PUEBLO, Colo. – The No. 7 ranked Colorado State University Pueblo football team will close out the home portion of its 2024 schedule here Saturday, Nov. 9 as the ThunderWolves host No. 14 Colorado School of Mines in a 1:02 p.m. Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game on Senior Day in the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.
 
Before Saturday's game, the Pack will honor its 21-member senior class in a pregame ceremony that is scheduled to begin at 12:40 p.m. 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).
 
"This is going to be a difficult group to replace. We will be celebrating 21 seniors, a class that has won a lot of football games and has led the right way. There is definitely going to be a void that will need to be filled," CSU Pueblo head football coach Philip Vigil said about this year's seniors. "It's hard to put into words how much this group means to me. They've bought in from the moment that we got here and have done nothing but what we've asked them to do and we're surely going to miss this group and their leadership."
 
Saturday's game will feature a match-up of two of the winningest football programs in the RMAC since 2008 as the two teams have combined to win 299 games and have posted a 299-86 overall record and won a combined 14 RMAC titles as each school has won seven league championships over that time frame.
 
The Pack, who can earn at least a share of its ninth all-time RMAC title with a win, comes into Saturday's game sporting an 8-1 overall record and a 7-0 mark in the RMAC following its 44-34 win last Saturday at then eighth-ranked Western Colorado, while Mines comes into the game with a 7-2 overall record and a 5-2 mark in the RMAC following its 56-21 win last Saturday at New Mexico Highlands.
 
CSU Pueblo, who is ranked No. 1 in this week's second edition of the NCAA Division II Super Region Four rankings, has won six straight games and 14 straight RMAC games, which is tied for the second-longest active conference win streak in Division II football. Additionally, the six-game win streak is also the ninth-longest active streak in Division II.
 
The win last Saturday at Western Colorado was keyed by a Pack offensive attack that scored on seven of its 13 possessions, including four of its six first-half possessions, and finished the game with 593 yards of offense as they passed for 435 yards and rushed for 158 yards against the No. 2 ranked rushing defense in Division II. The Pack never trailed in the game as they led 10-0 after the first quarter and 24-14 at the half.
 
"I was just so proud of our team and how free they played last Saturday against a really good opponent in Western Colorado in a hostile environment," Vigil said. "Every facet of our team made plays to help us win the game."
 
Leading the way for the Pack offense against the Mountaineers was junior quarterback Roman Fuller (Decatur, Texas/University of Tulsa), who was making his second straight start. Fuller, who was named this week's RMAC Offensive and NFF Colorado Chapter Player of the Week, was efficient in guiding the Pack offense as he completed 74 percent of his passes (34-for-46) for a career-high 435 yards and tossed five touchdown passes. The 435 passing yards are the second-most in a game in school history, while Fuller's 34 pass completions were a single-game school record for a Pack quarterback.
 
On the season, Fuller is 68-for-98 passing for 1,054 yards with one interception and 13 touchdown passes. He is completing 69.4 percent of his passes has a pass efficiency of 201.5 and is averaging 150.6 passing yards per game. The 13 touchdown passes are the fifth-most in the RMAC.
 
Retzlaff and Tosches were Fuller's primary targets in the air as they combined to catch 17 passes for 278 yards and had four touchdowns in the game as Retzlaff caught seven passes for 138 yards and hauled in three touchdown passes, including a 76-yard touchdown pass to give the Pack a 17-7 lead just four minutes into the second quarter, while Tosches caught 10 passes for 138 yards and had a touchdown reception. Retzlaff's 76-yard touchdown reception was the longest offensive play of the season for the Pack.
 
Coming into play this weekend, Retzlaff leads the league in both receiving yards per game (121.4 yards per game) and receiving touchdowns (10) and is second in both receiving yards (971) and receptions per game (6.5), while Tosches is fourth in the league in receiving yards (642), receiving yards per game (71.3) and receptions per game (4.6) and receiving touchdowns (7).
 
