vs.

KICKOFF
• The Central Missouri Mules host the third-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field in the UCM home-opener. The Mules are coming off a 38-26 loss at 18th-ranked Missouri Western in last Thursday's season-opener. The Bearcats beat East Central 33-3 to open their 2012 campaign last Thursday.

QUICK HITS
• The Mules are looking to snap their nine-game losing streak to Northwest Missouri.
• UCM is playing a ranked opponent for the second straight week. UCM is one of only two teams in NCAA-II to open the season with their first two games against ranked opponents (California (Pa.))
• This will be the 92nd meeting all-time between Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri.
• The Mules will play a 10-game schedule in the new-look MIAA this season. UCM will play five home games and five road games, this is the third straight year that the Mules have just five home games in the regular season.
• The Mules were 8-4 a season ago and received a bid to play in the Kanza Bowl. The Bearcats were 11-3 and advanced to the NCAA-II Quarterfinals.
• Central Missouri's 2011 offense ranked No. 6 in NCAA-II in passing at 321.5 yards per game.
• UCM averaged 33.6 points per game last season ranking fifth in the MIAA. Defensively, the Mules gave up 24.6 per contest, fourth best in the league.
• The Mules hired assistant coach Kyle Westphal in the offseason. Westphal coaches the UCM special teams as well as defensive backs.

SERIES HISTORY
• Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri have met 91 times on the gridiron with the Bearcats holding a 55-34-2 lead in the series.
• The Bearcats won last season's meeting 38-20 in Warrensburg and have now won nine straight games in the series.
• Northwest has won five straight games in Warrensburg.
• The Mules are 0-3 against Northwest Missouri in Jim Svoboda's first two seasons.

LAST TIME VS NORTHWEST MISSOURI
• The Mules suffered their second loss of the 2011 season with a 38-20 setback to seventh-ranked Northwest Missouri on October 8, 2011.
• UCM jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and led 20-14 with just over six minutes left in the third quarter, but the Bearcats scored the final 24 points of the game.
• The Mules were out-gained 501-434 as NWMSU rushed for 308 yards on the ground.
• Each team turned the ball over twice.
• The teams set a new MIAA on-campus attendance record with 14,377 fans.
• NWMSU held a 34:57 to 25:03 lead in time of possession.

ABOUT NORTHWEST MISSOURI
• The Bearcats enter the game at 1-0 after a 33-3 win over East Central last Thursday.
• Northwest Missouri is ranked No. 3 in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll this week.
• The Bearcats out-gained ECU 318-292, but only had 11 first downs compared to 16 for East Central.
• Jordan Simmons rushed 11 times for 43 yards and a touchdown, while Trevor Adams was 12-of-27 for 201 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions.
• The Bearcat defense held ECU to 48 yards rushing and forced four turnovers, including three interceptions.
• DJ Gnader led the Northwest defense with 10 tackles while Brandon Dixon had seven tackles and two interceptions.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Mules dropped their season-opener 38-26 to No. 18 Missouri Western on Thursday night.
• The Mules out-gained MWSU 432-342, but the UCM offense threw three interceptions and turned the ball over on downs three times.
• LaVance Taylor had 109 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown and Colter Smith threw for 250 yards and two scores to lead the UCM offense.
• Patrick Lewis registered 12 tackles to go over 200 for his career. He is now 34 tackles shy of cracking UCM's top 10 list.
• UCM gave up 216 yards on the ground, including 169 on 28 carries to Michael Hill.

MULES IN HOME OPENERS
• The Mules are 2-0 in home openers under Jim Svoboda and have won seven straight home openers dating back to 2004.
• UCM is averaging 36.5 points per game in previous two home openers under Svoboda. The defense has given up 18.5 points per game in the two wins.
• The Mules' last loss in a home opener was a 38-20 setback to Northwest Missouri in week three of the 2004 season.

MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 14-5 in MIAA play under Jim Svoboda and 0-1 this season after a 38-26 loss at Missouri Western to open the season last week.
• The Mules' 14 conference wins are the most by a UCM head coach in their first two seasons.
• UCM was 6-3 in MIAA play last season.

THE MULES AT HOME
• Central Missouri is 8-3 at home under Jim Svoboda
• The Mules are 213-177-13 in their 82nd season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.

THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• The Mules are 11-4 in road games under Jim Svoboda and 0-1 this year after a 38-26 season-opening loss at Missouri Western last Thursday.
• UCM was 5-1 on the road last season.
• The Mules averaged 43 points per game in their five road wins last year and 36.8 points per game on the road overall.

THE MULES VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• The Mules are 4-5 against ranked opponents during the Jim Svoboda era and 0-1 this season, dropping a 38-26 game at No. 18 Missouri Western to open the season.
• The Mules were 1-2 against ranked opponents last season.
• UCM's last win over a top 5-ranked opponent was a 55-41 win at No. 2 Abilene Christian on Nov. 27, 2010 in the second round of the NCAA-II Playoffs.
• UCM's last win over a top 10-ranked opponent was a 39-21 win at No. 6 Washburn on Nov. 12, 2011.

A UCM WIN WOULD...
• Snap a nine-game losing streak to Northwest Missouri.
• Give UCM eight straight wins in their home-opener.
• Be UCM's first over a top-five ranked opponent since beating then-No. 2 Abilene Christian in the 2010 NCAA-II Playoffs.
• Give the Mules a 1-1 record for the third straight year.

