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Official Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State-Pueblo Game Thread
DoogieMcDoogerson
Member Posts: 2,504
Tune in to ESPN3.
The 2016 season opens with a pivotal game with national implications as Mines hosts CSU-Pueblo in the first Thursday night game at Marv Kay Stadium, live on ESPN3. Both teams are nationally ranked in preseason.
WATCH US
Thursday's game is being broadcast live as part of the NCAA D-II Football Showcase package on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app, the first time an ESPN broadcast has originated from Mines' campus. Bill Doleman and Trai Essex are on the call. Note that the game is available only to ESPN subscribers and is not available on the RMAC Network; all other Mines games this season will be live on the RMAC Network.
WEATHER REPORT
A perfect night for football with a forecast gametime high of 79 under mostly clear skies, going down to the upper 60s by game's end.
FAN PARKING
Lot K parking (next to Stermole Soccer Stadium and accessed off 11th Street) is available to all fans for $10. All other campus parking is free after 5 p.m. Please obey posted signs if using Golden city parking. For driving directions and a gameday parking map visit Directions.
MINES CAPTAINS
Mines has named four captains for 2016: quarterback Justin Dvorak, left guard Hasan Shaar, defensive end Tommy Hoskins, and nose tackle Dallas Fields.
IN THE RANKINGS
Both Mines and CSU-Pueblo are nationally ranked heading into Week 1. The Orediggers are #18 in the AFCA coaches' poll and #21 in the D2football.com media poll, while Pueblo is #5 according to the AFCA and #4 by D2football.com.
UNDER CENTER
Quarterback Justin Dvorak returns for his senior season having already posted some video game numbers in his career. He enters 2016 with career totals of 8,882 yards, 81 touchdowns, and a 154.0 rating in only 25 starts. He is rapidly approaching the Mines records for touchdown passes (3 away) and completions (48 away) and also has the marks for attempts, yards, percentage, and rating in his sights. Dvorak's 369.3 yards per game and 45 total touchdowns led NCAA Division II last year.
PRESEASON HONORS
Dvorak's big 2015 numbers earned him a bevy of preseason honors, including RMAC Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year. He was also named a preseason all-American by four different organizations. Dvorak was one of five preseason all-RMAC selections for the Orediggers, including Tommy Hoskins, Richie Rice, Hasan Shaar, and Ty Young.
RUSHING INTO HISTORY
Sam Seeton had a season to remember in 2015, becoming only the fifth 1,000-yard rusher in program history as he racked up 1,150 yards. His total was the second-most ever in a season at Mines and most since 1939 when Lloyd Madden went for 1,316 yards.
KEEP PUSHING
A big component to Seeton's success was an outstanding offensive line that returns four all-RMAC veterans: tackle Justin Traxinger, right guard Stephen Candelaria, center Richie Rice, and left guard Hasan Shaar. Traxinger slides over to the left side to replace the graduated Kyle Gilbert, while Levi Cecil, an Air Force transfer who backed up right tackle last year, is slated to start there. Mines' offensive line in 2015 produced big numbers: the Orediggers ranked 2nd in NCAA D-II in total offense (542.2 yards per game) and were eighth in first downs (301 total), and they kept people out of the backfield, allowing the fourth-fewest tackles for loss (3.1 per game) in the nation while allowing only 14 sacks in 11 games.
HERE'S THE CATCH
Out of all of Mines' units, graduation hit receivers the hardest with Cole Spurgeon, Jimmy Ellis, and Nate Wiemers all gone from 2015. But that doesn't mean the Oredigger receiving corps is without weapons. Ty Young, who led the team with 59 catches, is back coming off an 843-yard, 8-TD junior year, and Zach Richter is expected to slot into a starting role after catching 21 passes for 331 yards and 3 touchdowns. Riley Hoff is the projected starter at Z receiver with Zach Peterson and Brody Oliver at tight end.
DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING
Defensively, Mines will be led up front by returning line starters Tommy Hoskins and Dallas Fields. Hoskins compiled a team-high 8.0 sacks and 12.5 TFL last year out of 42 total tackles from the end position, while Fields plugged the middle with 3.0 sacks, 9.5 tackles for a loss, and 47 tackles. The linebackers return Drake Thenell (69 TT, 6.0 TFL, 2 INT) and add a big transfer in Lafayette graduate Chris Brockman, who will use his graduate year of eligibility at Mines after posting 77 tackles and 3.0 sacks for the Division I FCS Leopards in 2014. Dean Wenger and Grant Gale, who backed up last year, are set to move into starting roles.
