THE MOUNTAINEERS HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | 2019 SEASON STATS
Western Colorado stumbled last week as the Mountaineers fell to New Mexico Highlands 24-22 at home despite nearly doubling NMHU's yardage output (381-191) as the Cowboys scored two defensive touchdowns to come away with the win at Gunnison.

Sophomore quarterback Luke Nethercot will be making his fourth start of the season for the injured Connor Desch as he's thrown for 579 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. James Bryant continues to lead the Mountaineers in receiving with 40 receptions for 416 yards and three touchdowns. Elijah Gillespie has 27 catches for 239 yards, Kai Emmsley has 23 receptions for 256 yards and Zach Manchester has 19 catches for 300 yards. On the ground, Ty Leyba continues to lead the team with 518 yards and a touchdown while Josh Cummings has 302 yards and a team-best eight touchdowns and Deyvon Butler has 261 yards and touchdown to go along with 17 catches for another 109 yards and a score.

Defensively, the Mountaineers are fifth in the RMAC in points allowed (24.4) and yards allowed (348.8) per game. Dominick Fletcher and Desmond Marfizo lead the team in tackles with 58 apiece while Lane Farris is third with 53 and Robert Garlock and Will Lydle have 49 apiece. Lydle leads the team with 8.5 sacks (tied for fifth in the RMAC) from the defensive tackle position while Josh Nelson has a team-best five interceptions and seven pass breakups to go along with 33 tackles.

CSU-PUEBLO HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | 2019 SEASON STATS
The ThunderWolves have won seven games in a row since suffering their only loss of the season to No. 7 Colorado School of Mines 34-14 on Sept. 21 at home. This includes blasting Black Hills State 58-0 last week - led by Jordan Kitna's 296 yards and four touchdowns passing.

On the season, Kitna has been the primary quarterback for CSU-Pueblo as he's thrown for 1,500 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception on 153 passing attempts (completing them at nearly a 60 percent clip). CSU-Pueblo's top target has been Nick Williams as he has 28 receptions for 481 yards and four scores. On the ground, D.J. Penick leads the way with 665 yards and nine touchdowns on 120 carries while Austin Micci has 444 yards and three scores on 109 carries.

Defense has led the ThunderWolves this season as they are second in the RMAC in points allowed per (15.3) and yards allowed (290.7) per game as only one team (Colorado School of Mines) has scored more than 22 points against them. James Maxie has been the catalyst for the defense as he leads the team with 92 tackles to go along with eight sacks. Kyle Rosenbrock (66), Jackson Wibbels (62) and Trevor Philio (52) all have 50-plus tackles on the season with Wibbels leading the team with 8.5 sacks and Marcus Lawrence and Luke Conilogue lead the team with four interceptions apiece.
 

PRE-GAME INFO

PARENTS TAILGATE
There will be a tailgate for hosted by Mountaineer football parents prior to the game. The Western Colorado crimson tent will mark the location and the theme is soup! Also a ticket reminder, the visitor section at CSU-Pueblo is Section T.

2019 WESTERN COLORADO NOTES

SERIES HISTORY VS. CSU-PUEBLO
Saturday marks the 27th meeting between Western Colorado and CSU-Pueblo with the Mountaineers going 9-17 against the ThunderWolves - including CSU-Pueblo winning the last 11. On the road against the ThunderWolves, the Mountaineers are 4-9 with the last WCU win coming in Pueblo in 1981 (the ThunderWolves didn't have a football program from 1985-2007).

DAVIS NAMED TO THE RMAC ALL-ACADEMIC FIRST TEAM
Senior kicker Chandler Davis was named to the RMAC All-Academic First Team as he has a 3.51 grade point average with a major in Psychology while being second in the RMAC field goals made with 12 and being named the RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week twice this season. He's the first Mountaineer to make the RMAC All-Academic First Team since Austin Ekeler and Austin Yurko in 2016. Fifteen other Mountaineer football players were named to the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll.

MARFIZO NAMED RMAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Oct. 28)
Senior linebacker Desmond Marfizo was the catalyst for the Mountaineers' 31-0 win over Fort Lewis on Oct. 26 and was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week after racking up 10 tackles, six tackles for a loss, two sacks, a blocked field goal and a pass breakup. It's the second time this season the Mountaineers have won the conference's weekly defensive award and the fourth time overall a WCU player has earned a conference weekly honor.

