WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Oct. 16, 2019) - The hottest show on turf hits the road this weekend in another MIAA battle.

OPPONENT
Emporia State Hornets (2-4)

WHERE
Emporia, Kan. (Welch Stadium)

WHEN
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019 - 2 p.m.

KICKOFF
• Central Missouri puts their 6-0 record on the line this weekend as they go on the road to take on Emporia State.
• Central Missouri finished 2018 5-6 after a rash of injuries, missing the postseason for the first time in two years. They are off to a 6-0 start in 2019 after a 44-26 win on Homecoming vs. Central Oklahoma last weekend.
• Emporia State is off to a 2-4 start this season. They are coming off of a 19-3 loss at Fort Hays State. They have dropped four of their last five with their only wins over Lincoln and Northeastern State. 
• This will be the fourth Mules road game of the season. They are 3-0 away from home this year.
• Emporia State was picked to finish 6th in the MIAA in both the MIAA preseason Coaches and Media Polls. They finished 8-4 a year ago and won the Corsicana Bowl over Arkansas-Monticello.

ON THE AIR
• The game will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler and Joe Hoffmann calling the action and Danielle Sachse on the sidelines. The Tailgate Show will begin at 12:50 p.m. on the UCM Sports Network.
• The game will also be webcast online through Central Missouri's Blueframe Internet portal at http://www.themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules/. It is a pay-to-view webcast. MIAA Network content is available live via live DVR and is immediately archived for on-demand viewing after each event. 
• All MIAA football games are also available for viewing on The MIAA Network Apps for Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. 

SERIES HISTORY
• The Mules had owned this series at the beginning of the millennium, winning the first 13 matchups. The Hornets however have won three of the last four meetings.
• All-time against ESU Coach Svoboda is 4-3.
• UCM's last win was a memorable win, the "Miracle at the Flint Hills" in 2017, 37-31 with a last second special teams touchdown.
• The Mules still hold a distinct advantage all-time, 40-20-4. 
• The team's first met way back in 1901 with UCM winning 12-0. 
• After meeting the first 11 years after 2000, the two teams did not meet in 2012 or 2013 before matching up the last five years. 

PREVIOUSLY AGAINST EMPORIA STATE
• The Mules kept things close early against Emporia State, trailing by three, 13-10 midway through the second. But the Hornets opened up a 27-10 lead and added to it in the fourth for a 41-23 win.
• Jeremy Hunt threw three touchdown passes in the game including two to Jalen Marsalis.
• The Mules rushed for 170 yards, getting 99 from Devante Turner. 
• UCM was outgained 489-435 in total offense and lost the turnover battle 3-0. 

MULES IN THE POLLS
• UCM moved up to 14th in this week's AFCA top-25 rankings. They are also ranked 15th by d2football.com
• The Mules were picked to finish fourth in the MIAA preseason media poll and fifth by the MIAA coaches.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
• Emporia State's only two wins this season are against the winless Northeastern State RiverHawks and the winless Lincoln Blue Tigers. They are off to a 2-4 start.
• It has been their defense which has stood out early in the year. They are third in the league in total defense and second in pass defense, allowing just 143.3 passing yards per game. 
• The Hornets offense is predicated on the short passing game. Dalton Cowan has taken over as QB1 this season. He's thrown nine touchdown passes and completed 58% of his passes. 
• ESU has a trio of receivers with 20 or more catches. Wil Amos leads the team with 23. Dexton Swinehart has 20 and a team-best 290 receiving yards. Cole Schumacher has gone for 21 receptions and 235 yards.
• The ESU defense is holding opponents to a 25% third-down conversion rate, second-best in the MIAA. They are a +4 in the turnover battle with seven interceptions and five fumble recoveries.
• The offensive line has struggled to protect Cowan. They have allowed a league-high 20 sacks. 

THE MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules finished 5-6 in conference play in 2018 and placed seventh in the league standings. 
• UCM now stands at 68-30 in conference games under Jim Svoboda after their win Saturday and are 6-0 this season.

THE MULES AT HOME
• The Mules finished 2018 4-2 at home and are 40-11 at home under Jim Svoboda.
• UCM went undefeated at home in 2017, 4-0. 
• The Mules are 3-0 at home with wins over Fort Hays State, Washburn and UCO. 
• The Mules are 247-185-13 overall and 2019 will be their 88th season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.

THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• Central Missouri is 34-20 in road games during the Jim Svoboda era following their 71-42 win last weekend at Missouri Southern. 
• The Mules finished 2018 at 1-4 away from Warrensburg after going 5-2 on the road in 2017.

WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
• The Mules are 59-8 during the Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime. 
• The Mules are 13-25 all-time under Coach Svoboda when trailing at halftime.

21 AND UP
• UCM is 74-18 under Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM is 72-7 during the Svoboda era and 44-1 when scoring 40 or more points.

