21st-ranked Mules return home to host Northeastern State on Homecoming

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KICKOFF
• The 21st-ranked Mules return home for the first time in three weeks to host Northeastern State in the annual Homecoming Game on Saturday, Oct. 24. Kickoff at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field is set for 1:30 p.m.
• The Mules are coming off a thrilling 45-42 come from behind win at Central Oklahoma last Saturday. The Mules rallied from nine points down in the fourth quarter, scoring 19 straight points to regain the lead and hold on for their fourth straight win.
• Northeastern State won its second straight game with a 31-21 win at home over Missouri Southern last weekend.
• With Saturday's game being Homecoming, the gates to Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field will open at 11:30 a.m., two hours prior to kickoff.

ON THE AIR
• The game will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler calling the action. With Saturday's game kicking off at 1:30 p.m., The Spin Pizza - Bob Showers of Ameritas Financial Tailgate Show will begin at 12:20 p.m. on the UCM Sports Network. The show will be broadcast live from the patio at Spin Pizza overlooking Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.
• The game will also be webcast online through Central Missouri's Stretch Internet portal at
UCMathletics.com/gamecentral. It is a pay-per-view webcast.



STORY LINES
• The win over Central Oklahoma gave UCM a 42-4 record when scoring 30 or more points and a 26-1 mark when scoring 40 or more points under Jim Svoboda.
• The Mules rank second in the MIAA in total offense and fourth in the league total defense. Northeastern State is ninth in the conference in total offense and eighth in total defense.
• The Mules are 18-7 during the month of October during the Jim Svoboda era.
• The Mules will play six of their 11 regular season games on the road this season. It is the fifth time in six seasons under Jim Svoboda that UCM will play more road games than home games.
• The Mules went 8-4 overall last season and finished in a tie for fourth place in the MIAA standings with a 7-4 conference mark.
• The Mules secured their eighth straight winning season in 2014, going 8-4 overall. It was the 16th winning season in the last 17 years for UCM.

RANKINGS
• The Mules moved up three spots to No. 21 in this week's D2Football.com Poll and are receiving votes in the AFCA Top 25 Poll. Northeastern State is unranked.

SERIES HISTORY
• This will be the 12th all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Northeastern State. The RiverHawks lead the series 8-2. The NSU win in 1986 (42-22) in Tahlequah was later vacated.
• UCM won last year's meeting 56-14 in Tahlequah.
• The Mules are 2-1 against the RiverHawks since they joined the MIAA.

LAST MEETING WITH NORTHEASTERN STATE
• The Mules raced out to a 14-0 lead and never looked back in a 56-14 rout of Northeastern State on Oct. 25, 2014 in Tahlequah.
• The win was the fifth in a row for UCM, the longest winning streak since the 2010 season.
• The Mules racked up 649 yards in total offense, including 405 yards on the ground. LaVance Taylor and Ray Harris both went over 100 yards rushing with 175 and 169, respectively, and Evan Campbell added 77 yards on just four carries.
• The UCM defense held NSU to just 276 total yards and 54 yards rushing on 41 carries.
• Diaron Rhodes had two pass break ups, giving him 14 on the season, a new UCM single-season record.
• Monteze Latimore recorded his first career interception.

ABOUT THE RIVERHAWKS
• Northeastern State enters the game at 2-5 after their second straight win, a 31-21 victory over Missouri Southern, last Saturday in Tahlequah.
• The RiverHawks are led by second-year head coach Rob Robinson, who has a 2-16 mark leading NSU.
• The RiverHawks are averaging 18.1 points per game, ninth in the MIAA, and giving up 34.0 per contest, 11th in the league.
• They have the conference's ninth-ranked total offense at 319.3 yards per game and the eighth-ranked total defense allowing 418.6 per outing.
• The RiverHawks are second in the MIAA against the pass allowing 187.4 yard per game, but last against the run giving up 231.1 yards per contest.
• Quarterback Kevin Pantastico has completed 46 percent of his passes for 1,139 yards and eight touchdowns, but has thrown five interceptions. He averages 189.8 yards per game through the air.
• Joel Rockmore leads the NSU ground attack with 83.3 yards per game. He averages 5.1 yards per carry and has scored four touchdowns.
• Garrett Powell has caught a team-high 29 passes for 400 yards (13.8 ypc) and two scores. Twelve different NSU receivers have caught passes this year.
• Middle linebacker Irving Steele leads the NSU defense with 81 tackles, including 41 solo stops. He has a team-high seven tackles for loss and four sacks.
• Strong safety Steffon Herd is second on the squad with 69 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.
• As a unit, the RiverHawk defense has 46 tackles for loss, 19 sacks, 23 pass break-ups and five interceptions. They've also recovered eight fumbles.
• Northeastern State is minus-6 in turnover margin, throwing 12 interceptions and losing seven fumbles on the season.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Mules rallied from a nine point fourth quarter deficit to beat Central Oklahoma 45-42 in a wild shootout in Edmond last Saturday.
• UCM led 10-7 at halftime with the defenses controlling most of the action. The second half saw 70 points and 779 yards of total offense between the two teams.
• Markel Smith's 30-yard touchdown run with 7:38 to play in the game gave UCM the lead and Garrett Fugate's 87 yard run with :56 to play put the game away for the Mules.
• Fugate finished the day with 417 yards of total offense, the 10th highest single-game total in school history. He was 20-of-37 passing for 239 yards and a score while rushing for 178 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. His 178 rushing yards are the most ever for a UCM quarterback in a single game.
• Smith finished with 143 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Jaylen Zachery caught eight passes for 105 yards and Ian Toalson hauled in five receptions for 80 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown on fourth and five in the third quarter.
• Austin Miller and Sam Smith led the UCM defense with 11 tackles each, while Tevin Teamer finished with 10. Miller added a tackle for loss, an interception and a fumble recovery.

