University of Central Missouri Athletics

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KICKOFF
• The Central Missouri Mules hit the road to face conference newcomer Northeastern State on Saturday afternoon in Tahlequah, Okla. The Mules are coming off a 47-17 win over Central Oklahoma last weekend.

QUICK HITS
• The Mules look to start a new winning streak with a victory over the RiverHawks. UCM won four straight games before falling to then-No. 1 Pittsburg State on Oct. 6 in Pittsburg.
• Central Missouri is 5-2 overall and 5-2 in the MIAA.
• The Mules have not lost back-to-back games in the Jim Svoboda era and have not lost consecutive games since 2008.
• This is the third of four games against MIAA newcomers for the Mules in 2012 and the second of three straight games against the new members.
• Based on rankings, the Mules played the toughest first two weeks of any team in NCAA-II facing Missouri Western, who was ranked 18th at the time, and Northwest Missouri (No. 3).
• The Mules will play a 10-game schedule in the new-look MIAA this season. UCM will play five home games and five road games, this is the third straight year that the Mules have just five home games on their schedule in the regular season.
• The Mules were 8-4 a season ago and received a bid to play in the Kanza Bowl.

SERIES HISTORY
• This is the ninth all-time meeting between Central Missouri and Northeastern State. The RiverHawks lead the all-time series 7-0.
• Northeastern State won the last meeting in 1986, 42-22 in Tahlequah, but later forfeited that game.
• The RiverHawks have averaged 26.3 points per game in the seven victories in the series, while the Mules average 9.1 points per contest.

LAST TIME VS NORTHEASTERN STATE
• The RiverHawks captured a 42-22 win over the Mules back in 1986 in Tahlequah, but the game was later forfeited by NSU for using an ineligible player.
• Central Missouri led the game 6-0 after one quarter, but Northeastern State scored three touchdowns in the second quarter and led 21-14 at halftime.
• The Mules gave up 547 yards of offense, which was their highest total since 1979.
• UCM Hall of Famer Jeff Phillips threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns in his first collegiate start.
• Elliott Eley rushed 12 times for 38 yards and Alvin Johnson caught five passes for 101 yards.
• The two teams combined for 26 penalties for 238 yards.

ABOUT NORTHEASTERN STATE
• The RiverHawks come into the weekend at 0-6 overall and 0-6 in MIAA play. They are coming off a bye week after falling to then-No. 5 Missouri Western 45-31 back on October 6.
• NSU is averaging 19.7 points per game and giving up 38.8 per contest.
• Northeastern State is averaging 367.2 yards per game in total offense and giving up 463.3 yards per game.
• Quarterback Johnny Deaton is averaging 207.8 yards per game passing while completing 48 percent of his passes.
• Joel Rockmore has rushed 75 times for 482 yards and five touchdowns. He's averaging 6.4 yards per carry and 96.4 yards per game.
• Jermaine Sherman leads the receiving corp with 33 catches for 411 yards and four scores.
• Defensively, Langston Jones leads the team with 64 tackles and is one of four players with at least four tackles for loss.
• The RiverHawks have picked off six passes and forced four fumbles.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Mules out-scored Central Oklahoma 41-7 on Sunday to beat the Bronchos 47-17 in a game that was suspended Saturday due to lightning.
• UCM out-gained UCO 552-364 and had 25 first downs compared to 17 for the Bronchos.
• Colter Smith completed 21-of-35 passes for a career-high 329 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 74 yards rushing on 12 carries.
• Ronrei Lloyd hauled in four passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns, while Anthony Kirkwood had three receptions for 106 yards. Eleven different UCM receivers caught passes.
• LaVance Taylor had 96 yards rushing on 13 carries, including a 34-yard touchdown run.
• Ricky Spratley led the UCM defense with seven tackles, a forced fumble and a pass break up.
• Connor Smith and David Bax each had six tackles, while Paul Hughes had five stops and his first interception of the season.
• Aaron Jamieson was 4-of-5 on field goals with makes of 40, 49, 45 and 27 yards. Combined with his five successful PAT's, Jamieson recorded 17 points on the day, the third most points in a game by a kicker in UCM history.

MULES IN MIAA PLAY
• The Mules are 19-6 in MIAA play under Jim Svoboda and 5-2 this season after a 47-17 win over Central Oklahoma.
• The Mules' 14 combined conference wins in 2010 and 2011 are the most by a UCM head coach in their first two seasons.
• UCM was 6-3 in MIAA play last season.

THE MULES AT HOME
• Central Missouri is 12-3 at home under Jim Svoboda, including 4-0 this year after a 47-17 win over Central Oklahoma last weekend.
• The Mules are 217-177-13 in their 82nd season playing home games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field.

THE MULES ON THE ROAD
• The Mules are 12-5 in road games under Jim Svoboda and 1-2 this year after a 30-21 loss at Pittsburg State on October 6.
• UCM was 5-1 on the road last season.
• The Mules averaged 43 points per game in their five road wins last year and 36.8 points per game on the road overall.

THE MULES VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• The Mules are 5-6 against ranked opponents during the Jim Svoboda era and 1-2 this season after their 30-21 loss at No. 1 Pittsburg State on October 6.
• The Mules were 1-2 against ranked opponents last season.
• UCM's last win over a top 5-ranked opponent was a 31-21 win over No. 3 Northwest Missouri on Sept. 8.
• The Mules have never beaten a team ranked No. 1 in the country.

MULES FOLLOWING A LOSS
• The Mules improved to 7-0 under Jim Svoboda following a loss with the 47-17 win over UCO.
• UCM has not lost back-to-back games since losing in weeks nine and 10 of the 2008 season.
• The Mules are averaging 41.0 points per game in their six wins following losses under Jim Svoboda.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
• After turning the ball over 11 times through the first four games, the Mules have turned the ball over just once in the last three games and have 10 takeaways of their own during that span.
• UCM threw an interception in the first quarter against Missouri Southern and since then the Mules have gone 11 straight quarters without a turnover.

