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KICKOFF
• After squaring their record at 1-1 with a win over 19th-ranked Emporia State, the Mules head back out on the road to take on defending national champion Northwest Missouri State. Kickoff on Saturday is set for 1 p.m. at Bearcat Stadium in Maryville.
• The Mules are coming off a 50-31 win over No. 19 Emporia State last Thursday night. The game was tied 21-21 at halftime, but UCM out-scored ESU 29-10 in the second half.
• The Bearcats are 2-0 on the season and ranked No. 1 in the nation after a 40-14 win at Missouri Southern last Thursday. Northwest Missouri opened the season with a 31-7 win at home over Nebraska-Kearney.

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 p.m. the Mules Tailgate Show will begin at 11:50 a.m.
• The game will also be webcast online through Stretch Internet. Fans can access the webcast at
portal.stretchinternet.com/ucmo/

QUICK HITS
• The combined record of the Mules' first three opponents this season (Missouri Western, Emporia State and Northwest Missouri) was 32-5 last season.
• Northwest Missouri is the defending MIAA and national champions and is the preseason favorite to once again claim the conference crown.
• 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 94th all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri. The Bearcats lead the all-time series 56-35-2
• The Bearcats rallied from 17-0 down to beat the Mules 28-24 in Maryville last season.
• The Mules are 1-4 against the Bearcats under Jim Svoboda, while NWMSU is 2-1 against UCM under Adam Dorrel.
• Northwest Missouri has won 10 of the last 11 and 17 of the last 20 meetings between the two schools.

LAST MEETING WITH NORTHWEST MISSOURI
• The Mules jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead, but the Bearcats rallied to score the game-winning touchdown with 2:51 to play in the game for the 28-24 victory.
• NWMSU out-gained the Mules 378-360 for the game and held UCM to just 56 yards rushing on 26 carries.
• Hayden Hawk was 22-of-42 for 304 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Brady Bolles finished 17-of-23 for 191 yards a passing touchdown and two rushing TDs in relief of starter Trevor Adams.
• The Bearcats returned a blocked punt 25 yards for a touchdown to take their first lead of the game 21-17 with 2:05 left in the third quarter.
• Ronrei Lloyd led UCM with eight catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
• Defensively, Connor Smith led the Mule defense with nine tackles, Ryan Berry, Zach Quines, Alex Perlin and Adrian Perricone all had eight tackles apiece. Quines added an interception which set up the first UCM score, a 24-yard Zach Gebhardt field goal.

ABOUT THE BEARCATS
• Northwest Missouri enters the contest at 2-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation after a 40-14 win over Missouri Southern last Thursday night in Joplin.
• The Bearcats are averaging 35.5 points per game offensively and giving up just 10.5 per contest.
• They have outscored their opponents 27-0 in the second half of games this season and 50-7 from the second quarter on.
• NWMSU is averaging 241 yards per game passing and 168 per game on the ground.
• Quarterback Brady Bolles is 38-of-58 for 469 yards with three touchdowns and an interception on the season.
• The rushing attack features four players averaging at least 4.3 yards per carry. Phil Jackson leads the group with 27 carries for 142 yards and five touchdowns.
• Bryce Young leads the receiving corps with 12 catches for 190 yards and a score. Twelve different Bearcat receivers have caught passes this season.
• Defensively, the Bearcats are tops in the MIAA in total defense allowing just 171 yards per game total, they've only allowed 27 yards passing through two games.
• They have the No. 7 rushing defense in the league at 157.5 yards per game allowed, while the Mules feature the league's top rushing offense at 293 yards per outing.
• Eric Reimer leads the team in tackles with 16, including two tackles for loss and a sack.
• Through two games the NWMSU defense has registered 20 tackles for loss and four sacks. They've also recorded three interceptions.

MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 1-1 in MIAA play this season after the 50-31 win over 19th-ranked Emporia State last Thursday.
• UCM is 26-13 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 AT HOME
• Central Missouri is 16-6 at home under Jim Svoboda after the home-opening win over the Hornets last Thursday night.
• The Mules averaged 38.0 points per game at home last season and gave up 25.2 points per contest.
• The Mules are 221-180-13 as they begin their 84th season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.

THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• Central Missouri is 0-1 on the road in 2014 after the season-opening loss at Missouri Western.
• The Mules went 3-2 on the road in 2013 and are 16-9 in road games during the Jim Svoboda era.
• UCM averaged 37.2 points per game on the road last season and gave up 17.6 per outing.

THE MULES VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• The Mules are 1-1 this season and 6-10 overall against ranked competition during the Jim Svoboda era after the win over No. 19 Emporia State.
• Central Missouri is 2-6 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 11-3 following a loss during the Jim Svoboda era after beating Emporia State 50-31 last Thursday night.
• UCM has lost back to back games just two times during Svoboda's tenure, both happened last season.
• The Mules are averaging 36.8 points per game in the games immediately following a loss.

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 last Thursday. The Mules led 6-0 at halftime, but fell 10-9 in the season-opener.
• The Mules are just 4-11 under Svoboda when trailing at halftime, but 2-0 when the game is tied at the break as it was against Emporia State.

TAYLOR NAMED MIAA OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Senior running back LaVance Taylor was named MIAA Offensive Player of the Week after his record breaking performance in the win over No. 19 Emporia State last Thursday. He rushed for a school-record 288 yards with four touchdowns. He also had a receiving touchdown and a 97-yd kickoff return for a score. His six touchdowns and 36 points scored were the most in a single-game in school history, as were his 396 all-purpose yards. His kickoff return for a TD was the third of his career, tying the school record held by Walter Rhone and Delanie Walker.
• Taylor now ranks third on UCM's career all-purpose yards list with 4,211, fifth in rushing yards with 2,430 and fifth in career touchdowns scored with 33.

21 AND UP
• UCM is 31-7 under Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM 31-1 during the Svoboda era and 19-1 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 11-yard touchdown reception against Emporia State, Central Missouri has scored in 251 consecutive games - the longest streak in MIAA history.

A UCM WIN WOULD...
• Give the Mules a 2-1 overall and MIAA record and back-to-back wins over ranked teams.
• Give the Mules wins in two of the last three meetings with Northwest Missouri.
• Give the Mules their first ever win over a No. 1 ranked team.

A UCM LOSS WOULD...
• Drop the Mules to 1-2 overall and in MIAA play for the second straight season.
• Be the second straight to the Bearcats and 11th in the last 12 meetings.
• Give UCM a 1-2 record against ranked teams this season.

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 119th season of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 527-499-51 (.513) record in 1,077 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 LEADING THE WAY
• Central Missouri head coach Jim Svoboda has a record of 32-16 (.667) in his fifth season leading the Mules.
• He is in sixth place on Central Missouri's career wins list with 32.
• Svoboda's .674 winning percentage entering the 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 a career-high 10 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Walker has 196 catches for 2,215 yards with 16 touchdowns for 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. The first show of the season will air on Sept. 25.

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 return home to host Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 1:30 p.m. on Family Weekend.