PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo football will look to put the stops on a two-game losing skid here Saturday afternoon, but that challenge will be daunting for the ThunderWolves as they play host to No. 2 ranked and defending NCAA Division II National Runners-up Colorado School of Mines in a 2:02 p.m. Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference match-up in the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.
 
Saturday's game will mark the third meeting between the two RMAC powerhouses since the beginning of last season as the two teams met twice during the 2022 season, including facing each other in the first round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs in Golden, Colo., a game Mines won 45-24.
 
The Pack comes into Saturday's second straight home game and third overall home game on the season sporting a 1-2 overall record and an 0-1 mark in the RMAC after suffering a gut-wrenching 30-14 defeat to then 25th-ranked Western Colorado last Saturday, while Mines comes into the game sporting a perfect 3-0 overall mark and a 1-0 record in the league after opening RMAC play last Saturday with a 70-7 home victory over Adams State.
 
Saturday's game will mark the first time in the regular season since rebooting football in 2008 that the Pack will play three straight nationally ranked foes as the Pack opened this stretch of nationally ranked foes two weeks ago at then No. 7 ranked Grand Valley State, before facing then 25th-ranked Western Colorado. The Pack are 21-19 all-time against ranked teams, including being 13-10 in regular season games against ranked foes. CSU Pueblo has lost five straight games to ranked teams since opening the 2022 season with a 59-27 win at 24th-ranked Midwestern State.
 
In last Saturday's game between Western Colorado, the Pack never led in the game as the Mountaineers led 10-7 after the first quarter and held a 27-7 lead at the half and the Pack would only muster one touchdown in the second half, which came of its first possession. Offensively, the Pack were held to season low totals in points (14), yards (218), first downs (13) and passing yards (151).
 
"I thought that we were pressing a little bit and had guys trying to do too much instead of doing their jobs. Some of what Western did defensively played into our offensive struggles, because they are really good defensively," CSU Pueblo head football coach Philip Vigil said. "For us offensively to get back on track, we need to get back to our offensive identity, execute better and do the things that we know we can hang our hat on and get back to the standard we're used to playing."
 
Graduate student quarterback Chance Fuller (Arlington, Texas/Fort Hays State) struggled against the Mountaineer defense as he was 18-for-43 passing for 151 yards and had one interception and was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season. Fuller is fourth among active Division II quarterbacks with 75 career touchdown passes.
 
Junior running back Kiahn Martinez (Denver, Colo./University of Idaho) accounted for 112 of the Pack's 218 yards on offense as he carried the ball 21 times for 84 yards and scored the Pack's lone offensive touchdown on a six-yard touchdown run just a little over four minutes into the third quarter. Martinez also caught three passes for 28 yards.
 
The Pack's other touchdown in last Saturday's game came in the first quarter thanks to a 70-yard punt return for a score by redshirt junior Andrew Cook (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge). The 70-yard punt return was the second of Cook's career and put him into a tie for second place on the school's all-time charts in punt return touchdowns. Cook, who finished last Saturday's game with five punt returns for 75 yards, currently is the active Division II leader in career punt return average as he averages 19.2 yards per return in his career.
 
"Cookie's return set a tone early in the game. It made the score 10-7 and you're thinking everything's going to be okay, and then the wheels fell off," Vigil said. "We really challenged him (Andrew) the first two weeks to go catch the ball no matter where it's at and then take advantage of his speed and make the most of the opportunity and he did that last weekend."
 
While the Pack struggled on offense, they also struggled on special teams as sophomore Andre Haddad (Littleton, Colo./University of New England) had a punt blocked and a bad snap on another punt and the Pack also fumbled on a kickoff. All three of those miscues led to 13 first half points for the Mountaineers. In addition, WCU also gained 98 yards on nine punt returns against the Pack.
 
"I think the thing that was disappointing was we had a lot of guys that were in position but didn't do their jobs and you can't have that happen on special teams," added the Pack coach. "We can't do those things that we did last Saturday against a Top 25 opponent and expect to come out on top. I thought Western did a good job at being opportunistic and were the batter team on Saturday."
 
Due to its offense producing just 218 yards of offense, the Pack defense was forced to be on the field most of the game as Western Colorado held the ball for a little over 36 minutes. The Mountaineers finished the game with 295 yards on offense as they rushed the ball for 101 yards and passed for 195 yards. The Pack defense finished the game with three sacks and 11 tackles for loss but did not force a turnover for the first time this season.
 
"I thought the defense played spectacular on Saturday. They were on the field way too long, but really kept Western's offense in check," Vigil said.
 
Vigil says that his players were disappointed with how they played last Saturday and know they must play better this weekend against one of the premier teams in Division II.
 
"We were all disappointed and embarrassed with our play. Again, that's not taking anything away from Western Colorado because they did a really good job and outplayed us. I think we internally know we didn't play to our standards and that's a hard thing to swallow when you walk off the football field," added the Pack coach. "We must put last week's game to rest and know we have another good opponent coming here this weekend. We've got a challenge ahead of us and the question to our players is how are we going to respond?"
 
