The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference had the top two seeded teams in the NCAA Division II Super Region 4 in CSU Pueblo and Western Colorado. Still, schools from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference rallied on Saturday in the final period to gain playoff wins in the Centennial State.
Turnovers played a factor in both defeats as top-seeded CSU Pueblo (10-2, 9-0 in the RMAC) and second-seeded Western Colorado (11-2, 8-1) failed in an attempt for both teams to battle this coming week for a spot in the D2 semi-finals. CSU PUEBLO RECAP / WESTERN COLORADO RECAP
While Bemidji State (10-3) was posting a 20-19 win over Western Colorado in Gunnison in the first-ever meeting on the gridiron between the two schools, Minnesota State (10-3) was downing CSU Pueblo for the fourth-straight time in the NCAA playoffs.
However, the ThunderWolves had one playoff victory over the Mavericks in the first meeting between the two schools in 2014. CSU Pueblo defeated Minnesota State 13-0 to win the NCAA Division II title in Kansas City. The first three MSU wins were in Mankato in November playoff games in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
The Mavericks will host Bemidji State next Saturday in the quarter-finals, as both schools have won both their playoff games this season on the road. Minnesota State won 20-19 last week at Augustana in Sioux Falls, S. D., while BSU upset Lone Star Conference champion Angelo State 24-14 in San Angelo, Tex.
This season, the second-round exits for the RMAC schools mark the first time since 2019 that the league did not have a team in the Division II semi-finals. Colorado Mines advanced to the semi-finals in 2021, 2022, and 2023 and reached the national championship game the past two seasons. D2 BRACKET
Minnesota State trailed 16-6 entering the final period against CSU Pueblo at the ThunderBowl, but the Mavericks scored a pair of touchdowns to take a 20-16 lead and then won the game with two late field goals to post a 26-23 win over the Pack.
After tying the game 23-23 on Matthew Jaeger’s third of four field goals from 40 yards with 60 seconds left in regulation, the Mavericks intercepted a Roman Fuller pass 18 seconds later to set up the winning field goal from 32 yards with one second left in the contest.
Western Colorado led 19-14 entering the fourth quarter, but Bemijdi State (10-3) forced a fumble by Josiah Roy and returned its 75 yards for a touchdown with 3:25 left in the contest.
Both RMAC schools had the last chances to score. With one second on the clock after Jaeger’s field goal, the Pack’s Reece Robinson was forced out of bounds after returning a Minnesota State kickoff 59 yards. After the Roy fumble, Western had two drives to regain the lead, but the first ended on downs and the second with a quarterback sack.
Fuller completed 24 passes for 273 yards and one score to pace the CSU Pueblo attack. Zack Rakowsky caught nine passes for 82 yards as Minnesota State held the Pack’s top two receivers – Reggie Retzlaff and Taylor Tosches – in check with only six combined catches and 98 yards with no TD receptions.
The Retzlaff/Tosches receiving tandem had averaged together 11 receptions, 176 yards, and two touchdowns per game.
Howard Russell V, the RMAC’s top rusher, had 92 yards for the Pack. He had a career day with seven pass receptions for 66 yards and one score (a 16-yard scoring pass from Fuller) that gave the Pack a 23-20 lead with 4:02 left in the contest.
Jacob Willig added three field goals (46, 24, and 27) for CSUP. Makeah Scippio’s 37-yard interception return with 92 seconds left in the first half gave the home team a 13-3 lead. The Mavericks responded with a 10-play, 51-yard drive highlighted by a 41-yard field goal by Jaeger as time expired in the second quarter.
Despite being sacked five times, Mountaineer quarterback Drew Nash had 210 total yards on offense. He completed 16 passes for only 123 yards and gained 87 yards rushing with touchdown runs of 1 and 52 yards. The second TD run gave Western Colorado a 19-7 lead with 4:43 left in the third quarter.
