OPENING KICKOFF:  Following its first victory of the season, Snow College was defeated by New Mexico Military Institute 38-7 Saturday in Roswell, New Mexico.
 
The seven points the Badgers scored is the lowest total under Head Coach Zac Erekson and the fewest points Snow College has scored since scoring 14 points in a loss against Iowa Western Community College October 9, 2021.
 
NMMI was the top ranked team in the NJCAA Division I Football Rankings coming into the matchup with the Badgers and showed why it was deserving of the top spot with the 31-point victory.  
 
Snow College will try to shake off the loss as the No. 10 Badgers participate in another top-10 matchup and take on No. 8 Butler Community College Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 12:30 p.m. MST in El Dorado, Kansas.
 
BY THE NUMBERS:  Snow College struggled to move the ball for much of the night against NMMI totaling just 235 yards of total offense with 162 yards and one touchdown coming via the rush.  The Badgers faced an uphill battle in the passing game totaling just 73 yards through the air. 
 
Defensively, the Badgers gave up 460 yards of total offense to the Broncos.  NMMI dominated through the air to the tune of 315 yards passing led by quarterback Koby Muasau.  Snow College did outgain the Broncos on the ground, which was only the second time in the Erekson era that the Badgers have rushed for more yards than their opponent and lost.
 
Furthermore, the Badgers are now 3-4 in games in which both teams are currently ranked under Erekson. Saturday's defeat was also just the third loss under Erekson after having won in the previous week.
 
Erekson has only lost four games in his three-year tenure at Snow College and Saturday's loss was just the second regular-season defeat since the 2020 season.  The other loss came in a 17-14 defeat against IWCC October 9, 2021.  Snow College went 7-1 in the 2021 regular season and lost to IWCC in the NJCAA National Tournament Semi-Final game 30-29 in overtime.  The Badgers went 8-0 in the regular season in 2020.
 
LOADED WEEKEND SCHEDULE: Snow College's matchup with BCC is one of three matchups of teams within the NJCAA Division I Football Top 15.  T-No. 2 Hutchinson plays host to No. 7 Iowa Central in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Also, No. 5 East Mississippi Community College will make the short trip to Ellisville to take on No. 9 Jones College.
 
Additionally, No. 4 Northwest Mississippi will also face a ranked opponent on the road as it travels to take on No. 14 Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi.
 
KNOW YOUR FOE:  BCC had an uncharacteristic down year in 2021 going just 1-9 throughout the season. This comes off a 2-4 record in the covid shortened spring 2021 season.  The Grizzlies touted a respectable 10-3 campaign in 2019 including a 33-23 victory over Trinity Valley Community College in the Midwest Classic Bowl December 8.
 
The 2019 season was also the last time BCC and Snow College met with the Grizzlies capturing the victory 36-17 August 31 in El Dorado.  The Badgers have faced the Grizzlies four times dating back to 2005 when Snow College defeated BCC in the Top of the Mountains Bowl 17-14.  BCC got revenge in the National Championship game two years later with a 56-27 victory.  The Grizzlies defeated Snow College 37-30 the following year to capture back-to-back national titles.
 
BCC has started the season 2-0 with wins over Garden City Community College (35-28) in its home opener and Highland Community College (45-3) on the road.  The Grizzlies put the game to bed early against HCC exploding for 28 points in the first quarter.  BCC surrendered a lone field goal in the second quarter but cruised the rest of the way for the 42-point victory.
 
The Grizzlies are led by Freshman Quarterback Jake Wolff who has started both games this season throwing for 534 yards and four touchdowns.  Wolff has completed roughly 58 percent of his pass attempts going 33-57 through two games this season.  He leads the nation in passing yards and is second in yards per game with 267.0 and tied for fourth in touchdowns. 
 
As a team, the Grizzlies average 454 yards of total offense and score at a clip of 40 points per game.  BCC is 8th in the nation in points per game offensively.  The Grizzlies also boast one of the top defenses in in the country through two games coming in at 15^th nationwide in points per game and 14^th in yards per game.
 
LAST TIME OUT: It was a tough night all around for the Badgers who struggled to move the ball for much of the night totaling just 79 yards of total offense in the first half.  The Broncos were able to keep Snow College on its heels defensively as they amassed 278 yards of total offense over the first two quarters.
 
It was a quiet first quarter for each team, however, as both Snow College and NMMI exchanged a trio of punts each over the first 15 minutes.  It was the Broncos who broke the silence minutes into the second quarter with a nine-yard touchdown run from Au'mhryaun Brown to give NMMI a 7-0 lead.
 
