PUEBLO, Colo. – After playing its last three games in the comforts of the ThunderBowl, No. 22/No. 24 ranked Colorado State University Pueblo will return to the road for the first time in nearly a month this Saturday, Sept. 28 as the ThunderWolves travel to Alamosa, Colo., for a 1 p.m. Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game against Adams State University at Rex Field.
 
The Pack, who has played three of its first four games at home this season, comes into Saturday's second RMAC road game of the 2024 season sporting a 3-1 overall record and a 2-0 mark in the RMAC following a 38-14 victory over Colorado Mesa University last Saturday, while Adams State comes into the game having lost its first three games of the season as the Grizzlies are sporting an 0-3 overall record and an 0-1 record in RMAC play following its 38-0 loss last Saturday at then 15th-ranked Western Colorado.
 
CSU Pueblo enters this weekend's action having won nine straight RMAC games dating to last season and that nine-game conference win streak is currently the fifth-longest active streak in Division II football and the longest for the Pack since winning 11 straight RMAC games from 2019-21.
 
In last Saturday's win against Colorado Mesa, the Pack jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and scored all four of its offensive touchdowns on the ground, while adding a fifth touchdown on a 23-yard blocked punt return by redshirt freshman defensive back Matteus Bugg (Gilbert, Ariz./Williams Field) that was blocked by redshirt freshman linebacker Shallum Peter (Fort Worth, Texas/Fossil Ridge). It was the first blocked punt for a touchdown since Kyle Rosenbrock returned a blocked punt 35 yards against Adams State in 2017.
 
For the game, the Pack offense finished with 367 yards of total offense as they ran for a season-high 211 yards, averaged 5.1 yards rushing per carry, and passed for a season-low 156 yards. On the season, the Pack offense leads the RMAC in total offense (440.5 yards per game), passing offense (325.0 yards per game), and first downs (89) and is second in scoring (33.5 points per game) and seventh in rushing (115.5 yards per game).
 
"I thought we came out strong in all three game phases. Offensively, we went down and scored right off the bat. We had a good plan for running the football, especially when we were going against the wind. Coach (Brayle) Brown did a great job at getting our guys on offense rolling," CSU Pueblo second-year head football coach Philip Vigil said. "Defensively, we played really well, and we were able to get special teams involved early with the blocked punt that we returned for a touchdown. I was proud of how our team responded from last week."
 
Senior running back Howard Russell V (Phoenix, Ariz./Eastern New Mexico), who was named this week's RMAC Offensive Player of the Week, carried the ball 18 times for a season-high 142 yards and scored three touchdowns and opened the game with a 57-yard run on the first play from scrimmage. The three-touchdown rushing game was the first for a Pack running back since Marche Dennard scored three rushing scores against New Mexico Highlands in 2018.
 
On defense, the Pack defense held the Mavericks to a total of 281 yards of offense as they averaged just 4.3 yards per game. CMU was held to 49 yards rushing on 30 carries and averaged just 1.6 yards per rushing and passed for 232 yards.
 
"Our defense played tremendous. One of our keys to the game was controlling the line of scrimmage and stopping the run and we did a great job doing that on Saturday. They had 1.6 yards per carry for 49 yards in the game," added Vigil. "Our defense has been playing stellar all year long and again had another great day last week."
 
On the season, the Pack defense is allowing 440.5 yards per game, 16.8 points per game, and is second in the league in third down conversion percentage defense as their opponents are converting just 28 percent of their third downs. In addition, the Pack is second in the RMAC in sacks with 12 and is averaging 3.0 per game and has forced five turnovers (four interceptions and one fumble).
 
One area that stepped up last Saturday for the Pack was special teams as along with blocking a punt for a touchdown, the Pack also ran a fake punt on a fourth-and-eight play for a 16-yard gain by senior linebacker Noa Purcell (Kalihi, Hawai'i/Riverside City College) that eventually led to a touchdown.
 
"Special teams are something we emphasize consistently. It's something that we work hard on in practice, and it was awesome to see it come to fruition on Saturday," the Pack coach added. "Shallum (Peter) is a guy as a redshirt freshman that was giving us issues on our punt last year on the scout team, so it was awesome to see him go out there and give other people the same issues he gave us last year."
 
In addition to the blocked punt and fake punt, the Pack's two punters - junior Regan Baker (Brisbane, Australia/Idaho State) and redshirt freshman Caleb Harner (Erie, Colo./Erie) - averaged 42.0 yards on their five punts in the win.
 
"We talk all the time about tilting the field in special teams and how important that is as the percentages of offenses scoring when they're backed up versus when they get in plus field position and how that can change the game," Vigil said.
 
One thing that Vigil is still waiting to see his team do is to play a complete game this season.
 
"I think there was a little bit of a lull on Saturday in the second quarter. I don't know if we've necessarily put a full game together yet if I'm being honest, and that is something I told the team after the game on Saturday," added Vigil. "It is something we want to continue to strive to do and put a full game together."
 
Vigil preaches to his team every week that their opponent is nameless and that the most important thing for the Pack is to focus on getting better each day.
 
"It should not matter who we're playing. That should not be relevant in our minds at all. It should be about us getting one percent better every single day and we're going to let the results on Saturday take care of themselves," said Vigil.
 
Among the keys to success for the Pack offensively this coming weekend according to Vigil are to improve in situational football and score touchdowns when we get in the red zone.
 
