#9/9 Colorado School of Mines (8-0/7-0 RMAC) at South Dakota Mines (2-6/1-6 RMAC), Saturday, 1 p.m. 
O'Harra Stadium, Rapid City, S.D.
[Streaming: RMAC Network] [Live Stats] [Mines Media Notes] 
 

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#9 Colorado School of Mines returns to RMAC play at South Dakota Mines this Saturday, beginning the stretch run with three games left in the regular season.

WATCH US
Saturday's game will stream live on the RMAC Network.

IF YOU GO
Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for seniors and students and are available at the gate at O'Harra Stadium. Visits SDSMT's site for more information.

WEATHER REPORT
It will be a chilly but mostly sunny day in Rapid City with highs topping out in the mid-40s and winds at 5-10 mph. 

CAPTAINS NAMED FOR 2019
Mines has elected four captains for the 2019 season: senior linebackers Jimmy Bauer and James Kohlschmidt, senior running back Cameron Mayberry, and senior tackle Grant Stewart. Stewart is a returning captain from 2018.

MINES STAYS INSIDE TOP 10 IN NATIONAL POLLS
Mines remained at #9 in both the AFCA and D2football.com rankings this week. The Orediggers have been ranked in every poll this year since debuting at #17 in preseason.

OREDIGGERS APPEAR IN REGIONAL RANKINGS
The first edition of the NCAA Regional Rankings came out on Tuesday and the Orediggers are well-positioned at #3 in Super Region IV. The top seven teams in the regional rankings at the end of the regular season make the NCAA field. This week's list:

1. Tarleton St.,    6-0        
2. Minnesota St.,    8-0        
3. Colo. Sch. of Mines,    8-0        
4. CSU-Pueblo,    7-1        
5. Angelo St.,    7-1        
6. Tex. A&M-Commerce,    5-2        
7. Augustana (SD),    6-2        
8. Sioux Falls,    6-2        
9. Winona St.,    6-2        
10. West Texas A&M,    5-2        

RMAC STANDINGS
Chadron State's win over Dixie State last week made the chance of a three-way tie for the RMAC title more remote as the Trailblazers fell back to 5-2. Mines, yet to play Dixie State but already a winner over CSU-Pueblo, stays unbeaten at 7-0 with CSUP at 6-1. 

TURNOVERS, RUN GAME PROPEL MINES AT APU
Mines was pushed in the second half by Azusa Pacific, but responded with a huge rushing night and four second-half takeaways to win 49-27 in non-conference play. Michael Zeman torched the Cougars for 298 yards - the second-highest total in program history - and three touchdowns on the ground, while John Matocha went 26-for-31 for 180 yards and two touchdowns in the air while rushing for a career-high 108 yards and two touchdowns. The Oredigger defense produced four takeaways - all in the second half - to hold off a hard-charging APU (1-6) squad that had drawn within one score as late as the start of the fourth quarter. Tyrone Williams Jr. put up big numbers at quarterback for the Cougars throwing for 328 yards and three touchdowns, but also had two critical fourth-quarter interceptions. 

ZEMAN WINS NFFCC, RMAC WEEKLY HONORS
Thanks to his performance at Azusa Pacific, Michael Zeman was named both the National Football Foundation Colorado Chapter and RMAC Player of the Week. It was the first of each honor for the redshirt sophomore. Combined with John Matocha and Cameron Mayberry, Orediggers have now won three NFFCC and six RMAC Offensive Player of the Week awards this season.

LAST YEAR VS. SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
#6 Colorado School of Mines scoring 42 unanswered points to rout South Dakota Mines 84-42 and remain unbeaten at 9-0 overall and 8-0 in RMAC play. The offensive numbers were staggering. The Orediggers scored 84 points in only three quarters, using a 35-point third quarter to break open a one-touchdown game at halftime. Their 84 points were the most in a Mines game since 1890 and the 126 combined points was the most in program history and most in NCAA Division II to that point in 2018. The two teams combined for 1,150 yards of offense. Quarterback Isaac Harker completed 19-of-24 passes for 372 yards and five touchdowns, with two each going to Brody Oliver and David Sommers. Cameron Mayberry ran for 151 yards and four touchdowns while Brandon Farmer found the end zone twice. Kicker Scott Marshall set the RMAC single-record with 12 PATs. Mines even threw in a defensive touchdown on Grant Gale's fumble return for good measure.

THE RICHEST GAME IN FOOTBALL?
This week's game might not feature huge sponsorships and million-dollar payouts, but it may very well be the richest game in NCAA Division II taking into account the players on the field. Both Colorado School of Mines and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology routinely rank among the top universities in the nation in terms of graduate salaries; according to Payscale.com, the average Oredigger will earn $75,600 right out of school and $139,600 at mid-career, with the average Hardrocker earning $66,500 in their first year and $118,500 at midcareer. With their rosters combined, the two teams' student-athletes stand to make $16 million a year right out of school and a cool $29.2 million a year at mid-career.

ROAD WARRIORS
Weeks 8 and 9 feature Mines' only back-to-back road contests of the year, and the Orediggers are definitely putting in some serious mileage. Last week's flight to Azusa Pacific rang up at 1,594 miles round trip, and Mines then turns around for a 792-mile roundtrip bus ride to Rapid City. In total, the Orediggers will do 2,386 miles of travel in an eight-day span.

