PUEBLO, Colo. – The No. 22 ranked Colorado State University Pueblo football team concludes its three-game homestand here Saturday as the ThunderWolves host longtime rival Colorado Mesa University for an 11:02 a.m. Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference match-up on Band Day at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.
 
The Pack comes into its second RMAC game of the season sporting a 2-1 overall record and a 1-0 mark in the RMAC following a hard-fought 24-21 setback at home last Saturday to then No. 3 ranked Grand Valley State that snapped the Pack's nine-game winning streak, while Colorado Mesa comes into the game sporting a 1-1 overall record following its 28-12 home loss last Saturday against then 13th-ranked Central Washington.
 
In last Saturday's nationally ranked showdown in the ThunderBowl against Grand Valley State, the Pack trailed 17-0 at the half, but outscored the Lakers, 21-7, in the second half, including scoring two fourth quarter touchdowns.
 
"Grand Valley is a very good team and is the No. 2 in the country for a reason. They've played in a lot of big games and understand how to win tight games and at the end of the day, we just didn't make enough plays," CSU Pueblo second-year head football coach Philip Vigil said. "We spotted them 17 points, but I thought we played well in the second half, but when you spot a good team 17 points it's hard to overcome that, and even still, we had chances in the second half to win the game."
 
Against the Lakers, the Pack gained 379 yards on offense as they passed for 310 yards and rushed for 69 yards. After getting outgained, 171-111 in the first quarter, the Pack outgained the Lakers, 268-233 over the final three quarters, including outgaining GVSU in the second half, 214-171.
 
"We started a little slow. We went right down the field offensively on our first drive and had a fourth-and-three play and got sacked and turned the ball over in the red zone. Defensively, we struggled a little bit in the first quarter, but we were able to settle down in the second quarter, and from the second quarter on, we only gave up 10 points defensively. I thought those guys did a good job of settling down and doing their job," the Pack coach said. "Offensively, it took us a little bit to get into a rhythm. We were able to drive the ball, but we must be able to finish with points in the red zone. We were 3-for-6 in the red zone and if we were able to convert those red zone opportunities into points, we win the football game, but that's a credit to Grand Valley State and what they do."
 
Senior quarterback Devin Larsen (Gilbert, Ariz./Western New Mexico) finished the game 24-for-40 passing for 310 yards and tossed three touchdown passes and had one interception. It marked the second time this season that Larsen threw for 300 or more yards in a game. Larsen's touchdown passes in the game were a 15-yarder to junior tight end Tyler Dvorak (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek), an 11 yarder to redshirt senior receiver Nigel Mitchell (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank Regional), and a 2 yarder to senior receiver Taylor Tosches (Temecula, Calif./SW Oklahoma State). The latter touchdown came with four seconds left in the game.
 
On the season, Larsen is 75-for-122 passing for 1,104 yards and has tossed 11 touchdown passes. He leads Division II in passing yards (1,104) and is second in both passing touchdowns (11) and passing yards per game (368.0) and third in total offense (360.3).
 
One of Larsen's big targets in the passing game against the Lakers was senior receiver Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College) as he caught seven passes for 147 yards but was held without a touchdown catch for the first time this year. Retzlaff has now caught 25 passes for an NCAA Division II-best 552 yards and is averaging a Division II-best 184 receiving yards per game and is second nationally in touchdown receptions with five.
 
The Pack defense allowed 404 yards of offense as the Lakers ran for 239 yards and passed for 162 yards, but they recorded three sacks, six tackles for a loss, and forced a fumble.
 
Senior linebacker Jon Nuschy (La Junta, Colo./Northern Colorado) paced the Pack defense with a career-high 17 tackles and added a sack and a tackle for a loss. The 17 tackles are tied for the third most this season by a Division II player. In addition to Nuschy, two-time senior All-American defensive back Daniel Bone III (Colorado Springs, Colo./Pine Creek) added 10 tackles and a tackle for a loss.
 
One of the big keys for the Pack entering last weekend's game with Grand Valley State was to play a clean football game, according to Vigil.
 
"We played a cleaner game, but there were some key penalties at key points that hurt us that were within in our control, so we've to continue to improve in that area," the coach added.
 
The Pack played in front of a season-high crowd of 8,057 fans and that crowd was enthusiastic and added to the atmosphere in the ThunderBowl, according to Vigil.
 
"The crowd was tremendous last weekend and playing at home seems to energize our team," the Pack coach said. "When Pueblo comes out to the games, it helps significantly. We had a great crowd last weekend and our guys thrive off the environment generated by the home crowd."
 
Saturday's game will be the second RMAC game this season for the Pack as they opened the 2024 season with a 35-6 win in Rapid City, S.D., against South Dakota Mines on Aug. 29. Colorado Mesa is playing its first RMAC game of the year. The win over South Dakota Mines extended the Pack's RMAC win streak to eight straight games, which is currently the sixth-longest active conference win streak in Division II football.
 
"We're excited to get out and play again this weekend. It is a conference game, but our approach and preparation does not change based on who we're playing. Our focus this week, like it is every week, is to continue to improve and get better each day," the coach stated.
 
Saturday's game with Colorado Mesa will mark the 24th all-time meeting between the two schools as CSU Pueblo holds an 18-6-1 lead in the series, including a 12-3 edge since the Pack rebooted its football program in 2008. The Pack has won six straight games since Mesa earned a 20-19 win in 2016 in Grand Junction, Colo. Last season, the Pack collected a 59-20 win in the ThunderBowl over the Mavericks.

