CHADRON, Neb. – After a bye week to get healthier and sharper, Chadron State football returns to the gridiron at Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium with a top five nationally ranked opponent awaiting them on the other sideline. 

The Eagles (1-1, 0-0 RMAC) will open up RMAC play against No. 4 Colorado School of Mines (2-0, 0-0 RMAC), the team that has won five consecutive RMAC titles and 21 straight RMAC conference games while advancing to the past two NCAA national championship games. Kickoff will be at noon.

"We need to play tough, smart and physical. That's what Eagle football is about," Chadron State Head Football Coach Jay Long said. "We have to play all the teams in the conference every year and this year we're opening the schedule by playing the team everybody thinks is the best in the RMAC again. It will be a great opportunity for our team. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain."

Fans can purchase tickets, watch the game for free on the RMAC Network, listen in live on Double Q Country 97.5 and 105.9 FM, and follow along via live stats. 

Ticket Deal 
This Saturday will be a big day for Chadron State athletics. For the only time this year in the regular season, CSC football and volleyball are playing at home on the same day, and both are facing top five nationally ranked opponents. 

After the football team faces the No. 4 Orediggers at noon, volleyball will battle No. 2 MSU Denver at 6 p.m. in the Chicoine Center. Now, with a recently announced ticket promotion, any Eagles fan with a football ticket to Saturday afternoon's game will get into Saturday night's volleyball game for free.

Football tickets can be purchased at the following link: https://chadronstate.hometownticketing.com/embed/event/13?es=vvah1ov97m11hq40ka9lkqjgmv&single=1

Any fans still looking to purchase tailgating passes for Saturday's game can do so here: https://chadronstate.hometownticketing.com/embed/event/68/seating?es=vvah1ov97m11hq40ka9lkqjgmv&single=1

Looking Back
Prior to last week's bye, the Eagles tallied their first win of the 2024 season with a 17-10 win over Jamestown. The Eagles came from behind, scoring 14 fourth-quarter points after trailing 7-0 at halftime and 10-3 after the third quarter. 

RECAP: CSC vs. Jamestown

Still reeling from injuries at quarterback, CSC relied on the running game, with sophomore running back Jake Marschall carrying 30 times for 110 yards and junior Rylan Aguallo carrying 14 times for 79 yards. 

Only one offensive touchdown was scored in the entire contest, when true freshman quarterback Wyatt Sprague found senior wideout Jamahd Monroe for a 17-yard strike early in the fourth quarter. 

Jamestown's only touchdown came on a 68-yard fumble recovery return, while Chadron's game-winning score was a special teams fumble recovery by sophomore Rylan Wehr. On a punt attempt, Jamestown snapped the ball over the punter's head, and Wehr won the race to the football, falling on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.

No Yards Allowed
Through three game weeks, Chadron State has the top-ranked defense in the RMAC in terms of both scoring and yards allowed per game. 

Defensive coordinator Clint Sasse's unit is holding opponents to just 14 points per game. The Eagles are one of three RMAC teams allowing fewer than 20 points per game, joining CSU Pueblo (17.7) and Black Hills State (19.0). Colorado School of Mines is just behind, allowing 20.5 points per game through two contests. 

The Eagles are also allowing the fewest yards per game in the RMAC at 231.0 per contest. CSC and Black Hills State (249.5) are the only RMAC teams allowing under 300 per game. 

Across the entire country, Chadron State ranks 29^th in Division II in scoring defense and 13^th in Division II in yards allowed per game. 

The Eagles have been incredible on third down defensively, allowing opponents to convert just 20.7 percent of the time. That percentage ranks 12^th in Division II and leads the RMAC. 

Showing Discipline
Chadron State is the least-penalized team in the RMAC and among the least-penalized teams in Division II. 

The Eagles have been called for just eight penalties in two games for 65 yards. Chadron State is ranked sixth in Division II in fewest penalties and fifth in Division II for fewest penalty yards. 

By contrast, CSC's two opponents have combined for 15 penalties for 164 yards when facing the Eagles.

Punter Showdown
Punters don't always get the headlines, but Saturday's game will feature likely the two best punters in the RMAC going head-to-head. 

CSC junior punter Brodie Eisenbraun has punted nine times for an average of 45.11 yards per punt, which ranks 11^th in Division II and second in the RMAC behind Colorado School of Mines punter Blake Doud, who earned First Team All-RMAC honors last year while Eisenbraun was on the second team.

Two weeks ago, Doud authored a viral moment with an 80-yard punt that was downed at the 1-yard-line. Video of the play racked up millions of views on social media. 

