KICKOFF• The Mules return home to host the Washburn Ichabods on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.
• The Mules are coming off a thrilling 34-31 overtime win over Missouri Southern on Saturday afternoon in Joplin. The Mules trailed 31-16 with 11:22 left in the fourth quarter before rallying to force overtime.
• The Ichabods come into the game at 2-3 overall and 2-3 in MIAA play after a 27-24 overtime win over Fort Hays State on Saturday in Topeka. Washburn trailed 14-7 at halftime.
ON THE AIR• The game will be broadcast on the 44,000-watt 98.5 The Bar and 1450 KOKO with Greg Hassler and Bill Turnage calling the action. With Saturday's game kicking off at 1:30 p.m. the Mules Tailgate Show will begin at 12:20 p.m.
• The game will also be webcast online through Stretch Internet. Fans can access the pay-per-view webcast at
portal.stretchinternet.com/ucmo/
QUICK HITS• The win over Missouri Southern gave the Mules back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
• The Mules, and the rest of the MIAA, will be playing an 11-game schedule in 2014 with all 11 games against conference competition.
• The Mules will play six of their 11 games at home this season. It is the first time in five years that the Mules have more than five games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.
• Central Missouri went 6-4 last season finishing in seventh place in the MIAA standings. It was the seventh straight winning season for Mules Football and the 15th in the last 16 seasons.
SERIES HISTORY• This will be the 44th meeting all-time between Central Missouri and Washburn. The Mules lead the all-time series 23-18-2. The teams have not met since 2011 in Topeka.
• The Mules won that previous meeting 39-21 over then-No. 6 Washburn at Yager Stadium.
• The Mules have won back-to-back games in the series and four out of the last five. UCM won eight straight games in the series from 1997-2004.
• The Mules are 2-0 against Washburn under
Jim Svoboda, while the Ichabods are 3-7 against UCM under head coach Craig Schurig.
LAST MEETING WITH WASHBURN• The Mules jumped out to a 14-0 lead and never looked back in beating No. 6 Washburn 39-21 in Topeka in the 2011 regular season finale.
• The UCM defense held the Ichabods 20 points below their season scoring average.
• Tommy Corwin was 28-of-38 for 314 yards and three touchdowns, he also ran for a score.
• The Mules racked up 481 yards of total offense on the day.
• Alexis Reedus picked off a pass and returned it 49 yards for a score in the fourth quarter.
• Freshman
LaVance Taylor racked up 93 yards rushing on 14 carries.
• Patrick Lewis and Devin King led the UCM defense with eight tackles apiece.
ABOUT THE ICHABODS• Washburn comes in to the game at 2-3 overall and in the MIAA after a 27-24 overtime victory over Fort Hays State last Saturday in Topeka.
• The Ichabods are averaging 19.2 points per game offensively and giving up 31.8 to their opponents. They average 397 yards per game in total offense including 141.2 on the ground and 255.8 through the air. Opponents are averaging 381.6 yards per game, 185.4 on the ground and 196.2 passing.
• Mitch Buhler has completed 48 percent of his passes for 614 yards and five touchdowns, while Zeke Palmer has completed 57 percent of his passes for 603 yards and three scores. Three WU quarterbacks have combined to complete 52.3 percent of their passes for 1,279 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.
• Vershon Moore is averaging 81.8 yards per game on the ground and has scored three touchdowns. He is also averaging 13.4 yards per punt return on eight returns. His rushing total ranks fourth in the MIAA and he is second in the league in all-purpose yards per game at 135.2.
• DaJuan Beard is Washburn's leading receiver with 22 catches for 279 yards and four touchdowns. Brad Gourley has eight catches with two going for scores.
• Defensively, the Ichabods are led by Calvin Kenney's 52 tackles. He also has five tackles for loss and an interception. Shay Wooten has 31 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack and two pass break-ups.
LAST TIME OUT• The Mules trailed Missouri Southern 31-16 with just over 11 minutes to play in the game last Saturday before rallying to force overtime and come away with a 34-31 victory.
• The Mules totaled 342 yards in total offense compared to 392 for the Lions. UCM had 140 yards rushing and 202 yards passing in the game.
•
Hayden Hawk threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score.
Kyle Echols had two catches for 31 yards and a touchdown.
•
LaVance Taylor rushed for 120 yards and a score on 18 carries while also catching a team-high five passes for 46 yards.
• Missouri Southern's triple-option attack ran for 305 yards and passed for 87.
• The UCM defense forced two turnovers in the contest including a fumble on third and goal during the overtime period.
•
Ricky Spratley had a career-high 19 tackles in the game, including two tackles for loss and a sack.
•
Connor Smith and
Alex Perlin each finished with 13 tackles and a half a tackle for loss.
MULES IN MIAA PLAY• The Mules are 3-2 in MIAA play this season after the 34-31 comeback win at Missouri Southern on Saturday afternoon.
• UCM is 28-14 in conference action under
Jim Svoboda. The Mules were 5-4 in league play a season ago and finished in seventh place in the MIAA standings.
• The Mules are 20-13 in MIAA play since 2011.
THE MULES AT HOME• Central Missouri is 17-6 at home under
Jim Svoboda after the win over Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, Sept. 27.
• The Mules are averaging 47.5 points per game at home this season and giving up 29.5 points per contest.
• The Mules are 222-180-13 in their 84th season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.
THE MULES ON THE ROAD• Central Missouri is 1-2 on the road in 2014 after the win at Missouri Southern on Saturday.
