CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State will take its final road trip of the season, heading to the thin air of the highest elevation in college sports to take on an opponent in the thick of the RMAC title race.

The Eagles (3-6, 2-5 RMAC) will battle No. 11 Western Colorado (8-1, 6-1 RMAC) in Gunnison, Colorado this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. 

After a 42-point homecoming win three weeks ago, Chadron State is coming off back-to-back one score losses to their two closest geographical rivals, Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines. Western Colorado started the year 8-0, including a win over Colorado School of Mines, but lost last weekend to CSU Pueblo in a matchup of then-Top 10 teams.

The game can be streamed live on the RMAC Network. Fans can also listen live on Double Q Country 97.5 and 105.9 or doubleqcountry.com, with Dave Collins on the call. 

Looking Back
Chadron State faced South Dakota Mines in the Eagle-Rock Trophy game last Saturday, with the visitors earning the trophy with a narrow 24-17 victory over the Eagles. CSC now has four one-score losses this season.

RECAP: Black Hills State

The Eagles scored on a touchdown reception by Tommy Thomas from backup quarterback Miguel Larios and a blocked punt by redshirt freshman Liam Blaser that senior Brodie Roden recovered and returned for a touchdown. 

QB Carousel
Junior quarterback Miguel Larios made his second career Division II start on Saturday as starting quarterback DJ Ralph was a late game-time scratch with a shoulder injury. The shoulder caused Ralph to miss two full games and most of a third earlier this season. 

Larios performed well in Ralph's absence against South Dakota Mines, completing 11 of 22 passes for 181 yards, one touchdown and one interception. It was the Californian's first touchdown toss in a Chadron State uniform as well as a CSC career high in passing yards. 

Ralph's status for Saturday is officially still up in the air. If he can't go, Larios figures to start, but the quarterback options behind him are limited to junior Preston Pearson and freshman Kasey Jones. While Pearson appeared in seven games at quarterback last season, he has only thrown five passes in 2024 while also seeing time at tight end, wide receiver and on special teams. Jones has appeared in one game without attempting a pass. 

This season, Chadron State has already seen five different quarterbacks take a snap and three different quarterbacks start a game. When healthy, Ralph has impressed, completing 67.1 percent of passes, which ranks second in the RMAC and 10^th in all of Division II. Ralph has thrown for 1,085 passing yards on just 140 attempts and won an RMAC Offensive Player of the Week award.

Close Calls
Chadron State's 3-6 record, and particularly its 2-5 RMAC record, is a little deceiving as four of CSC's five losses in conference play have come by one score, including three by a field goal or less.

The Eagles have dropped one-possession games to nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines (13-12), New Mexico Highlands (33-30) and Black Hills State (21-18) prior to last weekend's defeat against South Dakota Mines (24-17). In the Highlands and Black Hills State games, Chadron State missed a field goal as time expired that would have sent the game to overtime. 

Despite the losing record, the Eagles have scored a total of 210 points this season and allowed just 153, adding up to a +57 point differential. That scoring differential is the fifth highest in the RMAC, and the Eagles are one of only five RMAC teams with a positive differential. The standings, however, show the Eagles tied for seventh. 

Two schools, Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines, are ahead of the Eagles in the standings despite a negative point differential, meaning that over the course of the entire season, they have allowed more points than they have scored. Both of those schools have better records in close games than the Eagles, including head-to-head wins over Chadron State. 

Ways To Score
With a blocked punt touchdown last week, the Eagles' special teams unit got on the board with their first score of the season. CSC can now add a special teams touchdown to their four defensive touchdowns this season. 

Chadron State is one of 15 Division II teams all tied for the national lead with four defensive touchdowns on the season. The Eagles have recorded three interception return touchdowns, including two pick-sixes in the same game from Dax Yeradi and Tucker Peterson against Fort Lewis. Logan O'Brien also had a pick-six against Adams State. 

Through a statistical quirk, the defense also gets credit for a play in the Jamestown game back in week one, when a bad punt snap landed in the end zone and defensive back Rylan Wehr fell on it for a score. Although the Jimmies were lined up in punt formation, the bad snap meant no punt was attempted and by rule, the play is classified as a rushing attempt and a fourth-down stop for the defense, similarly to if Jamestown had run an unsuccessful fake punt. 

Deep Threat
Senior wide receiver Jamahd Monroe has consistently been a big-play threat for the Eagles anytime he gets the ball in his hands. 

Monroe only had two receptions against South Dakota Mines, but he made them count, connecting with Larios for two deep balls over the top of the Hardrocker defense for catches of 47 and 39 yards. Despite having just two catches, Monroe's 86 receiving yards were the most of any receiver on either team on the day. 

The big plays are nothing new for Monroe. The San Diego native has 21 catches, ranking third on the team, but leads CSC with 373 receiving yards. He averages 17.76 yards per reception, over six more yards per catch on average than any other Eagle. Monroe has two touchdowns on the year, hauling in scoring grabs against Jamestown and Adams State. 

Defensive Stats
Chadron State's defense ranks second in the RMAC in several categories, including total defense, scoring defense and passing yards allowed. The Eagles are in the top 30 nationally in those categories as well. 

Chadron State is currently allowing 17 points per game (29^th in Division II) and 271.8 yards per game (21^stin Division II). The Eagles excel against the pass, allowing just 135.7 yards per game through the air, the seventh-lowest total in Division II. 

