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KICKOFF
• The 24th-ranked Mules head out on the road for the first of two straight road games, traveling to Topeka, Kansas to take on Washburn.
• The game at Washburn is the MIAA Television Game of the Week and will be broadcast on the MIAA TV Network. Mark Ewing and Marc Boerigter will be on the call on KSMO TV Channel 62.
• The Mules are coming off a 54-10 win over Missouri Southern last Saturday. The Mules jumped out to a 52-0 lead and racked up a school-record 705 yards of total offense.
• Washburn dropped a 35-30 game at Fort Hays State on Saturday night. The Ichabods trailed 35-17 midway through the fourth quarter before staging a late rally.

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 2:37 p.m., The Spin Pizza - Bob Showers of Ameritas Financial Tailgate Show will begin at 1:20 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 Missouri Southern gave UCM a 40-4 record when scoring 30 or more points. It was also the 11th time UCM has scored 50 or more points under Jim Svoboda.
• The Mules rank second in the MIAA in total offense and third in the league total defense. Washburn is fourth in the conference in total offense and fourth in total defense.
• 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 one spot to No. 24 in this week's D2Football.com Poll. Both UCM and Washburn are receiving votes in the AFCA Poll.

SERIES HISTORY
• This will be the 45th meeting all-time between Central Missouri and Washburn. The Mules lead the all-time series 24-18-2 after the 44-0 win in Warrensburg last season.
• The Mules are 10-5 in the last 15 games played in Topeka. The last meeting at Yager Stadium was a 39-21 win by UCM over then-No. 6 Washburn back in 2011.
• The Mules have won three straight in the series and five of the last six.
• The Mules are 3-0 against Washburn under Jim Svoboda, while the Ichabods are 3-8 against UCM under head coach Craig Schurig.

LAST MEETING WITH WASHBURN
• The Mules recorded their second shutout of the Jim Svoboda era in the 44-0 win over Washburn on Oct. 11, 2014 in Warrensburg.
• The Mules held the Ichabods to 183 yards in total offense and forced three interceptions, including one for a touchdown
• Hayden Hawk was 18-of-32 passing for 194 yards and he also rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown
• Sam Smith led the defense with nine tackles and a tackle for loss in his first collegiate start
• J.R. Alexander, Connor Smith and Travion Vaughn all recorded interceptions, Vaughn returned his 33 yards for a touchdown
• The win gave the Mules three straight wins for the first time this season

ABOUT THE ICHABODS
• Washburn comes in to the contest at 3-2 after a 35-30 loss at Fort Hays State on Saturday night. The Ichabods had won three straight games before their loss at FHSU.
• The Ichabods are led by 14th-year head coach Craig Schurig. WU is 94-60 during his tenure in Topeka.
• The 'Bods are outscoring opponents 26.6-22.2 and hold a 424.6-371.6 advantage in total offense.
• They average 157.6 yards per game on the ground and 267.0 through the air.
• Derek McGinnis has completed 54.6 percent of his passes for 1,335 yards and 12 touchdowns. He's also thrown five interceptions.
• Brandon Bourbon is averaging 4.3 yards per carry, going for 443 yards on 102 carries and scoring two TDs. Hayden Groves has 279 yards on 58 carries (4.8 ypc) and two scores.
• Bryce Chavis leads the receiving corps with 24 receptions for 390 yards (16.2 ypc) and four touchdowns. Jordan Hart has 17 catches for 294 yards (17.3 ypc) and two scores. Twelve different Ichabods have caught passes.
• Zach Franklin is averaging 29.0 yards per kick return, while Groves is averaging 34.5.  Franklin also has 18 tackles and an interception with 10 pass breakups.
• The Ichabods have attempted just one field goal on the season. Perry Schmiedeler made the 35 yard attempt. WU is 6-for-14 on fourth down attempts and 14-for-17 in the redzone.
• Safety Shay Wooten leads the team in tackles with 38. Akmad Abdul-Razzaq and Alec Steuber have 37 stops apiece.
• Abdul-Razzaq is tied for the team lead with Spenser Matthews with six tackles for loss. Matthews has a team-best four sacks.
• The Ichabod defense has 33 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and six interceptions, led by Steuber's two.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Mules clicked on all cylinders in a 54-10 rout of Missouri Southern last Saturday in Warrensburg.
• UCM racked up a school-record 705 yards of total offense with 335 yards coming on the ground and 370 through the air.
• Quarterback Garrett Fugate recorded the fourth highest single-game total offense yardage with 448. He was 21-of-29 passing for 343 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 105 yards and a score on 11 carries.
• Eleven different UCM receivers caught passes with Alex Strong (5 rec., 113 yds) and Jaylen Zachery (4 rec., 127 yds) both going over the 100-yard mark. It was Zachery's second 100-yard receiving game of the season and his career and the first for Strong.
• The UCM defense held Missouri Southern to 304 yards of total offense and 75 yards rushing.
• The Mule defense forced six three-and-outs by the Lion offense and also recorded a safety.