Despite his struggles last Saturday, Fuller comes into the Mines game still ranked in the Top 10 in the league in passing yards (765), passing yards per game (255.0), completion percentage (54.0 percent), completions per game (24.7), passing efficiency (115.8), total offense (245.0) and points responsible for (48). On the season, Fuller is 74-for-137 passing for 765 yards and he has tossed eight touchdowns and thrown three interceptions. His eight touchdown passes are  ranked 15th nationally in Division II.
 
Five receivers have caught 11 or more passes this season as Cook leads the way with 16 receptions for 176 yards and is averaging 11.0 yards per reception and 58.7 yards per game and has had one touchdown catch. In addition to Cook, junior Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College) has caught 14 passes for 134 yards and has had two touchdown receptions, while redshirt sophomore Zack Rakowsky (Loveland, Colo./Loveland) has caught 13 passes for 186 yards and is averaging 14.3 yards per catch and has had two touchdown receptions. Martinez and redshirt senior CK Poulos (North Port, Fla./North Port) have each caught 11 passes for a combined 178 yards and each have recorded one touchdown reception.
 
Saturday's foe, Mines, will present Vigil's team with a lot of the same challenges both offensively and defensively his team has seen the past two weeks against Grand Valley State and Western Colorado.
 
"We are going to face a very explosive offense with one of the best players in the country leading that offense. We are going to have our hands cut out for us defensively," the Pack coach said. "We've got to find a way to contain No. 10 (quarterback John Matocha) for them and keep things in front of us. I know Coach (Caid) Faske and the defensive staff will do a good job preparing our guys to be successful on Saturday."
 
One of those big challenges for the Pack defense is trying to find a way to slow down Mines quarterback John Matocha, who is the reigning Harlon Hill Trophy winner and is the Division II active leader in passing yards (11,627), touchdown passes (127), total touchdowns responsible for (151), total offense (13,190) and is the only quarterback at the NCAA level with at least 13,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in his career.
 
"Matocha is such a competitor and has a knack of getting in and out of tight spaces and finding a way to get the ball off. They've also got some unbelievable playmakers at the receiver position that really, if you put the ball in their vicinity at all, they're going to come down with the football," the coach stated. "I think we've done a good job at putting pressure on the quarterback and we've got to continue to lean on them to get this one done on Saturday."
 
After not recording a sack in its season opener against Midwestern State, the Pack defense has recorded seven sacks the past two games as they had four sacks two weeks ago at Grand Valley State and three sacks last weekend against Western Colorado.
 
Among the keys to Saturday's game for the Pack according to Vigil are to protect the football, keep the quarterback upright, be creative in the running game and defensively, being able to contain Matocha and find a way to stop the run.
 
"Offensively, we need to be able to protect the football and we'll need to be able to keep Chance upright and protect against what they do defensively, which is to pressure the quarterback. We also need to find creative ways to run the football and sustain drives," Vigil added. "Defensively, we've got to contain Matocha and we've also got to find a way to stop the run and put our defensive backs in positions to make it hard on their receivers to get open."
 
Saturday's game with Mines will mark the 34th all-time meeting between the two schools and third meeting since the beginning of last season as the two schools met twice in 2022 – once in the regular season and once in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs. The Pack lead the all-time series, 19-14, but Mines has won four straight games in the series, including that 45-24 loss in last year's NCAA Playoffs. The Pack are 12-3 at home in the series, while Mines leads 11-7 in Golden, Colo. Since restarting football in 2008, the Pack are 7-9 against Mines.
 
Following Saturday's game with Mines, the Pack will return to road for a 12 p.m. RMAC game on Saturday, Sept. 30 in Durango, Colo., against Fort Lewis College.
 
ABOUT MINES
Mines, who is ranked No. 2 in both the AFCA Division II Coaches and D2Football.com polls, comes into Saturday's game with the Pack as one of the top offensive teams in Division II as the Orediggers are averaging 484 yards per game and are scoring 44.0 points per game. In addition, Mines leads Division II in red zone offense as they are 15-for-15 in red zone opportunities and have scored 14 red zone touchdowns through the first three games.
 
"They (Mines) are very good at what they do on offense. They know who they are offensively, and they don't shy away from their offensive identity," Vigil said. "If we can contain Matocha and their offense, we have a good chance, but that's a lot easier said than done because if you look at their offense and who they've played, they've scored points every single week, so we'll have our hands full. It's not a matter of stopping them, it's a matter of trying to contain them."
 
Defensively, Mines is allowing 18.7 points and 292 yards of offense per game and has recorded nine sacks and forced three turnovers and are allowing their foes to convert on just 18 percent of their third down chances. Mines' opponents are 7-for-39 on third down conversions this season.
 