GET ON 'EM EARLY
• The Mules are 13-0 during the Jim Svoboda era when leading at the end of the first quarter and 21-0 when leading at halftime.
• On the flip side, the Mules are just 2-9 under Svoboda when trailing at halftime.

21 AND UP
• The Mules improved to 24-3 under Jim Svoboda when scoring at least 21 points.
• Central Missouri is 5-2 this season when scoring 21 or more points.
• UCM was 8-0 last season when scoring at least 21 points.

COLTER SMITH NAMED MIAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Junior quarterback Colter Smith was named the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in UCM's 47-17 win over Central Oklahoma.
• The Odgen, Utah native was 21-of-35 for a career-high 329 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions. He added 12 carries for 74 yards as well.
• This is the second Player of the Week award for Smith this season.

MOVING UP THE CAREER TOP 10 CHARTS
• Senior safety Patrick Lewis moved into 10th place on Central Missouri's all-time tackles list with his 10-tackle performance at Pittsburg State on Oct. 6. Lewis now has 239 career tackles (113 solo, 126 assists) to rank 10th on the list. He is 23 tackles shy of eighth place.
• Senior tight end David Cannon has moved into eighth place on the career receptions list with 114. He passed Raymond Bass (1971-74) over the weekend. Cannon is currently three catches shy of seventh place.

A UCM WIN WOULD...
• Give the Mules a 6-2 overall and MIAA record.
• Give the Mules their first ever win over Northeastern State
• Give UCM a 3-0 record in three games against the MIAA newcomers.

A UCM LOSS WOULD...
• Drop the Mules to 5-3 overall and 5-3 in conference play.
• Drop the Mules to 0-8 all-time against Northeastern State

MULES FOOTBALL HISTORY
• In the 117th season of UCM Football the Mules have compiled a 519-492-51 (.513) record in 1,062 total games.
• The Mules have won 10 or more games three times in the history of the program and have posted 11 seasons of eight or more wins.
• UCM won a school-record 11 games in Jim Svoboda's first season.
• UCM has won or shared eight MIAA championships in school history with the last coming in 2003.
• The Mules have qualified for the postseason seven times in their history, including two trips to the NCAA-II Playoffs, the last coming 2010.

SVOBODA LEADING THE WAY
• Central Missouri head coach Jim Svoboda has a career record of 24-9 (.727) in his third season leading the Mules.
• Svoboda's .727 winning percentage is the third highest for a UCM coach.
• UCM has posted the second most wins in a two-year span in school history under Svoboda.
• The Mules have 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 63 school offensive records in Svoboda's first two seasons and 20 conference offensive records.
• 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 Mules currently on an NFL roster. Tight end Delanie Walker is in his seventh season in the league with the San Francisco 49ers. Last season, Walker had one of his best years to date. He started seven games, hauling in 19 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning TD in San Francisco's 25-19 win at Detroit in week six. For his career, Walker has 106 catches for 1,160 yards and five touchdowns.
• Former Central Missouri All-American running back Anthony Stewart is continuing his football career north of the border. Stewart is currently a member of the BC Lions practice sqaud in the Canadian Football League.

JAMIESON NAMED TO WATCH LIST
• Senior placekicker Aaron Jamieson has been named to the Fred Mitchell Outstanding Placekicker Award watchlist for the second straight season. Jamieson was a semifinalist for the award last season. The award is given annually to the nation's top collegiate placekicker among FCS, DII, DIII, NAIA and NJCAA.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE ATHLETIC ARENA
• Central Missouri has won a combined 190 MIAA regular-season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• Last season, UCM captured seven MIAA regular season and three tournament championships.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 136 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won five national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, and women's bowling in 2003) and seven national championships overall.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
• The 500+ Central Missouri student-athletes received 245 Academic Awards from the MIAA office for the 2011-12 academic year.
• 195 UCM student-athletes were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
• 32 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.
• 18 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had 10 student-athletes earn Academic All-America honors, including Shawn Boss being named the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for Track & Field.

MULES FOOTBALL ON THE AIR
• Central Missouri football is broadcast live on 1450 KOKO/98.5 “The Bar”, 90.9 The Bridge and on the internet at warrensburgradio.com. 90.9 The Bridge will pick up the broadcasts at kickoff. The broadcast team of Shawn Jones (play-by-play), Bill Turnage (color commentary) and Greg Hassler (sideline) will have all the UCM action. The Mules Tailgate show begins 80 minutes prior to kickoff.
• The Jim Svoboda Mules Football Radio Show, presented by Bob Showers of Ameritas Investment Corp. airs on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. on 98.5 The Bar and 1450 KOKO as well as online at warrensburgradio.com. Remaining show dates are October 17, 24 and Tuesday, Oct. 30.
• The Central Missouri Sportspage is your weekly one-hour look at UCM athletics each Thursday night at 7 p.m. on KMOS-TV. Senior Associate Athletic Director Shawn Jones will sit down with Mules head coach Jim Svoboda to discuss the previous week's game as well as weekly spotlights of Mules football players.

LIVE VIDEO STREAMING
• Live video coverage for all Central Missouri home and away MIAA games will be available through the America One Sports Network on a pay-per-view basis. The cost is $8 per game, $30 for a 30-day pass or $69.95 for an all-season pass for UCM football. Fans can access webcasts through the America One Sports link on the UCM Athletics homepage or by going to AmericaOneSports.com.

UPCOMING
• The Mules return home for the final time in 2012 hosting Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, Oct. 27 on Senior Day. The Mules seniors will be honored before the game.