Colorado School of Mines (5-2-1, 6-1 RMAC) at #5/5 Western Colorado (9-0, 7-0 RMAC) // Saturday, Nov. 7 // 1 p.m.
Mountaineer Bowl - Gunnison, Colo. 
[RMAC Network PPV] [Live Stats] [Tickets] [Mines Media Notes]

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The 2026 season comes down to its final two weeks with Colorado School of Mines and #5/5 Western Colorado both holding RMAC title hopes as they square off in Gunnison.

LIVE COVERAGE
This week's game will stream on the RMAC Network (pay-per-view). It will also air on the RYZ Sports Network on select cable and streaming platforms.

RMAC NETWORK 
The RMAC Network continues to have 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 $12.50, 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.

WEATHER REPORT
Saturday will be a pleasant day in Gunnison, sunny with a high of 51 and calm winds after morning temperatures in the 20s.

LEADING THE WAY
Mines will again select gameweek captains this season, with defensive tackle Aaron Gall, safety Joseph Gonzales, tight end Blake Smotherman, and offensive tackle Russ Woodward picked as captains for this week's game.

IN THE POLLS
For the fourth straight week, Mines received votes in this week's AFCA top-25 poll, increasing this week's total to 14 votes. Western Colorado is ranked #5 in both major polls. In the preseason RMAC coaches' poll, Mines was selected third and Western Colorado second. The third NCAA Power Index (NPI) rankings were announced this week, and Mines fell one spot to 14th in Super Region IV, which consists of the RMAC, Lone Star, MIAA, and GAC leagues. Western Colorado sits fifth. New for 2026, the NPI will ultimately determine the field for the postseason, with the top ranked teams filling out the eight-team regional bracket once automatic qualifiers are accounted for. NPI takes into account winning percentage and strength of schedule, quality wins, and home/away weights, rewarding challenging schedules and road wins more so than in years past. Harding continues to lead the SR4 NPI ahead of CSU Pueblo, with Northwest Missouri State, Emporia State, Western Colorado, Central Washington, Central Missouri, and Southeastern Oklahoma State rounding out the top eight.

THE RMAC TITLE PICTURE
The final two weeks of the regular season will be pivotal in determining the RMAC's champion (or champions), with the top three teams - CSU Pueblo, Western Colorado, and Mines - all having games against each other. CSUP and WCU stand at 7-0 with Mines a game back at 6-1; CSUP and WCU have to play each other next week in Pueblo. Mines could clinch a share of the title with a win over Western and then a CSU Pueblo loss to the Mountaineers; in that scenario, the title would be split three ways and the RMAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament would be determined on a performance indicator tiebreaker. 

NOTING THE SERIES
Colorado's longest unbroken football series, Mines and Western Colorado are meeting for the 101st time ... The first meeting happened in Golden on Oct. 3, 1925 ... It is Mines' most-played rivalry ... Western Colorado leads the series 54-44-2 but Mines has won six of the last 10 ... After the first game in 1925 (a 15-6 Western Colorado win), other than a five-year break for World War II and the 2020 pandemic season, the two teams have met at least once every year since ... Western (20 titles) and Mines (16 titles) are #1 and #2 all-time in terms of RMAC Championships and shared the 2021 crown.

LAST YEAR
#6/5 Western Colorado remained unbeaten, using a strong second half to overcome Colorado School of Mines 40-17 in 2025. The Orediggers led 17-13 at halftime before the Mountaineers turned things around to score 27 unanswered points in the second half. It was the 100th meeting between the two programs. Joseph Capra threw for 169 yards and a touchdown to Josh Best, while Max Barnes led Mines on the ground with 85 yards and a score. WCU quarterback Drew Nash threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another 119 yards and a score, while Quinn Bailey added two more rushing touchdowns and another in the air.

LAST WEEK
Mines won its sixth consecutive game, controlling start to finish in a 69-12 victory at Adams State. The Orediggers (6-2-1, 6-1 RMAC) set the tone out of the gate with an explosive offense, racking up 777 total yards and scoring on all but their final possession against the Grizzlies (0-9, 0-7 RMAC). Joseph Capra threw for 281 yards and four touchdowns - all in the first half - while Max Barnes ran for 167 yards and two scores and Tyson Mauck had 136 yards and two touchdowns. The Mines offense was unstoppable with 505 yards of first-half offense, and had 332 yards rushing and 445 yards passing in the game. Preston Kyle added two field goals in the game as well. The Orediggers' 777 yards of offense was their second-most ever in a game. 

