Colorado School of Mines (3-1, 1-1 RMAC) vs. Colorado Mesa (1-3, 0-2 RMAC) // Saturday, Oct. 4 // 12 p.m.
Alumni Field at Marv Kay Stadium - Golden, Colo.
[TV: Local3 KCDO] [RMAC Network PPV] [Live Stats] [Tickets] [Mines Media Notes]

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For the 15th time, the Nyikos Cup is on the line as Colorado School of Mines hosts Colorado Mesa for Homecoming. 

LIVE COVERAGE
This week's game will stream on the RMAC Network (pay-per-view) and air live on KCDO Local3 in Denver. Miles Dunklin and Josh Dover have the call. All six of Mines' 2025 home games will air live on Local3. 

RMAC NETWORK CHANGES
Beginning this fall the RMAC Network is moving to a pay-per-view model for all events. Fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours. For technical support questions, fans can contact Hudl Support or email the RMAC directly (rmac@rmacsports.org). For further support, fans can visit the RMAC Network Help page.

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 tickets.minesathletics.com. Mines students and employees can access their free tickets by logging in with their Mines SSO.
- Gates and the tailgating lot open two hours before kickoff.
- 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
Saturday is forecast to be partly cloudy with a high of 75 and a 20% chance of a shower, with increasing southwest winds through the game. 

LEADING THE WAY
Mines will rotate captains on a weekly basis in 2025, with Joel Diaz, Pierce Richards, Braelon Tate, and Jackson Zimmermann leading the Orediggers in Week 5 against Colorado Mesa.

IN THE POLLS
Mines continues to receiving votes in the AFCA poll for the sixth straight week, and dropped out of the D2football.com poll last week after two weeks in, peaking at #23.

LAST WEEK
Defensive splash plays combined with four total touchdowns by Joseph Capra to lead Mines past Black Hills State, 36-27. The Orediggers (3-1, 1-1 RMAC) got back on track with an impressive first half that saw them lead 29-14 at halftime following three first-half takeaways and a safety. Capra was 24-of-35 for 272 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for another score among 73 yards on the ground. Pierce Richards ended with 117 yards on seven catches with a touchdown, and Aksel Richard and Nick Stone also caught scores. Turnovers were the story of the game for the Mines defense, which had two recovered fumbles, forced another that led to a safety, and added an interception in the game. Mines held BHSU to only 70 rushing yards.

NOTING THE SERIES
Mines and Colorado Mesa are meeting for the 49th 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 the two teams splitting the past decade 5-5 ... The Orediggers won the first meeting 21-7 in 1975 ... Mines is 9-13 at home against Colorado Mesa, who is visiting Golden for the first time since 2022.

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 five. 

NO PLACE LIKE HOME, PART I
It's Homecoming Weekend at Mines, and Homecoming has been kind to the Orediggers in recent years; Mines has never lost a Homecoming game at Marv Kay Stadium (9-0) since it opened in 2015, including last year's win over Black Hills State. Mines has won 11 consecutive Homecoming games dating back to 2013.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME, PART II
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 an .889 home winning percentage (56-7) at home. Part of the tough environment is thanks to the fans - Mines has averaged greater than a sellout of its 4,090-seat capacity each of the past two seasons, and broke the stadium single-game attendance record twice last season culminating in 7,813 fans packing in for the Western Colorado game in late October. This season, the Week 2 Washburn game was the 16th sellout in stadium history with 4,328 fans, and another large Homecoming crowd is expected for Colorado Mesa.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Colorado Mesa enters the weekend 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the RMAC despite back-to-back close losses to CSU Pueblo (31-24) and Chadron State (34-27). Quarterback Liu Aumavae completes 59.6% of his passes with five touchdowns to four interceptions on 627 total yards; Cole Hansen saw time last week against Chadron State throwing for 103 yards and a touchdown. Trek Keyworth is their leading receiver with 238 yards and a touchdown with Bryson Brown collecting 181 yards and two TDs. On the ground, Aiden Taylor has been their workhorse back with 241 yards and three touchdowns on 57 carries. Defensively, CMU is +1 allowing 28.3 points per game with leading tackler George Soppe generating 43 stops and a sack, while Gibson Leafgreen has two interceptions among 21 tackles.

LAST YEAR VS. COLORADO MESA
Mines was tripped up on the road as Colorado Mesa came back with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to win the 2024 Nyikos Cup game, 14-13. Evan Foster was 14-of-30 for 159 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions, and was sacked five times. The Mines defense did what it could holding CMU to 285 yards of total offense generating a pick, but Liu Aumavae threw for both of the Maverick's touchdowns in a 157-yard day and Brandon Belgrave rushed for a game-high 94 yards. Max McLeod became Mines' all-time leading receiver in the game, leading all receivers with seven catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, and Landon Walker ran for Mines' other score.

CAPRA EARNS RMAC RECOGNITION
Joseph Capra's performance against Black Hills State earned him the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week award on Monday, the first of his career. Capra accounted for all four of Mines' touchdowns - three passing and one rushing - on 345 total offensive yards. The redshirt sophomore threw for 272 yards including touchdown strikes of 34, 24, and 14 yards, and also ran for 73 yards with an additional touchdown.

