[Careless Whisper]

Tartans Blanked in Toughest Test Yet
A game after scoring its first touchdown of 2006, Carnegie Mellon was shut out by FCS power Montana

by Alicia Brown, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter

MISSOULA, Mont. -- Facing its toughest opponent of the 2006 season thus far, Carnegie Mellon stumbled and fell to Montana this afternoon, 31-0.

Carnegie Mellon (0-5) tallied 87 yards of offense and punted the ball 10 times. Redshirt senior David Ford made his first career start at quarterback and struggled, completing 8-of-18 passes for nine yards and an interception.

“Montana is ranked fifth (in FCS) for a reason,” said first-year head coach John Elliott. “They hit us in the mouth and we couldn’t recover. We managed to hold their offense at bay for most of the day, but there was nothing going for us offensively. Can’t compete if we don’t create opportunities for ourselves.”

Even the usual reliable Robert Riley was ineffective, averaging just 2.8 yards per carry on 19 attempts. Raymond Cooper provided the only bright moment for the Tartans, picking off a Josh Swogger pass in the first quarter.

Montana (6-0) received three Swogger touchdown tosses, two going to Craig Chambers. Van Cooper Jr. provided the cherry on top by running back a Ford pick to the house with 4:39 remaining.

It doesn’t get any easier for Carnegie Mellon next week, as it has just a five-day turnaround before it restarts its rivalry with Pitt next Thursday night.

Carnegie Mellon Tartans at Montana Grizzlies
Oct 7, 2006	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Carnegie Mellon Tartans (0-5)	0	0	0	0	0
#5 Montana Grizzlies (6-0)	0	7	7	17	31

Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		CMU	MONT
2:14	(MONT) Josh Swogger 4-yard pass to Craig Chambers (Dan Carpenter kick)	0	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		CMU	MONT
6:20	(MONT) Josh Swogger 35-yard pass to Craig Chambers (Dan Carpenter kick)	0	14
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		CMU	MONT
9:52	(MONT) Dan Carpenter 35-yard field goal	0	17
6:33	(MONT) Josh Swogger 33-yard pass to Lex Hilliard (Dan Carpenter kick)	0	24
4:39	(MONT) Van Cooper Jr. 37-yard interception return (Dan Carpenter kick)	0	31

Carnegie Mellon Tartans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT David Ford 8/18 9 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Robert Riley 19 54 2.8 0 Andre Clifford 5 22 4.4 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Kurt Thompson 4 3 0.8 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Brett Davidson 5 1 0 0 Robert Graves 5 0 0 0 Raymond Cooper 3 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Justin Thompson 0/1 0/0 0 --

Montana Grizzlies