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KICKOFF
• The Central Missouri Mules look to make it three straight wins as they travel to Kearney, Neb. to take on the Lopers of the University of Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, Nov. 2. Kickoff at Cope Stadium at Foster Field is set for 12 p.m.
• The Mules are coming off a 51-7 homecoming win over Northeastern State last Saturday. The Mules racked up over 600 yards of total offense for the second straight game and got to back to .500 with the win.
• With Saturday's game kicking off at 12:00 p.m., the Mules Tailgate Show on the new 44,000-watt 98.5 The Bar, 1450 KOKO and warrensburgradio.com will begin at 10:40 a.m.
• The Lopers of UNK are coming off a 28-14 win at Southwest Baptist on Saturday.

QUICK HITS
• The Mules got back to .500 at 4-4 overall with a dominating 51-7 win over Northeastern State on homecoming last Saturday at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.
• 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 Lopers enter the contest at 3-5 overall and 3-4 in MIAA play following their 28-14 victory at Southwest Baptist last Saturday. UNK has won their last three MIAA games by a combined score of 108-34.
• UCM is playing 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 fifth all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Nebraska-Kearney. The series is tied 2-2 with the Lopers having won the last two meetings.
• UNK won the most recent meeting, 24-18, in Warrensburg last season. The Lopers outscored UCM 19-8 in the second half to rally from a 10-5 halftime deficit for the win.
• The Mules are 0-1 in Kearney since 1966.

LAST TIME VS NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
• The Mules were outscored 19-8 in the second half and lost to Nebraska-Kearney 24-18 on October 27, 2012 in Warrensburg.
• The loss gave UCM back-to-back losses for the first time in the Jim Svoboda era.
• The Mules lost for the second straight week after leading at halftime, the only two losses under Svoboda when leading at the half up to that point. UCM is now 25-4 when leading at the half.
• UCM gave up 332 yards rushing to the Lopers.
• Colter Smith threw for a career-high 341 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
• The Mules were held to negative 31 yards rushing on 19 carries, Smith lost 40 yards on five sacks.
• Ronrei Lloyd recorded his second straight 100-yard receiving game and his fourth in a span of five games during the 2012 season.

ABOUT THE LOPERS
• Nebraska-Kearney comes into the game at 3-5 overall and 3-4 in MIAA play following a 28-14 win at Southwest Baptist on Saturday.
• The Lopers are averaging 21.0 points per game, while giving up 30.1 per contest. They are averaging 346.5 yards per game in total offense, including 219.0 on the ground.
• In last week's win over SBU, the Lopers had 414 yards of total offense, including 288 yards rushing.
• Romero Cotton leads the ground attack with 559 yards on 123 carries to go along with three touchdowns. Cotton is also a member of the national champion Loper wrestling team. He was the national runner-up at 197 pounds last season.
• Cotton had 14 carries for 47 yards (3.4 ypc) in the first four games. In his last four games, he has 109 carries for 512 yards (4.7 ypc) and three touchdowns.
• QB Bronson Marsh is averaging 6.0 yards per carry and has scored four touchdowns, while Luke McNitt has scored six rushing touchdowns.
• Marsh has completed 57 percent of his passes (70 of 123) for 664 yards and two touchdowns and McNitt has thrown for 279 yards and two scores.
• Nate Burns has a team-high 20 receptions for 256 yards and a touchdown.
• Defensively, Kellen Werner leads the team with 79 tackles, including six tackles for loss and a sack. Tyke Kozeal has 75 tackles, four tackles for loss and two interceptions. He returned one of his   INTs 74 yards for a touchdown.
• As a unit, the Loper defense has 46 tackles for loss and 18 sacks. They've intercepted nine passes and recovered eight fumbles.

MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 3-4 in MIAA play this season and 23-12 in conference action under Jim Svoboda after beating Northeastern State 51-7 last Saturday in Warrensburg.
• The Mules are 4-6 in their last 10 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 14-6 at home under Jim Svoboda and 2-2 this season following the 51-7 win over Northeastern State on October 26.
• The Mules are averaging 35.5 points per game at home this season and giving up 23.0 points per contest.
• The Mules are 219-180-13 in their 83rd season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.

THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• The Mules are 2-2 on the road this year and 15-8 in road games during the Jim Svoboda era following their 48-16 win at Central Oklahoma on Saturday, Oct. 19.
• UCM is averaging 32.5 points per game on the road and giving up 22.0 per outing.
• The Mules were 2-3 on the road last season and are now 4-4 in their last eight road contests.

THE MULES VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• The Mules are 5-9 against ranked competition during the Jim Svoboda era and 0-3 this season, following the 31-21 loss to No. 10 Pittsburg State on Saturday, Oct. 12 in Warrensburg.
• Central Missouri is 1-5 in the last six 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 25-4 during the Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime and 3-2 this season after beating Northeastern State on Saturday.
• UCM was 6-2 when leading at halftime last year.
• On the flip side, the Mules are just 3-11 under Svoboda when trailing at halftime.

21 AND UP
• UCM is 28-7 under Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points after beating Northeastern State 51-7 on Saturday.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM is 4-0 this year and 28-1 during the Svoboda era.
• When scoring 40 or more points, UCM is 4-0 this year and 16-1 under Svoboda.

LLOYD CLIMBING THE RECEIVING CHARTS
• Senior wide receiver Ronrei Lloyd is climbing the UCM receiving charts in just his second season with UCM. On Saturday against NSU he caught two passes for 37 yards and a touchdown. It snapped his personal streak of six straight 100-yard receiving games.
• The Pittsburgh, Pa. native is currently tied for fifth all-time at UCM with 17 touchdown receptions. He ranks sixth all-time with 1,893 receiving yards and is ninth with 114 career receptions.
• He is currently 10th in NCAA-II with 923 receiving yards and 12th with nine receiving touchdowns.
• His 62 receptions last year are the fith most in a single-season in school history. He currently has 52 catches this season.

MULES IN THE FOURTH QUARTER
• The Mules have outscored their opponents 87-37 in the fourth quarter this season, including 73-17 the past six weeks. The Mules are 4-2 in those games.
• The Mules have allowed just 37 second half points in their last six games.

RED ZONE IS THE MULE ZONE
• The Mules are thriving in the red zone both on offense and defense. Central Missouri is second in the MIAA in both red zone offense and red zone defense.
• UCM is 32 of 34 (94.1%) offensively in the red zone, scoring 26 touchdowns and kicking six field goals.
• Defensively, the Mules have given up points on 20 of 31 (64.5%) opponent trips to the red zone.

A UCM WIN WOULD...
• Give the Mules a 5-4 overall record, pushing them above .500 for the first time this season.
• Pull UCM to 4-4 in MIAA play.
• Give the Mules three straight wins for the first time this season.
• Snap a two-game losing streak against Nebraska-Kearney and give UCM their first win over the Lopers since 1972.
• Give UCM a 3-2 lead in the all-time series with UNK.

A UCM LOSS WOULD...
• Drop the Mules to 4-5 on the season, including 3-5 in conference play.
• Snap UCM's two-game winning streak.
• Give Nebraska-Kearney a three-game winning streak against UCM and 3-2 lead in the all-time series.

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 118th season of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 524-498-51 (.512) record in 1,073 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 29-15 (.659) in his fourth season leading the Mules.
• Svoboda's .659 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 146 catches for 1,702 yards with 11 touchdowns, including 23 catches for 237 yards and three touchdowns through seven games 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 close out the 2013 season hosting Fort Hays State on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1:30 p.m. at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field. It's Senior Day, with this year's senior class being honored prior to the game.