#23 Colorado School of Mines (2-0, 0-0 RMAC) vs. Chadron State (1-2, 1-0 RMAC) // Saturday, Sept. 20 // 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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Off to a 2-0 start, #23 Colorado School of Mines begins RMAC play as they welcome a tough Chadron State team to Golden in Week 3.

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 sunny with a high of 80 and a 15% chance of precipitation after 1 p.m., with light winds.

LEADING THE WAY
Mines will rotate captains on a weekly basis in 2025, with Joseph Capra, Hall Edmonds, Blake Smotherman, and Matt Soderdahl leading the Orediggers in Week 3 against Chadron State.

STITT HAPPENS... AGAIN
Bob Stitt was announced as the new head coach of Mines Football on Feb. 7, returning to Golden after 10 years away to take over the program that he built into a national contender. Stitt was originally the Orediggers' head coach from 2000 to 2014, winning three RMAC titles, earning the first three NCAA playoff appearances in program history, and compiling a record of 108-62. The winningest head coach in Mines history, Stitt built Mines into a power program in the RMAC and NCAA Division II, winning the program's first conference title in more than 50 years in 2004 and going on to have 19 all-Americans and 168 all-RMAC selections over 15 seasons.

IN THE POLLS
Mines' 2-0 start moved them up a spot to #23 in this week's D2football.com poll. Mines continued to receive votes in this week's AFCA coaches' poll, as well, as they have since preseason.

LAST WEEK
It took nearly eight hours in the longest game in program history, but #24 Mines outlasted Washburn - and the weather - in a 41-27 win at Marv Kay Stadium.
Quarterback Joseph Capra starred with 107 yards and three touchdowns on the ground while Landon Walker ran for 199 and two scores as the Orediggers rolled out 572 total offensive yards. The Mines defense collected six sacks led by 1.5 by Dominic Caggiano and another from Christian Peluse, who had a team-high five total tackles. Brady Zingelman had an interception and Eli Krawczuk forced a fumble. Preston Kyle tacked on two field goals, including a career-long 56-yarder.

WORKING OVERTIME
The marathon Washburn game was one of the longest in college football history, lasting seven hours and 39 minutes from kickoff (12:05 p.m.) to the final whistle (7:45 p.m.). Three separate lightning delays in the second half, plus a torrential downpour that included hail, challenged both teams' endurance as they had to sit in their locker rooms for more than four hours combined. 

NOTING THE SERIES
Mines and Chadron State are meeting for the 47th time in a series that began in 1938 ... The series is tied at 23-23, but Mines has won 11 straight and 12 of the last 14 ... The two played sporadically over the years before Chadron State joined the RMAC in 1989 ... Mines leads 13-10 in games in Golden ... Mines and Chadron State have combined to have all five of the RMAC's Harlon Hill Award winners: Danny Woodhead (2006 and 2007) for the Eagles and Chad Friehauf (2004), Justin Dvorak (2016), and John Matocha (2022) for Mines.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Chadron State is a deceptive 1-2, coming off their first win of the season in a 31-28 thriller over Black Hills State. One of their two losses came to FCS Northern Colorado, who they held to only 17 points, and they fell to Nebraska-Kearney 41-21. Eagles' QB DJ Ralph has thrown for 517 yards and three touchdowns through three games, and also owns two of CSC's three rushing touchdowns on the year. Defensively, linebacker Logan O'Brien has been a highlight witha  team-leading 21 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, and an interception; William Stemler leads with 1.5 sacks.

LAST YEAR AT CHADRON STATE
Mines relied on its defense to grind out a 13-12 win at Chadron State in 2024 as Devyn Lauer-Duarte's interception to end the game sealed victory. The Orediggers held CSC to a touchdown and two field goals on 223 total yards of offense. Special teams play was critical in the game as Matthew Eich hit a pair of field goals in a tough crosswind, while Chadron State missed an early two-point conversion attempt and a first-half field goal. Evan Foster was 24-of-28 for 235 yards and ran for Mines' lone touchdown. Braelon Tate led all rushers with 51 yards, and Max McLeod had five catches for 79 yards while Flynn Schiele had nine for 65.

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 .903 home winning percentage (56-6) 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. Last week's Washburn game was the 16th sellout in stadium history with 4,328 fans.

WALKER WELL-AWARDED FOR WEEK 2
Landon Walker went off for a career-high 199 rushing yards on 26 carries with two touchdowns against Washburn, compiling 220 total offensive yards in all. That earned him both the RMAC Offensive and NFFCC Colorado Player of the Week awards. This season, Walker ranks third in NCAA Division II with 168.5 rushing yards per game, and his performance last week lifted him over 2,000 career rushing yards, as well.

CAPRA STARS IN FIRST HOME START
Making his first start at Marv Kay Stadium, quarterback Joseph Capra impressed in the Washburn win. He did just enough in the passing game, going 15-for-23 for 207 yards, but did much of his damage on the ground rushing eight times for 107 yards and three touchdowns. Capra is the first Mines quarterback since Justin Dvorak in the 2014 season to rush for three touchdowns in a game, and one of those scores ended up being Mines' longest play of the year when he broke loose on an 85-yard scoring run in the second quarter. As it turned out, that was Mines' longest run since 1963 when Jim Holley went 88 yards against Black Hills State.

DOUBLE HUNDRED CLUB
Walker and Capra both eclipsing the 100-yard rushing mark was the first time a pair of Orediggers did so since 2021, when Walker (130 yards) teamed with Michael Zeman (147) in their win at Adams State. 

SACK PARTY
The Mines defense feasted against Washburn generating six sacks, including five on starter Justin Lewis. Seven different Orediggers had at least half a sack in the game led by Dominic Caggiano (1.5), Christian Peluse (1.0), Luke Johnson (1.0), and Eli Krawczuk (1.0); Johnson's sack came on the Washburn 1-yard line on 4th down, leading directly to a touchdown on the next play to seal the game in the fourth quarter.

I'LL TAKE THAT
The first turnover of the season belonged to safety Joel Diaz, who punctuated a big game overall at West Texas A&M with his midfield pick. Brady Zingelmann then made his first career interception last week last week against Washburn, getting it back right after a Mines fumble in the red zone and leading to an early Oredigger score. 

WE CAN DANCE IF WE WANT TO
The decisive moment at West Texas A&M came two plays into the fourth quarter when the Buffs, backed up to their own goal line, had protection break down against Mines pressure. Linebacker Brady Zingelmann shot in unblocked to cause quarterback RJ Martinez to leave the pocket, and lineman Justin Vaughn slipped through his block and stripped the ball out from Martinez, causing it to bounce out of the back of the end zone for two points. It held up as the winning score with Mines finishing ahead 33-31. It was a rare sight for Oredigger fans - the last time Mines had a safety was all the way back in 2018, when Logan Bock generated one against Fort Lewis.

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.

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 110 wins in his 16th season overall.

NEXT UP
Mines visits Black Hills State on Sept. 27 and returns back to Golden for Homecoming vs. Colorado Mesa on Oct. 4.