KICKOFF• The Mules close out the 2014 season in the Second Annual Live United Texarkana Bowl against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday, Dec. 6 at noon at Razorback Stadium in Texarkana, Arkansas.
• The Mules are coming off a 45-17 loss to Fort Hays State in the regular season finale on Nov. 15 at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.
• Southeastern Oklahoma State is coming off an 18-15 win over East Central in their regular season finale. The Savage Storm won their final two games of the regular season to finish at 7-4 overall.
ON THE AIR• The game will be broadcast on the 44,000-watt 98.5 The Bar and 1450 KOKO with Greg Hassler calling the action. With Saturday's game kicking off at noon the Mules Tailgate Show will begin at 10:50 a.m.
• The game will also be webcast online through the Great American Conference website. Links can be found on the Mules Football schedule page.
QUICK HITS• The Mules played six of their 11 regular season games at home this season. It was the first time in five years that the Mules had more than five home games.
• The Mules secured their eighth straight winning season in 2014 and the 16th in the last 17 seasons.
MIAA POSTSEASON HONORS• The Mules had 17 players earn All-MIAA honors as voted on by the league coaches. Senior running back
LaVance Taylor, junior offensive lineman
Brian Berzanski and senior defensive lineman
Ramond Hunter were all named to the conference's first team. Taylor was also named to the third team as a kick returner.
• Second team honors went to senior tight end
Cullen Rosine, junior linebacker
Ricky Spratley and senior defensive back
Connor Smith. Earning third team accolades were senior quarterback
Hayden Hawk, junior offensive lineman
Tycie Linneman, senior placekicker
Will Mondragon, Taylor and junior defensive end
Jason Venckus, while honorable mention honors went to freshman wide receiver
Kyle Echols, senior fullback
Sean Gorman, senior defensive lineman
Russell Allen, senior linebacker
Alex Perlin, senior defensive back
Zach Leinbaugh and sophomore defensive back
Diaron Rhodes.
SERIES HISTORY• This will be the first ever meeting between Central Missouri and Southeastern Oklahoma State.
LAST MEETING WITH SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE• This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
ABOUT THE SAVAGE STORM• Southeastern Oklahoma State enters the Texarkana Bowl at 7-4 overall and having gone 6-4 in Great American Conference play this season.
• The Savage Storm are averaging 31.3 points per game and giving up 25.7 defensively. They are averaging 403.2 yards per game offensively, 176.5 on the ground and 226.6 through the air.
• SOSU gives up 188.5 yards per game rushing and 195.1 per game passing.
• Ryan Polite has completed 58.7 percent of his passes for 2,351 yards and 19 touchdowns. He has thrown 11 interceptions.
• Devlon Wortham has rushed for 796 yards and 10 touchdowns on 133 carries. He averages 6.0 yards per carry. Ronnie Green has rushed for 603 yards on 135 carries and scored five TDs, he averages 4.5 yards per carry.
• Anthony Foster has hauled in a team-leading 50 catches for 676 yards and three touchdowns. Kaymon Farmer has 43 receptions for 388 yards and three scores and Layton Dworaczyk has a team-best five receiving touchdowns.
• Defensively, the Savage Storm are led by Chad Tucker's 60 tackles. Thomas Curry has 58 tackles to go along with 6.5 tackles for loss.
• Trent Hannah has a team-leading 7.5 tackles for loss and Ryan Harkness leads the way with four sacks. The defense as a unit has accumulated 79 tackles for loss and 20 quarterback sacks.
• Raheem Wilson has four interceptions.
LAST TIME OUT• Fort Hays State led from start to finish in a 45-17 rout on Nov. 15, Senior Day at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.
• The Tigers out-gained UCM 384-314, including 289 yards on the ground.
•
LaVance Taylor rushed for 149 yards on 22 carries to set a new UCM single-season rushing record with 1,654 yards. His 2,267 all-purpose yards also were a school single-season record.
•
Hayden Hawk finished the day 20-of-38 for 172 yards.
Justus McMullen had five catches for 35 yards.
•
Ricky Spratley led the UCM defense with 11 tackles and a sack.
Travion Vaughn had eight stops, while
J.R. Alexander and
Ramond Hunter had seven tackles apiece.
MULES IN THE POSTSEASON• The Mules will be making their third postseason appearance under
Jim Svoboda and the eighth postseason appearance in program history.
• This will be the second bowl game under Svoboda and the sixth overall. The Mules are 0-1 in bowl games under Svoboda and 2-3 in bowl games in program history.
MULES IN MIAA PLAY• The Mules were 7-4 in MIAA play this season after the loss to Fort Hays State in the regular season finale.
• UCM is 32-16 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 24-15 in MIAA play since 2011.
THE MULES AT HOME• The Mules were 5-1 at home this season and are 20-7 under
Jim Svoboda after the loss to Fort Hays State on Nov. 15.
• The loss to FHSU snapped a seven-game home winning streak. It was the longest since UCM won 10 straight home games between the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
• The Mules are 225-181-13 in their 84th season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.