THE MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 5-2 in MIAA play this season and 37-18 in conference games under Jim Svoboda.
• They went 7-4 in MIAA play last season and finished in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings.

THE MULES AT HOME
• The Mules are 2-1 at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field this season and 22-8 in their sixth season under Jim Svoboda.
• The Mules are 227-182-13 in their 85th season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.

THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• Central Missouri is 3-1 on the road this season and the Mules are 21-12 in road games during the Jim Svoboda era.
• UCM is 6-4 in the last 10 road games.

CONVERTING ON THIRD DOWN
• The Mules entered the game against Nebraska-Kearney ranked 11th in the MIAA in third down conversions and 11th in opponent third down conversions. Since then, the Mules are 28-of-64 (43.8) on third downs and have held the opposition to 19-of-65 (29.2) combined on third downs.
• UCM is now eighth in the league in converting third downs (33.9 percent) and fourth in opponent third down conversions (36.5).
• Northeastern State is 10th in the league in third down conversions (29.9), but fifth in opponent third down conversions (38.0).

MIAA LEADERS
• Wide receiver Jaylen Zachery leads the MIAA averaging 100.1 yards per game receiving. He has 37 catches (4th in MIAA) for 701 yards (1st in MIAA) and four touchdowns (3rd in MIAA). His 100.1 yards per game is 14th in Division II.
• Quarterback Garrett Fugate is second in the league in passing at 286.7 yards per outing. His 143 completions are second best in the conference as are his 2,007 yards. His three interceptions are the least of any quarterback that has played in all seven games this year. His 361.6 yards per game of total offense is seventh in the nation.
• His 524 rushing yards this season are a new record by a UCM quarterback, breaking the old mark of 364 set by Marcus Frazier in 1991.
• Billy Greco is third in the league in scoring with 63 points. He's made 12 field goals and 27 extra points.

WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
• The Mules are 5-1 this season and 36-7 during the Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime after their 45-42 win at Central Oklahoma.
• The Mules are 6-13 under Svoboda when trailing at halftime.

21 AND UP
• UCM is 42-10 under Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM is 42-4 during the Svoboda era and 26-1 when scoring 40 or more points.

SCORING STREAK CONTINUES
• With Markel Smith's three-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter at UCO, the Mules extended their MIAA record streak of consecutive games without being shutout to 267.
• The streak dates back to the 1991 season.

A UCM WIN WOULD...
• Give UCM a 6-2 record and keep them in no worse than a tie for third in the MIAA standings.
• Give the Mules five straight wins for the second straight year and the third time under Jim Svoboda.
• Give UCM three straight wins over NSU and pull the Mules within 8-3 in the all-time series.

A UCM LOSS WOULD...
• Snap UCM's four-game winning streak and drop the Mules to 5-3 on the season.
• Snap a two-game winning streak against the RiverHawks and give NSU a 9-2 lead in the all-time series.
• Drop the Mules to 5-3 for the third time in the last five seasons.

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 120th season of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 539-504-51 (.516) record in 1,094 total games.
• The Mules have won 10 or more games three times in the history of the program and have posted 12 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 eight 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 44-21 (.677) in his sixth season leading the Mules. He has led the Mules to three postseason appearances, including a berth in last season's Texarkana Bowl.
• He is tied with Tad C. Reid for third place on UCM's career wins list.
• Svoboda's .672 winning percentage entering the 2015 season was the fifth 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 81 school offensive records and 21 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 10th season in the league and his third with the Tennessee Titans. Walker signed a four-year deal with the Titans after playing in Super Bowl XLVII with San Francisco. Walker has 268 catches for 3,170 yards with 19 touchdowns in his career. He caught eight passes for 90 yards in Sunday's loss to Miami and now has 22 receptions for 244 yards and a touchdown in four games this season.
• Walker was inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame last February.
• Running back LaVance Taylor signed a free agent contract with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. He is currently on the team's practice squad.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
• Central Missouri has won a combined 205 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured five MIAA regular season titles, and three MIAA Tournament crowns.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 151 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won eight national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, women's bowling in 2003, men's basketball in 2014, and women's indoor and outdoor track & field in 2015) and 10 national championships overall.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
• Central Missouri had 218 student-athletes named to the 2014-15 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 29 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 six student-athletes earn Academic All-Region awards in their respective sports with three of those earning CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
• Since the year 2000, UCM is tied for sixth in NCAA-II with 49 Academic All-Americans.

MULES FOOTBALL ON THE AIR
• The Bob Showers of Ameritas Investment Corp. Jim Svoboda Mules Football Radio Show, Live from Traditions Restaurant airs on Tuesday 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 from the patio at Traditions Restaurant at the Audrey J. Walton Clubhouse at Mules National Golf Club.

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.
• Fans can access webcasts by going to UCMathletics.com/gamecentral or by clicking on the links located on the Mules Football schedule page.

UP NEXT
• The Mules head back out on the road to take on Lindenwood on Halloween. Kickoff in St. Charles next Saturday is set for 1:30 p.m. at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium.