KICKOFF• The Central Missouri Mules kick off the 2014 season on Thursday night, Sept. 4 at Missouri Western. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Spratt Memorial Stadium in St. Joseph.
• The Mules were 6-4 overall a season ago, including 5-4 in MIAA play, while the Griffons were 8-3 overall and 7-3 in conference action.
• Central Missouri closed out the 2013 season on a four-game winning streak, including a 48-34 come from behind win over Fort Hays State to close out the season. The four-game season-ending winning streak was the first for Central Missouri since 1988.
• With Thursday's game kicking off at 7 p.m., the Mules Tailgate Show on the 44,000-watt 98.5 The Bar, 1450 KOKO and warrensburgradio.com will begin at 5:50 p.m.
QUICK HITS• This will be the third straight season that Central Missouri and Missouri Western open the season against each other and the second time in St. Joseph.
• The Griffons have won the previous two season openers between the two schools by a combined 15 points.
• The combined record of the Mules' first three opponents this season (Missouri Western, Northwest Missouri and Emporia State) was 32-5 last 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 31st all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Missouri Western. The Griffons have won three straight in the series and hold a 16-13-1 lead.
• Missouri Western won last year's meeting 26-23 in Warrensburg, scoring a touchdown with 14 seconds left.
• The Griffons have won 10 of the last 11 meetings and are 12-5 against the Mules under head coach Jerry Partridge.
• The Mules are 1-3 against the Griffons during the
Jim Svoboda era.
LAST MEETING WITH MISSOURI WESTERN• Travis Partridge hit Reggie Jordan for a five-yard touchdown with 14 seconds left to give Missouri Western a 26-23 win in the 2013 season-opener in Warrensburg. The Mules had taken a 23-20 lead with 4:32 to play on a 15-yard scoring strike from
Hayden Hawk to
Cullen Rosine.
• It was Central Missouri's third straight loss to the Griffons and the 10th loss in the last 11 meetings between the two schools.
• Hawk finished the day 28-of-42 for 322 yards and two touchdowns in his first collegiate start. It was the first of seven games in 2013 in which he surpassed 300 yards passing.
• UCM was held to just 40 yards rushing on 39 carries, freshman
Ray Harris had 18 carries for 40 yards.
• The Mules outgained Missouri Western overall 362-347 and forced a pair of turnovers.
• In his first game at UCM,
Tristan McClelland hauled in eight passes for 87 yards.
•
Zach Quines led the defense with nine tackles while
Tevin Teamer had his first career interception, returning it 30 yards for a touchdown.
ABOUT THE GRIFFONS• Missouri Western returns 38 letterman and 19 starters from the 2013 squad that finished 8-3 overall and 7-3 in MIAA play. The Griffons enter the season ranked No. 24 in the D2football.com preseason poll and are receiving votes in the AFCA poll.
• 18th year head coach Jerry Partridge enters the season with a 132-67 record leading the Griffons, including a 12-5 mark against Central Missouri.
• Last season, MWSU averaged 38.5 points per game offensively and gave up 25.3 to the opposition.
• The Griffons have to replace All-MIAA quarterback Travis Partridge, who passed for over 2200 yards and 21 touchdowns while also rushing for 530 yards and 10 scores.
• Raphael Spencer returns after gaining 1,312 yards on 198 carries with 12 touchdowns. His 119.3 yards per game average was second best in the MIAA.
• Stephon Weaver also returns after leading the team with 47 receptions for 583 yards and seven touchdowns.
• Defensively, the Griffons return their top two tacklers from a season ago in linebackers Stephen Juergens (88 tackles) and Yomi Alli (70 tackles). Defensive end John Oglesby also returns after registering a team-high eight tackles for loss and 3.5 quarterback sacks last year.
• The Missouri Western defense was second in the MIAA last year with 33 forced turnovers and overall they were tops in the league in turnover margin.