The Badgers were poised to even things up almost immediately.  Snow College took the ensuing kickoff all the way to the Bronco's own 39-yard line. Three rushes and a NMMI unsportsmanlike conduct set up the Badgers with first and goal inside the four-yard line.  A botched snap and subsequent recovery from the Broncos nixed any chances of evening the score.
 
NMMI proceeded to take the next drive 95 yards down the field and score on a 24-yard pass play from quarterback Koby Muasau to Treyvion Beamon to take a 14-0 lead.  The Broncos would add on another tally just before halftime on an 18-yard passing touchdown to take a 21-0 advantage into the locker room.
 
NMMI would add two more touchdowns in the third quarter, both through the air to take a commanding 35-0 lead.
 
Snow College would not be shut out, however, as it would strike just moments before the third quarter ended.  Rahsul Faison capped a 16-play, 75-yard drive with an eight-yard rushing touchdown.  The successful PAT by Bradford Willis would bring the score to 35-7 with one quarter to play. 
 
The Broncos would add a 32-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter.  They were able to shut the door on the Badgers the rest of the way to hand Snow College its first loss of the season 38-7.
 
Snow College was able to move the ball more effectively in the second half and finished with 235 yards of offense.  It was the defense that was leaking throughout the night and ended up surrendering 460 yards to the Broncos.
 
Targhee Lambson led the charge for the Broncos with 73 yards on 21 attempts.  Faison finished with 35 yards on seven carries while Daisean Cash picked up 31 yards with his legs on five attempts.
 
The Badgers were only able to manage 73 yards through the air with Kamen Best going 5-12 for 35 yards. Cash also tossed for 31 yards completing two passes on four attempts. 
 
COACHING STAFF: Zac Erekson (Brigham Young University, 2007: 30-18 overall record) is entering his third season at Snow College (15-3), second as the head football coach and his 13th year overall in coaching. In Erekson's first season as Head Football Coach he led the Badgers to an 8-0 regular season finish and a trip to the National Championship game. Prior to coming to Snow College, Erekson served as the athletics director and head coach at Skyline High School in Salt Lake City. Before his tenure at Skyline, Erekson coached high school football throughout Texas for 8 years. Erekson coached at 5A Abilene Cooper in Abilene, TX where his team went 12-2 in 2011.
Erekson is joined on the sidelines by Defensive Coordinator Jordan Pulou (Missouri S&T; 1st season), Special Teams and Wide Receivers coach James Dye (Brigham Young University; 1st season), Defensive Backs coach Dustin Pressley (Arkansas Monticello; 1st season), Offensive Line coach Trever McFalls (Southern Utah University; 1st season), Running Backs coach Ryan You (Arizona State; 4th season), Defensive Line coach Kyle Murray (Dixie State; 1st season), and Linbackers coach Devon McKinney (Louisiana Tech; 1st season).

BREAKING DOWN THE SCHEDULE: Snow College will play a total of 11 games this season including six home games and five road games.  The Badgers will play host to Trinity Valley Community College (8/25; 7 p.m.), Gila River Community College (9/17; 7 p.m.), Georgia Military College (10/1; 1 p.m.), ASA College (Miami) (10/15; 7 p.m.), Community Christian (Detroit) (10/29; 7 p.m.), and Monroe College (11/12; 12 p.m.), while playing road games against New Mexico Military Institute (9/3; 4 p.m.), Butler Community College (9/10; 1:30 p.m.), Iowa Western Community College (10/8; 12 p.m.), Us Air Force Academy Preparatory School (10/21; 1 p.m.), and Lackawanna College (11/19; 11 a.m.).
The Badgers biggest tests will come against No. 1 New Mexico Military Institute and No. 2 Iowa Western Community College, both of which were in the NJCAA national title game last season. The reigning national champion New Mexico Military Institute Broncos finished the season 12-1 and culminated the season defeating IWCC 31-13 in the National Title game.  IWCC defeated Snow College in last year's semi-final game 30-29 in overtime and finished the season 10-1 with its lone loss coming at the hands of the Broncos. 
 
Snow College will also face two other opponents currently ranked inside the NJCAA DI top 15 and another who recently fell out of the top 15 but received votes in the lates poll.  In addition to facing NMMI, and IWCC, the Badgers will also take on No. 8 Butler Community College September 10, and No. 13 Lackawanna College November 19.  The Badger will also take on Monroe College, who boasted a preseason ranking of 13.
 
UP NEXT: The Badgers will return home to take on Gila River Junior College Saturday, September 17 at 7 p.m. inside Terry Foote Stadium.
 
Snow College defeated the Hawks last season in a 63-0 matchup September 11 in Ephraim.  The Badgers will look to repeat last year's success in their second home match of the season.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.