By Jake Levin
Tenth-ranked CSU Pueblo now leads the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 44-34 win over eighth-ranked Western Colorado in Gunnison on Saturday afternoon.
Roman Fuller and Reggie Retzlaff led the CSU Pueblo offense in this game. Fuller was 31 for 43 with 381 yards and four touchdowns. Retzlaff had seven receptions for 138 yards and three touchdowns. CSU Pueblo had 435 passing yards.
CSU Pueblo had 158 rushing yards. Howard Russell V had 159 of those rushing yards on 19 attempts. Russell V, the RMAC’s leading rusher, surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the season (1,045). Meanwhile, the CSU Pueblo defense held Western Colorado to only 40 yards rushing.
CSU Pueblo is now 7-0 in conference play and first place. Western Colorado is now 6-1 in conference play and tied for second with Colorado Mesa. With an 8-1 overall mark, the Mountaineers still have a great chance to go to the playoffs.
The touchdowns from Fuller to Retzlaff included a 76-yard pass with 10:56 left in the second quarter, making the score 17-7 Thunderwolves. Right before halftime, a 49-yard “Hail Mary” from Drew Nash to Cole Riters cut the CSU Pueblo lead to 24-14 at intermission.
CSU Pueblo started the second half with two touchdowns to take a 37-14. Western Colorado would then score two touchdowns to cut the lead to 37-27, but by then, it was the fourth quarter.
On a nine-play, 75-yard drive, CSU Pueblo scored with 4:52 left in the fourth to take a 17-point game, and Western Colorado could not come back from that.
With the victory, CSU Pueblo improved to 8-1 overall. The Pack has now won 14-straight RMAC, with their last setbacks being back-to-back losses at home last season to Western Colorado and Colorado Mines.
CSU Pueblo, which had lost in the previous three games with Western Colorado, hosts defending RMAC champion Colorado Mines at the ThunderBowl next Saturday. Western Colorado entertains Chadron State next weekend before ending the regular season at Colorado Mesa on November 16. CSUP RECAP / WESTERN COLORADO RECAP
at Colorado Mesa 23, Black Hills State 13 – The Maverick defense held Black Hills State to 171 total yards in gaining their sixth Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference to tie Western Colorado for second place in the league standings with 6-1 records. Liu Aumavae passed for 116 yards and two scores, with Brandon Belgrave rushing for 92 yards and one touchdown. Before Mesa hosts Western Colorado in a regular season finale on November 16, the Mavericks play at South Dakota Mines on November 9. READ MORE
Colorado Mines 56, at New Mexico Highlands 21 – With starting quarterback Evan Foster not playing, the 18th-ranked Orediggers used a 210-yard rushing, a two-touchdown effort by Braelon Tate to earn their seventh win this season. Joseph Capra completed 12 passes for 126 yards and two scores, with TD receptions by Flynn Schiele and Max McLeod. Mines is now 5-2 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play and will play at CSU Pueblo next weekend at the ThunderBowl. READ MORE
Colorado State 38, at Nevada 21 – The Rams lead 17-0 at halftime en route to their fourth-straight win to tie Boise State for the lead in the Mountain West Conference. In becoming bowl-eligible for the first time since the 2017 season, CSU was out-gained 44-2-327 on offense but took advantage to score 11 points off of turnovers to improve its record to 4-0 in the conference and 6-3 overall. Ram running backs Avery Morrow (77 yards, two TDS), Justin Marshall (67, 1), and Jalen Dupree (31, 0) combined for 175 yards on the ground to pace the offense. Kicker Jordan Noyes had three field goals, including a career-best 60-yarder in the second quarter to give the Rams their half-time margin. Noyes added a 21-yarder in the third quarter and a 35-yarder off the goal post with less than two minutes left in the game. CSU is idle next week and will return to action on November 15 by hosting Wyoming in Fort Collins in the “Bronze Boot” game. READ MORE