THE MULES ON THE ROAD• Central Missouri is 2-3 on the road in 2014 after the 38-31 loss at sixth-ranked Pittsburg State.
• The Mules went 3-2 on the road in 2013 and are 18-11 in road games during the
Jim Svoboda era.
• UCM is 5-5 in the last 10 road games.
THE MULES IN NEUTRAL SITE GAMES• Central Missouri is 0-1 under
Jim Svoboda in neutral site games. The Mules fell to West Texas A&M 26-7 in the 2011 Lower Kanza Bowl in Topeka, Kansas.
• UCM is 1-3 all-time in neutral site games with all four games being bowl games. The Mules lost to Doane College 10-0 in the 1968 Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Missouri; lost to Arkansas State 38-21 in the 1970 Pecan Bowl in Arlington, Texas; beat Minnesota-Duluth 48-17 in the 2001 Mineral Water Bowl and lost 26-7 to West Texas A&M in the 2011 Kanza Bowl.
THE MULES VS. RANKED OPPONENTS• The Mules were 2-3 this season and 7-12 overall against ranked competition during the
Jim Svoboda era after the loss to No. 6 Pittsburg State on Nov. 8.
• Central Missouri is 3-8 against ranked opponents over the past three seasons.
• UCM's last win over a top 10-ranked opponent was a 31-21 win over No. 3 Northwest Missouri on Sept. 8, 2012.
LEADER OF THE PACK• Senior running back
LaVance Taylor led the MIAA and was fifth in NCAA-II in rushing at 150.4 yards per game and in scoring with 16 touchdowns. His 1,654 rushing yards are a new UCM single-season record and are nearly 600 yards more than the next closest player in the league and are the fifth most in the nation.
• He is 318 yards shy of tying Kegan Coleman for the most career rushing yards in program history.
• Taylor has gone over the 100 yard mark in nine of Central Missouri's 11 games and has gone over the 200-yard mark twice, including a school-record 288 yards on 23 carries in the win over Emporia State.
• His 206.1 all-purpose yards per game average also leads the conference and is third in NCAA-II.
• Taylor's 2,267 all-purpose yards this year are also a new school single-season record. His 5,880 career all-purpose yards are 59 yards shy of tying Kegan Coleman for the most in UCM history.
• Taylor was named a candidate for the Harlon Hill Trophy in Super Region 3.
VENCKUS CONTROLLING THE LINE• Junior defensive end
Jason Venckus finished second in the MIAA in tackles for loss with 13.5 on the year. He also tied for 10th in the league with 4.5 sacks.
• He had a career-high three tackles for loss in the win over Nebraska-Kearney.
• He is 3.5 tackles for loss shy (17) of cracking UCM's single-season top 10 list.
DEFENSIVE PLAYMAKERS• The Mules led the MIAA in interceptions this season with 22.
• Sophomore cornerback
Diaron Rhodes broke the UCM single-season record for pass breakups, he now has 15 pass breakups on the season. He led the MIAA and tied for 24th in the nation averaging 1.5 passes defended per game.
• Senior
Connor Smith tied for the conference lead with four interceptions after coming up with two in the win over Lindenwood. Sophomore
Travion Vaughn tied for eighth along with freshman
Monteze Latimore with three interceptions each.
WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF• The Mules are 30-6 during the
Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime, including a 4-2 mark this season after falling at No. 6 Pittsburg State on Nov. 8.
• The Mules are 6-13 under Svoboda when trailing at halftime, including 2-2 this season. UCM was trailing 14-7 at halftime to Nebraska-Kearney and 24-13 at Missouri Southern and came back to win those games.
21 AND UP• UCM is 37-8 under
Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM 37-2 during the Svoboda era and 23-1 when scoring 40 or more points.
• The loss to Pittsburg State was the first loss when scoring 30 or more points since a 55-54 defeat to Division I FCS Illinois State in 2010.
SCORING STREAK CONTINUES• With
Will Mondragon's 23-yard field goal against Fort Hays State, Central Missouri has scored in 260 consecutive games - the longest streak in MIAA history.
A UCM WIN WOULD...• Give the Mules an 8-4 record on the season, their third season of at least eight wins under
Jim Svoboda.
• Give UCM their third bowl win all time.
• Give the Mules a 1-0 lead in the series with Southeastern Oklahoma State.
A UCM LOSS WOULD...• Drop the Mules to 7-5 for the season and give UCM three straight losses to end the year.
• Give the Savage Storm a 1-0 lead in the all-time series.
• Give the Mules back-to-back losses in bowl games.
MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY• In the 119th season of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 533-502-51 (.515) record in 1,086 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 38-19 (.667) in his fifth season leading the Mules.
• He is in fifth place on Central Missouri's career wins list.
• 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 has 44 receptions for 673 yards and four touchdowns through 11 games this season. Walker has 227 catches for 2,709 yards with 18 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• The 2nd Annual Live United Texarkana Bowl will be streamed online by the Great American Conference. A link to the webcast will appear on the Mules Football schedule page at UCMathletics.com.
