GUNNISON, Colo. - Western State Colorado University football will play their final game of the season on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Mountaineer Bowl. The Mountaineers host South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in the season finale and Western will honor 11 seniors prior to the start of the game.

This will be the second straight season Western (1-9, 1-8 RMAC) will face SDSMT (4-6, 3-6 RMAC) in the final regular season game. The Mountaineers won last season's matchup 42-7 in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Western will honor Victor Alvarez, Andy Armstrong, Anthony Fletcher, Tanner Geiger, Elijah Gilbert, Zach Griggs, Will Halligan, Brenden Hisao, Markeith McDonald, Stetson Mohrenweiser and Spencer Shook before Saturday's game. These 11 Mountaineer seniors will be playing in their final games at Western.

The Hardrockers enter the weekend tied for eighth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings. SDSMT has lost their previous three games, including a 69-7 loss to Colorado Mesa University last weekend.

A reminder to fans planning on attending Saturday's game, tickets will now be required to enter all home football games. Mountaineer Athletic Association members will receive their season tickets in the mail. MAA All-Sport passes will be required for all other athletic competitions besides football.

Fans can purchase single game and season tickets by visiting www.GoMountaineers.com/tickets.
 
Tickets will also be available for purchase before the start of every home game at the main entrance of Mountaineer Bowl.
 
Single game tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens and $5 for students – other than Western and Gunnison Watershed School District students.
 
A new partnership between Western Athletics and the Gunnison Watershed School District allows all students from the Gunnison Valley, including Crested Butte, to enter free of charge at any of Western's home events, across all sports, during the 2017-18 school year.
 
Like past years, all Western students with get into all regular season home events free of charge with a student ID.
 
Fans now have the option to purchase tickets online and either print them at home, obtain tickets at will call before the game, or have tickets sent over the mail.

Those unable to attend Saturday's game, can follow all the action live over the internet (live stats, live video) and on social media (@WSCUMountaineer, @MountaineerFB). The game will also be broadcasted in the Gunnison Valley over the air waves on 98.3 FM The Edge and 91.1 FM KWSB.

GAME NOTES

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be just the second meeting between Western and South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Western won the first meeting, 42-7, in last season's final regular season game.

This will be the first game between the two teams played in Mountaineer Bowl.

The Hardrockers are 1-4 on the road this season, while the Mountaineers are 1-4 at home.

AGAINST TEAMS FROM SOUTH DAKOTA
Against teams from South Dakota, the Mountaineers have a 4-5 record.

The only team to face Western in Gunnison has been Black Hills State University. The Mountaineers are 2-1 in those meetings and won the last game against BHSU in Mountaineer Bowl, 27-0 in 2016.

IN SOUTH DAKOTA
After Western's game at Black Hills State University, the Mountaineers have played five games in the Mount Rushmore state. The Mountaineers have a record of 2-3. All but one of those games has been played in the last five years - 1973 at the University of South Dakota, losing 28-53.

The last win for Western in South Dakota was last season's 42-7 win at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in the final game of the 2016 season.

SEASON FINALES
Saturday is the regular season finale for Western. The Mountaineers hold a 39-49-2 record in final regular season games. 22 of those 39 wins have come on the road.

Since 2005 however, the Mountaineers are just 3-9 in the final game of the season. The last time Western won their season finale came last season when the Mountaineers defeated SDSMT 42-7 on the road.

THE BAINS REIGN
After week eight's win, Western Head Coach Jas Bains is tied with Paul Wright (1935-47) for the sixth most wins by a Mountaineer football coach at 20.

Week nine's game against CSU-Pueblo moved Bains into third place for most games coached in Western program history at 75. Bains went past Pete Pederson (1953-60) at 74 games coached.

Carl "Duke" Iverson (1988-2000) holds the second most games coached at Western with 127.

4TH QUARTER SHUTOUT
The Mountaineers have been winning the fourth quarter; this season and last. In four games this year, Western has shutout their opponents. Western outscored Colorado Mesa, Adams State, Dixie State and Black Hills State 23-0 in the final quarter.

Since last season, Western has outscored opponents 101-88 in the fourth.

Last season, Western outscored opponents 75-33 in the fourth quarter. The Mountaineers held six teams scoreless in the final 15 minutes last season (Colorado Mines, Fort Lewis, Black Hills State, New Mexico Highlands, CSU-Pueblo, and S.D. Mines).

AGAINST THE GOLDEN STATE
The Mountaineers have faced four teams from California in program history and have an overall record of 3-4 after losing to Humboldt State University last week. 

Western has a 1-2 home record against teams from California.

AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS 
Humboldt State was the second ranked opponent in-a-row the Mountaineers faced. It was also the third time in 2017 that Western faced a ranked opponent.

Western is 0-3 this season against teams ranked in the top-25. The Mountaineers fell to then 23rd ranked Colorado Mesa University 23-49 in week one, 24th ranked CSU-Pueblo 7-40 in week nine and 17th ranked Humboldt 3-48.

Since 2015, Western is 2-of-5 against ranked opponents.

AGAINST THE ENCHANTED STATE
Western has played 120 games against seven schools from the state of New Mexico. The Mountaineers are 66-54 in those games, and 38-18 in games against teams from New Mexico played in Gunnison.

The last home victory over a team from New Mexico came this season against NMHU by a score of 26-16.

ROAD FIELD ADVANTAGE
After Western's loss to Fort Lewis College at home, the road team in the FLC and Western series has won the past eight matchups. This streak began in 2010.

Those eight games have been decided by an average of 7.13 points. Three of those games have been decided by one point.

HALL OF FAME
Western's game against Fort Lewis was Western's Hall of Fame Game. On Friday night before the game, Western Athletics inducted former distance runner Michael Aish, the 1964 football team, track and field athlete Lisa Pike (Fitzgerald), and Mike Sirko as the Lifetime Athletic Achievement Award Recipient into the Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame. The class of 2017 is the 23rd class to enter the MSHOF.

After falling to Fort Lewis 13-14 in 2017, Western is 3-5 in Hall of Fame games since 2010. The Mountaineers had won the three of the past four, defeating New Mexico Highlands University in 2013 by a score of 33-27, Black Hills State University in 2014 by a score of 34-13, losing 31-24 to Chadron State College in 2015 and beating Adams State University 56-25 in 2016.

HOMECOMING
After a 12-15 loss to Dixie State in this year's Homecoming game, the Mountaineers have won 40 percent (4-of-10) of Homecoming games since 2008. 

Also since 2008, Western has a 4-5 record against RMAC opponents on homecoming.

The last Mountaineer homecoming victory came against Colorado School of Mines (45-31) in 2016. 

AGAINST TEAMS FROM UTAH
Western has played 76 games against teams from Utah. The Mountaineers have 31-45 record against teams from the Beehive State, but are 17-15 against those teams in Gunnison.

The last Western win in Gunnison against a team from Utah came against Southern Utah in 1995. The Mountaineers took the game, 36-8.

HOME OPENERS
Western is 44-46-2 in home openers. The last time Western won their home opening game of the season came on Sept. 19, 1998. The Mountaineers defeated Mesa State College, now Colorado Mesa University, 42-6. 

The Mountaineers lost to Chadron State College 49-7 during this season's home opener. Western has hosted Chadron three other times in their home opening game of the season. The series is now 1-2-1.

SEASON OPENERS
Western is 32-60 in season openers. Since 1995, the Mountaineers are 1-22 in season openers. This season, Western lost to CMU 49-23 in the season opener. The last opening day win came in 2014 against Wayland Baptist, 38-21, on the road. 

Of their 32 season opening wins, Western has finished those seasons with a winning record 19 times (59.4%) and won the conference title 12 times (37.5%).

RMAC OPENERS
The Mountaineers have struggled winning the conference opener recently. Over the past 13 seasons, Western has a 1-12 record in their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference openers. The lone victory came against New Mexico Highlands University in 2006 on the road, with the Mountaineers winning 14-9.

Western lost the 2017 RMAC opener to Colorado Mesa 49-23.

NEW FACES WITH THE BALL
After four seasons with the same starting quarterback and running back, the Mountaineer offense will begin a new era. Quarterback Brett Arrivey and running back Austin Ekeler were a staple of the Western offense, each planting their names in the record book over the past four seasons. This season, there are eight quarterbacks on the roster vying for the starting spot and nine running backs.

COLORADO CLASSIC
The rivalry between Adams State University and Western State Colorado University is the second longest continual rivalry in the state of Colorado.

These two programs have been playing each other every year since 1950. The winner of the Colorado Classic earns the right to possess the Colorado Classic Trophy, which travels to the winning institution. The trophy currently now resides at Adams State after they took this year's matchup 51-14.

The longest continual rivalry in Colorado is between Western State and Colorado School of Mines. The two schools have played 92 games, dating back to 1925.

RECORD WATCH
These Mountaineers have reached the peak or are climbing the 
Western all-time lists.

CAREER KICK RETURN YARDS
1. Jimmy Evans    1997-00    1,393
2. Rodray Perkins    2015-    1,250