"Defensively, Mines is going to stop the run. That's what they hang their hat on. They force teams to throw the ball to win games and they've been very successful at creating turnovers," added Vigil. "Last year against us in the playoffs, they had 10 sacks and had something like 70 sacks last year. It's unbelievable the amount of pressure that they've been able to put on opposing offenses."
 
In last week's 70-7 win at home against Adams State, Mines gained 639 yards of offense and scored on its first 10 possessions, including leading 49-0 at the half. Defensively, Mines held the Grizzlies to 91 total yards of offense.
 
Mines comes into Saturday's action having won 12 consecutive games since suffering a 30-27 loss in the second game of 2022 season to Angelo State. In addition, Mines has won 13 straight RMAC games since suffering a 26-21 loss in Grand Junction, Colo., against Colorado Mesa on Oct. 23, 2021.
 
Leading the way for Mines offensively is Matocha, who is completing 63.4 percent of his passes on the year as he is 64-for-101 passing for 913 yards and is averaging 304.3 passing yards per game and has tossed eight touchdowns and has thrown an interception.
 
Redshirt senior Max McLeod has been Matocha's primary target in the passing game as he has caught 22 passes for 413 yards and is averaging 18.8 yards per reception and 137.7 yards per game. In addition to McLeod, redshirt sophomore Flynn Schiele has caught 11 passes for 140 yards and is averaging 12.7 yards per reception.
 
The Mines rushing game, which has gained 486 yards on the season, is led by redshirt senior Noah Roper, who has gained 147 yards on 34 carries and has scored two touchdowns, while redshirt sophomore Landon Walker has scored four touchdowns and has gained 132 yards on 27 carries and is averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
 
One of the biggest strengths this season for the Orediggers has been the punting of redshirt sophomore Blake Doud. Doud, who has been a two-time RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week this season, is averaging an NCAA Division II leading 49.5 yards per punt and has had seven punts of 50 or more yards and has put eight of his 12 punts inside the 20-yard line.
 
On defense, the Orediggers are led by redshirt junior linebacker Jaden Healy, who has recorded 14 tackles, including nine solo stops, and has had 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. In addition to Healy, redshirt senior linebacker Nolan Reeve has had 10 tackles, two tackles for a loss and two sacks. Reeve is the Division II active leader in career sacks with 34.5. The Orediggers have recorded nine sacks and 25 tackles for a loss and have had 11 quarterback hurries in its first three games.
 
"Every opponent is different, and every opponent has their own unique strengths and unique weaknesses, but our approach shouldn't change. We talk about preparing for a faceless opponent, no matter who we're facing," added Vigil. "We're going to tweak what we do to try to maximize our strengths against them, but at the end of the day, it's about the Pack and it's about how we play and do our job. If we do our job, we've shown that we can go toe-to-toe with anybody."
 
Mines is coached by first-year head coach Pete Sterbick, who has spent the previous four years as the Orediggers' quarterbacks coach. Sterbick is 3-0 as Mines' head coach.
 
PACK FOOTBALL NOTES

• The fourth Philip Vigil Show of the 2023 football season is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 21 at the Thunder Zone, which is located across the street from the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.
• In the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll, the Pack were tabbed to finish second as they received 71 points to sit nine points in front of third place Western Colorado, who earned 62 points and a first-place vote and 10 points behind first place Mines, who earned 81 points and nine first place votes.
• The Pack are the winningest football program in the state of Colorado in terms of winning percentage as the Pack has won 64 percent of its all-time games since beginning its four-year school tenure in 1963. The Pack have posted a 248-138-4 record in football since 1963. Colorado is the second winningest team in the state as they Buffs have won 57 percent of its games all-time as they have posted a 722-536-36 record.
• Saturday's game will mark the 89th all-time game in the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl as the Pack have posted a 71-17 record in the venue since it opened in 2008.
• The second Pack Club Luncheon of the 2023 football season will be held this Friday, Sept. 22 from 12-1 p.m. in the ThunderBowl Pack House.
• All Pack football games will be broadcast once again this season on Fox Sports Pueblo (1350 AM) with Jim Brooks and Joe Cervi on the call. Saturday's broadcast will begin with a pregame show starting at 1:30 p.m. MT.
• Saturday's game will be shown on a tape-delayed basis on Sunday, Sept. 24 beginning at 2 p.m. on SOCO CW/Fox 21 in Colorado Springs. The channel can be found locally on Xfinity Cable channels 657 and 1020 in Pueblo.
• Saturday's game day sponsors are SunWest Credit Union and MXV Rail.
• Saturday's game is also Band Day as eight high school bands are scheduled to attend the annual event.
• The Hospitality Tailgate (formerly known as the Alumni Tailgate) will be held on the Leomiti Warrior Center Rooftop, starting two hours before kickoff and conclude at the start of the Saturday's game. This space is reserved for Pack Club members, corporate sponsors, and special guests.