BAINS MOVES TO FIFTH ON WESTERN WINS LIST
WCU head coach Jas Bains moved to fifth on the Mountaineers' all-time wins list with 25, getting his 23rd win against Chadron State on Oct. 5 in Gunnison for his 23rd win to pass Jeff Zenisek (2001-05). No. 4 on the list is O. Kay Dalton (1961-65) with 33 victories. Bill Noxon (1971-84) holds the No. 1 spot on the Mountaineer wins list with 87.

THE LONGEST CONTINUOUS RIVALRY IN COLORADO COLLEGE FOOTBALL
There isn't a longer continuous college football rivalry in Colorado than the Mountaineers and Colorado School of Mines as the teams have played each other every year since 1946. This year was the 95th meeting between these teams with CSM winning 28-0 to narrow WCU's lead in the series to 52-41-2.

AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
The Mountaineers in a loss to No. 11 Colorado School of Mines on Oct. 12 continued a skid against ranked opponents that now sits at seven games. WCU's last win against a ranked opponent was a 45-31 win over No. 23 Colorado School of Mines on Sept. 24, 2016.

DAVIS NAMED RMAC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK ... AGAIN (Oct.  7)
For the second time this season, WCU kicker Chandler Davis was named the RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 7 after going 2-for-2 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points in the Mountaineers' one-point win over Chadron State.

The first time Davis earned the honor was when he booted arguably one of the biggest kicks in recent memory for the Western Colorado football program as he drilled a 29-yard field goal as time expired to beat Colorado Mesa 30-28 in Grand Junction. Davis connected on that field goal after waiting out four timeouts to help the Mountaineers beat Colorado Mesa for the first time since 2013 and for the first time in Grand Junction since 2001 along with propelling WCU to its first 2-0 start in RMAC play since 2003.

A PAIR OF WINS THAT WERE A LONG TIME COMING
Five games into the season the Mountaineers have already knocked off a pair of teams in places they haven't won in a long time. WCU defeated Colorado Mesa this season in Grand Junction for the first time since 2001 and the Mountaineers defeated Chadron State at home in the Mountaineer Bowl for the first time since 1997.

AGAINST THE CORNHUSKER STATE
The Mountaineers after their 33-32 win over Chadron State this season are 21-33-1 against teams from Nebraska, including 12-15-1 at home against teams from the Cornhusker state.

COLORADO CLASSIC
The history between Western Colorado and Adams State - i.e. the Colorado Classic - dates back to 1934 (a 14-0 Mountaineers win in Gunnison) and the Mountaineers and Grizzlies have played every year since 1950 - making it the second-longest continual rivalry in Colorado. The teams play for the Colorado Classic Trophy, which travels with the winning institution.

The Mountaineers now hold a 40-33 advantage after falling just short against Adams State this season 38-31 in a game that went down to the final two minutes.

The longest continual rivalry in Colorado is between Western Colorado and Colorado School of Mines as the two teams have played each year since 1946 and have played each other 93 times overall - the first meeting coming in 1925.

BEST START IN CONFERENCE PLAY SINCE 2003
With wins over South Dakota Mines and Colorado Mesa to begin RMAC play, WCU won their first two conference contests for the first time since 2003. 

GARLOCK NAMED RMAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Sept. 16)
Western Colorado linebacker Robert Garlock was named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 16 after the sophomore from Reno, Nevada, had a team-high seven tackles in the contest - including five solo tackles - in helping the Mountaineer defense not allow an offensive score (the Hardrockers' only score came on returning a blocked field goal for a touchdown) during a 27-7 win over South Dakota Mines. The Western Colorado defense allowed just 177 yards in helping the Mountaineers win their first RMAC opener since 2006.

AGAINST TEAMS FROM SOUTH DAKOTA
The Mountaineers are now 5-7 against teams from South Dakota - including going 3-3 at home against teams from the Mount Rushmore state.

SEASON OPENERS
Western Colorado is now 32-62 all-time in season openers after falling to Idaho State this season. The last season-opening win for the Mountaineers came in 2014 against Wayland Baptist, 38-21, on the road. Of their 32 season opening wins, the Mountaineers have finished those seasons with a winning record 19 times (59.4 percent) and won the conference title 12 times (37.5 percent).

AGAINST TEAMS FROM IDAHO
Against all teams from Idaho, the Mountaineers now have a 9-23-1 record after falling in their season opener at Idaho State this season. Western has played the College of Idaho and Southern Idaho twice, splitting both games against both teams, to go along with the 29 games against Idaho State. In the state of Idaho, the Mountaineers have a 3-17 record.