PUEBLO, Colo. – The No. 6/7th-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo football team will make its 10th all-time appearance in the NCAA Division II Playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 30 as the Super Region Four No. 1 seeded ThunderWolves host Minnesota State of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in a second-round game set for a 1:02 p.m. kickoff at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl. 
 
CSU Pueblo, who earned the No. 1 seed in Super Region Four in this year's NCAA Division II Playoffs, qualified for the 28-team playoffs after earning its first outright Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship since 2014 after finishing the regular season with a 10-1 overall record and an unblemished 9-0 RMAC record. The 9-0 league record was the first for the Pack since 2013 and the fifth time since rebooting the football program in 2008.
 
Saturday's home playoff game will be the first for the Pack since collecting a 17-0 victory over Augustana in the first round of the 2019 playoffs that set up a second-round game at Minnesota State, a game the Mavericks won 35-7. The Pack have faced Minnesota State in the playoffs four previous times as the Mavericks have won three of the four meetings with the Pack's lone win coming in the 2014 National Championship game, a game the Pack won 13-0 to claim the national title in just its eighth season since rebooting the program in 2008.
 
"Mankato is a very well-established program. They are a playoff contender every single year and have been in the playoffs the past three years," CSU Pueblo head coach Philip Vigil said. "Obviously, there's some history between CSU Pueblo and Mankato. They're a well-coached team and are athletic at almost every position and big upfront. They do a good with what they do and they never quit."
 
The Pack hasn't played a game since closing the 2024 regular season with a come-from-behind 38-21 win on Nov. 16 at Chadron State to wrap up its outright RMAC title and earn the No. 1 seed from Super Region Four in the playoffs. The bye week was the second for the Pack in less than a month as they also had a bye between the Black Hills State game on Oct. 19 and the Western Colorado game on Nov. 2.
 
Against Chadron State, the Pack extended its RMAC win streak to 16 consecutive games and ran its win streak to eight straight games since suffering a 24-21 loss at home on Sept. 14 against then No. 3 ranked Grand Valley State. The 16-game conference win streak is the second longest active streak in Division II football, while the eight-game win streak is the fifth-longest active streak in Division II.
 
In the win over the Eagles, the Pack trailed 21-7, but scored 31 unanswered points in the second half, including scoring 24 points in the third quarter to earn its second-largest come-from-behind win in program history.
 
For the game, the Pack offense finished with 389 yards of offense as they rushed 36 times for 144 yards and passed for 245 yards. After being outgained, 198-152, in the first half, the Pack outgained Chadron State, 237-56, in the second half.
 
"A lot was riding on that game with Chadron State. The first time to win an outright conference championship since 2014 and also had the No. 1 seed in the region rankings going into the game, so the guys understood how important and how significant the game was," the coach added. "There were a lot of hurdles that we had to overcome, the wind and elements being one. But I thought our guys answered the bell and were never rattled and were relentless the entire game. I was really proud of their response in the second half, plus, being able to see our seniors hoist that trophy was very special."
 
Junior running back Emanuel Fincher (McKinney, Texas/McKinney North), who made his first career start at running back in place of senior running back Howard Russell V (Phoenix, Ariz./Eastern New Mexico) who was nursing an injury, ran the ball a career-high 20 times for a career-high 140 yards and scored a career-high three touchdowns. For his efforts against Chadron State, Fincher was named the NFF Colorado Chapter Player of the Week.
 
Junior quarterback Roman Fuller, who made his fourth straight start, was 20-for-32 passing for 245 yards and had one touchdown pass and two interceptions. On the season, Fuller is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes as he is 113-162 passing for 1,569 yards and has thrown three interception and 17 touchdown passes, which are fourth-most in the RMAC. His 182.0 passing efficiency is tops in the RMAC and third-best in Division II.
 
Fuller two primary targets in the passing game were senior receivers Taylor Tosches (Temecula, Calif./Southwestern Oklahoma State) and Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College). Tosches caught eight passes for 86 yards and the lone touchdown pass for the Pack, while Retzlaff hauled in five passes for 59 yards to push his season total to 64 receptions for 1,169 yards, both of which are new single-season school records. Retzlaff is now only the second receiver to record 1,000 or more receiving yards in a season.
 
Entering the postseason, Retzlaff, who was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Year and is a candidate for the 2024 Harlon Hill Trophy, leads the RMAC in both receiving touchdowns (12) and receiving yards per game (116.9) and is second in both receiving yards (1,169), receptions per game (8.4) and all-purpose yards per game (116.9). He ranks in the Top 10 in Division II in touchdown receptions, receiving yards and receiving yards per game, while his 24 career touchdown receptions are tied for tops on the school's all-time chart.
 
