[Careless Whisper]

Mistakes Doom Tartans in Season Opener at Penn
Carnegie Mellon lost three fumbles as it fell to the cross-state Quakers in the 2007 opener, 19-6

by Jayson Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Carnegie Mellon kept pace with an average Penn side in both teams’ season opener this afternoon, but three lost fumbles proved to be its downfall as the Quakers knocked off the Tartans, 19-6.

The new-look Carnegie Mellon (0-1) side showed promise offensively, with freshman Justin Keyes throwing for 194 yards on 14-of-25 passing in his collegiate debut. Senior tailback Robert Riley scored on a three-yard plunge in the fourth quarter and totaled 172 yards (121 rushing, 51 receiving) of offense, while junior wide receiver Pete Carlson netted 81 yards on seven catches.

“Definitely better than most of our performances last season,” said second-year head coach John Elliott. “We’re right in it if it weren’t for the three fumbles. Credit to Penn for knowing when to punch the ball out – I have to prepare my boys better against that.”

Penn (1-0) churned clock on multiple drives and four came away with A.J. Nobile field goals. Keyes, who lost a fumble in the second quarter with the Tartans in the red zone, was sacked midway through the final frame and left it on the ground for Glen Cressmen to pick up, and the linebacker rumbled 50 yards to paydirt. Riley’s score with 3:11 to go pulled CMU within two scores, but the visitors failed on the two-point conversion and couldn’t come up with the onside kick.

First-year linebacker Matt Johnson led all players with 11 tackles and a sack.

Carnegie Mellon returns home next weekend when it hosts Indiana State at Gesling Stadium.

Carnegie Mellon Tartans at Pennsylvania Quakers
Sep 1, 2007	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Carnegie Mellon Tartans (0-1)	0	0	0	6	6
Pennsylvania Quakers (1-0)	0	6	6	7	19

Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		CMU	PENN
9:52	(PENN) A.J. Nobile 38-yard field goal	0	3
0:06	(PENN) A.J. Nobile 27-yard field goal	0	6
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		CMU	PENN
9:06	(PENN) A.J. Nobile 32-yard field goal	0	9
5:41	(PENN) A.J. Nobile 24-yard field goal	0	12
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		CMU	PENN
8:15	(PENN) Glen Cressmen 50-yard fumble return (A.J. Nobile kick)	0	19
3:11	(CMU) Robert Riley 3-yard run (pass failed)	6	19

Carnegie Mellon Tartans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Justin Keyes 14/25 194 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Robert Riley 25 121 4.8 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Pete Carlson 7 81 11.6 0 Robert Riley 2 51 25.5 0 Ali Concepcion 2 45 22.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Matt Johnson 11 1 0 0 Raymond Cooper 7 0 0 0 Devon Elliott 5 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Justin Thompson 0/0 0/0 0 --

Pennsylvania Quakers