[Careless Whisper]

Tartans Collapse Late, Fall at Princeton in Overtime
CMU missed a game-winning field goal attempt in the fourth quarter, and threw an interception in overtime

by Alicia Brown, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter

PRINCETON, N.J. -- College football is filled with its highs and lows. Just ask Carnegie Mellon.

One week after celebrating a thrilling 27-24 victory over Shippensburg, the Tartans saw a 10-3 lead vanish in the fourth quarter, ultimately falling to Princeton in overtime, 17-10, after a couple late-game mistakes.

Carnegie Mellon (1-9) seemingly was in line for its first victory over a FCS opponent, but Justin Thompson pushed a 35-yard field goal attempt left as regulation expired, and then Alex Smith threw an interception in overtime after Princeton (3-7) scored on its first possession.

“I just hate it for my guys,” said first-year head coach John Elliott. “We were so close, but it’s hard to win games at this level when you haven’t had much of a taste of winning. We’re improving for sure though, as much as this hurts.”

A defensive battle saw a 3-3 deadlock midway through the third quarter before sophomore tailback David Jordan scored from two yards out to give the Tartans a 10-3 lead. Jeff Terrell answered for the Tigers with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Brian Shields, and after Thompson’s miss to end the fourth quarter, the hosts netted a pair of first downs before Cleo Kirkland punched it in from three yards out to make it 17-10 in overtime.

Smith, who finished with 134 yards through the air on 18 of 32 attempts, managed to find Kurt Thompson for a first down before throwing a game-ending interception to Doori Song.

CMU saw its top two runningbacks leave the game due to injuries. Robert Riley felt after the first quarter with a hip bruise and should be good to go next week, while Tramon McCollum suffered a hand injury and could miss multiple weeks. Jordan finished with 22 carries for 73 yards and the aforementioned touchdown in relief.

Thompson missed three field goals in total and has made just 7-of-19 attempts this season.

Carnegie Mellon finishes up its road slate next Saturday at Stephen F. Austin.

Carnegie Mellon Tartans at Princeton Tigers
Nov 11, 2006	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	OT	SCORE
Carnegie Mellon Tartans (1-9)	0	3	7	0	0	10
Princeton Tigers (3-7)	0	3	3	7	7	17

Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		CMU	PRIN
2:09	(CMU) Justin Thompson 36-yard field goal	3	0
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		CMU	PRIN
5:57	(PRIN) Connor Louden 22-yard field goal	3	3
1:34	(CMU) David Jordan 2-yard fun (Justin Thompson kick)	10	3
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		CMU	PRIN
13:47	(PRIN) Jeff Terrell 23-yard pass to Brian Shields (Connor Louden kick)	10	10
OVERTIME SCORING		CMU	PRIN
1st	(PRIN) Cleo Kirkland 3-yard run (Connor Louden kick)	10	17

Carnegie Mellon Tartans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Alex Smith 18/32 134 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD David Jordan 22 73 3.3 1 Robert Riley 5 42 8.4 0 Tramon McCollum 8 41 5.1 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Pete Carlson 9 38 4.2 0 Kurt Thompson 4 40 10.0 0 Robert Riley 1 48 48.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Curtis Willis 10 1 0 0 Will Reid 9 0 0 0 Devon Elliott 3 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Justin Thompson 1/4 1/1 4 36

Princeton Tigers