"Reggie is an outstanding playmaker that can go out and win a one-on-one match-up with anyone in the country. Teams have really focused on trying to limit him the last half of the season, but he's still finding ways to make plays for us offensively," added Vigil.
 
The Pack special teams played a big role in the win over Chadron as they blocked both a punt and a field goal in the second half. The blocked punt by redshirt freshman linebacker Shallum Peter (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands) in the third quarter led to Pack's go-ahead touchdown with 1:11 left in the period. The block by Peter was his third of the season, which is tied for fourth nationally in Division II. The second block of the game was junior defensive back Keith Mckaney (Avondale, Ariz./Desert Edge) blocking a 22-yard field goal by Chadron's Wilson Yee just three minutes into the fourth quarter.
 
Defensively, the Pack held Chadron State to 254 yards of offense as they passed for 179 yards and rushed the ball 35 times for 75 yards and averaged just 2.1 yards per carry. The Pack also recorded two sacks and five tackles for a loss.
 
Vigil says that having the first-round bye last week was huge for his team.
 
"We were able to get some guys healthy, plus it was huge for our morale to be able to reset our mind, refocus and get back to fundamentals," the Pack coach said. "When you don't know who you're going to be playing, you focus a lot on who you are and what you need to do to get better and we were able to utilize that last week."
 
Vigil says that the biggest key for his team on Saturday against Minnesota State is to play to their standard.
 
"For us, the biggest key comes down to us playing to our standard. It comes down to us playing for each other and doing our jobs. We feel like if we do that consistently for 60 minutes, that we can play with anyone," Vigil added.
 
Vigil has the Pack back in the playoffs after a one-year absence from the postseason in his second season directing the CSU Pueblo football program. Last season, the Pack went 8-3 overall and 7-2 in the RMAC and ended the season winning its final seven games, but fell just short of a playoff appearance. The Pack's three losses came to schools that advanced to the 2023 NCAA Playoffs and finished with a combined record of 35-5.
 
"This is first time we've been in the playoffs with this group since 2022. I think it is just an accumulation of their work. The players, the coaches, they've done a lot to put us in a position where we are right now and everything they've done has led up to this point," Vigil said about his team making the playoff this season. "This is a result of our process, it's a result of these guys buying in and doing their jobs, so it means a lot. Obviously, being able to play at home is huge. Being able to play in the ThunderBowl and have a normal Friday night is huge for us and we want to continue that on for as long as we possibly can."
 
Since rebooting the football program in 2008, the Pack has advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs 10 times beginning in 2011. Those 10 appearances (counting this season) are the 10th most among the 28 teams that earned playoff bids this season. In addition, the Pack is one of six schools in this year's playoff field to have won a national title in football. The other Division II programs that have won national titles in this year's playoff field are Valdosta State (2004, 2007, 2012, 2018), Grand Valley State (2002, 2003, 2006), Pittsburg State (1991, 2011), Ferris State (2021, 2022) and Harding (2024). Four others have been national runners-up – Carson Newman (1996, 1998, 1999), Lenoir-Rhyne (2013), Minnesota State (2014, 2019), New Haven (1997).
 
ABOUT MINNESOTA STATE
Minnesota State comes into Saturday's game sporting a 9-3 overall record after opening the 2024 playoffs with a come-from-behind 20-19 win in last Saturday's first-round game at 22nd-ranked and No. 4-seeded Augustana. The win helped the Mavericks avenge a 34-16 loss at home to the Vikings in the regular season.
 
"They are a well-coached team that has been in the playoffs before and knows how to win big games at this time of year. They were down 10 points with under three minutes to go last Saturday against Augustana and were able to come back and win that game," Vigil said when asked about Minnesota State.
 
In its first-round playoff win over their NSIC rivals, Minnesota State trailed 19-10 following a 40-yard field goal by Augustana's Jake Pecina with 3:11 left in the game. Following that field goal, the Mavs drove down the field and pulled within 19-17 following a 33-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Hayden Ekern to junior receiver Grant Guyett with 1:35 left in the contest. That was just the second touchdown of the game for MSU and the first since midway through the second quarter. 
 
After the touchdown and point-after, the Mavericks set up for an on-side kick attempt that MSU recovered at their 48-yard line with 1:33 remaining. The Mavs would proceed to drive 35 yards in eight plays, including Ekern scrambling for a 16-yard gain on a third-and-4 play from the Augustana 39-yard line with 40 seconds remaining. The drive would stall at the Augustana 17-yard line and junior kicker Matthew Jaeger drilled a 34-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to seal Minnesota State's victory.
 
