[Careless Whisper]

Tartans Finish Comeback to Claim First Win over FCS Foe
Robert Riley scored with 2:24 remaining, completing a 15-0 run to lift Carnegie Mellon to a 22-21 win

by Alicia Brown, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Like last week, Carnegie Mellon kept shooting itself in the foot.

A lost fumble on the first drive and turnover on downs on the second drive, left the Tartans wondering “what if” when trailing 21-7 in the third quarter. But CMU righted the ship, scoring 15 unanswered points to defeat its first NCAA Division I FCS opponent with a 22-21 comeback victory over Indiana State this afternoon at Gesling Stadium.

Carnegie Mellon’s (1-1) second win at the FCS level was just as dramatic as its first, as senior tailback Robert Riley scored from a yard out with 2:24 remaining to put the hosts ahead for good. Riley and freshman Jim Manning combined for 183 rushing yards on 39 carries, and sealed the win with multiple third-down conversions.

“These boys totally deserve this,” said second-year head coach John Elliott. “They were in it again for the entire game, and never gave up on themselves. A win like this at this point of the year can do wonders for the rest of the season. Our guys know they are a bunch of winnable games left on the schedule.”

The Tartans were threatening on their opening drive and seemed to reach the red zone after Justin Keyes connected with Ali Concepcion, but the senior wide receiver was stripped from behind and ended the drive prematurely. Unlike last year’s team, however, CMU returned the momentum swing when freshman cornerback Calvin Burton jumped an errant pass and ran it back 71 yards for a touchdown.

“That pick six by Calvin (Burton) was huge,” said Elliott. “Obviously we didn’t build off that points-wise right away, but that kind of big play was rare last year. We knew right there that this was one we could take.”

Indiana State (0-2) responded with an 84-yard touchdown from a Darrius Gates kick return, then started running its offense through Tony West. West scored from 20 and 53 yards out to extend the Sycamore advantage to 21-7, but Justin Thompson tacked on a 26-yard field goal to make it an 11-point gap through three quarters.

Elliott started to work in a fresh Manning in the fourth quarter, and it paid off in a big way. On a third-and-three play, he lined up his freshman as the upback ahead of Riley and ran a sweep, and the offensive line sprung the rookie for a 52-yard score. Keyes missed on the two-point conversion to keep it 21-16, but CMU kept ISU off the board and regained possession with 5:15 to go.

The Tartans again put together an impressive drive, but faced a third-and-two with 2:53 remaining. Riley got the call and converted, then two plays later finished from a yard away to complete the CMU comeback with 2:24 on the clock.

The Sycamores didn’t threaten on their desperation attempt and turned the ball over after five plays. Although ISU retained a pair of timeouts, Manning broke off a 15-yard run on second down to seal the victory for CMU.

Keyes threw for 144 yards and an interception on 12-of-20 attempts. Burton ended up with two picks on the day, highlighted by the aforementioned 71-yard return touchdown.

West finished with 212 yards and two scores on 24 carries for ISU.

Carnegie Mellon remains in Pittsburgh for another week when it faces the rival Panthers on Saturday, Sept. 15.

Indiana State Sycamores at Carnegie Mellon Tartans
Sep 8, 2007	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Indiana State Sycamores (0-2)	7	7	7	0	21
Carnegie Mellon Tartans (1-1)	7	0	3	12	22

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		INST	CMU
0:41	(CMU) Calvin Burton 71-yard interception return (Justin Thompson kick)	0	7
0:23	(INST) Darrius Gates 84-yard kick return (Corey Varnadore kick)	7	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		INST	CMU
5:25	(INST) Tony West 20-yard run (Corey Varnadore kick)	14	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		INST	CMU
6:57	(INST) Tony West 53-yard run (Corey Varnadore kick)	21	7
1:47	(CMU) Justin Thompson 26-yard field goal	21	10
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		INST	CMU
9:53	(CMU) Jim Manning 52-yard run (pass failed)	21	16
2:24	(CMU) Robert Riley 1-yard run (pass failed)	21	22

Indiana State Sycamores

Carnegie Mellon Tartans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Justin Keyes 12/20 144 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jim Manning 10 99 9.9 1 Robert Riley 29 84 2.9 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Pete Carlson 5 67 13.4 0 Ali Concepcion 2 35 17.5 0 Kurt Thompson 2 31 15.5 0 Robert Riley 2 10 5.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Andre Miller 5 1 0 0 Calvin Burton 3 0 2 1 Matt Johnson 3 1 0 0 Jared Davis 2 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Justin Thompson 1/1 1/1 4 26