18th-ranked Mules head out on the road to take on Lindenwood on Halloween

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KICKOFF
• The 18th-ranked Mules head back out on the road to take on Lindenwood on Saturday, Oct. 31 in St. Charles. Kickoff at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium on the Lindenwood campus is set for 1:30 p.m.
• The Mules are coming off a thrilling 54-10 rout of Northeastern State on Homecoming. The Mules scored in every quarter, including 31 unanswered between the end of the first quarter and end of the third quarter.
• Lindenwood won its second straight game with a 34-30 come from behind win at Missouri Southern last weekend.

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 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 Northeastern State gave UCM a 43-4 record when scoring 30 or more points and a 27-1 mark when scoring 40 or more points under Jim Svoboda. It was also the 12th time UCM has scored 50 or more points under Jim Svoboda.
• The Mules rank first in the MIAA in total offense and third in the league total defense. Lindenwood is 11th in the conference in total offense and 10th in total defense.
• The Mules are 19-7 during the month of October during the Jim Svoboda era, including a 4-0 mark so far this season.
• 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 in to the AFCA Top 25 Poll this week at No. 25. It is the first top 25 ranking in the AFCA poll this season for UCM. The Mules also moved up three more spots to No. 18 in this week's D2Football.com Poll. Lindenwood is unranked.
• The Mules are ranked No. 10 in the initial NCAA-II Super Region 3 rankings. The top seven teams in the final poll will receive bids to the NCAA-II Playoffs.

SERIES HISTORY
• This will be the fifth all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Lindenwood. The Mules have won all four of the previous meetings, including a 48-28 win in Warrensburg last season.
• The Mules have scored at least 35 points in each of the four meetings and are averaging 44.3 points per game, while the Lions have scored 28 points in all four games.

LAST MEETING WITH LINDENWOOD
• The Mules jumped out to a 21-0 lead and were never threatened in the 48-28 win over Lindenwood on Nov. 1, 2014 in Warrensburg.
• The UCM defense forced seven turnovers in the ball game, including six interceptions. The six INTs were the third most in a game in school history.
• Hayden Hawk finished the day 19-of-28 for 286 yards with three touchdowns. He had scoring strikes of 22, 51 and 71 in the game.
• LaVance Taylor went over 100 yards rushing for the seventh time in nine games, finishing with 138 yards on 25 carries. He also caught three passes for 34 yards.
• Ian Toalson caught a then career-high five passes for 56 yards and a touchdown.
• Kenny Mings and Connor Smith each recorded two interceptions with Smith and Diaron Rhodes each returning an interception for a touchdown.

ABOUT THE LIONS
• Lindenwood enters the game at 3-5 overall and is coming in off back-to-back wins. Last weekend the Lions rallied from a 24-14 halftime deficit to beat Missouri Southern 34-30 in Joplin.
• LWU is led by 12th-year head coach Patrick Ross. He has compiled a 90-46 record during his tenure with the Lions and has a 104-53 mark in 14 years as a head coach.
• The Lions come in with the MIAA's 10th-ranked scoring offense (18.0 ppg) and the league's 10th-ranked scoring defense (32.9 ppg). They are 11th in the league in total offense (303.1 ypg) and 10th in total defense (434.0).
• They average 106.0 yards per game on the ground and 197.1 through the air, they give up 186.8 yards per game rushing and 247.2 passing.
• Freshman quarterback Mason Bendigo is completing 48 percent of his passes for 123.0 yards per game. He has thrown seven touchdowns and seven interceptions.
• Lavorrie Johnson is averaging 45.1 yards per game rushing and has scored two touchdowns. Calen Campbell averages 32.0 ypg and has also scored twice.
• Greg Coble leads the team with 27 receptions for 425 yards and three scores.
• Connor Harris leads the team and the MIAA in tackles with 138, including 62 solo stops. He also has nine tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and an interception.
• The Lions have registered 47 tackles for loss, 18 sacks and four interceptions, but they've given up 73 TFL, 26 sacks and have thrown 11 INTs.
• Lindenwood is minus-6 in turnovers.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Mules scored 31 unanswered points to pull away from Northeastern State in a 54-10 blowout win on Homecoming last Saturday. It was the fifth straight win for UCM.
• The Mules racked up 607 yards of total offense with 301 coming through the air and 306 on the ground.
• Markel Smith rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries and had a 31-yard touchdown reception as well.
• Jaylen Zachery had four catches for 73 yards and also returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown.
• Garrett Fugate was 14-of-20 passing for 207 yards and two touchdowns and Eric Siebenshuh went 6-of-8 for 82 yards with two more scores.
• Austin Miller and Manuel Cole led the defense with eight tackles each. Miller added a tackle for loss, a sack, an interception and a pass breakup.
• Jason Venckus had two tackles for loss and a sack. He is now a half a tackle for loss shy of cracking UCM's career top 10 list.
• UCM held Northeastern State to just 218 yards of total offense and 55 yards rushing. The Mule defense forced five NSU turnovers, including four interceptions, and had seven tackles for loss.

