GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — No. 5 Minnesota State opened the 2026 season in dominant fashion Thursday night, defeating Colorado Mesa 38–14 in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The Mavericks wasted little time setting the tone, scoring twice in the first quarter and building a 14–0 advantage. Minnesota State finished the night with 426 yards of total offense, including 299 through the air and 127 on the ground.
Senior wide receiver
Jackson Owens made an immediate impact in his Maverick debut, catching five passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns. His biggest play came just before halftime, when he climbed above the defense to haul in a 48-yard Hail Mary from sophomore quarterback
Maximus Sims as time expired, giving Minnesota State a 21–7 lead at the break.
Sims finished 9-of-13 passing for 154 yards and a touchdown, while junior quarterback
Mitchell Thompson completed 10 of 13 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Thompson connected with Owens for a touchdown in the first quarter before later finding sophomore
Lebarion Gilmore for a 50-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Minnesota State also received strong production on the ground. Sims scored on a two-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter, while freshman
James Engle added a rushing score in the fourth. Engle led the Mavericks with 11 carries for 38 yards, while junior
Carter Henderson carried nine times for 40 yards.
Minnesota State's defense was equally impressive, limiting Colorado Mesa to 290 total yards. Colorado Mesa quarterback Liu Aumavae completed 27 of 38 passes for 196 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
After Minnesota State took an early 14–0 lead, Colorado Mesa finally broke through late in the second quarter. Aumavae found Trek Keyworth in the back of the end zone for a touchdown with 21 seconds remaining, cutting the deficit to 14–7.
The Mavericks answered in dramatic fashion.
With only seconds remaining in the half, Sims guided Minnesota State into position for one final play. After completions to
Hudson Dillon and freshman
El Staley, Sims launched a Hail Mary from the MSU 46-yard line. Owens came down with the pass in the back of the end zone as the clock hit zero, sending the Mavericks into halftime with a 21–7 advantage.
"We were trying to get some points on the board and go into half with some momentum," Owens said. "We put a play together we had been practicing and the trust in the QBs we had built over the summer and when I saw the ball coming, see ball get ball."
Minnesota State extended its lead early in the third quarter when junior kicker
Connor Fournier connected on a 47-yard field goal into the wind, making it 24–7. Fournier finished with eight points, going 5-for-5 on extra points in addition to the field goal.
The Mavericks' defense then took over in the fourth quarter.
Colorado Mesa drove deep into Minnesota State territory, reaching the MSU 14-yard line, but senior defensive back
Amaun Williams intercepted the pass at the MSU 1-yard line and returned it 22 yards.
Minnesota State quickly turned the takeaway into points. Thompson connected with Staley for 14 yards before finding Gilmore for a 50-yard touchdown strike, pushing the lead to 31–7 with 10:01 remaining.
On Colorado Mesa's next possession, senior
Antoine Johnson picked off Aumavae on the second play of the drive. Minnesota State again capitalized, putting together a scoring drive capped by Engle's touchdown run to make it 38–7.
Colorado Mesa added a late touchdown, but the Mavericks had already secured a convincing season-opening victory.
"We are proud to get a win tonight," Minnesota State head coach
Todd Hoffner said. "Winning is not as easy as it sounds and when you are highly ranked there is a lot of pressure. Guys just want to perform and I thought we did really well in the first two drives offensively."
Hoffner also praised his team's second-half performance, particularly the defense with playing a lot of people and two interceptions, the special teams and the contributions of Engle in the run game.
"I am really proud of how we came out in the second half," Hoffner said. "We stopped them after we got points on the board with the 47-yard field goal from Fournier into the wind on the opening drive of the second half. We then scored two more touchdowns later and
James Engle showcased himself as a tough player to tackle and tough to see as he can make people miss and is a different kind of player."
With the victory, Minnesota State moves to 1–0 on the season and improves to 51–42–7 all-time in season openers. Hoffner also earned his 153rd victory at Minnesota State.
The Mavericks now turn their attention to Northern Sun Conference play, traveling to Bismarck, North Dakota, next Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. match up against the University of Mary.
