The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

[Careless Whisper]

by Jeff Greenberg, Carnegie Mellon insider for Rivals.com

Receiver depth takes hit

Junior wide receiver Ali Concepcion, who is second on the team in catches (12) and receiving yards (100) suffered a broken tailbone in CMU’s loss at James Madison and will likely miss the remainder of the season.

Concepcion suffered the injury on an incomplete pass in the third quarter. He was replaced by freshman Kurt Thompson and junior Al Jackson, both of which will see time alongside sophomore Pete Carlson.

Rotation at quarterback?

Redshirt senior Andre Miller remains the starting quarterback after last Saturday’s defeat at James Madison, but classmate David Ford and true freshman Alex Smith will see increased reps this week at practice, Tartan Tidbits reports.

Miller has posted a 58.5 quarterback rating through three starts, only completing 36 of 102 passes for 305 yards. Ford, who serves as the holder, has taken two snaps at quarterback this season, while Smith hasn’t seen action yet.

Ride Riley, says Elliott

Head coach John Elliott says that Robert Riley will see an increased workload in the team’s home opener Saturday against Western Illinois.

Riley has been the lone bright spot in the Tartans’ offensive (lack of) attack, recording 221 yards on 44 carries through three games. He handled a season-high 22 carries at Maine, compiling 114 yards in a 27-3 loss.

Tartans remain in hunt for Fitch, Johnson

A pair of three-star offensive linemen, Matt Fitch (Sylvania, Ohio) and Michael Johnson (Dayton, Ohio), have trimmed their potential schools list to five and Carnegie Mellon has made the cut for both.

Johnson, who we reported last week is factoring location and playing time in his college destination, and Fitch list the Tartans alongside some powerhouse program such as Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Penn State. Both are expected to take unofficial visits to Carnegie Mellon in the coming weeks.

Another target, three-star tailback Jim Manning (Reisterstown, Md.) holds similar values to Johnson in regards to location and playing time and likes CMU in both. With Robert Riley currently in his junior season, Manning would provide a much-needed counterpunch to the Tartans running attack.

Defensive end removes CMU from consideration

Three-star defensive end Sean Brown (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) will not be considering Carnegie Mellon going forward, Tartan Tidbits has learned.

“The other schools on my list just have more to offer,” said Brown in a phone interview. “I don’t want to go through a rebuild.”

Brown is a six-foot-one, 252-pound pass rusher from Cleveland Heights High School. He has collected four sacks in his senior season thus far after tallying 11 in 2005.

[RoundingThird]

This looks very interesting, and it looks like it will take some time, which is always good to see. I personally can't stand losing at first, but it's so much more rewarding when you achieve success later on, so I'll definitely keep up with this.

How did you manage an all FCS schedule? I'm not familiar with the older NCAA games. Is there some sort of Teambuilder equivalent?

[Tearz49ers]

This really is a project now, isnt it! However love these types of dynasties and I will be following along closely.

[Careless Whisper]

Quote: Originally Posted by RoundingThird

This looks very interesting, and it looks like it will take some time, which is always good to see. I personally can't stand losing at first, but it's so much more rewarding when you achieve success later on, so I'll definitely keep up with this. How did you manage an all FCS schedule? I'm not familiar with the older NCAA games. Is there some sort of Teambuilder equivalent?

I don't really like losing this often either but for realism purposes it makes sense, and I want to put together that slow methodical build that ends up in major achievement about 10-15 seasons in. This season has gone as I expected so far.

The PS2/Xbox titles had I think eight conferences worth of teams loaded in with mostly accurate rosters, so CMU - who I created in the game and placed as a FBS independent replacing Temple - can play a full FCS slate + Pitt. I plan on doing that for two seasons before "moving up" to FBS ball, where I'll play primarily FBS teams.

Quote: Originally Posted by Tearz49ers

This really is a project now, isnt it! However love these types of dynasties and I will be following along closely.

Might be the biggest project I've ever done considering the restrictions and build, but I'm here for it. Thank you both for following!

[Careless Whisper]

Tartans' Offense? Simply Offensive
In NCAA Division I maiden voyage, Carnegie Mellon’s offense simply not up to par

by Bryan Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist

PITTSBURGH -- Everyone and their mother expected Carnegie Mellon to struggle in its debut season of NCAA Division I competition.