JAYLEN ZACHERY EARNS MIAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
• Mules sophomore wide receiver/returner Jaylen Zachery was named MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in UCM's 54-10 win over Northeastern State last weekend.
• Zachery had a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown and averaged 42.0 yards per return during the game. It was the first punt return for a touchdown by a Mule since 2006.

THE MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 6-2 in MIAA play this season and 38-18 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 3-1 at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field this season and 23-8 in their sixth season under Jim Svoboda.
• The Mules are 228-182-13 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
• Since the Nebraska-Kearney game, the Mules are 34-of-78 (43.6) on third downs and have held the opposition to 20-of-75 (26.6) combined on third downs.
• UCM is now seventh in the league in converting third downs (35.0 percent) and third in opponent third down conversions (34.4).
• Lindenwood is 11th in the league in third down conversions (30.4), and 11th in opponent third down conversions (43.1).

MIAA LEADERS
• Wide receiver Jaylen Zachery leads the MIAA averaging 86.8 yards per game receiving. He has 41 catches (5th in MIAA) for 774 yards (1st in MIAA) and four touchdowns (5th in MIAA).
• Ian Toalson is third in the conference with six receiving touchdowns.
• Quarterback Garrett Fugate is second in the league in passing at 276.8 yards per outing. His 157 completions are second best in the conference as are his 2,214 yards. His three interceptions are the least of any quarterback that has played in all eight games this year. His 341.8 yards per game of total offense is second in the league.
• His 520 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 second in the league in scoring with 75 points. He's made 14 field goals and 33 extra points.
• Austin Miller is tied for fifth in the MIAA with three interceptions on the season.

WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
• The Mules are 6-1 this season and 37-7 during the Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime after their 54-10 win over Northeastern State last Saturday.
• The Mules are 6-13 under Svoboda when trailing at halftime.

21 AND UP
• UCM is 43-10 under Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM is 43-4 during the Svoboda era and 27-1 when scoring 40 or more points.

SCORING STREAK CONTINUES
• With Markel Smith's three-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter against Northeastern State, the Mules extended their MIAA record streak of consecutive games without being shutout to 268.
• The streak dates back to the 1991 season.

A UCM WIN WOULD...
• Give UCM a 7-2 record and keep them in no worse than third place in the MIAA standings.
• Give the Mules six straight wins for the second straight year and the third time under Jim Svoboda.
• Give UCM five straight wins over Lindenwood and give the Mules a 5-0 lead in the all-time series.

A UCM LOSS WOULD...
• Snap UCM's five-game winning streak and drop the Mules to 6-3 on the season.
• Snap a four-game winning streak against the Lions and give Lindenwood its first ever win in the series.
• Possibly drop the Mules in to a tie for third place in the league standings.

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 120th season of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 540-504-51 (.516) record in 1,095 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 45-21 (.682) 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 third 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 275 catches for 3,225 yards with 19 touchdowns in his career. He caught seven passes for 55 yards in Sunday's loss to Atlanta and now has 29 receptions for 299 yards and a touchdown in five 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 return home to host Pittsburg State on Saturday, Nov. 7 at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field. That day is Senior Day with the Mules' seniors being honored in a pregame ceremony. It is also the MIAA TV Game of the Week and will kick at 2:37 p.m. with the televised broadcast.