ROLLA, Mo. – Now ranked in the Top 25 for the first time in 28 seasons, Missouri S&T's football team heads to the road for its regular season finale Saturday as it travels to Rapid City, S.D., to face South Dakota School of Mines with two things that a victory can accomplish.

A win would allow S&T to tie the school record for wins in a season with the 1980 squad with 10 and in the process, keep alive their hopes of earning a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs.  The 9-1 Miners, ranked 20^th in the latest American Football Coaches Association rankings, are currently seventh in NCAA Super Region Four and the top six teams will advance to the playoffs; the field will be announced at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

As for Saturday's game, the Miners enter with a five-game winning streak after beating Saint Joseph's 41-22 Saturday behind a balanced offensive performance and a defensive effort that led to four forced turnovers by a unit that is currently ranked second in NCAA Division II in turnover margin and in quarterback sacks.  The Miners have dropped opposing signalcallers a school record 42 times on the year.

A number of other school records are on the verge of falling in Saturday's game, namely the single-season scoring record as the Miners are currently 16 points away from the record of 408 set in 2008 and the seasonal reception mark of 87 – shared by Ashton Gronewold and Chad Shockley – as Smook Thomas (Quincy, Fla./East Gadsden) enters the game with 84 catches which is the fifth-best mark in the nation.

In addition to needing a win to tie the school record and to stay alive in the playoff race, the Miners also have a chance to end the day with a share of the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship should No. 19-ranked Indianapolis -- who leads S&T by one-half game -- fall in its game Saturday at Urbana.  The Miners finished GLVC play at 7-1 after the victory at Saint Joseph's.

Saturday's opponent, South Dakota School of Mines, comes into the contest at 2-7 on the year.  The Hardrockers, who lost to S&T 60-6 last season in Rolla, have been paced by running back Jahmel Rover with 668 yards on the year that includes a 145-yard effort against Fort Hays State two weeks ago.

Game Notes: Miners vs. South Dakota School of Mines

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