Eisenbraun has put four of his nine punts inside the 20-yard line. He was especially good against Jamestown, punting twice and placing both inside the 5-yard-line with a long of 62 yards.

The Chadron State special teams unit has been excellent across the board throughout the season, culminating in Wehr's game-winning touchdown two weeks ago. Placekicker Wilson Yee has also been perfect this season, making three of three field goal attempts with a long of 39 yards and hitting both extra point attempts.

Signal Callers
Wyatt Sprague, a true freshman from Holyoke, Colorado, made his collegiate debut against the Jimmies, playing the entire second half. Sprague finished 8-for-13 for 63 yards, throwing one touchdown and two interceptions. He also ran for 31 yards on four attempts. 

The Eagles are hopeful that DJ Ralph, a former San Diego State quarterback who transferred to the Eagles this offseason and started the season-opener against Nebraska Kearney before being injured on the second possession, will be healthy enough to play against Mines. If he's not, Sprague is in line for his first collegiate start on Saturday. 

Four players have thrown passes for the Eagles over the season's first two games. Ralph was 3-for-3 for 11 yards before getting hurt, while junior Miguel Larios has thrown for 128 yards and a 63 percent completion percentage with four interceptions. 
Preston Pearson, a former quarterback who had switched to wide receiver in preseason, stepped in when both Ralph and Larios were hurt in the season opener, but did not complete a pass in five attempts.

In the Polls
There are three RMAC teams ranked in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national poll – Colorado School of Mines at No. 4, Western Colorado at No. 15 and CSU Pueblo at No. 22. Two of those three teams are ranked in the D2Football.com poll, with Mines at No. 5, Western Colorado at No. 14 and CSU Pueblo missing out. 

Chadron State was picked to finish seventh in the 10-team RMAC in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches. Each coach ranked opposing programs without voting for their own. 

Colorado School of Mines, who have won the last five RMAC titles but need to replace Harlon Hill-winning quarterback John Matocha, were picked to finish on top again, receiving seven out of 10 first-place votes. Western Colorado was picked second, receiving three first-place votes. 

The other teams picked ahead of Chadron State by the coaches were CSU Pueblo, Colorado Mesa, Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines. After the Eagles in seventh, the poll is rounded out by Adams State, New Mexico Highlands and Fort Lewis. 

Opponent Preview
by Con Marshall
The Chadron State College football team will have a major challenge Saturday, when Colorado School of Mines visits Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium as the Eagles open their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule. 

The Orediggers have been the RMAC champions and the NCAA Division II national runners-up each of the past two years. Mines was again voted the conference's 2024 favorite by the coaches during their preseason poll in August and will come to Chadron with a 2-0 record in non-conference action. The Orediggers are ranked No. 4 in the nation in this week's NFCA Coaches Poll.

Colorado School of Mines has been hard on the Eagles the past decade. Mines led the rivalry 7-5 when the Eagles first joined the RMAC in 1990. Chadron State won 13 of the next 14 games, but the Orediggers have won the last 10, cutting the Eagles' lead in the all-time series to just one – 23-22. Mines can even the all-time series with a victory on Saturday.

The Orediggers have also dominated most of the other RMAC teams recently. They are 45-2 in conference contests the past five seasons. Chadron State's most recent win over Mines was in 2012, by a 20-14 score. 

Mines opened its 2024 season by defeating West Texas A&M 41-13 and last Saturday edged Washburn 31-28. In that game, Washburn attempted a 44-yard field goal that would have tied the score with six seconds to play, but missed it. The Kansas team had been 10 yards closer to the end zone the previous snap, but fumbled the ball, forcing a longer kick.

Mines finished with 467 total net yards and Washburn with 399. The Orediggers rushed for 230 yards, led by Landon Walker, a 6-2, 225-pound junior who carried 18 times for 142 yards and scored four touchdowns, including a 75-yard jaunt. Washburn got one of its touchdowns on a 100-yard kickoff return.

Mines quarterback Evan Foster completed 24 of 30 passes for 255 yards and is now 44 of 59 for 525 yards through two games. His receivers include Max McLeod, a 6-3, 200-pound senior who last year led NCAA Division II with 115 receptions for 1,656 yards and 16 TDs. The year before, McLeod had 79 catches for 1,492 yards and 18 scores.

Last season, after Mines had gone 14-0 before losing to Harding University of Arkansas in the national championship game, 14 Orediggers were First Team All-RMAC. Nine of those graduated, but five are among the 25 returning fifth-year seniors on the roster, including McLeod, who also was a consensus All-American. The other returning all-conference honorees are linebackers Jaden Healy and Adrian Moreno, defensive back Jackson Zimmerman and punter Blake Doud.

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 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.

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.