THE BROCKMAN BROS
Speaking of Chris Brockman, it's no coincidence that the former D-I FCS standout landed at Mines - his younger brother, running back Chad Brockman, is a redshirt junior for the Orediggers. The elder Brockman sat out his senior season at Lafayette due to injury after starting 11 games and earning the Leopards' linebacker MVP honor in 2014 with 77 tackles, 7.0 TFL, and 3.0 sacks, including two sacks against Lehigh in their 150th meeting game at Yankee Stadium. The younger Brockman looks to break into the running back rotation this season; he was an RMAC Academic Honor Roll recipient a year ago.
GOT YOU COVERED
Mines has an extremely experienced secondary coming back led by corners Jalen Champagne and Adam Leonard, and former linebacker Drew Stephon (63 TT, 1 INT in 2015) has moved to free safety. Champagne was all-RMAC with 39 tackles and two picks last year, while Leonard emerged with 59 tackles and a pick in 11 starts as a redshirt sophomore. Caleb Courkamp, who made 44 tackles and an interception as a backup last year, moves into the strong safety slot.
ON SPECIAL TEAMS
One of the biggest losses Mines will have to absorb is that of four-year starting kicker/punter Avery Llewellyn. Redshirt sophomore Trenton Long has emerged as the starting kicker heading into week 1, with redshirt freshman Austin Toussaint projected to handle punts, and redshirt sophomore Grayson Harris backing up both.
ONE QUESTION...
The conclusion of Aug. 15's practice was not exactly a normal one. When asked by Head Coach Gregg Brandon if there were any announcements, redshirt junior Dean Wenger came forward to introduce his girlfriend, Kenzie, who had been visiting practice before heading off to her senior year at Northern Arizona. What Kenzie didn't know was that Dean would pop the question to his high school sweetheart in front of his teammates. She said yes!
SCORING BIG
Mines was fourth in NCAA Division II last year in scoring offense and second in total offense, putting up big numbers in each category. The Orediggers averaged 43.4 points per game and racked up 542.2 yards per game, including a national-best 365.3 in the air.
GOOD POINT
Mines has scored points in 104 consecutive games dating back to Nov. 10, 2007. The last time Mines was shut out was on Nov. 3, 2007 - an 18-0 loss at Colorado Mesa (then Mesa State).
SO BRIGHT
Tonight's game is the first for Mines under the lights since 2014, when they traveled to Fort Lewis in a nationally-televised game and won. Mines and CSU-Pueblo have met twice under the lights, in 2011 and 2013, both in Pueblo. It will be the first night game and Thursday game in Marv Kay Stadium history.
DON'T I KNOW YOU?
Mines head coach Gregg Brandon might be in his second year on the sidelines in Golden, but he is hardly a stranger to the head man on Pueblo's sideline, John Wristen. The pair are long-time friends, coaching together under Gary Barnett first at Northwestern in the 1990s and then at Colorado in 1999-2000 (Brandon had receivers, Wristen the running backs).
NEW FACES
Mines has added three new coaches to the staff under second-year head coach Gregg Brandon. Former NFL linebacker and Oklahoma graduate Brandon Moore will coach the linebackers, Mike McGlinchey arrives to coach the defensive line after last coaching at Salisbury (Md.), and former Louisville quality control assistant Aaron Watson will coach wide receivers.
MINES WINS IN THE CLASSROOM
The 2015 edition of the Orediggers won the RMAC's Brechler Award over the summer for having the top team GPA among the league's football teams. Mines put together a 2.96 team GPA headed by a national-best four Academic All-Americans in Tommy Hoskins, Shawn Kobylinski, Richie Rice, and Hasan Shaar.
KIND OF A BIG DEAL
Speaking of Richie Rice, the senior center picked up another major award in the spring as the NFFCC Colorado Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Rice, who has a 3.87 GPA majoring in petroleum engineering, beat out football players from Colorado programs in all three NCAA divisions.
ENGINEERING THE WAY
Mines student-athletes don't major in underwater basket weaving, although most of them would be happy to develop an autonomous submarine robot that could mass produce the baskets for you. Of the Mines football upperclassmen who have declared a major, here's the breakdown for 2016:
Mechanical Engineering - 30
Petroleum Engineering - 29
Chemical Engineering - 7
Civil Engineering - 5
Chemical & Biochemical Engineering - 4
Engineering & Tech. Management - 5
Metallurgical & Materials Engineering - 4
Electrical Engineering - 3
Computer Science - 2
Geophysical Engineering - 1
Mining Engineering - 1
BLASTER TRACKER
Mines' friendly mascot, Blaster the Burro, loves to graze on the west end's grass during games. But when Mines finds the end zone, Blaster takes off on a goal line-to-goal line run with his handlers, Mines Blue Key. Last year, the racing burro (yes, that's a real thing) ran the field 32 times for a whopping 6,400 rushing yards.
THE SERIES
Pueblo holds a 17-8 series advantage dating back to 1964. The Thunderwolves have won five in a row. Last year the Thunderwolves won 49-21 at home in a battle of top-10 teams.