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
Unbeaten at 9-0, Western Colorado enters Week 10 ranked #5 by both the AFCA and D2football.com, fresh off a 37-6 win over South Dakota Mines. They have been relatively unchallenged this season, winning eight games by two or more scores with the exception of a Week 1 23-21 win over Angelo State. The Mountaineers score 43.6 points per game led by a healthy rushing attack spearheaded by the combo of Lamonte James (419 yards, 5 TD), Damien Nevil (407 yards, 4 TD), and Isaiah Jones (332 yards, 5 TD). Quarterback Josiah Roy has thrown for 1,826 yards and 21 touchdowns, completing 68.6 percent of his passes, and has also run for two scores. Seven different receivers have three-plus touchdowns led by Ramon Ruiz and DJ Allen Jr. with six each, and Caden Measner leads the team with 37 catches for 547 yards plus four touchdowns. Defensively, the Mountaineers have an RMAC-leading 14.3-point scoring average with Kade Musser leading the team with 69 tackles to go with 6.0 tackles for loss.

NONE SHALL PASS
This week's game is a meeting of the RMAC's top two scoring defenses, with Western Colorado allowing only 14.3 points per game and Mines 17.4. The Orediggers own the RMAC's top run defense (90.4 ypg) with WCU second, and they both rank in the top half of passing defenses and top three of total defenses.

MAUCK'S CAREER GAME
Last week at Adams State saw Tyson Mauck go off for a career-high 136 yards on only two receptions, scoring on both with a first-quarter 83-yarder (tied for the longest offensive play of the season by Mines) and then adding a 53-yarder in the second quarter. Mauck is the fourth different Oredigger receiver to have a 100+ yard game this season, joining Pierce Richards, Aksel Richard, and Nick Stone. Jake Willis nearly joined them with 91 yards off a game-high six catches at Adams State, both career bests.

FIRST-TIME TOUCHDOWNS
The Adams State game saw Mines' backups get plenty of run in the second half, and that let quarterbacks Alex Birch and Austin Gonzalez both throw their first career touchdowns in the victory. Birch was a perfect 5-for-5 for 73 yards and two touchdowns, while Gonzalez closed out the game with a 5-for-6 performance for 91 yards and a score. That came after starter Joseph Capra went 12-for-17 for 281 yards and four touchdowns just in the first half.

SHOW STOPPERS
Under first-year defensive coordinator Scott McLaughlin, the Orediggers' front seven has been one of the most improved in the nation and it's shown in the defensive run game, with Mines ranking ninth nationally allowing 90.4 yards per game and only four rushing touchdowns in 2026; the Orediggers are also 18th in scoring defense at 17.4 points allowed. Both metrics are much improved over 2025, when Mines ranked 118th in rushing defense (178.8) and 81st in scoring defense (37.5).

WHATEVER IT TAKES
Starting at one position is hard enough. Two? Really difficult. But Mines offensive lineman Tyson Kestner has now racked up four different starting positions, including three just this season. Kestner has 17 career starts, with 11 at left tackle (all in 2025), four at left guard, one at right tackle, and one at right guard. He's played three positions in the last three games, starting at right tackle at Colorado Mesa, right guard against South Dakota Mines, and left guard versus Adams State.

GONZALES GETS PICK
Safety Joseph Gonzales snagged his first interception of the season last week, the only turnover of the game against Adams State. Gonzales has been having a standout season, already leading the Mines secondary with 43 tackles and three pass break-ups, and his pick helped take Mines to +2 on turnover margin this season.

GOLDEN LEG, PART I
Preston Kyle's 60-yard field goal at Colorado Mesa was a superlative kick, ranking not only as his career long, but also as the longest in NCAA Division II this season. In fact, Kyle's kick is tied for the longest in college football this year, along with four 60-yarders that have happened in FBS. Kyle's previous career long was 56 yards against Washburn in 2025, and he attempted - and had the distance - on a 63-yarder at Washburn this year that would have bested Mike Flater's long-held program record of 62 yards set in 1973. Kyle also hit from 50 against South Dakota Mines and has seven field goals of 40 yards or longer this season.

GOLDEN LEG, PART II
Kyle's field goal was impressive, but one of his most valuable contributions this season has been the consistency and depth of his kickoffs. In 2026, Kyle has put 51 of his 54 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks, leading NCAA Division II with a 94.4% touchback rate. That includes an exceptional 12/12 rate last week at Adams State Mines has allowed a national-low 37 kick return yards, and leads the nation in net kickoff coverage at 12.33 yards per return.

GOLDEN LEG, PART III
Returning all-American punter Lucas LeSieur has dipped below the minimum number of punts per game to be nationally ranked, but would lead the nation easily in punt average this week as he's averaged 48.7 yards per kick on 27 boots this season. LeSieur has put 11 inside the 20 and kicked 11 over 50 yards this year against only three touchbacks; Mines ranks second nationally in net punting at 42.25 ypp.

NEXT UP
Mines concludes the regular season at home against New Mexico Highlands on Nov. 14 at noon, with Senior Day festivities before the game.