Mules Football Back in Action Thursday Night

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Sept. 10, 2019) - Coming off of their thrilling win over No. 11 Fort Hays State last week, No. 21 Central Missouri Mules Football hits the road this week for their first away game of 2019.

OPPONENT
Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-1, 0-1 MIAA)

WHEN
Thursday, Sept. 12 - 7 p.m.

WHERE
Tahlequah, Okla. - Doc Wadley Stadium

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 5:50 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. 

KICKOFF
• Central Missouri hits the road for the first time this season when they head to Tahlequah, Okla. to take on Northeastern 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 1-0 start in 2019 after a 34-30 come-from-behind win at home against 2018 MIAA co-champions, 11th ranked Fort Hays State. 
• The RiverHawks haven't won a game since 2017. They have dropped 14 straight since defeating Missouri Southern October 28, 2017. They fell in their season opener 51-14 on the road at Emporia State.
• The Mules struggled on the road last season going just 1-4. They won their final road contest of the season, at Lindenwood, 31-28.
• The RiverHawks were picked to finished 11th this season in both the Coaches and Media Poll. 

SERIES HISTORY
• Northeastern State holds an 8-6 all-time advantage over the Mules. Seven of those wins came between 1962-1985.
• The Mules have won six straight against the RiverHawks, all in the last six years and have scored at least 50 points in all six games. 
• This marks the eighth straight season the two teams have played. 
• Jim Svoboda is 6-1 lifetime against the RiverHawks.
PREVIOUSLY AGAINST NORTHEASTERN STATE
• The Mules picked up their first win of 2018 against the RiverHawks at home last season. UCM scored two touchdowns in each quarter on their way to a 62-10 win. The Mules kept NSU out of the endzone until the final quarter.
• UCM gained 608 yards of total offense. Jeremy Hunt and Kyle Bradley split time at quarterback. Hunt completed 11-15 passes for 175 yards while Bradley was 5-13 for 126. They each threw for two scores.
• Four different Mules caught touchdown passes and four had rushing scores. 

MULES IN THE POLLS
• UCM is back in the polls this week at No. 21 in the American Football Coaches Association top-25. It's their first time ranked since week three of 2018. 
• The Mules were picked to finish fourth in the MIAA preseason media poll and fifth by the MIAA coaches.

ABOUT THE RIVERHAWKS
• Northeastern State scored 14 points in their season-opening loss to Emporia State. They allowed 51 points and 570 yards of total offense.
• Turnovers were a problem for the RiverHawks, throwing three interceptions. 
• NSU struggled on third down converting just 2-of-13 attempts.
• The RiverHawks started out splitting the quarterback duties before settling on Jake Pruitt. Pruitt completed 15 of 21 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown, but also threw two interceptions. 
• NSU didn't have much going in the running game, rushing for just 80 yards on 27 carries. Isaiah Davis had nine carries for 38 yards and a touchdown.
• Mark Wheeland and Kobe Bryer each caught five passes. Wheeland gained 76 yards and scored a touchdown.
• Tim Davis saw the field a lot as the RiverHawks punter. He kicked nine times and averaged 39.6 yards per boot with a long of 55.
• Daxx McCalister leads the defense with 13 tackles.
• Ty Nicols broke up three passes and forced a fumble against Emporia State.

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 63-30 in conference games under Jim Svoboda after their win last Thursday.

THE MULES AT HOME
• The Mules finished 2018 4-2 at home and are 38-11 at home under Jim Svoboda.
• UCM went undefeated at home in 2017, 4-0. 
• The Mules opened the season at home with a 34-30 win over No. 11 Fort Hays State.
• The Mules are 245-185-13 overall and 2019 will be their 88th season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.

THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• Central Missouri is 31-20 in road games during the Jim Svoboda era following their 31-28 win over Lindenwood in their final road game of 2018.
• 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 55-8 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 69-18 under Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM is 67-7 during the Svoboda era and 39-1 when scoring 40 or more points.

SCORING STREAK CONTINUES
• Central Missouri has scored in 301 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 MIAA STAT LEADERS
• Central Missouri is second in the MIAA in total offense after one game with 516 yards. 
• With 103 yards, Koby Wilkerson is third in the MIAA in rushing. His long of 66 yards is also tied for the longest this season. 
• Brook Bolles is third in the league having thrown for 271 yards. He's also third in efficiency at 179.5.
• Shae Wyatt is second in the league with 145 receiving yards. Among receivers with at least three catches, he leads the MIAA in yards per catch at 36.3. 

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 120 seasons of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 566-517-51 (.521) record in 1,134 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 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 2-0 was in 2016 when they made the NCAA playoffs. 
• That is the only time under Coach Svoboda UCM has started 2-0. 

SECOND HALF SIZZLE
• The Mules got off to a sluggish start last Thursday, scoring just seven first-half points. They picked it up in the second scoring two touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters as the offense four their rhythm.
• UCM totaled just 175 yards of offense in the first half. They more than doubled that in the second with 334 total yards. 
• The defense also picked up in the second half.  The Tigers marched to four scoring drives in the first two quarters but just one each in the third and fourth. 

SVOBODA AT THE HELM
• Central Missouri head coach Jim Svoboda has a record of 71-34 (.676) 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.
• Svoboda's .676 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 bounced back with a two-touchdown performance Sunday vs. the Cleveland Browns. 
• 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.