PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo saw its 2024 season come to an end in gut-wrenching fashion here Saturday afternoon as the Super Region Four top-seeded ThunderWolves fell 26-23 on a 32-yard field goal with one second left by Minnesota State in a second round NCAA Division II Playoff game at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.

The Pack, who entered the NCAA Playoffs ranked No. 6 and No. 7 in the final regular season D2Football.com and AFCA Division II Coaches Polls and claimed their ninth all-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title and first outright title since 2014, ends the 2024 season with a 10-2 record, while Minnesota State improves to 10-3 and advances to a third-round game against Bemidji State next Saturday.

Saturday's game was the final one for the Pack's 21-member senior class. This year's Pack football seniors are defensive back Daniel Bone III (Colorado Springs, Colo./Pine Creek), running back Korien Burrell (Beaumont, Texas/Henderson State), quarterback Steven Croell (Broomfield, Colo./Broomfield), defensive lineman Dominick Fini (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mesa Ridge), linebacker Wilde Germano (Hilo, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Hawai'i), defensive back Isaiah Hereford (Peoria, Ariz./Copper Canyon), defensive lineman Gaige Hill (Altoona, Pa./PennWest California), quarterback Devin Larsen (Gilbert, Ariz./Western New Mexico), defensive lineman Kenneth Lofton (Phoenix, Ariz./Mountain Pointe), tight end Curtis Luckadoo (Reno, Nev./Bishop Manogue Catholic), receiver Nigel Mitchell (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank Regional), linebacker Jon Nuschy (La Junta, Colo./Northern Colorado), defensive back Eli Pittman (Peoria, Ariz./Liberty), defensive back Isaiah Pittman (Peoria, Ariz./University of Mary), linebacker Noa Purcell (Kalihi, Hawai'i/Riverside City College), defensive lineman Cody Ramming (Littleton, Colo./Columbine), running back Howard Russell V (Phoenix, Ariz./Eastern New Mexico), defensive lineman Makeah Scippio (Colorado Springs, Colo./Harrison), receiver Taylor Tosches (Temecula, Calif./Southwestern Oklahoma State), defensive lineman James Turrentine (Elk Grove, Calif./American River College), defensive back Thomas Webb, Jr. (Tucson, Ariz./Central Oklahoma).

"It just didn't go our way today, but I can't overemphasize how proud I am of this team and group of players. I challenged these 21 seniors all year long to leave the jersey better than they found it and they did that," CSU Pueblo head coach Philip Vigil. "The ball didn't bounce our way today, but it doesn't change what these guys have done. It doesn't change the foundation that we've laid, and it doesn't change who we're going to be in the future. Proud of these guys, proud of this team and proud of this staff."
 

The Pack led 16-6 going into the fourth quarter, before the Mavericks, who are now 4-1 all-time against the Pack in the NCAA Playoffs, outscored the home team 20-7 in the final period, including hitting two field goals in the final minute of the contest to seal the victory.

The first field goal by Matthew Jaeger came with a minute left in the game as he 40-yard field goal to tie the game at 23-all.

Following Jaeger's game tying field goal, the Pack over the ball with 55 seconds left at their own 25-yard line. After false start penalty on the first play pushed the ball back five yards and then after the Pack gained six yards on the next play thanks to a 6-yard pass from junior quarterback Roman Fuller (Decatur, Texas/University of Tulsa) to junior receiver Zack Rakowsky (Loveland, Colo./Loveland), Fuller was pressured by the Mavs defense and tossed an interception that was returned nine yards to the Pack 22-yard line by Cade Stingle.

Stingle's interception came with 42 seconds left in the game and three plays later on a fourth-and-three from the Pack 15-yard line, Jaeger hit a 32-yard field goal to give the MSU a 26-23 lead with one second left.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Pack returned the kick 59 yards, including 40 yards following a lateral to Mitchell, to the MSU 35-yard line, before the Mavs punter Connor Fournier tackled Mitchell to end the game.

"You look at a game like this and it's easy to say that the turnover at the end caused the game, but that is not what it was. No one play will break or break a game. We knew we were going to and need to finish with touchdowns, instead of field goals and we didn't do that enough today," the coach added. "I thought the defense played well all day long and held them most of the game. We had our opportunities, but didn't capitalize."

Saturday's playoff game was the first for the Pack since 2022 and the program's first home playoff game since picking up a 17-0 win in the first round of the 2019 playoffs, meanwhile, Minnesota State has played in three straight NCAA playoffs, including advancing to the second round for the second time in the last three years.

"I think there's something to be said about playing in and winning playoff games, but there is something to the experience of playing in the postseason and something to winning in the postseason and you can't get that unless you do it. Credit to Mankato, they've done it three years in a row," Vigil stated. "But I will say this is the first for this group for me as the head coach here, but it's not going to be the last. We're going to learn from this and we're going to get better."