"Good teams find ways to win games and they found a way to win that game last weekend," the Pack coach added.
 
As a team, MSU, who finished second in the NSIC with an 8-2 conference record and have recorded 16 consecutive winning seasons, is averaging 30.0 points per game and 391.7 yards of offense this season as they are averaging 166.9 yards rushing and 224.7 passing yards a game.
 
Ekern, who is eighth among active Division II quarterbacks in career passing yards (8,068) and seventh among active Division II quarterbacks in career passing touchdowns (70) and career total offensive yards (9,355), 206-for-330 passing for 2,645 yards and has had 21 touchdown passes and thrown six interceptions. He has also gained 362 yards rushing and has had 11 rushing touchdowns and averages 250.6 yards of total offense per game and has had a hand in 32 of the Mavericks' 48 touchdowns this season.
 
Junior receiver TreShawn Watson leads the receiving corps for the Mavericks as he has caught 45 passes for 667 yards and has hauled in eight touchdown passes and is averaging 14.8 yards per reception. In addition to Watson, senior tight end Gabe Hagen and Guyett have combined to catch 70 passes for 906 yards and 11 touchdowns. Hagen has caught 38 passes for 457 yards and has had six touchdown catches, while Guyett has caught 32 passes for 449 yards and five touchdown receptions.
 
Redshirt freshman Sam Backer led the Mavericks rushing attack with 764 yards and has scored four rushing touchdowns. In addition to Backer, senior Christian Vasser has tallied 386 rushing yards and added five touchdowns. As a team, MSU has had five players recorded over 125 yards rushing on the season and six players have scored at least one rushing touchdown.
 
Meanwhile, defensively, MSU has allowed 23.5 points and 349.8 yards of total offense this season, including allowing just 139.1 rushing yards per game. As a team, the Mavericks have recorded 22 sacks, 71 tackles for a loss, picked off 10 passes and have blocked three kicks, including three by junior defensive end Caleb Paulus, which is tied for fourth-most nationally.
 
Leading the way defensively is senior linebacker Antonio Alzheimer, who has recorded 94 tackles, including 56 solo stops and has added 5.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks. In addition to Alzheimer, senior cornerback Khai West is second in tackles with 59 and has had four tackles for a loss, two interceptions and a blocked kick, while senior defensive end Cody Brown leads in both tackles for a loss (13.5) and sacks (5.5). Senior defensive end Maven Kretche has had 6.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks and has recovered two fumbles and senior safety Joey Goettl has picked off a team-best three passes and has five pass breakups on the year.
 
On special teams, Jaeger is 8-for-12 on field goal and is 38-for-41 on extra points and is second on the team in scoring with 62 points. Jaeger is 6-for-7 on field goals inside 40 yards, but is just 2-for-5 on field goals over 40 yards with his longest field goal being 40 yards against both Wayne State (Neb.) and MSU Moorhead. Redshirt freshman punter Connor Fournier is averaging 36.9 yards per punt and has had two punts of 50 or more yards and has put 13 punts inside the 20-yard line.
 
In the return game, Watson is averaging 23.0 yards on kickoff returns, while redshirt freshman Neal May is averaging 7.8 yards per punt return.
 
Much like the Pack, who is sixth nationally in punt return defense as they allow just 2.18 yards per return, Minnesota State comes into play Saturday 19th nationally in punt return defense as they allow just 4.2 yards per punt return.
 
Minnesota State is coached by Todd Hoffner, who is in his 14th season at the helm of the Mavericks program. Hoffner has compiled a 140-36 overall record and is the program's all-time winningest coach. He has led the Mavericks to seven NSIC titles, 11 NCAA playoff appearances and two National runner-up finishes. In addition, he has won three AFCA Region Coach of the Year accolades and was the AFCA Division II National Coach of the Year in 2019.
 
MSU is making their 15th all-time NCAA Division II playoff appearance this season. The Mavericks have posted a 16-14 all-time playoff record, which is sixth-most among this year's 28-team playoff field.
 
The winner of Saturday's game will face the winner of Saturday's other Super Region Four second-round game between 10th-ranked and No. 2-seeded Western Colorado (10-2) and Bemidji State (9-3) next Saturday for the region championship. The Western Colorado-Bemidji State second-round playoff game is slated for a 1 p.m. kick-off in Gunnison, Colo.
 
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