pieces with an experienced group surrounding left tackle Nic Van de Graaf, a preseason Lindy's All-American who has started more games (40) than any other active Oredigger at any position. Game-experienced veterans like Michael Magar, Zach Morris, Cole Johnson, Cade Myer, and Chandler Poggensee are ready to battle for starting roles.

VETERANS AT LINEBACKER
The Orediggers' most veteran returning defensive group is at linebacker, with three of four starters back: all-American Adrian Moreno and Hayden Gregg on the inside and Jaden Healy on the outside. Healy was the team's leading tackler in 2023 with 75 total stops, including 7.0 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss, while Moreno was second with 64 tackles and 3.5 for loss. Gregg was a key run stuffer with 45 tackles and nine tackles for loss. Blake Ramsey, Steve Street, Max Fecci, Christian Peluse, and JJ Lee are all experienced in the rotation with 10+ tackles each a year ago.

NEXT GENERATION READY AT D-LINE
In contrast to the linebackers, Mines' defensive line will be its youngest unit in 2024, with only all-RMAC selection James Hess (19 TT, 6.5 TFL, 4.0 S), Josh Pollard (12 TT, 3.0 TFL), and Joey Beckner (10 TT, 2.5 TFL, 1.0 S) returning from last year's everyday rotation. But Mines' young faces at the position are exciting: underclassmen like Will Adams, Evan Bish, Jacob Sanders, Eli Krawczuk, and Jameson Kemp shined in their on-field opportunities last season. Mines also adds an experienced transfer in Dominic Caggiano, who appeared in 14 games with a start over the last two seasons at South Dakota. 

ZIMMERMANN LEADS NO-FLY CREW
Jackson Zimmermann was the breakout defensive star of 2023 for the Orediggers, earning a bevy of all-America awards at cornerback in his first season as a starter as he compiled 37 tackles with an RMAC-leading six interceptions. He returns to lead a secondary that is deep on experience along with starting CB counterpart Will Drogosch (32 TT, 2.5 TFL). A number of defensive backs that were familiar two-deep faces last year are back as well including Mikee Barker and Devyn Lauer at corner and Joel Diaz and Will Ramsey at safety.

GIMME THAT
Mines led the nation in turnovers gained in 2023, picking up 33 in total and ranking fifth in D-II in turnover margin at +1.47 per game. The Orediggers bring back interceptions leader Jackson Zimmermann (6 in 2023) among 13 different players who had a hand in either an interception or fumble last year.

VERY SPECIAL
The Orediggers bring back one of the strongest specialists groups in the nation led by punter Blake Doud and long snapper Josh Wojciechowicz. Doud was a consensus all-American last year as Mines led the nation in net punting, with Doud averaging 45.7 yards per punt; although there are no conference and national awards for long snappers, Wojciechowicz was the only LS at any level of college football to produce both an all-American punter and kicker (the graduated Hunter Pearson) last year. Matt Eich, the 2022 starting kicker, returns after redshirting last year, and two freshmen will also be in the mix. Konnor Mickelsen handled the majority of punt returns last year to earn all-RMAC honors there (9.5 ypr) and he and Braelon Tate took the majority of kick returns. 

RETIRING #74
Mines Football retired the #74 jersey of the legendary Marv Kay in May 2023 shortly following his passing, and it is one of two numbers retired (along with Harry Campbell's #48) at Mines. Fans will still see 74 on the field, however, at least for the next two years. Offensive tackle Zach Morris, a redshirt junior, was wearing the #74 at the time of its retirement and will continue to wear it until his graduation in honor of Kay; he will be the final Mines player to sport the number.

HELMETS HONOR PAST OREDIGGERS
To commemorate Colorado School of Mines' 150th birthday, the Orediggers will wear four different throwback-inspired helmets this season starting in Week 1 against West Texas A&M. Mines will wear a classic "Block M" logo, which features an inset hologram of Blaster of the Burro, to honor teams that wore several versions of the M from 1968 to 1985. The helmet also features a silver middle stripe embedded with the years of each of Mines' RMAC championships. The Orediggers will wear three other logos through 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
Week 1 vs. WT  - Block M        
Week 4 vs. BHSU - Script "Mines"        
Week 6 vs. SDM - The Miner        
Week 8 vs. WCU - Chrome Oval M        
Week 11 vs. FLC - Chrome Blaster        

2024 RULE CHANGES
There are a number of new rules in college football for the 2024 season. On-field, the most significant new rule is the introduction of an NFL-style two-minute warning near the end of each half. Horse-collar tackles inside the tackle box are now 15-yard penalties; previously it was not a foul. Off the field, coaches are now able to use tablets for in-game video review both on the sideline and in the booth. 

NEXT UP
Mines visits Washburn in Week 2 and Chadron State in Week 3 before returning home Sept. 28 to host Black Hills State on Homecoming.