Colorado School of Mines (0-0, 0-0 RMAC) vs. #22/14 Western Oregon (0-0, 0-0 LSC) // Saturday, Aug. 29 // 12 p.m.
Alumni Field at Marv Kay Stadium - Golden, Colo.
[RMAC Network PPV] [Pregame Show] [Live Stats] [Tickets] [Mines Media Notes]

---

A new season begins with a tough opponent as #22/14 Western Oregon visits Golden for a Week 0 clash. The Orediggers return eight offensive and five defensive starters from 2025.

LIVE COVERAGE
This week's game will stream exclusively on the RMAC Network (pay-per-view); it will not air on TV. Miles Dunklin and Josh Dover have the call. Mines' four remaining home games will also be simulcast on The Spot Denver 3 (KCDO). 

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.

MINES HOSTS SMALL SCHOOL SATURDAY PREGAME SHOW
The Small School Saturday pregame show will broadcast live from Marv Kay Stadium's east end zone starting at 9 a.m., and fans are invited to join the crew with gates opening one hour earlier than usual at 9 a.m. The show will stream live on YouTube.

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

- Gates open at 9 a.m., one hour earlier than normal, for fans joining the Small School Saturday pregame show.
- 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
It's still August, and Saturday will feel like it in Golden with a high of 88 and a 50 percent chance of a shower or thunderstorm in mid-afternoon. Skies will be mostly cloudy and winds 5-10 mph from the west. 

LEADING THE WAY
Mines will again select gameweek captains this season, with quarterback Joseph Capra, offensive lineman Patrick Mologne, safety Joseph Gonzales, and defensive tackle Aaron Gall picked as captains for the Western Oregon game.

STITT'S SECOND ERA CONTINUES
Bob Stitt was announced as the new head coach of Mines Football on Feb. 7, 2025 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 21 all-Americans and 178 all-RMAC selections over 16 seasons, including his first year back in 2025.

THE CENTURY CLUB
There are 17 active NCAA Division II head coaches with 100+ wins, and two of them will face each other this weekend with the Orediggers' Bob Stitt (136 wins, 113 at Mines) and Western Oregon's Arne Ferguson (117 wins, all at WOU). It will be the only matchup of 100-win coaches across the nation in Week 0.

MINES ADDS NEW DEFENSIVE STAFF
The biggest change on the coaching staff is on the defensive side of the ball with new coordinator Scott McLaughlin, who comes to Golden after a long and successful tenure at Wayne State in Nebraska. The Orediggers also add defensive line coach Kerry Grigsby and corners coach Al Ashford, while Anthony Makransky continues as the defensive backs/defensive pass game coordinator coach. 

PORTAL ADDITIONS IMPACT ROSTER
Mines got better through the transfer portal this offseason, adding five new faces in a mix of graduate and underclass transfers, all coming from the Division I level. The Orediggers restocked their secondary with grad transfers in  Jackson Harmon, coming off a FCS national championship at Montana State, and Colorado's Braden Keith, while also adding a pair of redshirt freshman linebackers in Jace Filleman (Northern Arizona) and Max Mendoza (New Hampshire). Caydon Coffman is the lone portal add on the offensive side of the ball as a grad transfer receiver from Harvard. 

IN THE POLLS
The Orediggers received votes in the preseason AFCA top-25 poll, and were selected third in the RMAC's preseson coaches' poll. Western Oregon was well-recognized in the preseason, being ranked #22 by the AFCA and #14 by D2football.com while also being picked second in the Lone Star Conference coaches' poll.

ZERO HEROES
This will be the first-ever Week 0 game for Colorado School of Mines after NCAA Division II introduced the earlier season start for the 2024 season. August 29 marks the earliest start date for a Mines season. 

NOTING THE SERIES
Mines and Western Oregon are meeting for the third time ... Western Oregon won the first meeting in the 2007 Dixie Rotary Bowl in Utah, 26-12 ... Mines won their only meeting in Golden, 42-3, in the 2021 season opener coming off of the pandemic stoppage ... This is the first end of a home-and-home series ... Mines is 8-2 against the Lone Star Conference all-time, including a win over West Texas A&M in last year's season opener.

SCOUTING THE WOLVES
Hopes are high for Western Oregon in 2026 coming off one of their best seasons ever, finishing 8-3 and narrowly missing the Lone Star Conference title and a spot in the NCAA Championships last season. The Wolves have earned preseason national rankings in both major polls and are led by LSC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Jordan McCarty at quarterback, who threw fro 1,521 yards and rushing for 507 accounting for 18 total touchdowns a year ago. Returning leading rusher Jermaine Land ran for 578 yards and four touchdowns, and Cyris Taylor is their leading returning receiver with 167 yards off 13 catches with two touchdowns. The Wolves were tough defensively in 2025 compiling a +14 turnover margin as they allowed 20.3 points and only 97.7 rushing yards per game.