MULES IN SEASON OPENERS• The Mules are 2-2 in season-openers under head coach
Jim Svoboda.
• UCM lost to No. 6 Missouri Western 26-23 in last year's season-opener in Warrensburg.
• After winning four straight lid lifters, the Mules have now lost two in a row.
• In four season-openers under Svoboda the Mules are averaging 37.8 points per game.
MULES IN MIAA PLAY• The Mules enter the 2014 season with a 25-12 record 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 6-4 in their last 10 conference games.
MULES IN MIAA OPENERS• The Mules are 2-2 in MIAA openers under Svoboda and have dropped the last two, both to Missouri Western.
• The Mules are averaging 30.5 points per game during those four games, but 24.5 in the last two league opening games against the Griffons.
THE MULES AT HOME• Central Missouri is 15-6 at home under
Jim Svoboda after going 3-2 during the 2013 season.
• The Mules averaged 38.0 points per game at home last season and gave up 25.2 points per contest.
• The Mules are 220-180-13 as they begin their 84th season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.
THE MULES ON THE ROAD• The Mules went 3-2 on the road in 2013 and are 16-8 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 5-9 against ranked competition during the
Jim Svoboda era after going 0-3 last season.
• Central Missouri is 1-5 against ranked opponents over the past two years.
• UCM's last win over a top 5-ranked opponent was a 31-21 win over No. 3 Northwest Missouri on Sept. 8, 2012.
LEADING AT THE HALF• The Mules are 26-4 during the
Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime. UCM was 4-2 when leading at the half last season and is 10-4 over the past two seasons.
• On the flip side, the Mules are just 4-11 under Svoboda when trailing at halftime.
AIRING IT OUT•
Hayden Hawk finished the 2013 season as the MIAA leader in passing with 303.4 yards per game and was fourth in the league in pass efficiency. The Mules led the conference in passing offense last year and ranked 13th in NCAA-II.
SAME SIGNAL CALLER• For the first time in the
Jim Svoboda era the Mules will have the same starting quarterback for a second consecutive season.
Hayden Hawk returns under center for his second year as the starter. The previous three seasons have all seen a new starter at quarterback.
21 AND UP• UCM is 30-7 under
Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM 30-1 during the Svoboda era and 18-1 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
Ray Harris' two-yard touchdown run in the 2013 season finale against Fort Hays State, Central Missouri has scored in 249 consecutive games - the longest streak in MIAA history.
A UCM WIN WOULD...• Give the Mules a 1-0 overall and MIAA record and a win in the season-opener for the first time since 2011.
• Snap a three-game losing streak to Missouri Western and pull UCM within 16-14-1 in the all-time series.
• Give the Mules their first win in St. Joseph since 2002.
• Give the Mules five straight wins dating back to last season.
A UCM LOSS WOULD...• Give the Mules three straight season-opening losses to Missouri Western.
• Be the fourth straight to the Griffons and give MWSU a 17-13-1 lead in the all-time series and wins in 11 of the last 12 meetings.
• Snap Central Missouri's four-game winning streak.
MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY• In the 119th season of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 526-498-51 (.513) record in 1,075 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 31-15 (.674) in his fifth season leading the Mules.
• He is in sixth place on Central Missouri's career wins list with 31.
• Svoboda's .674 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 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. In his career, Walker has 183 catches for 2,036 yards with 14 touchdowns. Last season, he caught 60 passes for 571 yards and six touchdowns.
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• Central Missouri football is broadcast live on 1450 KOKO/98.5 The Bar, and on the internet at warrensburgradio.com. The broadcast team of Greg Hassler and Bill Turnage will have all the UCM action beginning with the Mules Tailgate show 70 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 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.
UP NEXT• The Mules return home to host Emporia State in the 2014 home opener on Thursday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field. The "Get the Red Out" Street Fair will take place before the game from 4-6:30 p.m. on Holden Street between South and Clark Streets.