The 2016 season opens with a pivotal game with national implications as Mines hosts CSU-Pueblo in the first Thursday night game at Marv Kay Stadium, live on ESPN3. Both teams are nationally ranked in preseason.
WATCH US
Thursday's game is being broadcast live as part of the NCAA D-II Football Showcase package on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app, the first time an ESPN broadcast has originated from Mines' campus. Bill Doleman and Trai Essex are on the call. Note that the game is available only to ESPN subscribers and is not available on the RMAC Network; all other Mines games this season will be live on the RMAC Network.
WEATHER REPORT
A perfect night for football with a forecast gametime high of 79 under mostly clear skies, going down to the upper 60s by game's end.
FAN PARKING
Lot K parking (next to Stermole Soccer Stadium and accessed off 11th Street) is available to all fans for $10. All other campus parking is free after 5 p.m. Please obey posted signs if using Golden city parking. For driving directions and a gameday parking map visit Directions.
MINES CAPTAINS
Mines has named four captains for 2016: quarterback Justin Dvorak, left guard Hasan Shaar, defensive end Tommy Hoskins, and nose tackle Dallas Fields.
IN THE RANKINGS
Both Mines and CSU-Pueblo are nationally ranked heading into Week 1. The Orediggers are #18 in the AFCA coaches' poll and #21 in the D2football.com media poll, while Pueblo is #5 according to the AFCA and #4 by D2football.com.
UNDER CENTER
Quarterback Justin Dvorak returns for his senior season having already posted some video game numbers in his career. He enters 2016 with career totals of 8,882 yards, 81 touchdowns, and a 154.0 rating in only 25 starts. He is rapidly approaching the Mines records for touchdown passes (3 away) and completions (48 away) and also has the marks for attempts, yards, percentage, and rating in his sights. Dvorak's 369.3 yards per game and 45 total touchdowns led NCAA Division II last year.
PRESEASON HONORS
Dvorak's big 2015 numbers earned him a bevy of preseason honors, including RMAC Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year. He was also named a preseason all-American by four different organizations. Dvorak was one of five preseason all-RMAC selections for the Orediggers, including Tommy Hoskins, Richie Rice, Hasan Shaar, and Ty Young.
RUSHING INTO HISTORY
Sam Seeton had a season to remember in 2015, becoming only the fifth 1,000-yard rusher in program history as he racked up 1,150 yards. His total was the second-most ever in a season at Mines and most since 1939 when Lloyd Madden went for 1,316 yards.
KEEP PUSHING
A big component to Seeton's success was an outstanding offensive line that returns four all-RMAC veterans: tackle Justin Traxinger, right guard Stephen Candelaria, center Richie Rice, and left guard Hasan Shaar. Traxinger slides over to the left side to replace the graduated Kyle Gilbert, while Levi Cecil, an Air Force transfer who backed up right tackle last year, is slated to start there. Mines' offensive line in 2015 produced big numbers: the Orediggers ranked 2nd in NCAA D-II in total offense (542.2 yards per game) and were eighth in first downs (301 total), and they kept people out of the backfield, allowing the fourth-fewest tackles for loss (3.1 per game) in the nation while allowing only 14 sacks in 11 games.
HERE'S THE CATCH
Out of all of Mines' units, graduation hit receivers the hardest with Cole Spurgeon, Jimmy Ellis, and Nate Wiemers all gone from 2015. But that doesn't mean the Oredigger receiving corps is without weapons. Ty Young, who led the team with 59 catches, is back coming off an 843-yard, 8-TD junior year, and Zach Richter is expected to slot into a starting role after catching 21 passes for 331 yards and 3 touchdowns. Riley Hoff is the projected starter at Z receiver with Zach Peterson and Brody Oliver at tight end.
DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING
Defensively, Mines will be led up front by returning line starters Tommy Hoskins and Dallas Fields. Hoskins compiled a team-high 8.0 sacks and 12.5 TFL last year out of 42 total tackles from the end position, while Fields plugged the middle with 3.0 sacks, 9.5 tackles for a loss, and 47 tackles. The linebackers return Drake Thenell (69 TT, 6.0 TFL, 2 INT) and add a big transfer in Lafayette graduate Chris Brockman, who will use his graduate year of eligibility at Mines after posting 77 tackles and 3.0 sacks for the Division I FCS Leopards in 2014. Dean Wenger and Grant Gale, who backed up last year, are set to move into starting roles.
THE BROCKMAN BROS
Speaking of Chris Brockman, it's no coincidence that the former D-I FCS standout landed at Mines - his younger brother, running back Chad Brockman, is a redshirt junior for the Orediggers. The elder Brockman sat out his senior season at Lafayette due to injury after starting 11 games and earning the Leopards' linebacker MVP honor in 2014 with 77 tackles, 7.0 TFL, and 3.0 sacks, including two sacks against Lehigh in their 150th meeting game at Yankee Stadium. The younger Brockman looks to break into the running back rotation this season; he was an RMAC Academic Honor Roll recipient a year ago.