• The Mules went 3-2 on the road in 2013 and are 16-10 in road games during the
Jim Svoboda era.
• UCM is 5-5 in the last 10 road games.
THE MULES VS. RANKED OPPONENTS• The Mules are 1-2 this season and 6-11 overall against ranked competition during the
Jim Svoboda era after the loss at No. 1 Northwest Missouri on Sept. 20
• Central Missouri is 2-7 against ranked opponents over the past three seasons.
• UCM's last win over a top 5-ranked opponent was a 31-21 win over No. 3 Northwest Missouri on Sept. 8, 2012.
• The Mules have never beaten a No. 1 ranked team.
THE MULES FOLLOWING A LOSS• The Mules are 12-3 following a loss during the
Jim Svoboda era after beating Nebraska-Kearney 45-28 on Sept. 27.
• UCM has lost back to back games just two times during Svoboda's tenure, both happened last season.
• The Mules are averaging 37.3 points per game in the games immediately following a loss.
LEADING THE PACK• Senior running back
LaVance Taylor currently leads the MIAA in rushing at 138.2 yards per game and in scoring with 11 touchdowns so far in 2014.
• Taylor has gone over the 100 yard mark in four of Central Missouri's five games, including a school-record 288 yards on 23 carries in the win over Emporia State.
• His 204.4 all-purpose yards per game average also leads the conference.
 TACKLING MACHINE• Junior linebacker
Ricky Spratley is currently third in the MIAA in tackles, averaging 12.0 stops per game. His 60 total tackles leads the team, as do his 28 solo stops.
• The St. Louis, Mo. native set a new career-high with 19 tackles in the win at Missouri Southern.
• Spratley was Central Missouri's leading tackler last season with 84.
VENCKUS CONTROLLING THE LINE• Junior defensive end
Jason Venckus currently leads the MIAA in tackles for loss with 7.5 on the year.
• He had a career-high three tackles for loss in the win over Nebraska-Kearney and followed that up with two more against Missouri Southern.
LEADING AT THE HALF• The Mules are 26-5 during the
Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime, but 0-1 this season after falling to Missouri Western. The Mules led 6-0 at halftime, but fell 10-9 in the season-opener.
• The Mules are 6-12 under Svoboda when trailing at halftime. UCM was trailing 14-7 at halftime to Nebraska-Kearney two weeks ago and 24-13 at Missouri Southern last weekend.
21 AND UP• UCM is 33-7 under
Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM 33-1 during the Svoboda era and 20-1 when scoring 40 or more points.
• The only loss when scoring 30 or more points was a 55-54 defeat to Division I FCS Illinois State in 2010.
SCORING STREAK CONTINUES• With
LaVance Taylor's 62-yard touchdown run against Missouri Southern, Central Missouri has scored in 254 consecutive games - the longest streak in MIAA history.
A UCM WIN WOULD...• Give the Mules a 4-2 overall and MIAA record and give the Mules three straight wins for the first time this season.
• Give the Mules three straight wins against Washburn.
• Give UCM a 3-0 record against WU during the
Jim Svoboda era.
A UCM LOSS WOULD...• Drop the Mules to 3-3 overall for the first time during the
Jim Svoboda era.
• Snap UCM's two-game streak in the series with Washburn and two-game streak this season.
MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY• In the 119th season of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 529-500-51 (.513) record in 1,080 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 12 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 AT THE HELM• Central Missouri head coach
Jim Svoboda has a record of 34-17 (.667) in his fifth season leading the Mules.
• He is tied for fifth place on Central Missouri's career wins list with 34.
• Svoboda's .674 winning percentage entering the 2014 season was 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 68 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 ninth season in the league and his second with the Tennessee Titans. Walker signed a four-year deal with the Titans last season after playing in Super Bowl XLVII with San Francisco. He caught four passes for 47 yards in Tennessee's loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Walker has 209 catches for 2,400 yards with 17 touchdowns in his career.
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS• Central Missouri has won a combined 200 MIAA regular-season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured seven MIAA regular season titles, the most of any school in league history and the second time Central Missouri accomplished the feat.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 146 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won six national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, women's bowling in 2003 and men's basketball in 2014) and eight national championships overall.
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM• Central Missouri had 220 student-athletes named to the 2013-14 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 41 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.
• 17 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had 12 student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with seven of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
MULES FOOTBALL ON THE AIR• The Bob Showers of Ameritas Investment Corp.
Jim Svoboda Mules Football Radio Show, Live from Traditions Restaurant airs on Monday nights at 6 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 and re-airs on Saturdays at 5 p.m.
LIVE VIDEO STREAMING• Live video coverage for all Central Missouri home and away MIAA games will be available through Stretch Internet on a pay-per-view basis. The cost is $9.95 for a day pass or $69.95 for an all-season pass for UCM football. With a day pass, fans can access any MIAA game being broadcast that day. Fans can access webcasts through the GameCentral by Stretch Internet link on the UCM Athletics homepage or through the "Video" links on the Mules Football schedule page. Fans can also go directly to portal.stretchinternet.com/ucmo/
UP NEXT• The Mules welcome Central Oklahoma to Warrensburg for Homecoming next Saturday, Oct. 18. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.
• After hosting UCO, the Mules head back out on the road to take on Northeastern State on Saturday, Oct. 25 in Tahlequah, Okla. Kickoff at Doc Wadley Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
