CHADRON, Neb. -- October 27, 2016 -- After posting a pair of desperately needed victories, the Chadron State College football team hopes to make it three in a row this Saturday when it visits Colorado Mines in Golden.  Kickoff is set for noon.

No doubt about it, the Orediggers, led by quarterback Justin Dvorak, will be a handful. They are 6-2 overall and 5-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and lead the nation in passing offense at 338.1 yards a game and total offense with a 555.6-yard average.

Mines also is fourth nationally in scoring at 46.5 points a game.

"It should be a fun game," CSC coach Jay Long said. "They have a great offense and we'll have to be disciplined and play our best again.  Their offense is a lot like South Dakota Mines'. They pass really well, and they also can run the ball.  We're excited about playing them."

The Orediggers opened the season in a big way, knocking off perennial power and RMAC preseason favorite Colorado State-Pueblo 57-21.  They then defeated New Mexico Highlands 54-14, but lost their third game to Colorado Mesa 41-40 in overtime. 

Western State, led by All-American tailback Austin Ekeler, who rushed for 316 yards and three touchdowns and caught two passes for TDs, also beat Mines 45-31 in the final game in September.

So far in October, the Orediggers are 4-0. They downed Fort Lewis 45-35, edged non-conference foe Azusa Pacific 27-21 and returned to conference action to best South Dakota Mines 56-28 and Dixie State 62-27 last Saturday.

Dvorak, a 6-foot, 200-pound senior from Tomball, Texas, is the Orediggers' major weapon.  He was tabbed by Sporting News and several other selectors as Division II's preseason first-team All-American quarterback.

After eight games this fall, he has completed 221 of 337 passes (65.6 percent) for 3,033 yards and 34 touchdowns.  He has been intercepted just six times and only once in October.

His passing yardage, touchdown totals and 27.62 completions per game lead NCAA Division II.

No doubt about it, Dvorak has a favorite receiver.  Sophomore Brody Oliver, is the RMAC leader with 55 catches for 1,122 yards and 18 touchdowns.  The latter two stats also lead the nation.

Chadron State's Max Gray, who caught four touchdown passes last Saturday when the Eagles rallied to beat South Dakota Mines 37-33, is third on the RMAC reception list with 49 for 502 yards.

Long said he is proud of the way the Eagles, now 3-5 overall and 3-4 in the conference, played against South Dakota Mines.  

"We found a way to win.  We made some mistakes that really cost us early, but we finally got in our rhythm and executed well," the coach noted. "We ran 90 plays and converted on 13 of 21 third down situations.  Then we had six takeaways, four by the defense and two by the special teams.  That's playing like the Eagles are supposed to play."

Providing protection for CSC quarterback Matt Vinson will be important.  The Mines' defense is giving up 415 yards a game, an average of about 30 more than Chadron State, but the Orediggers pace the conference in quarterback sacks with 23. 

Another key for both teams will be third and fourth downs. The Orediggers lead the conference by a large margin with a conversion rate of 58.5 percent, while the Eagles are holding opponents to a league-low 35.2 percent. That statistic was evident in CSC's last outing when they nearly doubled South Dakota Mines in conversion percentage, 62 to 33 percent. On fourth downs, both Chadron State and Colorado Mines are among the bottom three in the conference.

Mines has opted to take their chances on 16 fourth downs this season, versus only 26 punts and six field goal attempts. If the Eagles can force fourth downs, they will likely enjoy an advantage as CSM has only converted six fourth downs and two field goals all season long.

Chadron State has lost only two fumbles on the season, tying them for fourth in NCAA Division II. Only 16 NCAA teams at all levels combined have lost fewer.

Colorado Mines has created a league-low four fumbles, but are tied for second with 11 interceptions. They are second in the conference for turnover margin, while CSC is tied for third.