A UCM LOSS WOULD...
• Give Northwest Missouri a 10-game winning streak against UCM.
• Be UCM's first loss in a home opener since a 38-20 loss to Northwest Missouri in 2004.
• Drop the Mules to 0-2 for the first time since 1991.

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 117th season of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 514-491-51 (.511) record in 1,056 total games.
• The Mules have won 10 or more games three times in the history of the program and have posted 11 seasons of eight or more wins.
• UCM won a school-record 11 games in Jim Svoboda's first season.
• UCM has won or shared eight MIAA championships in school history with the last coming in 2003.
• The Mules have qualified for the postseason seven times in their history, including two trips to the NCAA-II Playoffs, the last coming 2010.

SVOBODA LEADING THE WAY
• Central Missouri head coach Jim Svoboda has a career record of 19-8 (.704) in his third season leading the Mules.
• Svoboda's .704 winning percentage is the fourth highest for a UCM coach.
• UCM has posted the second most wins in a two-year span in school history under Svoboda.
• The Mules have appeared in the postseason in each of Svoboda's first two seasons. UCM made the NCAA-II Playoffs in year one under Svoboda and earned a bid to the Kanza Bowl in his second season. It is just the second time in school history that Mules Football has made back-to-back postseason appearances.
• UCM hosted the first ever playoff game in school history and won the school's first two playoff games in Svoboda's first season in 2010.
• The Mules have set or tied 63 school offensive records in Svoboda's first two seasons and 20 conference offensive records.
• The Mules became the first team in NCAA-II history to have a 5,000-yard passer (Eric Czerniewski) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Anthony Stewart) in the same season when they accomplished that feat in 2010.

MULES IN THE PROS
• There are two former Mules currently with NFL teams entering the 2012 season. Tight end Delanie Walker enters his seventh season in the league with the San Francisco 49ers. Last season, Walker had one of his best years to date. He started seven games, hauling in 19 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning TD in San Francisco's 25-19 win at Detroit in week six. For his career, Walker has 102 catches for 1,121 yards and five scores. Another former UCM tight end is trying to make it in the league. DeMarco Cosby signed a free agent contract with the Green Bay Packers prior to the start of 2012 training camp.
• Former Central Missouri All-American running back Anthony Stewart is continuing his football career north of the border. Stewart is currently a member of the BC Lions practice sqaud in the Canadian Football League.

JAMIESON NAMED TO WATCH LIST
• Senior placekicker Aaron Jamieson has been named to the Fred Mitchell Outstanding Placekicker Award watchlist for the second straight season. Jamieson was a semifinalist for the award last season. The award is given annually to the nation's top collegiate placekicker among FCS, DII, DIII, NAIA and NJCAA.

MULES ON NATIONAL TV
• Central Missouri's home game against Truman State on Thursday, Sept. 20 will be broadcast to a national television audience by CBS Sports Network as the CBS Sports Network/Division II Game of the Week.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE ATHLETIC ARENA
• Central Missouri has won a combined 190 MIAA regular-season conference championships in 14 sports to lead all conference schools.
• Last season, UCM captured seven MIAA regular-season and three tournament championships.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 136 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won five national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, and women's bowling in 2003) and seven national championships overall.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
• The 500+ Central Missouri student-athletes received 245 Academic Awards from the MIAA office for the 2011-12 academic year.
• 195 UCM student-athletes were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
• 32 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Scholar Athletes with at least a 3.5 GPA and having earned all-MIAA honors in their respective sport.
• 18 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had 10 student-athletes earn Academic All-American honors, including Shawn Boss being named the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for Track & Field.

MULES FOOTBALL ON THE AIR
• Central Missouri football is broadcast live on 1450 KOKO/98.5 “The Bar”, 90.9 The Bridge and on the internet at warrensburgradio.com. 90.9 The Bridge will pick up the broadcasts at kickoff. The broadcast team of Shawn Jones (play-by-play), Bill Turnage (color commentary) and Greg Hassler (sideline) will have all the UCM action. The Mules Tailgate show begins 80 minutes prior to kickoff.
• The Jim Svoboda Mules Football Radio Show, presented by Bob Showers of Ameritas Investment Corp. airs on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. on 98.5 The Bar and 1450 KOKO as well as online at warrensburgradio.com. Remaining show dates are September 5, 12, 19, 26; October 3, 10, 17, 24 and Tuesday, Oct. 30.
• The Central Missouri Sportspage is your weekly one-hour look at UCM athletics each Thursday night at 7 p.m. on KMOS-TV starting September 13. Senior Associate Athletic Director Shawn Jones will sit down with Mules head coach Jim Svoboda to discuss the previous week's game as well as weekly spotlights of Mules football players.

LIVE VIDEO STREAMING
• Live video coverage for all Central Missouri home and away MIAA games will be available through the America One Sports Network on a pay-per-view basis. The cost is $8 per game, $30 for a 30-day pass or $69.95 for an all-season pass for UCM football. Fans can access webcasts through the America One Sports link on the UCM Athletics homepage or by going to AmericaOneSports.com.

UPCOMING
• The Mules head back to Lindenwood for the second straight year on Saturday, Sept. 15 for the first meeting between the two as MIAA foes. UCM defeated LWU 47-28 last year in St. Charles in the Lions' first season as an NCAA-II institution.