Game 1: Nos. 11/13 Central Missouri (0-0, 0-0 MIAA) vs. RV Pittsburg State (0-0, 0-0 MIAA)
Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021 | 7 p.m. | Warrensburg, Mo. (Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field)
Radio: 1450 AM, 107.9 FM, 98.5 FM /Â
Video: MIAA Network
UCM Game Notes (PDF) |
Tailgate Map/Regulations (PDF)
THIS WEEK
• Nos. 11/13 Central Missouri kicks off its 2021 season with a 7 p.m. showdown against Pittsburg State Thursday, Sept. 2, at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field in Warrensburg.
• Mules football finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 11-2 and won a share of the MIAA Championship -- the 13th in program history. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UCM did not play an official schedule in 2020.
• Thursday's game will mark Central Missouri's first official football game since their playoff contest at Ferris State Nov. 30, 2019 -- a span of 642 days.
• Pittsburg State played four games in 2020, posting a 2-2 record. In 2019, the Gorillas went 6-5 overall and finished in a three-way tie for fifth place in the MIAA standings.
• Central Missouri was tied for second with Fort Hays State and received one first-place vote in the 2021 MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Mules were also tabbed second in the MIAA Preseason Media Poll and received a first-place vote.
• The Gorillas were picked seventh in the 2021 MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll and sixth in the MIAA Preseason Media Poll.
ON THE AIR
• The game will be broadcast on 1450 KOKO, 98.5 The Bar, the new 107.9 FM and warrensburgradio.com with Greg Hassler and Joe Moore calling the action and Brinkley Beever on the sidelines. The Pregame Show will begin at 6 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 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
• 2021 will mark the 58th meeting in the all-time series between Central Missouri and Pittsburg State dating all the way back to 1916...PSU leads the series, 43-12-2...The two teams first played in 1916 with the Gorillas posting a 12-0 victory in Warrensburg...Head coach
Jim Svoboda is 5-5 against Pittsburg State since he arrived at UCM in 2010.
• UCM has won four of the last five meetings against the Gorillas, with the only setback occurring in 2018 in Pittsburg, Kan. (48-28).
PREVIOUSLY AGAINST PITTSBURG STATE
• The Mules used a big second half to pull away and earn a 36-28 win over the Gorillas Oct. 26, 2019, at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.
• Trailing Pittsburg State, 14-13 going into halftime, UCM outscored PSU in the third and fourth quarters, 23-14, to rally for the victory.
MULES IN THE POLLS
• UCM is ranked 11th in the d2football.com Preseason Poll and 13th in the AFCA Division II Preseason Coaches' Poll
• The Mules were picked to finish second in the MIAA preseason media poll and tied for second by the MIAA coaches.
ABOUT THE GORILLAS
• Pittsburg State played four games during the 2020 COVID-19-shortened season, posting a 2-2 record. The Gorillas tallied victories at Missouri Western and at West Texas A&M, while falling at home to Nebraska-Kearney and at Division I FCS member Stephen F. Austin.
• In PSU's last full season of football in 2019, it compiled an overall record of 6-5, finishing in a three-way tie for fifth place in the MIAA.
• The Gorillas ranked fourth in the conference in scoring defense, holding opponents to 26.8 points per game, and fifth in scoring offense, posting 40.5 points per game.
• Pittsburg State excelled against the passing game defensively in 2019, holding adversaries to just 187.1 passing yards per game.
• The Gorillas are under the direction of second season head coach Brian Wright.
THE MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules posted an 11-2 record in MIAA action in 2019 and captured a share of the conference title with Northwest Missouri State. It was Central Missouri's 13th MIAA championship since 1924 and the 17th in program history.
• UCM now stands at 73-32 in conference games under
Jim Svoboda.
THE MULES AT HOME
• The Mules went a perfect 6-0 at home at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field in 2019 and are 43-11 at home under
Jim Svoboda.
• UCM outscored its adversaries at home in 2019, 46.5 points to 24 points. The Mules also outgained their opponents in total yards, 3,243 to 2,268.