It’s a NCAA Division III roster competing against NCAA Division I-AA – I know, it’s FCS now – talent, after all. But while the defense has been somewhat respectable, the offense has been… offensive.

Try to avoid shielding your eyes at these numbers:

2.9 points per game. 101.6 passing yards per game. 106.6 rushing yards per game. 208.3 offensive yards per game.

We’re three weeks into the season and the Tartans haven’t scored a touchdown yet. Sure, James Madison and Youngstown State are two of the stronger FCS programs nationally, but you’re telling me you can’t find the end zone once in 12 quarters? That’s dreadful.

Robert Riley (44 carries, 221 yards) has probably kept CMU from losing by 50 points every game just by being able to churn clock, but that’s all the nice things you can say about the offensive unit. The offensive line is undersized, the team’s best receiver is five-foot-seven, and neither of the backup quarterbacks could beat out a guy with a 58.5 rating during fall camp.

If I were Tartans head coach John Elliott, I would be targeting all the offensive help I can get in recruiting. I’m sure whoever they bring it on that side of the ball will be a day-one starter, or at least they should be – otherwise we have another problem altogether.

Are there any positives for the offense? Well, CMU has only turned the ball over once, although that probably stems from the conservative approach it has been forced to employ. Outside of Riley though, I’m not sure how many of these guys would start in the WPIAL.

Defensively, the Tartans are in the bottom third of the FCS in points per game (32.9) and rushing yards per game (174.6), but are mid-tier in passing yards per game (210.6). Of course, that could also stem from the conservative offensive approach and trying to limit the number of drives, but I’ve seen enough to believe that the defensive unit is doing better than expected.

We all thought that 0-12 was a possibility, if not the likely result of Carnegie Mellon’s maiden voyage into Division I football. The question now is: will the Tartans score a touchdown in this inaugural journey?

[ThatBritishGuy]

Was always going to be a bloody tough year with a team like this and hard to get beat week in week out! Would be nice to somehow get that first W on the board and something to build on... but yes, please let's hope a touchdown can be scored in the next game....

[Careless Whisper]

Home Debut Brings First Touchdown, Another Defeat
Despite scoring its first touchdown of the season, Carnegie Mellon fell to Western Illinois in its home opener

by Jayson Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The national (regional? local?) nightmare is over. Carnegie Mellon scored its first touchdown in NCAA Division I play in the fourth quarter, but the Tartans fell to 0-4 with a 21-7 loss to Western Illinois earlier this afternoon.

In the opening minute of the fourth quarter, Carnegie Mellon (0-4) backup quarterback David Ford found sophomore wide receiver Pete Carlson in the corner of the end zone for the team’s inaugural trip to paydirt in 2006. That pulled the Tartans to a 14-7 deficit, but they wouldn’t get any closer as Jerry James scored with 5:44 remaining to seal the win for Western Illinois (1-3).

“Proud of this group for continuing to fight,” said first-year head coach John Elliott. “We were fired up to play in front of our home crowd, and we appreciate all the support in what has been a struggle so far this season. We still aren’t where we need to be on an acceptable level offensively, but getting that touchdown finally was a nice moment and hopefully sparks us for more.”

Replacing an ineffective Andre Miller (3-14, 19 yards), Ford came in and provided a brief boost in the CMU attack, finishing with 51 yards on 7 of 15 attempts. His strike to Carlson was the sophomore’s fourth catch of the afternoon, tying him with freshman Kurt Thompson for the team lead.

The gameplan centered on Robert Riley as expected, and the junior provided 146 yards on 29 carries. But Justin Thompson missed a field goal in the first quarter, and the Tartans were stopped on fourth down twice in moments that limited their scoring opportunities.

“We just have to put everything together one of these days,” said Elliott. “I think once we do that – if the passing game consistently moves the ball, Robert (Riley) continues being Robert, and our longer drives start ending in at least three points – then we’ll get less flack and start making our opponents work to beat us.”

Senior cornerback Spencer Mason snagged an interception defensively, while Jared Davis, Robert Graves, and Walter Hunter registered sacks.

Steve LaFalce tossed a pair of touchdowns for the Leathernecks, including an 80-yard strike to Dwayne Miller on the first play of the second half.

Carnegie Mellon is off next week, then heads to Montana for a road contest on Saturday, October 7.

