GUNNISON, Colo. --- The Mountaineers look for back-to-back home wins as Western Colorado hosts Black Hills State University at 1 p.m. Saturday in Mountaineer Bowl. The Mountaineers will be going for their sixth win of the season after defeating N.M. Highlands last weekend on homecoming.
 
Western Colorado football comes in ranked No. 24 this week in the 2021 American Football Coaches Association – Division II Coaches' Poll. This is the first time in program history that the Mountaineers have ever been ranked in the top 25 (since the DII poll was created in 2000), with their 5-1 start and coming off a 45-38 victory over New Mexico Highlands.
 
This weekend the Mountaineers will support the fight against breast cancer as Tough Enough to Wear Pink will have a stand set up and will raise money for the cause. TETWP provides funding for local breast cancer support in Gunnison County, Colorado and is the No. 1 TETWP Rodeo in the US. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game and to check out the TETWP stand at the entrance to Mountaineer Bowl on Saturday.

THE MOUNTAINEERS HEADING INTO THE WEEK | 2021 SEASON STATS
Western Colorado came out victorious last weekend as they hosted N.M. Highlands and won their homecoming match up 45-38 in a packed Mountaineer Bowl. The team will have to defend their home field and play well if they want a chance at remaining in the top 25.
 
On the season defensively, the Mountaineers are allowing just 15.33 points per game - second in the RMAC (just behind of Colorado School of Mines). They are also second in the RMAC in total defense - allowing 269.8 yards per game. Individually, Robert Garlock leads the team with 37 tackles to go along with an interception and blocked kick. Lane Farris is just behind him with 36 tackles, including a team and RMAC-best 13.5 tackles for a loss (with four sacks thrown in there to go along with two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery). Linebacker Wyatt Buhr, is third on the team in tackles with 31. Will Lydle leads the team with 6.5 sacks for 33 total years.
 
Offensively, Cummbins leads the team in rushing with 723 yards - third in the RMAC - and leads the RMAC with 11 rushing touchdowns, tied for fifth in the nation. Deyvon Butler has rushed for 138 yards and one touchdown as well for the Mountaineers.
 
Connor Desch has completed 55.90 percent of his passes for 1175 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interception. Cole Riters has 16 catches for 242 yards while Damian Macias has 16 receptions for 185 yards.
 
BLACK HILLS STATE HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | 2021 STATISTICS
The Yellow Jackets are coming off a tough 41-20 loss at home to Colorado School of Mines as they travel to Gunnison, Colorado to take on the Mountaineers.
 
Black Hills State's offense is built around Matthew Collier who has 534 yards on the season, averaging 8.2 yards a carry. Their leading scorer is QB Chance Eben who has five rushing touchdowns along with 300 rushing yards.
 
In the air, Kaden Raza is the Yellow Jackets leading receiver with 174 yards, 10 receptions and three touchdowns. Many of those coming from Eben who has a 58.12 percent completion rate.  
 
Defensively, they have only forced three fumbles and have had two interceptions this season. Doodles Quinones leads the team with 64 tackles, as Jarrell Ganaway leads the team with 3 sacks for 25 yards.
 
2021 WESTERN COLORADO NOTES
RED ZONE WARRIORS
It's no secret that the Western Colorado defense has been stellar to start the season, and a big part is they aren't breaking when teams reach the red zone (inside Western's 20-yard line). The Mountaineers have only allowed teams to get to the red zone 15 times through six games.
 
The offense has done its job when it gets to the red zone as well, scoring 22 of 25 times and scoring a touchdown 18 out of 25 times.
 
'CUMMINGS NAMED THE RMAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (SEPT. 13)
Western Colorado's Josh Cummings big day on the ground led to him in a win over Western New Mexico led him to being named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. The redshirt sophomore rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries - averaging 8.9 yards per carry. This includes a 47-yard touchdown run by Cummings in the first quarter to get the scoring going for the Mountaineers in the 49-14 win over the Mustangs in Silver City.
 
SEASON OPENERS
Western Colorado after its 2021-opening win is 33-63 all-time in season openers. Before this season, the last season-opening win for the Mountaineers came in 2014 against Wayland Baptist, 38-21, on the road. Of their 32 previous 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).
 
BAINS REACHES GAME NO. 100 FOR WESTERN AGAINST STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
Western coach Jas Bains enters his 11th season as head coach of the Mountaineers and last season's lone contest against SFA marked his 100th game as head coach. He's just the third coach in Western history to reach the 100-game mark - joining Bill Noxon (133 from 1971-84) and Carl Iverson (127 from 1988-2000).
 
MOUNTAINEER ALUM EKELER CONTINUES TO SHINE IN NFL
Western Colorado alum Austin Ekeler started his fifth NFL season with the Los Angeles Chargers and continues to make a mark.
 
Ekeler, an undrafted free agent signee out of Western in 2017 who signed a four-year, $24.5 million extension prior to the 2020 season, this season has rushed for 349 yards and four touchdowns while catching 23 passes for another 194 yards this season.
 
The 26-year-old who came to Western out of Eaton High School in Colorado owns the Mountaineers' single-game (344), single-season (1,676 - also owns the No. 2 and No. 4 spots) and career (5,857) rushing yard records as well as the single-game (5), single-season (19) and career (55) rushing touchdown records. He also owns the single-season (126) and career (378) scoring records at Western.