SCORING STREAK CONTINUES
• Central Missouri has scored in 306 straight games. 
• They got a scare in the 2018 regular season finale, as they were held scoreless through the first three quarters before scoring 21.
• The streak dates back to week three of the 1991 season.

2019 MULES INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
• Brook Bolles leads Division II in touchdown passes with 10. He is fourth in yards at 1,872 and first in yards per attempt at 11.08.
• Tight End Zach Davidson is one of four players in Division II with 10 touchdowns, tied for the NCAA lead.
• Davidson and Shae Wyatt go 1-2 in Division II in yards per reception at 29.50 and 26.55.
• Devante Turner's 518 rushing yards are third in the MIAA. His seven touchdowns are second. He leads the MIAA and is second in Divison II with 190.83 all-purpose yards per game.
• The Mules lead the MIAA in sacks with 27. Ubong Udom's 0.92 per game lead the league. His 0.67 forced fumbles per game share the national lead. 

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 120 seasons of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 571-517-51 (.523) record in 1,139 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 nine times in their history, including two trips to the NCAA-II Playoffs, the last coming in 2016.

SEASON STARTS
• The last time the Mules started out 6-0 was in 2002.
• This is the first time under Coach Svoboda UCM has started 6-0. 
• Central Missouri hasn't started out 7-0 since 2002. Only 2 times in team history have they been 7-0. 
• UCM is one of 16 teams in Division II still unbeaten and one of two in the MIAA. 

GETTING OFFENSIVE
• Central Missouri has scored at least 30 points in all six games this season.
• UCM has reached 70 points twice. The Mules had only scored 70 one time under Coach Svoboda before doing so twice in 2019.
• UCM leads all of Division II in scoring (53.7) and total offense (580.2). 

MAKING HISTORY
• Quarterback Brook Bolles is already all over the Mules record book. So far this season, he has set UCM records with 7 touchdown passes (at Missouri Southern) and 506 yards passing (at Missouri Western).
• Bolles' favorite target during his 7 touchdown pass game was Zach Davidson. Davidson caught four of Bolles' seven touchdowns, a feat that had only been done once before, in 1960.

SVOBODA AT THE HELM
• Central Missouri head coach Jim Svoboda has a record of 76-34 (.690) during his eight-plus seasons leading the Mules. He has led the Mules to four postseason appearances.
• He is third on UCM's career wins list, two wins behind Terry Noland (78) for second all-time.
• Svoboda's .690 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 made back-to-back postseason appearances. UCM pulled the same feat in 2016-17 with a berth in the NCAA Playoffs in 2016 and a victory in the 2017 Mineral Water Bowl. 
• 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 94 school offensive records and 21 MIAA offensive records during Svoboda's tenure.
• Under Coach Svoboda, UCM players have earned 24 All-American awards and 131 All-MIAA awards. 
• Since entering the league, the Mules are the No. 1 team in total offense with 462 yards per game, and No. 2 in scoring offense with 36 points per game. UCM's five postseason appearances are also the second most in the league, and the 30 wins is the third most in the MIAA.
• 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.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
• Central Missouri has won a combined 219 MIAA regular season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured two regional championships, and two MIAA Championships - men's indoor and outdoor track and the baseball regular season and tournament championship
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 165 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won 10 national championships during Hughes' tenure (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, women's bowling in 2003, men's basketball in 2014, women's indoor and outdoor track & field in 2015, and women's soccer and women's basketball) and 12 national championships overall.
• In 2016-17 and 2017-18, Central Missouri won the first two MIAA's Commissioner's Cup trophy for the conference's top overall athletic department. 

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
• Central Missouri had 261 student-athletes named to the 2018-19 MIAA Academic Honor Roll with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.
• 33 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.
• 23 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had five student-athletes earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in their respective sports and nine Academic All-District. 
• All-time UCM is third in NCAA-II with 119 Academic All-Americans.
• Mason Janvrin was named the CoSIDA Baseball Academic All-American of the Year and an Elite 90 Award winner at the National Championships. 

MULES IN THE PROS
• There are two former Mules currently on NFL rosters. Tight end Delanie Walker is in his 14th season in the league and his seventh with the Tennessee Titans. Walker signed a four-year deal with the Titans, and a two-year extension through 2020, after playing in Super Bowl XLVII with San Francisco.
• Walker finished 2017 with 74 receptions for 807 yards and three touchdowns, and has 479 catches for 5,621 yards with 34 touchdowns in his career.
• In 2015, he caught 94 passes for 1,088 yards, his first career 1,000 receiving yard season, and six touchdowns and was selected to his first Pro Bowl. He has since made the Pro Bowl three consecutive years 2015-17.
• Walker was injured during the season opener in 2018 and placed on injured reserve, missing the rest of the season. He's off to a fast start in 2019 with 17 catches for 162 yards and two touchdowns. 
• Walker was inducted into the UCM Athletics Hall of Fame in February 2015.
• Former Mules offensive lineman Derrick Puni is currently on injured reserve with the Dallas Cowboys after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2019.