GOT YOU COVERED
Mines has an extremely experienced secondary coming back led by corners Jalen Champagne and Adam Leonard, and former linebacker Drew Stephon (63 TT, 1 INT in 2015) has moved to free safety. Champagne was all-RMAC with 39 tackles and two picks last year, while Leonard emerged with 59 tackles and a pick in 11 starts as a redshirt sophomore. Caleb Courkamp, who made 44 tackles and an interception as a backup last year, moves into the strong safety slot.
ON SPECIAL TEAMS
One of the biggest losses Mines will have to absorb is that of four-year starting kicker/punter Avery Llewellyn. Redshirt sophomore Trenton Long has emerged as the starting kicker heading into week 1, with redshirt freshman Austin Toussaint projected to handle punts, and redshirt sophomore Grayson Harris backing up both.
ONE QUESTION...
The conclusion of Aug. 15's practice was not exactly a normal one. When asked by Head Coach Gregg Brandon if there were any announcements, redshirt junior Dean Wenger came forward to introduce his girlfriend, Kenzie, who had been visiting practice before heading off to her senior year at Northern Arizona. What Kenzie didn't know was that Dean would pop the question to his high school sweetheart in front of his teammates. She said yes!
SCORING BIG
Mines was fourth in NCAA Division II last year in scoring offense and second in total offense, putting up big numbers in each category. The Orediggers averaged 43.4 points per game and racked up 542.2 yards per game, including a national-best 365.3 in the air.
GOOD POINT
Mines has scored points in 104 consecutive games dating back to Nov. 10, 2007. The last time Mines was shut out was on Nov. 3, 2007 - an 18-0 loss at Colorado Mesa (then Mesa State).
SO BRIGHT
Tonight's game is the first for Mines under the lights since 2014, when they traveled to Fort Lewis in a nationally-televised game and won. Mines and CSU-Pueblo have met twice under the lights, in 2011 and 2013, both in Pueblo. It will be the first night game and Thursday game in Marv Kay Stadium history.
DON'T I KNOW YOU?
Mines head coach Gregg Brandon might be in his second year on the sidelines in Golden, but he is hardly a stranger to the head man on Pueblo's sideline, John Wristen. The pair are long-time friends, coaching together under Gary Barnett first at Northwestern in the 1990s and then at Colorado in 1999-2000 (Brandon had receivers, Wristen the running backs).
NEW FACES
Mines has added three new coaches to the staff under second-year head coach Gregg Brandon. Former NFL linebacker and Oklahoma graduate Brandon Moore will coach the linebackers, Mike McGlinchey arrives to coach the defensive line after last coaching at Salisbury (Md.), and former Louisville quality control assistant Aaron Watson will coach wide receivers.
MINES WINS IN THE CLASSROOM
The 2015 edition of the Orediggers won the RMAC's Brechler Award over the summer for having the top team GPA among the league's football teams. Mines put together a 2.96 team GPA headed by a national-best four Academic All-Americans in Tommy Hoskins, Shawn Kobylinski, Richie Rice, and Hasan Shaar.
KIND OF A BIG DEAL
Speaking of Richie Rice, the senior center picked up another major award in the spring as the NFFCC Colorado Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Rice, who has a 3.87 GPA majoring in petroleum engineering, beat out football players from Colorado programs in all three NCAA divisions.
ENGINEERING THE WAY
Mines student-athletes don't major in underwater basket weaving, although most of them would be happy to develop an autonomous submarine robot that could mass produce the baskets for you. Of the Mines football upperclassmen who have declared a major, here's the breakdown for 2016:
Mechanical Engineering - 30
Petroleum Engineering - 29
Chemical Engineering - 7
Civil Engineering - 5
Chemical & Biochemical Engineering - 4
Engineering & Tech. Management - 5
Metallurgical & Materials Engineering - 4
Electrical Engineering - 3
Computer Science - 2
Geophysical Engineering - 1
Mining Engineering - 1
BLASTER TRACKER
Mines' friendly mascot, Blaster the Burro, loves to graze on the west end's grass during games. But when Mines finds the end zone, Blaster takes off on a goal line-to-goal line run with his handlers, Mines Blue Key. Last year, the racing burro (yes, that's a real thing) ran the field 32 times for a whopping 6,400 rushing yards.
THE SERIES
Pueblo holds a 17-8 series advantage dating back to 1964. The Thunderwolves have won five in a row. Last year the Thunderwolves won 49-21 at home in a battle of top-10 teams.
Comments
Cool story, brah.