By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's probably safe to say that a 9:05 a.m. Saturday kickoff wasn't anywhere near the top of Washburn University football coach Zach Watkins' ideal starting times.
Zach Watkins' Ichabods will be looking for a second straight win to open the 2026 season and a third straight win overall in Saturday's 9:05 a.m. contest with Colorado School of Mines. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But after a pair of schedule changes, that's what the Ichabods were left with and Watkins is confident his team will be ready for the breakfast matchup with Colorado School of Mines in Yager Stadium.
Kickoff was originally slated for 12 p.m. before being changed to 7 p.m. because of the expected extreme heat and finally to 9:05 a.m. to accomodate Mines' travel schedule.
"I shared my preference for game time and I'm not the final decision maker,'' Watkins said. "Obviously we support whatever our administration decides and what they decide to do, but it doesn't matter if it's 8 a.m or midnight you've got to be ready to play the football game and our team will be ready.
"We're a mentally strong team, so we should be in a good spot.''
The Ichabods are coming off a 27-21 road win over Truman last Saturday while the Orediggers are 0-1 this season after opening the 2026 campaign with a 22-20 loss to Western Oregon in Golden, Colo.
Washburn is 13-7 all-time against the Orediggers and will be looking to end a two-game skid against Mines. The Ichabods have won seven of the last 10 meetings with Mines.
The Ichabods improved to 83-47-6 in season-openers with the win last Saturday.
After recording 15 catches for 113 yards in 2025, Ichabod wide receiver Tre Calhoun had seven catches for 117 yards against Truman while place-kicker Aidan Battle scored a career-high nine points against Truman.
Safety Brody Hayes led Washburn with a career-high 10 tackles (five solos) in his first career start while quarterback Logan Madden had career-highs of 38 passing attempts, 28 completions and 328 total passing yards and Nathan Lewis had career highs of nine receptions and 72 receiving yards.
"I told our team I was really proud of them,'' said Hayes, a team captain. "That's a long road trip, especially being the first game and the hotel stay, the long bus ride, the travel and all of that, I think for us to come out and play as well as we did in that first half was good.
"I think that shows how focused and disciplined and what a good job we did and I was happy with it. Obviously you want to finish that game a little better, it got close towards the end, but I was really happy with how we played overall.''
The 446 total yards of offense against Truman was the most by an Ichabod team since recording 547 yards on Nov. 9, 2024 against Central Oklahoma.
Bob Stitt was announced as the new head coach of Mines on Feb. 7, 2025, returning to the school after 10 years away to take over the program that he built into a national contender.
Stitt is 113-66 in his 17th season at Mines and has a 136-81 overall coaching record in his 20th season. Stitt was originally the Orediggers' head coach from 2000 to 2014, winning three RMAC titles, earning the first three NCAA playoff appearances in program history, and compiling a record of 108-62.
Pierce Richards set the Mines program record for receptions in a game against Western Oregon with 18 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown as the favored target of Joseph Capra, who went 30 of 49 for 232 yards and a touchdown.
The Orediggers rallied back from a 16-7 deficit at halftime, sparked by Mo Russolillo's 32-yard scoop and score off Parker Johnson's forced fumble to open the third quarter.
The Wolves held Mines to 41 rushing yards and went ahead on Jordan McCarty's fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Jaydan Burns, one of two scores for Burns on the day.
Colorado School of Mines was selected third in the RMAC preseason coaches' football poll. The Orediggers have 16 returning starters from last year's team and were picked behind defending champion CSU Pueblo and NCAA qualifier Western Colorado.
Washburn put together a strong second-half push in last year's game with Mines but could not overcome a big rushing day from the No. 24-ranked Orediggers, falling 41-27 in Golden after withstanding more than four hours of lightning delays.
Mines jumped out to a 27-7 lead at halftime, leaning on a ground attack that piled up 365 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the day. Washburn struggled to contain the Orediggers' explosive plays, but the Ichabods battled back after the break with 20 second-half points, including a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns that narrowed the deficit.
Madden, playing near his hometown of Arvada, Colo., completed 11 of 17 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns in his first action as an Ichabod.
Overall, Washburn tallied 256 passing yards but was limited to just 42 net rushing yards on 27 attempts.
Defensively, the Ichabods were led by linebacker JC Heim, who recorded a game-high 17 tackles with seven solo stops for a career-high tally.
The series between the two schools re-started in 2024 after a 14-year hiatus. Washburn is 6-3 against the Orediggers all-time in Yager Stadium and 7-4 in road games.
Last week against Truman, a 2025 NCAA playoff team, the Ichabods built a 27-7 lead early in the fourth quarter and survived a late Bulldog rally.
Washburn finished with 446 yards of total offense, 27 first downs and held the ball for 37:08 while forcing two turnovers.
Battle connected on a 34-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 27-7. Truman State scored twice in the final 12 minutes, but the Ichabods ran out the final 1:40 to secure the victory.
Heim backed Hayes with eight tackles and a sack while Gage Depee recorded seven tackles and Braiden Lagafuaina forced a fumble.
The Ichabods will open MIAA play on Saturday, Sept., 12, at Northwest Missouri, with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m. in Maryville.
