The Colorado Mesa Mavericks close out the football season this Saturday against Western State in search of an elusive 6th win.

The CMU Mavericks have not had a six-win football season since 2008 when they went 6-5 - their last winning season. A win this weekend would give them that much-coveted winning record. The Mavericks won 4 games in Head Coach Russ Martin's first season, 5 games the second season, and are now in position to get win number six.

All that stands in the way of the Mavericks is a Western State football team that thumped the Mavericks last season 31-7 in Gunnison for their second win of that season, and a Mountaineer team that has doubled that win total this season.This season's results include a one-point win over Fort Lewis, a two-point win over Adams State and a three-point loss to CSU Pueblo. A win on Saturday will not come easy.

The  Mavericks meanwhile have lost three in a row including last week's 52-3 loss to 8th ranked CSU Pueblo. Coach Russ Martin said on the CMU Mavericks Coaches Show this week that he and the coaches opted to not even go over  film from the game with the team, choosing rather to put it behind them and look ahead to Western.

A key to this week's game could be turnovers, in what looks to be the coldest game of the year for the Mavericks.  CMU ranks third in the RMAC in turnover margin, while Western State has turned the ball over 23 times this season, second most in the league. The Mavericks have been opportunistic all season, but have failed to force a turnover in the last two games.

Freshman cornerback Dustin Rivas leads the nation in passes defended with 2.2 per game, to go along with six interceptions which is tied for tops in the RMAC.

Kickoff on Saturday has been moved to 2:00  because of the RMAC Volleyball Tournament Championship scheduled for 7:00pm. Admission to the football game will be free for veterans, with proof of military service.Radio coverage begins at 1:30 on ESPN 1230 AM.

 

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