COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES at #5 WESTERN COLORADO
1 p.m., Sat., Oct. 25 | Mountaineer Bowl at the Rady Family Sports Complex | Gunnison, Colo.
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GUNNISON, Colo.  For many of the recent games, the battles between Western Colorado and the Colorado School of Mines have been fraught with importance within not only the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference but also at the national level.

The 2025 battle set for Saturday, October 25 – Hall of Fame Weekend for Western athletics – at the Mountaineer Bowl at the Rady Family Sports Complex is again an important football game at both levels as the result of the fifth-ranked Western and the Orediggers game can shake up the top 25 of NCAA Division II football rankings.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE GAME | 2025 Stats

• Western, 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the RMAC, is coming off a 34-13 win at South Dakota Mines, a game in which quarterback Drew Nash threw for two touchdowns and running back Quinn Bailey ran for two scores, while the defense surrendered only a pair of touchdowns on short-field 13- and 18-yard Hardrocker drives.
• Nash leads an offense that is 19th in DII in total offense (440 yards per game) and 7th in scoring (42 points per game). He also leads the country in points responsible per game (26), is fourth in total points responsible for (156), and seventh in passing touchdowns (19).
• Western's defense is 16th nationally, allowing only 283 yards per game, and its rush defense surrenders only 77 yards per game, seventh lowest in DII.
• Cameron Cooper and Drew Johnson have helped keep those numbers low, as Cooper is 22nd nationally in tackles for loss per game (1.50) and Johnson is 35th (1.36).
• Ian Loomis leads the defense in total tackles (54.0), a figure that includes 7.5 TFLs, 4 sacks, and a pick-6 interception.

COLORADO MINES HEADING INTO THE GAME | 2025 Stats

• The Orediggers (5-2, 3-2 RMAC) just finished off Adams State by a score of 72-14 last week. They were unranked in the D2Football.com preseason poll but rose to No. 23 in the Sept. 15 rankings after a 2-0 start. An RMAC opener loss at home to Chadron State the next week, though, dropped them from the rankings.
• Mines quarterback Joseph Capra has been trying to keep up with Nash. Capra's 134 total points responsible for is 10th most in DII, and he is 11th in passing touchdowns with 18, helping the Orediggers to an average of 37 points per game, 14th nationally, and in total offense averaging 455 yards per game.
• The Oredigger defense has been allowing 188 rushing yards per game, 126th nationally, 377 total yards per game (99th), and 25 points per game (70th).
• Inside linebacker Hall Edmonds is the defense's leader in tackles with 30.0, but six others have at least 22.0 total tackles.

UP NEXT
Western continues its quest for the RMAC title with a top-10 national matchup on Sat., Nov. 1 with against ninth-ranked Colorado State Puelbo at the Mountaineer Bowl.