Mules Football travels to Emporia State Thursday night for MIAA TV Game of the Week

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KICKOFF
• The Mules get their first road test of the season as they travel to Emporia, Kansas on Thursday night for a showdown with Emporia State.
• The game has been selected as the MIAA TV Game of the Week and will kick-off on 7:07 p.m. at Jones Field at Welch Stadium. The game will be broadcast across the MIAA footprint by the MIAA Television Network with Neil Harwell and Marc Boerigter on the call.

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 Thursday's game kicking off at 7:07 p.m., The Spin Pizza - Bob Showers of Ameritas Financial Tailgate Show will begin at 5:50 p.m.
• 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 Mules are looking for their first 2-0 start since the 2009 season.
• This is the Mules' first trip to Emporia since 2011.
• UCM is 15-6 in September under Jim Svoboda. The Mules were 2-2 in the month of September last 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.

SERIES HISTORY
• This will be the 61st all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Emporia State with the Mules holding a 39-17-4 lead.
• The Mules won last year's meeting 50-31 in Warrensburg and have now won 13 straight in the series.
• UCM leads the series 13-5-1 in games played in Emporia since 1966. The teams last met at Jones Field at Welch Stadium in 2011 with UCM winning 45-38.
• The Mules are 3-0 against ESU under Jim Svoboda, while the Hornets are 0-6 against the Mules under Garin Higgins.

RANKINGS
• The Mules are ranked No. 19 in the D2Football.com poll and receiving votes in the AFCA Top 25 poll, while the Hornets are unranked.

LAST MEETING WITH EMPORIA STATE
• LaVance Taylor set school records for rushing yards (288), all-purpose yards (394), touchdowns scored (6), points scored (36) and tied the career record for most kickoff returns for a touchdown with the third of his career.
• Central Missouri out-scored Emporia State 29-10 in the second half after the game was tied 21-all at halftime.
• Ricky Spratley led the defense with 16 tackles. The Mule defense had five tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
• The Mules held the Hornets to just 66 yards rushing on 28 carries, a 2.4 yards per carry average.
• UCM averaged 7.9 yards per carry, racking up 341 yards on 43 carries.
• ESU QB Brent Wilson threw for 489 yard and three touchdowns and also had two INT's. He was 40-of-62 passing in the game.
• Eight different ESU receivers caught passes with two receivers going over the 100-yard mark.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
• Emporia State opened the season with a 38-20 win at Missouri Southern. The Hornets took the lead midway through the first quarter and never trailed again.
• It was the fourth straight season-opening win for the Hornets.
• ESU went 4-7 last season and tied for seventh in the league standings.
• QB Brent Wilson was 25-of-36 for 330 yards and three touchdowns to lead the ESU offense, he did throw a pair of interceptions as well.
• Justin Brown caught five passes for 61 yards and eight different ESU receivers caught balls.
• The Hornets compiled 486 yards in total offense in the win over MSSU.
• Jason Tetuan led the ESU defense with 12 tackles and a tackles for loss.
• As a unit, they totaled eight tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Mules rallied from a 17-12 deficit late in the fourth quarter to beat Missouri Western 18-17 in last Thursday's season-opener.
• Garrett Fugate hit a wide open Kyle Echols for the 27-yard go-ahead touchdown pass with 3:45 to play in the game.
• Fugate finished his first career start 18-of-32 for 233 yards with a touchdown. He also rushed 14 times for 16 yards.
• Markel Smith rushed 13 times for 48 yards in his first collegiate game.
• The UCM defense racked up 12 tackles for loss, four sacks, three pass breakups and two interceptions. They held Raphael Spencer, the league's leading returner rusher, to 30 yards on 21 carries.
• Billy Greco was 4-of-5 in field goal attempts in his first collegiate game and the UCM punters combined for a 37-yard average on six kicks, including a 58-yard punt from Ryan Tanner.

MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 1-0 in MIAA play and 33-16 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 1-0 at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field this season and 21-7 in their sixth season under Jim Svoboda.
• The loss to Fort Hays State in last year's regular season finale snapped a seven-game home winning streak. It was the longest such streak since UCM won 10 straight home games between the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
• The Mules are 226-181-13 in their 85th season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.

THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• Central Missouri went 2-3 on the road in 2014 and the Mules are 18-11 in road games during the Jim Svoboda era.
• UCM is 5-5 in the last 10 road games.

TEAMER, GRECO HONORED BY MIAA
• Junior defensive back Tevin Teamer and redshirt freshman kicker Billy Greco were named the MIAA Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week, respectively, after their performances in UCM's 18-17 win over Missouri Western.
• Teamer finished with 11 tackles, including 10 solo stops, two tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup.  The defense held Raphael Spencer, the returning rushing leader in the MIAA, to just 30 yards on 21 carries.
• Greco was 4-for-5 in field goal attempts in his first collegiate game. He made kicks of 45, 28, 31 and 46 yards en route to scoring 12 of UCM's 18 points in the win.
• This is the first Player of the Week honor for both players.

BALL HAWKS
• The Mules have continued their strong play of forcing turnovers in the passing game. UCM led the MIAA with 24 interceptions last season and the Mules picked off two more passes in the season-opener against Missouri Western.
• Linebackers Alex Lackey and Austin Miller each recorded their first career interceptions in the win over the Griffons.

PICKING UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF
• Senior defensive end Jason Venckus, who led the MIAA in tackles for loss last season, picked up right where he left off with 4.5 tackles for loss in the season-opening win against MWSU.
• He is now five TFL shy of cracking Central Missouri's career top 10 list.
• Junior defensive back Diaron Rhodes broke the UCM single-season record for pass breakups last season with 15. With his one PBU against the Griffons he has moved in to a tie for sixth place on UCM's career list with 17. He is one pass breakup shy of fourth place and two away from third place.

WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
• The Mules are 1-0 this season and 32-6 during the Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime after beating Missouri Western in the season-opener. UCM led 9-7 at the break.
• The Mules are 6-13 under Svoboda when trailing at halftime, including a 2-2 mark last season.

21 AND UP
• UCM is 38-8 under Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM is 38-2 during the Svoboda era and 24-1 when scoring 40 or more points.

SECOND HALF SCORING
• The Mules outscored opponents 261-160 in the second half and overtime of games last season. They were outscored 10-9 in the second half of the Missouri Western game with all the scoring happening in the fourth quarter.

SCORING STREAK CONTINUES
• With Billy Greco's first quarter field goal against Missouri Western, the Mules extended their MIAA record streak of consecutive games without being shutout to 261.
• The streak dates back to the 1991 season.

A UCM WIN WOULD...
• Give the Mules a 2-0 start to the season for the first time since 2009.
• Give UCM 14 straight wins over Emporia State, including seven in-a-row in Emporia.
• Give the Mules a 40-17-4 lead in the all-time series.

A UCM LOSS WOULD...
• Give the Mules a 1-1 start to the season for the fifth time in six seasons under Jim Svoboda.
• Snap the Mules' 13-game winning streak against the Hornets and snap the six-game winning streak in Emporia.
• Pull the Hornets within 39-18-4 in the all-time series.

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 120th season of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 535-502-51 (.515) record in 1,088 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 40-19 (.678) 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 three wins shy of fourth place.
• Svoboda's .672 winning percentage entering the 2015 season is 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 246 catches for 2,926 yards with 18 touchdowns in his career.
• Walker was inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame last February.

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 on 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 Northwest Missouri on Saturday, Sept. 19. Kickoff at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field is set for 1:30 p.m.