Individually, safety Dax Yeradi has four interceptions, placing him in a three-way tie for the RMAC lead with Colorado Mesa's Jason Thome and Black Hills State's Nicc Quinones. Cornerback Omar Ali is tied for second in the RMAC with seven pass breakups.  

Linebacker Reed Henkel ranks seventh in the RMAC with 62 total tackles. In solo tackles, Chadron State has three linebackers in the league's top eight, with Henkel in sixth (39), Xavier Harrell in seventh (36) and Logan O'Brien in eighth (35). 

Longtime standout defensive end Hunter O'Connor ranks sixth in the conference with 5.5 sacks. With 33.5 career sacks, O'Connor is three sacks away from tying Chadron State's program record for career sacks, which is 36.5, held by Casey Beran (1996-1999).

Coaching Connections
by Con Marshall
Many Chadron State fans will recognize plenty of the names coaching on the other sideline for Western Colorado. 

Mountaineers Head Coach Jas Bains was on the Eagles' staff for five years, three of them as the special teams coordinator, before moving to Gunnison as an assistant. He's now been the WCU head coach for 14 seasons.

Defensive coordinator Todd Auer spent 23 years at CSC, including the last 17 as the defensive coordinator.During his tenure as defensive coordinator at Chadron State, the Eagles posted a 153-48 overall record and won eight RMAC titles. CSC was ranked in the final Division II national top 10 poll five times. He was a finalist for the 2008 Division II Coordinator of the Year, and in 2010 the Eagles ranked No. 4 in the country in total defense. Auer is in his ninth season as the Western defensive coordinator. 

Joe McLain, one of the Eagles' all-time great players, is in his sixth season as the Mountaineers' quarterback coach and passing game coordinator. While quarterbacking the Eagles from 2005-08, McLain completed 658 of 1,088 passes for 8,011 yards and 70 touchdowns. Equally impressively, Chadron State won 38 of the 42 games that he started during his career.

RMAC Update
Chadron State football won't be winning the RMAC title this season, but they could play a very important role in deciding it, as the Eagles play the top two teams in the standings over the final two weeks of the season.

CSU Pueblo moved into pole position with a 44-34 win over Western Colorado in a clash of the league's final two unbeatens. The Eagles host the ThunderWolves in the final regular season game next Saturday, November 16.

RMAC Standings

Team	RMAC Record	Overall Record
#6/#7 CSU Pueblo	7-0	8-1
#11/#11 Western Colorado	6-1	8-1
Colorado Mesa	6-1	7-2
#14/#21 Colorado School of Mines	5-2	7-2
Black Hills State	3-4	4-5
South Dakota Mines	3-4	4-5
Chadron State	2-5	3-6
New Mexico Highlands	2-5	2-7
Fort Lewis	1-6	2-7
Adams State	0-7	0-9

 
At the other end of the standings, Fort Lewis earned its first RMAC win in five years by prevailing 27-17 over Adams State.

This Saturday, CSU Pueblo faces Colorado School of Mines in a big test for the ThunderWolves as the Orediggers try to hang on to a potential NCAA Tournament spot. Looming ahead for Western Colorado is a November 16 clash with Colorado Mesa. 

Opponent Preview
by Con Marshall
The Chadron State College football team will have a tough assignment Saturday when it visits Western Colorado in Gunnison. Kickoff will be at 1 p.m. 

The Mountaineers are an outstanding team and are expected to be in a sour mood. After winning their first eight games this season, Colorado State-Pueblo came calling last Saturday and rolled up 593 yards of offense while winning 44-34.   

Quarterback Drew Nash leads the Western Colorado offense. Nash, listed as a 6-foot-2, 215-pound junior, has completed 156 of 245 (63.7%) passes for 1,893 yards and 18 touchdowns this season for Western Colorado. He connected on 29 of 50 passes for 405 yards and five TD against Pueblo last Saturday, despite being sacked five times for a negative 41 yards. Western gained just 40 yards on the ground as a team against the ThunderWolves. 

For the season, the Mountaineers are third in the RMAC in total offense with an average of 453.7 yards. The Eagles are eighth at 305.1 yards per game. Defensively, CSC is second in the conference in yards per game (271.8) and points given up per game (17.0).  Western is third in both categories at 304.4 yards and 19.9 points.

While Western has won the last four games with the Eagles, the teams have split the last 10. CSC leads the all-time series 23-15-1.  

Coach's Corner
Chadron State head coach Jay Long is in his 13^th season leading the Eagles in 2024. He is an alum of the university, earning two RMAC All-Conference selections at center during his playing career. 

Coach Long went 25-8 on the field across his first three seasons in charge of the CSC program from 2012-2014, although NCAA violations by the previous coaching staff and not connected to Long led to the first nine of those wins being vacated. 

During Long's coaching tenure the Chadron State program has seen 10 All-America selections, 11 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, numerous All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and All-Region awards, one Harlon Hill Trophy Finalist, and the first NFL draft pick that CSC has produced since 1989 when offensive lineman Garrett Gilkey was picked in the seventh round by the Cleveland Browns in 2013. 

Prior to coaching at Chadron, Long spent three seasons as the head coach at Black Hills State University while the Yellow Jackets were transitioning from NAIA to Division II. He was also an assistant coach at BHSU for six seasons, serving as the offensive coordinator, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator over that time frame. 

Entering the 2024 season, Coach Long is 59-56 at Chadron State. He has a career record of 74-71 as a head coach between three seasons at Black Hills and 12 seasons at CSC.