MINES HAS 22 ACADEMIC ALL-RMAC HONOREES
The RMAC announced its annual all-academic teams on Wednesday, and Mines was well-represented with 22 honorees. The Orediggers' First-Team Academic All-RMAC recipients were wide receivers Zach Hoffman and Mason Karp, center Cody Ullestad, and safety Geoff Keating. Both Ullestad and Keating are repeat First-Teamers.In addition to those four, 18 Orediggers were named to the RMAC Academic Honor Roll: Ben Fuchs, Tristan Smith, Dewey Van Allen, Ben Cole, Nate Main, Grant Buss, Nolan Reeve, Luke Metzer, Ben Bottlinger, Anthony Kantzabedian, Dominic Hathaway, Joe Golter, Jack Peterson, Matthew Leehan, Evan Alexander, Ryan Buck, Zach Peterson, and Riley Miller.

RARIFIED AIR
Mines is 8-0 for only the fifth time in program history (previously in 1898, 1939, 2004, and 2018), and second time under Gregg Brandon. It's the first time in program history that the Orediggers have started 8-0 in consecutive seasons:

DEFENSE AMONG THE ELITE
Although the Orediggers gave up season highs in yards and points last week, it's all relative - Mines still has a top-5 defense in NCAA Division II heading into week 8. The Orediggers rank 3 in total defense (231.4 ypg) and scoring defense (11.4 ppg), #1 in third-down defense (23.5%), and #3 in first downs defense (101). Mines is also second in rushing defense (41.1 ypg), seventh in team tackles for loss (9.3 per game), and 13th in defensive touchdowns (3). 

STAYING UPRIGHT
The Mines offensive line has been a patchwork at times this year due to injuries, starting five different combinations in eight games including three different starters at each of the guard spots. Only left tackle Grant Stewart and center Cody Ullestad have started all eight games. But no matter - the o-line has been outstanding in protecting freshman quarterback John Matocha no matter who's been on the field. The Orediggers were sack-free last week at Azusa Pacific and allowed just one the week before against Fort Lewis; all told, Mines has given up just 11 sacks in eight games.

HE'S ZE-MAN
Michael Zeman's career game at Azusa Pacific saw him rack up 298 yards and three touchdowns on the ground while adding another catch for 10 yards. His rushing total was the second-highest in program history behind Cameron Mayberry's program-record 312 at Adams State in 2017. Zeman averaged a whopping 13.0 yards per carry on just 23 totes, but remarkably, he had just 40 rushing yards in the first half - he went off for 97 yards in the third quarter and 161 in the fourth quarter. He had three runs of 50+ yards in the game, including a 63-yard touchdown.

PICK YOUR TARGET
Coming into 2019, the receivers were a question mark for Mines as only Sean O'Dell had returning starting experience. This season, O'Dell has certainly produced with a team-high 40 catches despite missing two games; but several youngsters have also stepped up as the Orediggers have had four different receivers being their leading pass-catcher in a game this year:

2019 Leading Receivers, Per Game
at Adams State  -  Sean O'Dell  -  6 catches    
vs. Black Hills  -  Sean O'Dell  -  9 catches    
at CSU-Pueblo  -  Sean O'Dell  -  11 catches    
vs. N.M. Highlands  -  Josh Johnston  -  6 catches    
at Colorado Mesa  -  Mason Karp  -  10 catches    
vs. Western  -  Zach Hoffman  -  10 catches    
vs. Fort Lewis  -  Mason Karp  -  7 catches    
at Azusa Pacific  -  Sean O'Dell  -  9 catches    

THAT'S OUR BALL
The Orediggers do a lot of things well. Sharing is not one of them. Mines has the RMAC's #1 time of possession this season at an average of 34:12 per game (more than two minutes more than the next-closest team, Western Colorado, at 32:07). Mines has led in TOP in seven of eight games this year, including four times by a 10+ minute margin (including 13:28 and 14:46 the last two weeks).

THIIIIIIRD DOWN
Mines has the nation's stingiest defense on third down this year, allowing only a 23.5 percent conversion rate to lead NCAA Division II. The Orediggers have not allowed more than five third-down conversions in a game all season, including an 0-for-13 shutout against Fort Lewis and a 2-for-16 performance against Adams State. Over the last three games, opponents are just 9-for-38.

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK
The hard hat is a longtime symbol of Mines students (every freshman receives one when they embark on the M Climb) and engineers everywhere. This season, the Mines bench is featuring a Turnover Hard Hat, which is awarded to and signed by a player generating a takeaway. So far the hard hat has been worn and signed by nine different players, with Kobe Brewster leading the way with three:

Mack Minnehan at Adams State - Interception
Logan Braden at Adams State - Interception
Josh Odom vs. Black Hills State - Forced fumble
Geoff Keating vs. Black Hills State - Interception
Kobe Brewster at CSU-Pueblo - Interception
Kobe Brewster vs. N.M. Highlands - Interception
Geoff Keating at Colorado Mesa - Interception (TD)    
Denver Hargrove vs. Western - Fumble recovery
Jimmy Bauer vs. Fort Lewis - Forced fumble
Jimmy Bauer at Azusa Pacific - Fumble recovery    
Jaden Williams at Azusa Pacific - Interception    
Kobe Brewster at Azusa Pacific - Interception    
Jack McAdams at Azusa Pacific - Interception    

NEXT UP
Mines returns home to host Dixie State on Nov. 9 at noon.