PRESEASON HONORS
Mines has been well-represented in preseason honors, with punter Lucas LeSieur being named to the D2football Elite 100 list and kicker Preston Kyle appearing on the Fred Mitchell Award watchlist. In addition, running back Max Barnes, wide receiver Pierce Richards, and tight end Blake Smotherman were named to the preseason all-RMAC offensive team, and Mines dominated on the specialists team with long snapper Josh Hildebrand joining Kyle and LeSieur in being recognized.

UNDER CENTER
Mines carries six quarterbacks on the 2026 roster led by returning starter Joseph Capra and returning backup Austin Gonzalez. Capra shined in his first season as the full-time starter, throwing for 2,231 yards (65.9%) and 26 touchdowns against only four interceptions, and his dual-threat capability produced 413 yards and four touchdowns on a 5.4-yard-per-carry average on the ground. Gonzalez appeared in three games completing all three of his pass attempts in 2025. Behind them are Alex Birch, a rising redshirt freshman, and true freshmen Colby Watson, David Lawler, and Dawson Olk.

RB ROOM BRINGS BACK BIG PIECES
Mines' running backs were stung by injuries in 2025, but you wouldn't have known it based on their production as the Orediggers rushed for 234.8 yards and 2 touchdowns per game on average last season. They return five of their top six rushers from a year ago led by all-RMAC selection Max Barnes, who had a breakout season bowling his way for 654 yards and five touchdowns (109 ypg) despite only six appearances; Braelon Tate continued to be the speedster of the group with 579 yards and four scores. Now-redshirt freshman Connor Cade had a promising 75 yards and a touchdowns in two games as a rookie, and Mitch Jensen averaged 7.2 yards per carry in limited freshman action. Out of that group, only Tate is entering his final year of eligibility. 

VETERAN WR GROUP RETURNS
At receiver, Mines brings back all three of its everyday starters and five players with at least two starts overall in 2025, paced by leading receiver Pierce Richards and senior leaders Nick Stone and Aksel Richard. Richards had a breakout debut season with seven touchdowns and 553 yards of production on 56 catches, while Stone co-led the team in TDs with him after catching 412 yards on 37 receptions. Deep threat Richard had 316 yards and three touchdowns with a team-leading average of 24.3 yards per catch. The depth behind them is extensive including Josh Best (218 yards, 1 TD), Connor McGrath (108 yards, 2 TD), Tyson Mauck (58 yards, 1 TD), and Jake Willis (24 yards, 1 TD) among returners with at least one score last year. At tight end, senior veteran Blake Smotherman - an all-RMAC selection last year - comes back after starting all 11 games and generating career highs with 21 catches, 218 yards, and three touchdowns in 2025. 

O-LINE READY FOR NEXT GENERATION
The offensive line lost three starters from 2025, but still returns an experienced group led by left tackle Tyson Kestner and center Patrick Mologne, who both excelled in starting roles last season. The Orediggers have a number of backups who saw significant playing time last season who are ready to battle for starting roles, including Hayden Woodruff, Ty Deppe, Jacob Mumy, and Kael Weatherby, plus a promising group of rising young players like Evan Godin and Wyatt Valiente and an intriguing position switch by the 6'7" Russ Woodward from the defensive side of the ball to the offensive tackle spot. The Orediggers' projected starting line averages 293 pounds. 

LINE LEADS DEFENSIVE RETURNERS 
The most experienced returning group on the defensive side of the ball is by far the line, which brings back all three of its 2025 starters in Dom Caggiano, Eli Krawczuk, and Jacob Sanders, while also getting back 2024 starter Joey Beckner from injury. The group of Caggiano, Krawczuk, and Sanders combined to start all 11 games beside each other last year, and Caggiano is the team's leading returning tackler after producing 42 stops, 6.0 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks (the latter two categories leading the team outright). Krawczuk was a stopped at nose with 18 tackles, 3.0 for a loss, a sack, and a six hurries, while Sanders made 10 tackles with three pressures. In 2024, Beckner made 22 tackles, 7.5 for loss, and three sacks in 11 starts at tackle. Virtually all of the line two-deep pieces return including Justin Vaughn, Brady Crabtree, Aaron Gall, and edge Evan Bish while Brady Zingelmann (28 TT, 4.0 TFL, 2.0 S) and Christian Peluse (17 TT, 1.5 TFL, 1.0 S) move from linebacker.

LINEBACKERS BUILD ON YOUNG CORE
While Mines' linebacker group loses its three leading tacklers to graduation, the injury bug meant that 11 different players saw at least one start in 2025 and eight of them return for 2026. Topping the group in production are outside linebacker Sean Gilbert (27 TT, 2.5 TFL, 0.5 S) and inside Earl Ingle IV (22 TT, 1.0 TFL), while Luke Johnson, William Brown, and Nicholas Dudzikowski also made starts in injury-impacted seasons.  Experienced safety Jackson Lewis (19 TT, 1 S) moves to linebacker to bolster the group.