Jaeger's game-tying field goal came after the Pack retaken the lead thanks to a 16-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to Russell with 4:02 left in the game. Russell's touchdown, which was his team-leading 14th of the season, completed a six-play, 63-yard drive for the Pack.

Russell's score came after MSU had retaken the lead at 20-16 following a 15-yard rushing touchdown by Hayden Ekern with 6:17 left in the game.

The onside kick by the Mavericks came one play after they pulled within 16-13 following a 36-yard touchdown pass from Ekern to Grant Guyett with 9:40 left in the game.

After leading 13-6 at the half, the Pack scored the only points in the third quarter as their second drive of the quarter ended in a 27-yard field goal by junior kicker Jacob Willig (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) with 5:22 left in the quarter. Willig's field goal capped a nine-play, 50-yard drive by the Pack.

On the ensuing MSU possession, the Mavericks drove 38 yards in eight plays, but the drive stalled when Bone sacked Ekern for a 10-yard loss on a third-and-nine play. On the play, Ekern fumbled the ball, but he was able to recover the ball and force a 54-yard field goal attempt by Jaeger. Jaeger's attempt, though, was blocked by junior defensive back Ben Wilson (Pearland, Texas/Midwestern State) with 1:23 left in the game.

For the game, the Pack offense finished with 355 yards of offense on 61 plays as they rushed for 82 yards and passed for 273 yards.

"I think for us offensively, you back and look at it, we hurt ourselves with penalties at times. We had a couple of false starts, some pre-snap penalties and a holding call that was big. Against a good defense, you can't do that," added Vigil, who is now 18-5 as the Pack's head coach.

Fuller finished the game 24-for-33 passing for 273 yards and had a touchdown pass and an interception. His touchdown pass was the 18th of the season, which is eighth on the school's single-season chart.

Rakowsky was the big target in the passing game as he caught nine passes for 82 yards and added 35 yards on two punt returns to finish with 117 all-purpose yards, while Russell caught seven passes for 64 yards and added 92 yards rushing on 20 carries to finish with 158 all-purpose yards. Russell finishes the season with 1,207 rushing yards, which is fifth on the school's single-season chart and pushed his career total to 1,792 yards, which is 11th on the school's career rushing chart.

The Mavs held senior receiver Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College) to three catches for 59 yards and three rushes for six yards. The RMAC Offensive Player of the Year and Harlon Hill Trophy nominee closes the season with 67 catches for 1,228 yards and 12 touchdown catches, all tops on the school's single-season charts.

Minnesota State took the opening kickoff, drove 56 yards in 12 plays, and capped the drive with a 40-yard field goal by Jaeger just a little over six minutes into the contest. 

The Pack would finally get on the scoreboard on its third offensive series of the game as they drove 50 yards in 11 plays and capped the drive with a 46-yard field goal by Willig to tie the game at 3-all with 10:44 left in the second quarter. The 46-yard field goal was the longest of Willig's career. 

Following Willig's field goal, MSU mounted a 10-play, 32-yard drive, but the Pack defense would step up and force the Mavericks to turn the ball over on downs after Ekern tossed an incomplete pass on a fourth-and-five play from the Pack 43-yard line. On the play, Pittman was credited with a pass breakup.

On the ensuing possession by the Pack, they drove 49 yards to the MSU 8-yard line, but the drive stalled, and Willig drilled a 24-yard field goal with 3:15 left in the second quarter to give the Pack a 6-3 lead. The big play on the drive was a 22-yard run by Russell on the first play of the possession.

The Pack would get into the scoring column on MSU's next possession as well as Scippio picked off an Ekern pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown to give the Pack a 13-3 lead with 1:01 left in the second quarter. The interception return for a touchdown was 54th in program history for a touchdown since 2008. 

The Mustangs would cap the first half scoring with a 41-yard field goal by Jaeger as time expired to cut the Pack's lead to 13-6 at the half. 

MSU finished the game with 387 yards of offense as they rushed the ball 47 times for 175 yards and passed for 212 yards as Ekern was 16-for-37 in the game with an interception and a touchdown pass.

Sam Backer and Ekern combined to run the ball 36 times for 123 yards, while Gage Hagen and Guyett each caught five passes for 76 and 66 yards respectively in the win.

The Pack defense recorded four sacks, four tackles for a loss and broke up seven passes in the game. The four sacks pushed its season total to 40, which is fifth on the school's single season chart.

Sophomore linebacker Gary Seidenberger (Fredericksburg, Texas/Fredericksburg) paced the defense with a career-high 14 tackles and added a sack and tackle for a loss, while Bone capped his collegiate career with 12 tackles, including a sack and a forced fumble. Bone closes his career with 242 career tackles, which is 11th most in school history.

Both teams made seven third-down conversions in the game as the Pack was 7-for-15 on third down and MSU was 7-for-19. In addition, both teams were 3-for-3 in the red zone.