[Careless Whisper]

Tartans Topped on Road at Southern Illinois, 35-23
Robert Riley ran for 182 yards and two touchdowns, but the senior fumbled late to end a comeback attempt

by Jayson Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Carnegie Mellon received a career performance from senior tailback Robert Riley, but a late fumble by the Tartans captain spoiled the visitors’ comeback attempt as they fell to Southern Illinois this afternoon, 35-23.

Riley rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries for Carnegie Mellon (1-3), but he was stripped of the football with 2:50 to play near midfield that gave the ball back to Southern Illinois (2-2). The Salukis added a touchdown with 11 seconds remaining to make the gap bigger than the game actually was.

“These are games that we should be competitive in here in year two,” said second-year head coach John Elliott. “So we did achieve that at the very least. But this was also winnable, and to not do so is tough. I know all the guys (in the locker room) are itching for more wins and don’t want to go through a year like the last one. To do that though, we have to take advantage of these kind of games.”

The senior tailback got the lion’s share of the carries after freshman Jim Manning left the game following his first carry. Riley and junior Tramon McCollum averaged 5.4 yards per carry between themselves, but the two couldn’t complete cover a stagnant passing game that saw freshman Justin Keyes accumulate 75 yards on 27 attempts.

Even with the quarterback struggles, the Tartans kept pace with the Salukis, having an answer the Salukis’ opening three touchdowns. Justin Thompson kicked a 31-yard field goal with 8:01 remaining to put CMU in front, 23-21, but John Randle answered with his fourth of five touchdowns to give SIU back the lead less than four minutes later. After Riley’s late fumble, the hosts rode Randle some more and he finished his career afternoon with a fourth rushing touchdown in the closing seconds.

Randle finished the day with 234 yards on 25 carries, and 24 yards on three catches.

Carnegie Mellon has a short turnaround this coming week, as it hosts Rhode Island on Friday, Sept. 28.

Carnegie Mellon Tartans at Southern Illinois Salukis
Sep 22, 2007	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Carnegie Mellon Tartans (1-3)	7	7	6	3	23
Southern Illinois Salukis (2-2)	7	0	14	14	35

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		CMU	SIU
10:04	(SIU) Nick Hill 2-yard pass to John Randle (Scott Ravanesi kick)	0	7
3:25	(CMU) Robert Riley 2-yard run (Justin Thompson kick)	7	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		CMU	SIU
10:28	(CMU) Robert Riley 6-yard run (Justin Thompson kick)	14	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		CMU	SIU
9:23	(SIU) John Randle 9-yard run (Scott Ravanesi kick)	14	14
3:44	(CMU) Tramon McCollum 5-yard run (XP missed)	20	14
0:11	(SIU) Nick Hill 17-yard pass to Phil Goforth (Scott Ravanesi kick)	20	21
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		CMU	SIU
8:01	(CMU) Justin Thompson 31-yard field goal	23	21
4:18	(SIU) John Randle 8-yard run (Scott Ravanesi kick)	23	28
0:11	(SIU) John Randle 1-yard run (Scott Ravanesi kick)	23	35

Carnegie Mellon Tartans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Justin Keyes 15/27 71 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Robert Riley 34 182 5.4 2 Tramon McCollum 3 16 5.3 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Kurt Thompson 8 24 3.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Aaron Crosby 5 1 0 0 Brady Smith 5 1 0 0 Sean Day 2 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Justin Thompson 1/2 2/3 5 31

Southern Illinois Salukis