PORTAL BOLSTERS SECONDARY
The secondary was hard-hit by graduation but still returns plenty of experience led by safety Will Ramsey and do-it-all DB Devyn Lauer-Duarte, who made starts at both safety and corner last year. Lauer-Duarte is Mines' second-leading returning tackler with 42 stops and a forced fumble in 2025 while Ramsey has 96 tackles in 32 games played over the past three seasons. Joseph Gonzales (28 TT, 1 INT) emerged last season at safety, while the group gets experienced help through the transfer portal with Montana State's Jackson Harmon and Colorado's Braden Keith coming to Golden.

VERY SPECIAL
Mines had one of the nation's strongest special teams units last season, and all of those pieces are back with all-American punter Lucas LeSieur, all-American longsnapper Josh Hildebrand, and all-RMAC kicker Preston Kyle. LeSieur led NCAA Division II in punt average (44.8 ypp) in 2025 while Kyle emerged as a weapon in the kicking game including two of 55 yards or longer as he produced 17 field goals. 

TAKE IT AWAY
The Orediggers finished +7 on turnover margin last season, and they return multiple players who had takeaways in 2025. William Brown, Joseph Gonzales, and Brady Zingelmann all had interceptions, plus fumble recoveries by Sean Gilbert (an 89-yard touchdown) and Mason Dickerson, as well as Nicholas Dudzikowski who led the team with two forced fumbles.

PORTAL ADDITIONS IMPACT ROSTER
Mines got better through the transfer portal this offseason, adding five new faces in a mix of graduate and underclass transfers, all coming from the Division I level. The Orediggers restocked their secondary with grad transfers in  Jackson Harmon, coming off a FCS national championship at Montana State, and Colorado's Braden Keith, while also adding a pair of redshirt freshman linebackers in Jace Filleman (Northern Arizona) and Max Mendoza (New Hampshire). Caydon Coffman is the lone portal add on the offensive side of the ball as a grad transfer receiver from Harvard. 

BLASTER RECOGNIZED BY ESPN
Blaster the Burro is a beloved figured at Mines football games, and his post-touchdown runs were recognized last fall by ESPN as one of the "36 Greatest College Football Gameday Traditions", the only one outside of NCAA Division I. Blaster, who is handled by student group Blue Key Honor Society, has been a symbol of Mines since the 1930s, and his running the field after touchdowns evolved in the 1990s. 

SCHEDULE OUTLOOK
Mines has an all-new schedule in 2026 as the RMAC has adopted a mandatory Week 6 bye, meaning all conference teams now play in Week 0. The Orediggers start at home against Western Oregon in the first of a new home-and-home series, then head to Washburn to round out non-conference play. The RMAC schedule begins at CSU Pueblo on Sept. 12, with home games against Fort Lewis, Black Hills State, South Dakota Mines, and New Mexico Highlands. Looking ahead, a new home-and-home series with UT-Permian Basin was announced in the spring with the two playing in Golden in 2028 and Odessa, Texas in 2029.

FIVE YEARS OF ELIGIBILITY PASSES
In early August, NCAA Division II passed a sweeping change to eligibility rules that now gives all student-athletes five seasons of eligibility in a five-year span, and eliminates redshirting. It will apply to this year's incoming freshmen, and returning players can either convert to the new rule or be grandfathered into continuing with the old four-year model, whichever is more beneficial. The new rules supercede the previous freshman rule that allowed them to play in up to four games while still redshirting. 

NCAA TWEAKS RULES FOR 2026
This is a rule-change year for college football and a number of tweaks are coming to the NCAA game. Among the most significant: 

- Targeting will still carry a game ejection, but eliminates the carryover suspension to the first half of the next game for first-time offenders; however, multiple targeting fouls in a season can now result in suspensions.  
- Offensive pass interference fouls are now 10 yards instead of 15.
- Clarifying taunting actions that lead to unsportsmanlike conduct fouls.
- Head coaches receive a third challenge if one of their first two challenges was successful.
- A fair catch kick, which has been present at other levels of football, is now legal.

NCAA CHANGES POSTSEASON PROCESS
Another significant change coming to NCAA Division II is how they select the postseason championship field. Playoff selections will now be handled solely by the NCAA Power Index (NPI) instead of regional committees, removing the human element from the process; 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.

#74 OFFICIALLY RETIRED
The 2025 season marked the final time that the #74 jersey was worn at Colorado School of Mines after the number of retired in honor of the great Marv Kay in 2023. Offensive tackle Zack Morris was already wearing the number and grandfathered in until his graduation last year. It is the second retired number in Mines Football along with the 48 of Harry Campbell.

NEXT UP
Mines will visit Washburn on Sept. 5, and return home Sept. 19 to host Fort Lewis.