Western Illinois Leathernecks at Carnegie Mellon Tartans
Sep 23, 2006	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-3)	0	7	7	7	21
Carnegie Mellon Tartans (0-4)	0	0	0	7	7

Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		WIU	CMU
2:19	(WIU) Steve LaFalce 3-yard pass to Boomer Moore (Taylor Rowan kick)	7	0
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		WIU	CMU
14:53	(WIU) Steve LaFalce 80-yard pass to Dwayne Miller (Taylor Rowan kick)	14	0
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		WIU	CMU
14:37	(CMU) David Ford 16-yard pass to Pete Carlson (Justin Thompson kick)	14	7
5:44	(WIU) Jerry James 4-yard run (Taylor Rowan kick)	21	7

Western Illinois Leathernecks

Carnegie Mellon Tartans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT David Ford 7/15 51 1 0 Andre Miller 3/14 19 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Robert Riley 29 146 5.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Pete Carlson 4 35 8.8 1 Kurt Thompson 4 26 6.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Curtis Willis 9 0 0 0 Jared Davis 6 1 0 0 Spencer Mason 3 0 1 0 Walter Hunter 2 1 0 0 Brent Matthews 0 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Justin Thompson 0/1 1/1 1 --

[Careless Whisper]

Around the NCAA – Week 4 Edition
#1 Ohio State passed another early season test, defeating #15 Penn State at home, 24-23

USA Today Top 25 Coaches’ Poll
1 | Ohio State [34 first-place votes] (4-0)
2 | Florida [21] (4-0)
3 | Auburn [3] (4-0)
4 | Oklahoma [1] (4-0)
5 | Texas (3-1)
6 | Miami (Fla.) [2] (3-0)
7 | Michigan [1] (4-0)
8 | Notre Dame (3-1)
9 | LSU (3-1)
10 | USC (2-1)

Biggest Climb | Arizona State (3-1) – #21 to #18
Biggest Drop | California (2-2) – #19 to #25
Newcomers | #23 Texas Tech (3-1), #24 Utah (4-0)
Drop Outs | #20 Alabama, #25 Colorado

Heisman Watch
Brady Quinn, Sr., QB, Notre Dame | 150.2 QB rtg., 82-134, 1,099 yards, 10 TD, 3 INT
Kenny Irons, Sr., HB, Auburn | 92 carries, 624 yards, 10 TD; 8 catches, 123 yards, 1 TD
Thomas Brown, Jr., HB, Georgia | 71 carries, 497 yards, 6 TD; 9 catches, 184 yards, 3 TD
Rufus Alexander, R-Sr., OLB, Oklahoma | 21 tackles (4 TFL), 2 sacks, 4 INT, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 TD
Chris Leak, Sr., QB, Florida | 173.8 QB rtg., 76-112, 1,067 yards, 10 TD, 2 INT

NCAA Players of the Week, presented by Coca-Cola
Offensive: Shane Brooks, R-Fr., HB, Pittsburgh | 33 carries, 262 yards, 3 TD; 5 catches, 87 yards, 1 TD in 49-0 win vs. The Citadel
Defensive: Jason Evans, R-Sr., FS, San Jose State | 2 tackles, 2 INT, 1 TD in 48-7 win vs. San Diego

Injury Report
Drew Tate, Sr., QB, Iowa | Broken shoulder blade (season)
Derek Schouman, Sr., TE, Boise State | Strained back (2 weeks)

]Notable Top 25 Scores
#5 Texas 42, Iowa State 10
#31 LSU 9, Tulane 13
#10 USC 37, Arizona 7
#8 Notre Dame 50, Michigan State 21
#7 Michigan 37, Wisconsin 17
#14 Louisville 58, Kansas State 3
#2 Florida 52, Kentucky 20
#18 Arizona State 45, #25 California 30
#1 Ohio State 24, #19 Penn State 23
#12 Iowa 31, Illinois 3
#11 Georgia 33, Colorado 15

Week 5 National Broadcasts
#3 Auburn (4-0) at South Carolina (3-1)
#10 USC (2-1) at Washington State (3-1)
#1 Ohio State (4-0) at #12 Iowa (4-0) – Game of the Week
Alabama (3-1) at #2 Florida (4-0)
Oregon (2-1) at #18 Arizona State (3-1)
Purdue (1-2) at #8 Notre Dame (3-1)
Georgia Tech (3-1) at #17 Virginia Tech (4-0)
#7 Michigan (4-0) at #21 Minnesota (3-0)