RICHARDS' CAREER GAME
Receiver Pierce Richards is coming off a career game at Black Hills State that saw him cross into triple-digit yardage for the first time. Richards matched his season- and career-high with seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown, including a critical fourth-quarter 20-yard catch on 3rd-and-15 that let Mines keep their drive going on the way to kneeling out the game. This season, Richards leads Mines in every receiving category with 23 receptions for 247 yards and three touchdowns.

GIMMEE THAT
Turnovers were the story of Mines' win at Black Hills State as the Oredigger defense caused a season-high four takeaways. Sean Gilbert forced a first-quarter fumble scooped up by Matt Soderdahl, Earl Ingle IV stripped quarterback Luke Doby of a ball that ended up being a safety, Hall Edmonds had an interception late in the second quarter, and Joel Diaz forced and recovered a critical fourth-quarter fumble that gave Mines the ball back for good.

TO THE HOUSE
Sean Gilbert's 89-yard fumble return for a touchdown against Chadron State was a defensive highlight for the Orediggers, marking their longest defensive scoring play since 2018 when Logan Bock took a fumble back 90 yards to score against CSU Pueblo. Gilbert, a redshirt sophomore, has found a knack for being in the right place at the right time - he owns Mines' last two defensive touchdowns, also returning an interception 31 yards to the house in last year's season finale against Fort Lewis.

WE CAN DANCE IF WE WANT TO
In only four games this season, the Mines defense has already generated three scoring plays which includes two safeties, marking the first time since the 2018 season that Mines has had multiple. The first came in Week 1 at West Texas A&M when Justin Vaughn's strip in the end zone went out of bounds for what proved to be a decisive two points in the game; last week, Earl Ingle IV stripped the ball that dribbled back to the end zone where it was fallen on by a Black Hills State player for two.

FLIPPING THE FIELD, PART I
Punter Lucas LeSieur, who was the week 1 RMAC and national specialist of the week, had another big game at Black Hills State, averaging 50.3 yards per punt on three tries with two stuck inside the 20. In his first year as the starter, the redshirt freshman has been outstanding averaging 46.7 yards per punt, which comfortably leads the RMAC by more than three yards and would slot in third nationally if he met the minimum 3.6 punts per game to be ranked. Seven of his 13 punts have been downed inside the 20 (to only three touchbacks) and six have sailed 50+ yards.

FLIPPING THE FIELD, PART II
No one in the RMAC has been better at returning punts this season than Konnor Mickelsen, as the Oredigger senior is averaging a league-best 17.4 yards on 10 total takebacks this season; that average ranks sixth in NCAA Division II. Mickelsen's longest return of the season came last week at Black Hills State with a 45-yard takeback to the BHSU23 late in the third quarter, setting up a decisive touchdown early in the fourth.

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
Redshirt freshman Preston Kyle hit a 56-yard field goal against Washburn, which not only was the Orediggers' first 50+ yard boot since 2017, it was Mines' longest field goal period since 1998, when Scott Juengst hit a 57-yarder against Fort Lewis. Mines kickers have hit 11 50+ yard field goals in the NCAA Division II era dating back to 1992; the program record remains Mike Flater's 62-yarder against Western Colorado in 1973. This season, Kyle is third nationally with 1.75 field goals per game, making seven of 10 tries including four of 40+ yards.

GOING FOR TWO
Prior to last season, it had nearly been a decade since Mines had scored a two-point conversion, with their last coming in the 2015 season. Now, the Orediggers have had two in their last eight games, both coming on receptions by tight end Blake Smotherman. The first came in Week 8 of the 2024 season on a wildcat pass from Landon Walker, and Smotherman snagged another one from Joseph Capra in Week 3 against Chadron State.

FIRST TIME?
The Orediggers' win at West Texas A&M marked the second "first" win for Head Coach Bob Stitt, and it came nearly 25 years to the day after his first head coaching victory with the Orediggers. Stitt's first tenure began in 2000 and Mines won 55-19 at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Sept. 9 that season to give him his first victory. Stitt now has a program-record 111 wins in his 16th season overall.

DVORAK SET FOR HOF INDUCTION
Harlon Hill Trophy-winning quarterback Justin Dvorak was announced as a member of the Mines Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025 on July 28, to be inducted at a ceremony Saturday night following the game. Dvorak set the standard for quarterbacks in the RMAC and NCAA Division II over his career (2013-16), setting the Mines and RMAC career records for passing passing yards (13,466), passing touchdowns (134), and total offense (14,608), while also establishing the program record for career completion percentage (66.1%), completions (1,068), and total TDs responsible for (161). A two-time all-American, Dvorak's senior 2016 season saw him add the Harlon Hill plus National Offensive Player of the Year honors after throwing for 4,584 yards and 53 touchdowns in winning the RMAC championships and advancing to the NCAA Second Round.

NEXT UP
Mines heads back north to visit South Dakota Mines on Oct. 11