October 24th, 2025 7:00am
Colorado School of Mines (5-2) and Western Colorado (7-0) will meet for the 100th time on Saturday at the Mountaineer Bowl in Gunnison, Colorado. The game will air live on the RMAC Digital Network with kickoff at 1pm, mountain time. Western Colorado enters the game ranked no. 5 in the D2Football.com Top 25 poll and tied at the top of the RMAC standings with CSU Pueblo and Chadron State. All three teams are currently unbeaten in conference play. The Orediggers sit two games behind with a 3-2 record in the RMAC.
The Mountaineers rank seventh in the national statics in the both scoring offense (42.4 points per game) and scoring defense (12.86 points per game). They will have their hands full with a Mines offense that leads the RMAC in yards per game (455) and has shown balance between rushing and passing. Following the links below for complete analysis and games notes from both sides
From Western Colorado game notes:
WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE GAME
COLORADO MINES HEADING INTO THE GAME
From Colorado School of Mines game notes, by Tim Flynn:
LAST WEEK
Mines rode an offensive explosion as they routed Adams State 72-14 at Marv Kay Stadium. The Orediggers generated 763 yards of total offense led by six first-half touchdown passes from Joseph Capra, with Mines leading the Grizzlies 49-14 at the break. Max Barnes ran for an impressive 201 yards and a touchdown while Pierce Richards caught three scores on 88 yards receiving. Capra, in only one half of play, was 14-of-18 for 226 yards and six touchdowns and ran for 67 yards. The Orediggers' ground game was impressive with 476 rushing yards, averaging 9.9 yards per attempt as both Barnes and Josh Snyder (109) went over 100 yards. Freshman Connor Cade, in his collegiate debut, added 58 yards and a touchdown. Mines scored on all of its possessions save its final one, which it kneeled out.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
Undefeated at 7-0 and ranked #6 by the AFCA and #5 by D2football.com, Western Colorado is tied atop the RMAC at 5-0 coming off a 34-13 win at South Dakota Mines last week. Their defense has been the RMAC's best, allowing only 12.9 points and 283 yards per game led by Ian Loomis (54 TT, 7.5 TFL, 4.0 sacks) and Cameron Cooper (39 TT, 10.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks). The offense has been impressive as well averaging 42.3 points per game led by quarterback Drew Nash, who has thrown 19 touchdowns against only one interception for 1,578 yards, and he has run for 238 yards and seven touchdowns as well. Caden Measner is third in the RMAC in receiving yards at 538 with seven touchdowns, while Quinn Bailey's five touchdowns lead their running backs.
LAST YEAR VS. WESTERN COLORADO
#10/12 Colorado School of Mines' fourth-quarter comeback attempt wasn't enough as #8/10 Western Colorado held on to win, 38-28, last season in Golden. The Orediggers trailed 31-7 in the fourth quarter before reeling off three touchdowns, but ran out of time in front of a stadium-record crowd of 7,813. Evan Foster was 21-of-30 for 323 yards and four touchdowns. Both Flynn Schiele and Max McLeod crossed 100 receiving yards for a third consecutive game as Schiele had 136 with two touchdowns and McLeod 107 with a score; Mark McCurdy also caught a touchdown on 71 yards. Mountaineers quarterback Drew Nash threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another on 88 yards, while Braeden Hogan rushed for 148 yards and two scores. Ricky Freymond led a stout WCU defense with three sacks as they compiled seven overall.
NOTING THE SERIES
Colorado's longest unbroken football series, Mines and Western Colorado are meeting for the 100th time ... This year's game is 100 years to the month from their first meeting, which happened in Golden on Oct. 3, 1925 ... It is Mines' most-played rivalry ... Western Colorado leads the series 53-44-2 but Mines has won seven of the last 10 ... After the first game in 1925 (a 15-6 Western Colorado win), other than a five-year break for World War II and the 2020 pandemic season, the two teams have met at least once every year since ... Western (20 titles) and Mines (16 titles) are #1 and #2 all-time in terms of RMAC Championships and shared the 2021 crown.