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KICKOFF
• The Central Missouri Mules look to continue their winning ways when they travel to Joplin, Mo. on Saturday night for a showdown with Missouri Southern. Kickoff at Fred G. Hughes Stadium is set for 6 p.m.
• The Mules are coming off a 44-23 win at Truman State on Saturday night. UCM scored 24 unanswered points at the start of the fourth quarter to claim their second straight win and the seventh straight against the Bulldogs.
• With Saturday's game kicking off at 6 p.m., the Mules Tailgate Show on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com will begin at 4:40 p.m.
• The Lions are coming off a 38-33 loss at Southwest Baptist on Saturday night. It was the first loss of the season for Missouri Southern.

QUICK HITS
• The Mules are looking for their third straight win overall and looking to get back to .500 in conference play when they face Missouri Southern on Saturday night in Joplin.
• The Mules played the toughest first two games of any team in the nation facing two teams ranked in the top six of the AFCA Poll.
• The Lions are 3-1 overall this season and 3-1 in MIAA play. The combined record of MSSU's first four opponents is 2-14. The combined record of UCM's first four opponents is 13-3.
• UCM will play a 10-game schedule again in 2013, but only nine conference games. This is the fourth straight season that the Mules only have five regular season home games.
• Central Missouri went 6-4 last season finishing in seventh place in the MIAA standings. It was the sixth straight winning season for Mules Football and the 14th in the last 15 seasons.

SERIES HISTORY
• This will be the 35th meeting between Central Missouri and Missouri Southern. The Mules currently hold an 18-14-2 advantage in the series.
• The Mules beat Missouri Southern 35-10 in Warrensburg last year.
• UCM has won six straight games in the series and 10 of the last 11 meetings overall.
• Central Missouri is averaging 34.8 points per game during the current six-game winning streak, while holding Missouri Southern to just 18.2 points per game over that span.

LAST TIME VS MISSOURI SOUTHERN
• The Mules outscored MSSU 28-3 after the game was tied 7-7 in the first quarter.
• UCM defense forced five Lion turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles).
• Ronrei Lloyd caught eight passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns. The 197 yards are the third most in a single-game in UCM history.
• Colter Smith was 20-of-33 for 299 yards and two touchdowns.
• The defense held the MSSU run game to 2.7 yards per carry, Lions came in as No. 2 ranked rushing offense in the MIAA.
• Patrick Lewis led UCM with 12 tackles, Zach Quines had 11 tackles, three tackles for loss, a quarterback sack and a pass break-up.

ABOUT THE LIONS
• Missouri Southern comes in at 3-1 overall and 3-1 in MIAA play after a 38-33 loss at Southwest Baptist last Saturday.
• The Lions are averaging 40.2 points per game and giving up 25.0 per contest through four games.
• MSSU averages 468.2 yards per game of total offense, 351.5 on the ground and 116.8 through the air.
• The Lions have out-scored their opponents 121-52 in the first half this year, but have been out-scored 48-40 in the second half.
• Chris Barnwell is averaging 99.2 yards per game rushing to lead the MSSU ground game. Jay McDowell averages 69.0 yards per contest and Giresse Forchu chips in 55.5 per outing. All three have scored four rushing touchdowns apiece.
• McDowell has completed 60 percent of his passes for 467 yards and two touchdowns.
• Forchu has caught four passes for 123 yards and score and Michael Nelson has caught three passes for 111 yards and a score.
• Defensively, linebacker Gatlin Ridgway leads the team with 35 tackles, including 19 solo stops. He has 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and an interception.
• The Lions have 23 tackles for loss and 11 quarterback sacks. They've intercepted six passes, have 16 pass break-ups and have forced two fumbles.

MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 1-2 in MIAA play this season and 21-10 in conference action under Jim Svoboda after beating Lindenwood 47-28 on Saturday, Sept. 21 in Warrensburg.
• UCM is 2-4 in the last six conference games.
• The Mules' 14 combined conference wins in 2010 and 2011 were the most by a UCM head coach in their first two seasons.

THE MULES AT HOME
• Central Missouri is 13-5 at home under Jim Svoboda and 1-1 this season following the 47-28 win over Lindenwood on Sept. 21.
• The Mules are averaging 35.0 points per game at home this season and giving up 27 points per contest.
• The Mules are 218-179-13 in their 83rd season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.

THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• The Mules are 14-7 in road games during the Jim Svoboda era and 1-1 in 2013 after their 44-23 win at Truman State on Saturday night.
• The Mules were 2-3 on the road last season and are now 6-4 in their last 10 road games.