THE MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 3-2 in MIAA play this season and 35-18 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 1-1 on the road this season and the Mules are 19-12 in road games during the Jim Svoboda era.
• UCM is 5-5 in the last 10 road games.

FUGATE NAMED MIAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Junior QB Garrett Fugate was named the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week following his performance in UCM's 54-10 win over Missouri Southern.
• The Overland Park, Kansas native was 21-of-29 passing for 343 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 105 yards and a score on 11 carries. His 448 yards of total offense is the fourth highest single-game total in school history and he helped the Mules set a new school record with 705 yards of total offense.

STOPPING THE RUN
• The Mules are second in the MIAA in rushing defense, allowing just 81.6 yards per game on the ground.
• On the flip side, UCM is 11th in the league in pass defense giving up 267.0 yards through the air, however, the Mules are fourth in the league with seven interceptions.

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 16-of-33 (48.4) on third downs and have held UNK and MSSU to 7-of-33 (21.2) combined on third downs.
• UCM is now eighth in the league in converting third downs (32.1 percent) and third in opponent third down conversions (36.1).

WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
• The Mules are 3-1 this season and 34-7 during the Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime after their 54-10 win over Missouri Southern.
• The Mules are 6-13 under Svoboda when trailing at halftime, including a 2-2 mark last season.

21 AND UP
• UCM is 40-10 under Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM is 40-4 during the Svoboda era and 25-1 when scoring 40 or more points.

SCORING STREAK CONTINUES
• With Jordan Keeney's one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter against Missouri Southern, the Mules extended their MIAA record streak of consecutive games without being shutout to 265.
• The streak dates back to the 1991 season.

A UCM WIN WOULD...
• Give UCM three straight wins and a 4-2 record overall and in league play.
• Give the Mules four consecutive wins over Washburn and two in-a-row in Topeka.
• Give UCM a 25-18-2 lead in the all-time series with the Ichabods.

A UCM LOSS WOULD...
• Snap UCM's two-game winning streak and drop the Mules to 3-3 for the first time since 2006.
• Snap the Mules' three-game winning streak against Washburn and pull the Ichabods within 24-19-2 in the all-time series.

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 120th season of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 537-504-51 (.515) record in 1,092 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 42-21 (.667) 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 in fifth place on Central Missouri's career wins list, just one win2 shy of fourth place.
• 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. He finished the 2014 season with 63 receptions for 890 yards and four touchdowns. Walker has 256 catches for 3,037 yards with 19 touchdowns in his career. He caught seven passes for 68 yards two weeks ago against Indianapolis.
• 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.

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 wrap up their brief two-game road trip in Edmond, Oklahoma for a battle with the Bronchos of Central Oklahoma. Kickoff at Wantland Stadium next Saturday, Oct. 10 is set for 2 p.m.
• UCM returns home on Saturday, Oct. 24 to host Northeastern State in the annual Homecoming Game. Kickoff at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field is set for 1:30 p.m.