MEDIA INFORMATION Date Sat., Oct. 27 | 7 p.m.  MT Location Stocker Stadium (8,000) | Grand Junction, Colo. TV None Radio None Watch WATCH (Colorado Mesa Live Video)   Live Stats Colorado Mesa Live Stats Ticket Info Purchase Tickets Game Notes Dixie State (PDF) , Colorado Mesa (PDF) Twitter @DixieAthletics #RMACfb #DixieBlazers DIXIE STATE - COLORADO MESA SERIES Series Colorado Mesa leads, 7-2 At DSU Colorado Mesa leads, 3-1 At CMU Colorado Mesa leads, 4-1 First Meeting 8/24/06; CMU 24, DSU 14 (@ CMU) Last Meeting 10/14/17; CMU 35, DSU 22 (@ DSU) DIXIE STATE TRAILBLAZERS Record 5-3, 5-2 RMAC Ranking NR Last Game Oct. 20, 2018 (lost at Chadron State, 18-30) Head Coach Shay McClure (Southern Oregon, 1995) Career: 16-14 (3rd Season) DSU Record: Same COLORADO MESA MAVERICKS Record 4-4, 3-4 RMAC Ranking NR Last Game Oct. 20, 2018 (lost at Black Hills State, 26-31) Head Coach Russ Martin (Chadron State) Career: 59-55 (11th Season) CMU Record: 47-28 (7th Season)

The Dixie State football team wraps up a two-game road swing with a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference clash on Saturday evening against Colorado Mesa at Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., with live video coverage scheduled on the RMAC Network. The Colorado Mesa athletics staff will provide the video stream at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/cmumavericks. Live stats will also be provided by the CMU sports information staff at www.cmumavericks.com.  

ALL-TIME VS. COLORADO MESA: Saturday's game marks the 10th meeting (NCAA Division II era) between Dixie State and Colorado Mesa. The Mavericks rolled to a 42-14 victory in the inaugural matchup on Aug. 24, 2006, in Grand Junction. DSU recorded its first victory of the series one month later, capturing a 21-6 win in St. George on Oct. 7, 2006. Colorado Mesa countered with five consecutive wins before Dixie State shocked the No. 23 Mavericks with a 38-31 victory in Grand Junction in 2016. The Mavericks responded in 2017 with a 35-22 victory at Trailblazer Stadium. CMU holds a 7-2 series lead, including a 4-1 mark in Grand Junction.

KNOW YOUR FOE: Colorado Mesa enters Saturday's matchup with a 4-4 overall record and a 3-4 mark in RMAC play. The Mavericks won their first three games of the season before dropping four of their next five contests.

The Mavericks average 460.8 yards (283.0 pass/177.8 rush) of total offense per game. Quarterback Eystin Salum leads the attack as one of the top quarterbacks in the RMAC. Salum is a true dual-threat quarterback and has completed 133-of-227 passes for 1,613 yards and 10 touchdowns, while rushing for another 455 yards and six more touchdowns. Salum's favorite target is receiver Peter Anderson, who ranks second in the RMAC with 50 catches for 1,028 yards and seven touchdowns.

Defensively, CMU allows 439.2 yards (242.9 pass/196.3 rush) of total offense per game. Linebacker Tom Saager leads the Mavericks and ranks fifth in the RMAC with 73 total tackles to go with one sack and one interception. Defensive lineman Chance Drake leads the Mavericks with five sacks, while defensive back Damar'ren Mitchell has logged a team-best five interceptions.

Kicker Lucas Ruiz-Diaz leads the special teams and has connected on 8-of-11 field goals while converting a perfect 28-of-28 point-after attempts.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State football suffered its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference loss since September 1 on Saturday in a 30-18 defeat at the hands of Chadron State at Don Beebe Stadium in Chadron, Nebraska.

The Trailblazers outgained the Eagles by a 631-473 count, but five empty possessions in the red zone, including four inside the CSC 5-yard line, doomed the visitors in its first loss to Chadron State since joining the RMAC.

Two Dixie State receivers finished with more than 100 yards receiving, including Dejuan Dantzler (Moreno Valley, Calif./Citrus Hill HS) and Kasey Allison (Las Vegas, Nev./Canyon Springs HS). Dantzler finished with five catches for 126 yards, while Allison added seven receptions for 105 yards and one touchdown. The feat marks the first time two DSU receivers have logged a 100-yard receiving performance in the same game since Nov. 2, 2013 (Mitch Frei, 184 yards; Joe Don Duncan, 120 yards) in a 42-35 win at Simon Fraser.

RMAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Michael Sanders (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS) was named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday for his performance against Chadron State. Sanders led the DSU (5-3, 5-2 RMAC) offense to its third-highest offensive output in the NCAA Division II era, as the Trailblazers finished with 631 yards of total offense. Sanders set two DSU passing records and tied another in Saturday's game. He completed 39-of-60 passes for 527 yards and one touchdown, setting the single-game passing yards and attempts record, while tying the single-game completions record. Additionally, Sanders became the first DSU quarterback in the Division II era to pass for 500 yards or more in a single game.

LEADING THE LEAGUE: Dixie State's 30 total sacks is tops in the RMAC. CSU-Pueblo ranks second with 28 sacks.

CHASING HISTORY: Sei-J Lauago (Paramount, Calif./La Mirada HS) moved into the No. 2 spot on the Dixie State career rushing list with 82 yards rushing at Black Hills State on September 29, passing Blake Barney (St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) and Adams Wells. Since then, Lauago has added 133 yards for a career total of 1,533 rushing yards and needs 189 more yards to pass DeJon Coleman (2015-16; 1,721 yards) to become the DSU career rushing leader.  

MAKING HISTORY: Michael Sanders (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS) set two DSU passing records and tied another on Saturday. He completed 39-of-60 passes for 527 yards and one touchdown, setting the single-game passing yards and attempts record, while tying the single-game completions record. Additionally, Sanders became the first DSU quarterback in the Division II era to pass for 500 yards or more in a single game.

The Dixie State defense set two different records on October 13 in the win over Western Colorado. The Trailblazers set a new DSU single-game sacks record (6.0; vs. Humboldt State/Western New Mexico, 2008) with seven sacks in the victory. The feat also pushed the team's season total to 28 total sacks, breaking the single-season sack record (27.0; 2008) in the process. DSU has added two more sacks for a total of 30 sacks.

Dixie State pushed its win streak to four games on September 29 with a 41-38 triumph at Black Hills State, marking DSU's longest win streak of its Division II- era.

The Trailblazers improved to 3-1 on September 22 with a 51-47 win over South Dakota Mines, marking the best start of the Dixie State NCAA Division II era.

Dixie State students and fans packed the stands at Trailblazer Stadium on September 8, setting a new single-game attendance record of 5,498. The mark surpassed the previous record of 5,320 set during the 2006 home-opener against Humboldt State.

Josh Carlson (Gilbert, Ariz./Gilbert HS) set a new Dixie State record in his Trailblazer debut with an 81-yard punt in the third quarter at CSU-Pueblo on September 1, eclipsing the previous mark of 78 yards set by Nate Lewis against Humboldt State in 2007.

UP NEXT: Dixie State returns to Trailblazer Stadium for the 2018 season home finale next Saturday against No. 6 Colorado School of Mines. The game marks Senior Day and Homecoming. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.