Another star on offense for the Pack against the Mountaineers was Russell, who carried the ball 19 times for 159 yards and averaged 8.4 yards per carry. The 159-yard rushing game was his sixth straight 100-yard rushing performance and seventh overall of the season. Russell, who is the leading rusher in the RMAC with 1,045 yards, enters the game sitting 14th on the school's career rushing chart with 1,630 yards and is just 70 yards shy of becoming the 13th player in school history to gain 1,700 career rushing yards.
 
"Our offense was clicking on Saturday. Coach (Brayle) Brown did a really good job of calling plays and keeping them off balance," added Vigil.
 
The Pack comes into Saturday's game as one of the top offensive teams in Division II as they are fifth nationally in passing offense (323.8 yards per game), fifth in total offense (496.8 yards per game), sixth in scoring offense (43.7 points per game) and 11th in offensive first downs (203). The Pack leads the RMAC in scoring, passing, and total offense and is fifth in rushing offense as they are averaging 173.0 yards per game.
 
On defense, the Pack allowed 445 yards to the Mountaineers as they passed for 405 yards but were held to 40 yards rushing on 27 carries and averaged 1.8 yards per carry. The defense also recorded five sacks to push their season total to 28 and collected its league-leading 12th interception of the season. The Pack has now held five of its nine opponents to less than 65 yards rushing.
 
"Defensively, we did a good job on Saturday and made some huge plays when we needed to," the Pack coach added.
 
Sophomore linebacker Gary Seidenberger (Fredericksburg, Texas/Fredricksburg) paced the Pack defense with his second straight game of recording 13 tackles. In addition to Seidenberger, Bone added seven tackles to push his career total to 222 tackles. Bone is one of 19 players in school history to record 200 or more career tackles.
 
Vigil said the efficiency of his team's offense helped played a role in the Mountaineers rushing for just 40 yards against the Pack defense.
 
"I think because we were so efficient on the offensive side, that helped get them (WCU) out of their normal game plan for what they do offensively. They're a team that looks to establish the run and take shots downfield," added Vigil. "Their quarterback (Drew Nash) is a really good player, and he made some plays I haven't seen people make in quite some time and did a good job extending drives, but ultimately, our defense got stops when it needed it most."
 
As the season has progressed, the Pack's offensive line has been able to protect the quarterback as they enter Saturday's 10th game of the season having allowed only nine sacks (1.0 sacks per game), which is the fewest allowed in the league. During its current six-game winning streak, the Pack has allowed just four sacks.
 
"One of the keys to victory offensively last Saturday was to protect the passer and our offensive line did a great job of doing that. I think Roman got hit twice and one was a sack where he could've thrown it away, but he didn't. Not only that, but we also ran the well against one of the top rushing defenses in the country and that is a credit to the offensive line and what they were able to do," stated Vigil. "The line has continued to get better and better every single week, and they played physical on Saturday, which was awesome to see."
 
Vigil said that Saturday's game is a huge game for his team and the biggest key for his team will be to continue to focus on the process and block out all the noise surrounding the game.
 
"This is a huge game and this is why players come to CSU Pueblo to play meaningful games in November. It's going to mean a lot to us because of what it represents," Vigil said. "It's the last opportunity for our seniors to play at home. We've got 21 seniors that we're honoring and that's a big deal. It's also Military Appreciation Day as we're going to honor those who have sacrificed and made the ultimate sacrifice so we can play this game and live in the best country in the world. It is also a big game because we're honoring the 2014 national championship team and bringing those guys back to campus. We've got to be able to put blinders on, block out the noise, and focus on what's most important, which is how we get better right now."
 
