RAPID CITY, S.D. (November 7, 2026) – No. 3/No. 4 Colorado State University Pueblo tied a school record with its 33rd consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory here Saturday afternoon as the ThunderWolves used a strong defensive performance and an efficient offensive attack to roll past South Dakota Mines, 31-0, at O'Harra Stadium.
With the victory, the Pack improved to 10-0 overall and 8-0 in the RMAC, while South Dakota Mines fell to 5-5 overall and 3-5 in league play. Along with extending its conference winning streak to 33 consecutive games, CSU Pueblo also extended its NCAA Division II-leading road winning streak to 20 straight games and pushed its regular-season winning streak to 19 consecutive contests.
The 33-game RMAC winning streak ties the school record previously established by the ThunderWolves from 2010-14. CSU Pueblo will have an opportunity to establish a new school record with its 34th consecutive conference victory next Saturday when the Pack hosts fifth-ranked Western Colorado in a winner-take-all showdown for the RMAC Championship at the ThunderBowl.
Saturday's victory sets up an undefeated Top 5 showdown next Saturday in Pueblo as the third-ranked ThunderWolves host fifth-ranked Western Colorado with the RMAC Championship on the line. Both teams enter the regular-season finale with identical 10-0 overall records and 8-0 marks in conference play. The Pack will be looking to capture its third consecutive RMAC title.
"I am proud of these guys. I thought they responded really well from last week. Obviously, we had some turnover issues there in the fourth quarter that we've got to clean up, but the defense played fantastic today," CSU Pueblo head football coach Philip Vigil said following the game. "The defense flew around today, and our offense was efficient when we needed it to be, especially with the wind early. It was a great team win today."
The ThunderWolves wasted little time establishing control of Saturday's contest as they took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in nine plays, capping the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Navi Bruzon (Peoria, Ariz./Highland CC) to senior receiver Dedrek Taylor-Akins (Fontana, Calif./Northeastern State). The scoring strike gave the Pack an early 7-0 lead just over four minutes into the opening quarter.
After the CSU Pueblo defense forced a three-and-out on South Dakota Mines' opening possession, the Pack took over at the Hardrockers' 44-yard line and needed just seven plays to find the end zone for the second time. Bruzon connected with Taylor-Akins again, this time on a 23-yard touchdown pass, to extend the ThunderWolves' lead to 14-0 with 6:23 remaining in the first quarter.
The score remained 14-0 until late in the second quarter when the Pack capitalized on a big special teams play to extend its advantage. Redshirt freshman receiver Sean Conway (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) returned a punt 55 yards to set up an 11-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Russell Patton (Denver, Colo./Dr. MLK Jr. Early College). Patton's scoring run gave the ThunderWolves a 21-0 lead with 1:32 remaining before halftime.
CSU Pueblo continued to build on its advantage early in the third quarter as the ThunderWolves' defense came up with another key stop. After holding South Dakota Mines on a fourth-and-2 play from its own 43-yard line, the Pack offense took advantage of the favorable field position and marched 42 yards in four plays.
Sophomore running back A.J. Merrida (Houston, Texas/Adams State) capped the possession with a 22-yard touchdown run to extend the ThunderWolves' lead to 28-0 with 11:19 remaining in the third quarter.
The Pack added its final points of the afternoon just 53 seconds into the fourth quarter as senior kicker Jackson Smith (Centennial, Colo./Santa Barbara City College) connected on a 42-yard field goal to push CSU Pueblo's advantage to 31-0.
The ThunderWolves' defense preserved the shutout the rest of the way as CSU Pueblo recorded its 10th consecutive victory to open the 2026 season and remained unbeaten heading into its regular-season finale.
Saturday's shutout also marked the first time CSU Pueblo has shutout the same opponent in back-to-back seasons since the ThunderWolves blanked Black Hills State in three consecutive seasons from 2017-19. The Pack opened the 2025 season with a 43-0 shutout at home against the Hardrockers.
For the game, the Pack outgained the Hardrockers, 424 to 184 as the ThunderWolves rushed the ball 50 times for 256 yards, while the Pack passing attack was 11-for-26 with a interception and two touchdown passes. Bruzon finished the game 9-for-22 passing for 138 yards and added 41 yards rushing on eight carries for a total of 179 yards of total offense. Bruzon's two touchdown passes pushed his season total to 30, which is tied for fourth on the school's single-season charts.
The Hardrockers entered the game having allowed only 98.7 yards rushing per game on the season.
Taylor-Akins finished the game with four catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns, while junior receiver Marcellus Honeycutt, Jr. (Aurora, Colo./Eastern Washington) caught two passes for 37 yards in the win.
Sophomore linebacker Carter Daniels (Centennial, Colo./Mountain Vista) led the Pack defense with nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss. The Pack forced South Dakota Mines into three turnovers as they collected two interceptions and recovered a fumble. South Dakota Mines entered the game having only committed two turnovers on the season.
The Pack also had three turnovers on the game as they tallied two fumbles and an interception by Bruzon.
Sophomore running back Jaedon Matthews (Goodyear, Ariz./Cal Poly) paced the Pack ground game with 59 yards on 11 carries, while sophomore quarterback Evan Powell (San Bernardino, Calif./Chaffey College) gained 43 yards rushing on eight carries and caught one pass for nine yards.
South Dakota Mines rushed for just 24 yards on 24 carries in the game and passed for 184 yards as their quarterbacks were a combined 19-for-36 through the air with two interceptions. The Hardrockers entered Saturday's game have just recorded two interceptions on the season.
The Pack had Dawson Dunbar to just 11 yards on nine carries. Dunbar entered the game has the leading rusher in the conference with 831 yards and a league-leading 13 touchdowns. He did manage to catch five passes for 52 yards in the game.
CSU Pueblo will close out the 2026 regular season next Saturday, Nov. 14, with a 1 p.m. Senior Day kickoff against fifth-ranked Western Colorado at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl. The Mountaineers improved to 10-0 overall and 8-0 in the RMAC following a 41-20 home victory over Colorado School of Mines on Saturday.