Fort Lewis 27, at Adams State 17 – In a battle of two schools seeking to avoid the RMAC basement, the Skyhawks snapped a 38-game league losing streak behind Stone Walker. In a rivalry matchup for the “Clash of the Pass,” the Fort Lewis quarterback scored on a six-yard run with 7:27 left in the third quarter to give the Skyhawks the lead for good. After Adams State cut the advantage to 20-17 with 10:15 left in the game on a 10-yard run by Ahmare Merrida, Walker completed a 43-yard pass to Orlando Guevara to give the winners a 27-17 edge with 8:29 left in the contest. With Fort Lewis out-gaining Adams State 382-296 on offense, Walker finished the game passing for 122 yards and rushing for 56. Guevara had a career-high 282 all-purpose yards in the contest, including 153 on five returns, 77 on 15 rushes, and 52 on two pass receptions. Fort Lewis’ last RMAC win was 28-9 at home in Durango against Adams State on October 5, 2019. Saturday’s win was also FLC’s first road victory in 26 games, as the Skyhawks’ last triumph on a foreign field was a 7-0 win on September 7, 2019, at New Mexico Highlands in Las Vegas. Fort Lewis (1-6 in the RMAC, 2-8 overall) hosts New Mexico Highlands next Saturday. Adams State (0-7, 0-9) travels to South Dakota to play Black Hills State. FLC RECAP / ADAMS STATE RECAP
at Army 20, Air Force 3 – The Falcons’ misery continues despite 21st-ranked Army West playing without its Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Bryson Dailey. Air Force’s seven-straight setbacks this season after an opening win is the longest losing streak in the Coach Troy Calhoun era at Air Force. In the Falcon’s final game in the 53rd annual Commander-in-Chief’s competition, the Air Force held the nation’s leading rushing team to just 207 yards on the ground, but the offense was held to just a field, 209 total yards with three passes intercepted. Air Force returns to action next Saturday by hosting Fresno State. READ MORE
at UC Davis 59, Northern Colorado 7 – Fourth-ranked UC Davis out-gained the Bears 622-283 and limited the visitors to a late score in the final period of the Big Sky Conference game. UNC had only three drives of nine or more plays in the game, highlighted by its only scoring sortie of nine plays, 75 yards, with 7:41 left in the contest. The 1-8 Bears (1-4 in the Big Sky play) have two of their last three games at home, starting next Saturday against Eastern Washington. RECAP
Colorado was idle this week and plays at Texas Tech next Saturday. Despite being on the sidelines, the 23-ranked Buffs gained ground in the Big XII as Iowa State lost for the first time to fall into a second-place tie with CU at 4-1. BYU leads the league at 5-0. the bowl-eligible Buffs do not play BYU or Iowa State during the season’s final weeks.
| at Army 20, Air Force 3 | RECAP | AFA now leads 38-20-1 |
| Colorado Mines 56, at N. M. Highlands 21 | RECAP | CSM now leads 31-26-2 |
| CSU Pueblo 44, at Western Colorado 34 | CSUP RECAP / WCU RECAP | CSUP now leads 19-12 |
| at Colorado Mesa 23, Black Hills State 13 | RECAP | CMU now leads 8-4 |
| Fort Lewis 27, at Adams State 17 | FLC RECAP / ASU RECAP | ASU now leads 42-19-1 |
| at UC Davis 59, Northern Colorado 7 | RECAP | UNC now trails 3-10 |
| Colorado State 38, at Nevada 21 | RECAP | CSU now leads 15-5 |
| November 9 | Series |
| Colorado Mesa at South Dakota Mines, 12 p.m. (RMAC Net) | CMU leads 6-2 |
| East. Washington at Northern Colorado, 12 p.m. (ESPN+) | UNC trails 1-15 |
| New Mexico Highlands at Fort Lewis, 12 p.m. (RMAC Net) | FLC trails 19-33 |
| Adams State at Black Hills State, 1 p.m. (RMAC Net) | Tied 5-5 |
| Colorado Mines at CSU Pueblo, 1 p.m. (RMAC Net) | CSUP leads 19-15 |
| Chadron State at Western Colorado, 1 p.m. (RMAC Net) | WCU trails 14-23-1 |
| Colorado at Texas Tech, 2 p.m. (FOX) | Series tied 5-5 |
| Fresno State at Air Force, 7:45 p.m. (FS1) | AFA leads 7-3 |
