Three consecutive weeks of holding onto a small lead by the time the clock hits triple zeroes. The Colorado Mesa University football team is undefeated and are ranked 14th best in the country in the NCAA Division II AFCA Coaches Poll. But how long will CMU keep a zero in the loss column?
The problem is, if they continue with the quality of football both sides of the ball have been producing, then a loss is inevitable. The Mavericks barely survived a winless Western State team 24-20 this last weekend after almost blowing a 17-0 lead. The week before, the offense put up 31 points in the first half against Eastern New Mexico but then allowed 21 points in the second to make the win appear tattered down.
The biggest problem lies with consistency with both sides of the ball. The CMU defense has allowed 746 yards of total offense and allows 5.7 yards per carry compared to last season where they allowed only 3.3 yards per attempt. They are only allowing 24.67 points per game which is not far off of last season’s 24.55, however, these points are coming against teams whom two out of the three CMU defeated last season with a combined score of 118-30.
The offense is displaying high efficiency and productive scoring only in one of the two halves played. In the last two weeks, CMU has only put up ten combined points in the second half that has made room for close football games in what should’ve been blowouts.
Will the Mavericks keep winning football games with this style of play with such a tough month of football coming up? This weekend’s matchup against Chadron State will be the first of a couple hard challenges in the next month.
After this weekend’s game against the Eagles, CMU will be on the road at the Colorado School of Mines who, last weekend, defeated the all-so powerful CSU-Pueblo in convincing fashion. Then, two weeks after Mines, CSU-Pueblo will come into town and that game will be broadcasted in front of a national audience on ESPN 3.
The game against the Thunderwolves will be a rematch of last year’s debacle that resulted in the Maverick’s first loss of the season.
In order for CMU to keep their heads held high above the waves, they will have to capitalize on their growing positives and the momentum they continue to build with each win.
The rushing attack is thriving while averaging 242 yards on the ground which is the 18th best in the nation. The 1-2 punch of Eystin Salum and Lake Makakona is working significantly well as the two have rushed for a combined 554 yards through three games.
One of the few concerns coming into this season was the young offensive line. Three new big bodies protecting the backfield created some doubt but the Mavericks have allowed only one sack per game. Having Salum in the backfield helps but this conveys the line is starting to gel and will only continue to grow as the season progresses.
Salum, along with having the solid protection, will now have a healthy receiving core again. Marcus Hines will be back for his first set of consecutive games this season, therefore, he and Peter Anderson will be lighting up the secondary. CMU has had 11 different receivers catch at least one pass this season and four of them have caught at least five completions.
Chadron State has allowed 58 passing completions for 623 yards through their three games as well as 528 yards on the ground. CMU should have no problem creating scoring opportunities this Saturday, but the only problem is if they can do it for four quarters.
The game against the Eagles will be at Stocker Stadium this Saturday at 1 p.m.