"I think we need to be better in all three phases as there are some areas where we can improve. We need to do a better job of situational football. There were a couple of times on Saturday where we were just short of the first down on third down," the Pack coach added. "We've also got to be able to continue our drives on the offensive side and score touchdowns when we get in the red zone."
 
In Saturday's game against Colorado Mesa, the Pack was 4-for-4 on fourth down and were 5-for-5 in the red zone.
 
Meanwhile, among the keys on defense on Saturday are to get turnovers and improve our tackling, according to Vigil.
 
"Defensively, we have got to continue to try and get turnovers. We left a couple of turnovers and left a couple of sacks out there on Saturday," the coach said. "We need to capitalize on sacking the quarterback. There was still some sloppy tackling, so that is something we need to improve on and get better."
 
On special teams, Vigil said the Pack needs to make sure they're getting all the points in the kicking game and playing penalty-free.
 
Saturday's game with Adams State will mark the 36th all-time meeting between the two schools and the 16th time since CSU Pueblo restarted football in 2008. The Pack leads the all-time series 26-9 and have won 14 straight games in the series since Adams State picked up a 16-8 win in Pueblo in 2008. The Pack is 14-5 at home against Adams State and leads 12-4 in Alamosa. The Pack are 14-1 in the series since 2008. Last season, the Pack picked up a 43-10 on Homecoming over the Grizzlies in the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.
 
Following Saturday's game at Adams State, the Pack will return home next Saturday, Oct. 5 to the ThunderBowl to host New Mexico Highlands in its annual Homecoming and Hall of Fame Game. Kickoff for next Saturday's game is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
ABOUT ADAMS STATE
Adams State comes into Saturday's game having lost nine straight games dating to last season as the Grizzlies are sporting an 0-3 overall record and a 0-1 mark in RMAC play after being shutout 38-0 last Saturday at then 15th-ranked Western Colorado. Ironically, the Grizzlies current nine-game losing skid began with its 43-10 loss last season at CSU Pueblo.
 
As a team, Adams State, who is coached by Jarrell Harrison, has struggled to score this season as the Grizzlies are averaging 16.7 points per game with 36 of their 50 points coming in their season opener against Western New Mexico as the Grizzlies fell 46-36 in the season opener. On offense, the Grizzlies are averaging 274.3 yards per as they are rushing for 86 yards per game and are passing for 188.3 yards per game. They have scored two rushing touchdowns and have thrown five touchdown passes.
 
"It will be Homecoming this weekend at Adams State, and I expect them to have some juice. I expect there to be a big crowd and I expect them to play hard," Vigil said about Adams State. "They've got some good athletes at certain positions that really will give you issues if you don't plan for them, and they can be a very dangerous team."
 
Against Western Colorado last Saturday, Adams State was shut out for the first time in 25 games since Nov. 13, 2021, when they fell 63-0 at Colorado School of Mines. Against the nationally ranked Mountaineers, the Grizzlies gained just 100 yards of offense as they rushed 32 times for minus-12 yards and passed for 112 yards.
 
Leading the way for the Adams State offense is redshirt freshman quarterback Chase Nelson. Nelson is 49-for-96 passing for 516 yards and has thrown four touchdown passes and four interceptions and has gained 59 yards rushing and is averaging 191.7 yards of total offense per game on the year.
 
The Grizzlies rushing attack is paced by freshman running back AJ Merrida, who has gained 84 yards on 31 carries, while redshirt senior running back Dayton Boddie has gained 58 yards rushing and has scored both of ASU's rushing touchdowns.
 
Nelson's big target in the passing game this season has been senior receiver Kevin Johnson, who has caught 14 passes for 142 yards and is averaging 10.1 yards per catch and has hauled in two touchdown passes. Junior Damon Bell has caught nine passes for 80 yards.
 
On defense, ASU is allowing 50.3 points per game and is also allowing 502.0 yards per game as they are allowing 260.7 rushing yards and 241.3 passing yards. The Grizzlies have recorded four sacks, 16 tackles for a loss, and has forced three turnovers.
 
The Grizzlies' defense is paced by sophomore defensive back Seth Shaw, who has recorded 21 tackles, including 11 solo stops, while junior linebacker Joshua Sparks has had 19 tackles and junior linebacker Seth Moss has had 16 tackles, a sack and two tackles for a loss.
 
On special teams, ASU has blocked a league-best two kicks and is fifth in the league in both kickoff returns (19.7 yards per return) and punt returns (8.0 yards per return). Sophomore defensive back Roscoe Taylor and graduate student Aaron Cyrus have each blocked a kick this season, while junior Aaron Johnson is averaging 17.2 yards per kickoff return and 16.0 yards on punt returns.
 
Sophomore Trevor Allen is averaging 40.8 yards per punt and has put two of his punts inside the 20-yard line and has had two 50-plus yard punts, while sophomore kicker Brysen Gardner is 4-for-4 on extra points and has missed his lone field goal attempt.
 
"We've got to again go in and start strong and we've got to continue to play all four quarters on Saturday," added Vigil.
 
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.
• 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.
• Saturday's game marks the Pack's final game in the the month of September. The Pack are 84-42 in the month of September since 1963, including being 47-17 in the month since the program rebooted in 2008.
• The Pack are 111-60-3 (.647) all-time in games against Colorado schools since 1963. Since the football program rebooted in 2008, the Pack are 57-19 all-time against Colorado schools, including being 24-11 on the road against Colorado schools. The Pack is 1-0 this season against Colorado schools.
• 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 Adams State 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 258-140-4 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 725-546-36 record.