THE MULES VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• The Mules are 5-8 against ranked competition during the Jim Svoboda era following the 28-24 loss at No. 3 Northwest Missouri on Sept. 14.
• Central Missouri is 1-4 in the last five games against ranked opponents.
• UCM's last win over a top 5-ranked opponent was a 31-21 win over No. 3 Northwest Missouri on Sept. 8, 2012.
• UCM's last win over a top 10-ranked opponent was a 39-21 win at No. 6 Washburn to close out the 2011 regular season.

LEADING AT THE HALF
• The Mules are 23-4 during the Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime and 1-2 this season after beating Truman on Saturday night.
• UCM was 6-2 when leading at halftime last year.
• On the flip side, the Mules are just 3-9 under Svoboda when trailing at halftime. UCM did rally for a 28-26 halftime deficit to defeat Lindenwood earlier this season.

21 AND UP
• UCM is 26-6 under Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points after beating Truman State 44-23 on Saturday night.
• The Mules are averaging 34.5 points per game this season. When scoring 30 or more points UCM is 2-0 this year and 26-1 during the Svoboda era.

MULES IN THE FOURTH QUARTER
• The Mules have outscored their opponents 52-27 in the fourth quarter this season, including 38-7 the past two weeks.

RED ZONE IS THE MULE ZONE
• The Mules are thriving in the red zone both on offense and defense. Central Missouri leads the MIAA in red zone offense and red zone defense.
• UCM is 16 of 17 (94.1%) offensively in the red zone, scoring 13 touchdowns and kicking three field goals.
• Defensively, the Mules have given up points on 10 of 16 (62.5%) opponent trips to the red zone.

A UCM WIN WOULD...
• Give the Mules a 3-2 overall record and a 2-2 MIAA record on the season.
• Give Central Missouri three straight wins overall.
• Give UCM seven straight wins over Missouri Southern, including three straight wins in Joplin.
• Give the Mules a 19-14-2 lead in the all-time series.

A UCM LOSS WOULD...
• Drop the Mules to 2-3 on the season, including 1-3 in conference play.
• Snap Central Missouri's six-game winning streak against the Lions.
• Be the first to Missouri Southern during the Jim Svoboda era.
• Pull MSSU to within 18-15-2 in the all-time series.

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 118th season of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 522-496-51 (.512) record in 1,069 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 in 2010.
• 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 in 2010.

SVOBODA LEADING THE WAY
• Central Missouri head coach Jim Svoboda has a record of 27-13 (.675) in his fourth season leading the Mules.
• Svoboda's .675 winning percentage is the fourth highest for a UCM coach.
• UCM posted the second most wins in a two-year span in school history in Svoboda's first two seasons.
• The Mules 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 64 school offensive records and 20 MIAA offensive records during Svoboda's tenure.
• 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 is one former Mule currently on an NFL roster. Tight end Delanie Walker is in his eighth season in the league and his first with the Tennessee Titans. Walker signed a four-year deal with the Titans in the offseason after playing in Super Bowl XLVII last season with San Francisco. In his career, Walker has 135 catches for 1,578 yards with 10 touchdowns, including 12 catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns this season.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
• Central Missouri has won a combined 193 MIAA regular-season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured three MIAA regular season titles and one tournament championship.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 139 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 550 Central Missouri student-athletes received 375 Academic Awards from the MIAA office for the 2012-13 academic year.
• 305 UCM student-athletes were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
• 37 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.
• 33 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had eight student-athletes earn Academic All-America honors in their respective sports, including Brent Vogel being named the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for Men's Track & Field.

MULES FOOTBALL ON THE AIR
• Central Missouri football is broadcast live on 1450 KOKO/98.5 "The Bar", and on the internet at warrensburgradio.com. 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 Bob Showers of Ameritas Investment Corp. Jim Svoboda Mules Football Radio Show, Live from Traditions Restaurant airs on Monday nights at 6:30 p.m. on 98.5 The Bar and 1450 KOKO as well as online at warrensburgradio.com. The show is broadcast live on the patio at Traditions Restaurant at the Audrey J. Walton Clubhouse at Keth Memorial Golf Course.
• The Central Missouri Sportspage is your weekly one-hour look at UCM athletics each Thursday night at 7 p.m. on KMOS-TV. Senior Associate Athletic Director Shawn Jones sits 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.

UP NEXT
• The Mules return home next Saturday, October 12 to host Pittsburg State at 1:30 p.m. at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field in the Blackout Game.