Saturday's game with Mines will mark the 35th all-time meeting between the two schools and the fourth meeting since the beginning of the 2022 season as the two schools met twice in 2022 – once in the regular season and once in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs and will meet for the second straight season in the ThunderBowl. The Pack leads the all-time series, 19-15, but Mines has won five straight games in the series, including a 55-14 loss in that game last season. The Pack are 12-4 at home in the series, while Mines leads 11-7 in Golden, Colo. Since restarting football in 2008, the Pack are 7-10 against Mines and is 4-6 against Mines when they are nationally ranked.
 
"This a game that no one on this team has won. I asked our team earlier this week, How many of you guys have ever beaten Mines? And no one raised their hand. This is a big game for us, but it doesn't change our process or change the way we do things in our preparation," Vigil stressed.
 
Following Saturday's game with Mines, the Pack will close out the regular season with a noon RMAC game on Saturday, Nov. 16 in Chadron, Neb., against Chadron State.
 
ABOUT MINES
Mines, who is ranked 14th and 21st respectively in this week's latest AFCA Division II Coaches and D2Football.com polls, comes into Saturday's game having won three of its last five games after opening the season winning its first four games of the 2024 season. The Orediggers, who are the five-time reigning RMAC Champions and the two-time defending NCAA Division II National Runners-up, have lost two RMAC games in a season for the first time since going 7-3 in league play in 2017.
 
Mines' losses this season have come at Colorado Mesa (14-13) on Oct. 5 and a 38-28 home loss on Oct. 26 against then eighth-ranked Western Colorado.
 
"We have the five-time conference champion and back-to-back national runners-up coming in here this Saturday. This team is full of guys who know how to play and win in big games. They are well-coached and have athletes all over the field on both offense and defense," Vigil said when asked about Mines. "They also play very hard and are one of the best teams we've seen on tape. There's a lot that they do that's really good."
 
The Orediggers come into Saturday's game sporting one of the top offenses in the RMAC as they are second in total offense (476.9 yards per game), second in rushing yards (193.4 yards per game), second in passing yards (283.4 yards per game) and leads the league in red zone offense at 90.9 percent as they have scored 26 red zone touchdowns and is third in the league in scoring as they are scoring 37.2 points per game.
 
The Mines offense is directed by the play of redshirt senior quarterback Evan Foster. On the season, Foster leads the RMAC in passing yards (2,320), passing yards per game (257.8), total offense (272.7), and passing touchdowns (21). Foster is 174-for-249 passing with 21 touchdowns and five interceptions and is completing 69.9 percent of his passes. In their win last weekend at New Mexico, Mines gained 658 yards of offense, had 32 first downs, and rushed for 491 yards.
 
On the ground, redshirt junior running back Landon Walker is fifth in the league in rushing yards with 605 and is second in the league in rushing yards per carry (6.4), third in rushing yards per game (75.6) and tied for the league lead in rushing touchdowns with 10. In addition to Walker, redshirt sophomore running back Braelon Tate has rushed for 424 yards on 69 carries and has scored four touchdowns, including rushing for 210 yards with two touchdowns last weekend at New Mexico Highlands.
 
Redshirt senior receiver Max McLeod and redshirt junior receiver Flynn Schiele are two of the top receivers in Division II as McLeod has caught 63 passes for 929 yards and has had 10 touchdown receptions and is the Division II career active leader in receiving yards with 4,539 yards, while Shiele has caught 57 passes for 1,032 yards and has also had 10 touchdown receptions.
 
"Offensively, their quarterback is playing at a very high level right now. Flynn (Schiele) and Max (McLeod) are two of the best receivers not only in the RMAC but in the country. They find unique ways to get those two the ball," Vigil said. "They've also got a big tailback that is downhill runner and will run you over. Their offensive line is talented as well."
 
Defensively, Mines is allowing 337.3 yards and 20.4 points per game and is tough in the red zone as their opponents are converting on just 68 percent of its red zone scoring chances. The Orediggers have recorded 17 sacks, 63 tackles for a loss and have broken up 33 passes and collected five interceptions.
 
