On Saturday, Oct. 28 the 8-0 Mountaineer football team — ranked #9 in Division II — will head to Golden for a highly anticipated matchup with undefeated rival and consensus #1 Colorado School of Mines at 12 p.m. MST.
Saturday is the 98th time the schools have played (Western leads the historic series 52-43-2), and the first time both come in undefeated this late in the season.
Tickets for the game at Marv Kay Stadium sold out in advance, but the Western community can follow along with the KWSB radio broadcast on 91.1 or KWSB.org.
Fans can also livestream the game online.
Western heads into the matchup riding high after a 62-0 rout of New Mexico Highlands at home last Saturday, Oct. 21. Earlier this season, the Mountaineers notched decisive wins over in-state rivals CSU-Pueblo and Colorado Mesa.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Drew Nash helms the offense, completing just over 58 percent of his passes for more than 1600 yards and 14 scores, including five to his preferred target Drew Montez, who has hauled in 38 receptions on the season.
But the Mountaineers continue to rely heavily on their strong ground game, led by fifth year running back Deyvon Butler, who has amassed 577 yards and 12 touchdowns.
On defense, redshirt senior Kendall Lightfoot has been stout, recording four sacks, two interceptions, and a team-high 51 tackles.
But to leave Golden with a win on Saturday, the Mountaineers will have to contain the Orediggers star gunslinger John Matocha, who threw for more than 4700 yards in 2022 on his way to winning the Harlon Hill trophy, given to the most valuable player in Division-II football.
This year, Matocha is completing 67 percent of his passes for more than 2300 yards as he continues to set records, recently becoming the all-time passing yards leader in RMAC history.