• The Mules are 250-185-13 overall and 2021 will be their 89th season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.
THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• Central Missouri is 31-22 in road games during the
Jim Svoboda era following their 37-10 setback to No. 1-ranked Ferris State (Mich.) in the 2019 NCAA-II Playoffs in Big Rapids, Mich.
• The Mules finished 2019 with a 5-2 record away from Warrensburg.
WHEN LEADING AT THE HALF
• The Mules are 63-10 during the
Jim Svoboda era when leading at halftime.
• The Mules are 14-27 all-time under Coach Svoboda when trailing at halftime after falling to Ferris State in 2019.
21 AND UP
• UCM is 79-19 under
Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• When scoring 30 or more points, UCM is 77-7 during the Svoboda era and 46-1 when scoring 40 or more points.
SCORING STREAK CONTINUES
• Central Missouri has scored in 313 straight games.
• The streak dates to week three of the 1991 season.
2019 MIAA STAT LEADERS
• Central Missouri led the MIAA in both total offense and scoring offense with 547.5 yards per game and 44.8 points per game.
• The Mules also paced the conference in passing offense, rolling up 44 touchdowns on 346.2 yards per game.
• All-American quarterback Brook Bolles led the MIAA in passing with 330 yards per game. He tallied 42 touchdowns on 4,290 total yards and went 235-for-419 in passing attempts, committing only 15 interceptions.
• Wide receiver
Shae Wyatt paced the conference in receiving yards with 65 catches for 1,452 yards while All-American tight end
Zach Davidson had a conference-best 15 touchdowns.
•
Devante Turner's 1,005 rushing yards were sixth in the MIAA. Turner was fifth in the conference with 11 rushing TDs, and fellow running back
Koby Wilkerson was seventh, scoring 10 TDs.
MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 121 seasons of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 576-519-51 (.525) record in 1,146 total games.
• The Mules have won 10 or more games four times in the history of the program and have posted 13 seasons of eight or more wins.
• UCM tied the program-record for wins in a season with 11 in 2019. The Mules also won 11 games in 2010 --
Jim Svoboda's first season at the helm.
• UCM has won or shared 13 MIAA championships in school history with the last coming in 2019.
• The Mules have qualified for the postseason 10 times in their history, including three trips to the NCAA-II Playoffs, the last coming in 2019.
SVOBODA AT THE HELM
• Central Missouri head coach
Jim Svoboda has a record of 81-36 (.692) during his eight-plus seasons leading the Mules. He has led the Mules to five postseason appearances.
• He is second on UCM's career wins list.
• Svoboda's .692 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. In 2019, the Mules hosted their second playoff game in program history, downing Indianapolis, 37-27.
• The Mules have set or tied 108 school offensive records and 21 MIAA offensive records during Svoboda's tenure.
• Under Coach Svoboda, UCM players have earned 28 All-American awards and 146 All-MIAA awards.
• Since entering the league, the Mules are the No. 1 team in total offense with 470.4 yards per game, and No. 2 in scoring offense with 37.1 points per game. UCM's six postseason appearances are also the second most in the league, and the 81 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 228 MIAA conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured two regional championships in men's golf and baseball, and five MIAA Championships - women's indoor track and field, men's golf, softball and baseball (regular season and postseason tournament)
• Since 1983, the tenure of Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 170 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 in 2017 and 2018) and 12 national championships overall.
• Central Missouri has won the MIAA Commissioner's Cup, presented by McCown Gordon Construction, four times in the last five years, including 2020-21. The cup is presented at the end of each academic year to the conference's top performing school in league play.
MULES IN THE PROS
• Former Mules' All-American tight end
Zach Davidson (2016-2020) was selected in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
• He marked the 12th Mules football player to be drafted in program history and the first since former UCM standout tight end Delanie Walker in 2006.
• In program history, 78 Central Missouri football players have either been drafted or signed professional free-agent contracts.
UP NEXT
• The Mules take to the road for the first time in 2021, traveling to Topeka, Kan., for an MIAA game at Washburn Thursday, Sept. 9, at 6 p.m. at Yager Stadium.
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