Among the leaders defensively for Mines are redshirt senior linebacker Jordan Healy, redshirt senior linebacker Adrian Moreno, and redshirt junior defensive back Jackson Zimmerman. On the season, Healy leads the team in tackles with 46 and has recorded 10.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, while Moreno has tallied 42 tackles and three pass break-ups and Zimmerman has recorded 26 tackles, one tackle for a loss, one interception, and five pass break-ups.
 
"Defensively, they're going to be in an odd structure. They have three returning All-RMAC linebackers coming back from last year and have an All-American cornerback that are coming back from last year," Vigil said. "They've got talent all over the football field and we've got to make sure that we are at our best on Saturday."
 
Perhaps the biggest weapon for Mines is redshirt junior punter Blake Doud. Doud, who is a three-time RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week this season, is the top punter in Division II as he is averaging 47.5 yards per punt and has tallied 11 punts of 50 or more yards and has put 18 punts inside the 20-yard line.
 
Along with Doud, Tate is second in the RMAC in kickoff returns as he is averaging 24.2 yards per return, while redshirt junior Konnor Mickelsen is averaging 7.6 yards per punt return, and redshirt junior kicker Matthew Eich is 5-for-7 on field goals and 42-for-44 on extra points and is second in scoring with 57 points on the year.
 
"Blake Doud is a stud. He's done a really good job of flipping the field and putting them (Mines) in situations where they can put offenses behind and back them up," added Vigil.
 
Mines is coached by second-year head coach Pete Sterbick, who spent the previous four years as the Orediggers' quarterbacks coach before becoming the program's head coach. Sterbick is 21-3 as Mines' head coach.
 
PACK FOOTBALL NOTES

• The Pack Football Show is scheduled for 6 p.m. every Wednesday (except for Oct. 23) during the 2024 football season at the Thunder Zone, which is located across the street from the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.
• The fifth Pack Club Luncheon of the 2024 football season will be held on Friday, Nov. 8 from 12-1 p.m. in the Wolfpack Room overlooking the basketball court inside Massari Arena.
• The Hospitality Tailgate (formerly known as the Alumni Tailgate) that is normally held on the Leomiti Warrior Center Rooftop will not be held at Saturday's Mines game due to the weather.
• Saturday's game day sponsors are MXV Rail and Farmers Insurance and along with celebrating Senior Day, the Pack is also scheduled to have Military Appreciation Day to celebrate Veteran's Day.
• During the first media timeout of the first quarter of Saturday's game, the Pack will recognize the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship team that is celebrating its 10th Anniversary of that title on Saturday. The 2014 team, which was coached by John Wristen, posted a 14-1 overall record and they earned the title with a 13-0 win in the championship game in Kansas City, Kan., against Minnesota State.
• In the second iteration of the 2024 NCAA Division II Super Region 4 rankings that was released on Monday, the Pack was one of four RMAC ranked as the Pack were ranked No. 1, while Western Colorado was No. 4, Colorado Mesa was No. 9 and Mines was No. 10.
• Saturday's game marks the Pack's second of three regular season games in November as the Pack has posted a 63-40-1 record in the month since 1963, including being 35-10 record in the month since 2008.
• Saturday's game will mark the 190th game played since the restart of the Pack football program in 2008. Since 2008, the Pack have posted a 149-41 record.
• All of the Pack's football games will be broadcast once again this season on Fox Sports Pueblo (1350 AM) with Jim Brooks and Joe Cervi on the call. The broadcasts will begin with a pregame show 30 minutes before the opening kickoff. Saturday's Mines pregame show will start at 12:30 p.m. MT.
• The Pack is the winningest football program in the state of Colorado in terms of winning percentage as the Pack has won nearly 65 percent of its all-time games since beginning its four-year school tenure in 1963. The Pack has posted a 263-140-4 record in football since 1963. Colorado is the second-winningest team in the state as Colorado has won nearly 57 percent of its games all-time as they have posted a 730-546-36 record.