Ironically, when the two teams renewed their gridiron rivalry in 2008, Vigil was the starting quarterback for the Mavericks as they posted a 26-3 win in Grand Junction, Colo., over Pack. In that game, Vigil, who was a two-time All-RMAC selection at Colorado Mesa, was 13-for-27 passing for 150 yards and had two touchdown passes and one interception, and gained 23 yards rushing on four carries.
 
Vigil says even though this game has some extra meaning for him and several members of his coaching staff, the most important thing for his team is that they are ready to go on Saturday against a very good opponent.
 
"Colorado Mesa is a very well-coached team that is going to come in here and play extremely hard," Vigil said. "We are going to have to play our best football on Saturday and do our jobs to have a chance to win."
 
ABOUT COLORADO MESA
Colorado Mesa, who received a vote in this week's latest AFCA Division II Coaches Poll sponsored by Hudl, comes into Saturday's game having split its first two games to open the 2024 season as the Mavericks opened its season with an impressive 16-13 win at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Aug. 29 and then after a bye week, the Mavs fell 28-12 at home last weekend to nationally ranked Central Washington.
 
"They did a really good job in week zero winning at Texas A&M-Kingsville, which is a very hard place to play, and then last weekend they played a nationally ranked Central Washington team and hung with them for the entire game," Vigil said.
 
The Mavericks, who are coached by former CSU Pueblo defensive coordinator Miles Kochevar, are scoring 14.0 points per game and are averaging 221.0 yards of offense per game as they are averaging 84.5 rushing yards and 136.5 passing yards per game. CMU leads the RMAC in red zone offense as they are 4-for-4 in the red zone through the early going this season.
 
On offense, the Mavericks have played two quarterbacks this season -  redshirt junior Leslie Richardson and Liu Aumavawe.
 
Richardson, who is a transfer from CSU Pueblo, is 10-for-21 passing for 136 yards and has thrown two interceptions and no touchdowns and has rushed 15 times for 48 yards and has scored a touchdown, while Aumavae is 10-for-18 passing for 137 yards and has thrown a touchdown pass and no interceptions.
 
Freshman receiver Quezon Villa leads the Mavericks' receiving corps as he has caught eight passes for 113 yards and is averaging 56.5 receiving yards per game, while the rushing attack is paced by junior running back Aiden Taylor, who has gained 71 yards rushing on 22 carries and has scored a touchdown.
 
"They are balanced offensively. They'll get under center, and they'll run wide zone and gap scheme stuff, but then they'll do some quarterback run game out of the shotgun. They have two athletic quarterbacks that can run and move," Vigil said about Mesa's offense. "They also have some receivers on the edge that are big and can make big plays."
 
Perhaps the biggest strength of the Mavericks team is their defense as they are allowing 302.5 yards per game and just 20.5 points per game. The Mavs opponents are averaging 175 rushing yards per game and are passing for just 127.5 yards per game. CMU ranks third in the league in total defense (302.5), fourth in scoring defense (20.5), and third in red zone defense (67 percent).
 
Leading the way for the Colorado Mesa defense is sophomore linebacker Charlie Smith, who has recorded a team-best 25 tackles, including 11 solo stops. In addition to Smith, redshirt senior safety Liban Shongolo has tallied 22 tackles, while sophomore safety Jason Thome has posted 15 tackles and has collected an interception and senior linebacker Levi Krebs has had 14 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss on the year.
 
"Defensively, they are going to be an odd structure. They're going to try to overload and put seven in the box. Their safety, No. 1 (Liban Shongolo), is a very good football player. He seems to find himself in the box a lot and is comparable to Daniel Bone in my opinion. He does a great job tackling and making big plays and is somebody we're going to have to plan for," Vigil added. "They are big up front, will play hard and are very well coached."
 
On special teams, junior kicker and punter Sullivan Moon, who was named this week's RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week, is 2-for-3 on field goals and is averaging 35.0 yards per punt and has put three punts inside the 20-yard line. Moon played the past two seasons at CSU Pueblo before transferring to Mesa during the off season.
 
Junior punt returner Kash Bradley leads the league in punt returns as he is averaging 10.3 yards per return and is also averaging 24.0 yards per kickoff return. As a team, the Mavs lead the RMAC in punt returns as they are averaging 10.3 yards per return and is sixth in kickoff returns as they are averaging 21.3 yards per return.
 
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 gates of the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl will open at 9 a.m. with the opening kickoff scheduled for 11:02 a.m.
• The second Pack Club Luncheon of the 2024 football season will be held on Friday, Sept. 20 from 12-1 p.m. in the ThunderBowl Pack House.
• In the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll, the Pack was tabbed to finish third as they received 66 points to sit 16 points in front of fourth-place Colorado Mesa (50 points) and eight points behind second-place Western Colorado, who earned 74 points and three first-place votes. Mines was tabbed as the preseason favorite as the Orediggers earned 79 points and seven first-place votes.
• Canvas Credit Union and UCHealth are the sponsors of Saturday's Band Day game with Colorado Mesa.
• All 11 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 Colorado Mesa pregame show will start at 10:30 a.m. MT.
• The Hospitality Tailgate (formerly known as the Alumni Tailgate) will once again be held on the Leomiti Warrior Center Rooftop, starting two hours before kickoff and conclude at the start of all the home games this season. This space is reserved for Pack Club members, corporate sponsors and special guests.
• 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 257-140-4 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 724-546-36 record.