Things don't get any easier for the Chadron State College football team, which was upset 24-16 by New Mexico Highlands last Saturday and is 4-5 for the season and 3-4 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Now, the Eagles will play Western New Mexico in Silver City at noon Saturday.  The Mustangs feature some of the nation's offensive leaders.
 
They include senior quarterback Mitch Glasmann, who leads NCAA Division II in passing by 129 yards through nine games this fall. He has completed 250 of 430 passes for 3,368 yards and 22 touchdowns while leading the Mustangs to a 3-6 record. 

A 6-foot-3, 220-pound native of Temecula, Calif., Glasmann also has taken took over as the RMAC's all-time leader in career passing yards and touchdowns.

After starting all 41 Western New Mexico games the past four seasons, Glasmann has completed 974 of 1,745 passes for 12,926 yards and 108 TDs.  He's been intercepted 47 times, including 14 this season.

Glasmann isn't the only Mustangs' standout.  As a freshman last year, tailback Marques Rodgers, who is 5-10, 175, rushed for 1,296 yards, including 205 yards on 36 carries against the Eagles.
 
So far this fall, Rodgers has carried 183 times for 1,062 yards and scored nine times. He's also caught 58 passes for 629 yards and four scores, returned punts for 123 yards and is fourth in the nation in all-purpose yards.

The Mustangs' leading receiver is junior Xavier Ayers with 78 catches for 1,198 yards. His yardage total leads the RMAC and is second nationally. 

In addition, senior Larry Young has caught 54 passes for 829 yards and nine TDs.

Last year's game between the Eagles and the Mustangs, played in Chadron, was a donnybrook.  WNMU led 31-13 after scoring on its first possession of the second half, but the Eagles scored five of the game's final seven touchdowns and won 48-45 on a 15-yard pass from quarterback Jonn McLain to wide receiver Danny O'Boyle with less than a minute remaining.

McLain finished with 28 completions in 43 attempts for 352 yards and five TDs.  Glasmann connected on 20 of 38 for 253 yards and four TDs.
               
 
"We know he'll try to throw deep," said CSC defensive coordinator Jeff Larson of Glasmann.  "He has a rather awkward throwing motion, but he has no problem taking shots (at the end zone).  They also put Rodgers all over the place—split him wide, send him in motion and try to get him the ball as often as they can."

Thankfully for the opponents, the Mustangs' defense isn't as potent as their offense.  Their foes have a nearly two-to-one bulge (2,095 to 1,111) in rushing yardage and also have thrown for 24 touchdowns, one more than WNMU's total. 

CSC head coach Jay Long said while he's well aware of WNMU's offensive capabilities, he's more concerned about bringing his team out of its recent slump.
 
"We're all hurting, both the coaches and the players," Long said.  "We need to play with more excitement.  We need some juice.  With three of our co-captains out because of injuries, we're looking for leadership. We can't be afraid of making mistakes."
  
Long added that with several key players sidelined, and he wants the replacements to seize the opportunity to take up the slack.

"Our motto is 'Next man up,'" said Long, a former CSC offensive lineman who was inducted into the Eagles' Athletic Hall of Fame last Saturday night.  "That's how I became a starter. I replaced somebody who was hurt.  We need our guys who haven't been playing a lot but now have that opportunity to go out there and get the job done."

This will be the last game between the Eagles and the Mustangs, who joined the RMAC in 2006. WNMU announced last spring that it will leave the RMAC and join the Lone Star Conference, made up mostly of Texas teams, in the fall of 2016.