[Careless Whisper]

Tartans Drop Home Finale to Towson, 35-14
Carnegie Mellon’s passing game struggled once again as it fell in its penultimate FCS contest

by Jayson Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- After rattling off three straight wins, Carnegie Mellon has now dropped two straight at home as it fell to a strong Towson team, 35-14, this evening from Gesling Stadium.

Carnegie Mellon (4-7) again struggled in the passing game, with freshman Justin Keyes completing just 6-of-22 passes for 62 yards. The first-year signal-caller threw two touchdowns – one being to Drew Mack of Towson (8-4) – and tossed a pair of interceptions in another addition to a frustratingly cold stretch for him.

“We’ve got to work on getting Justin (Keyes) more comfortable,” said second-year head coach John Elliott. “He was under pressure most of the night, and our receivers are having a hard time getting separation. I’d like for our offense to not be as one-dimensional in the future, even with how good our running game has been.”

Senior tailback Robert Riley was the catalyst to the Tartans’ strong rushing attack, leading the way with 117 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Usual freshman starter Jim Manning gained 14 yards on his lone carry, but pulled up limping and didn’t return with a pulled hamstring. Elliott said he will be fully healthy for next week’s season finale at Idaho State.

The Tigers focused on a methodical running game to chew clock and keep the CMU defense on the field. Rasheed McClaude (18 carries, 112 yards, 1 TD) and Nick Williams (17 carries, 102 yards, 1 TD) both went over the 100-yard mark, while quarterback Sean Schaeffer scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground. At 8-4, Towson hopes that its performance tonight sealed an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs.

Pete Carlson caught Keyes’ lone touchdown pass, a 23-yard strike in the first quarter. Matt Johnson paced the Tartans defensively with 10 tackles, while Calvin Burton and Devon Elliott both forced a fumble.

Carnegie Mellon’s season and FCS term concludes next Saturday, Nov. 24 at Idaho State.

Towson Tigers at Carnegie Mellon Tartans
Nov 17, 2007	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Towson Tigers (8-4)	7	14	7	7	35
Carnegie Mellon Tartans (4-7)	7	0	0	7	14

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		TOWS	CMU
10:04	(TOWS) Sean Schaeffer 1-yard run (Mark Bencivengo kick)	7	0
3:21	(CMU) Justin Keyes 23-yard pass to Pete Carlson (Justin Thompson kick)	7	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		TOWS	CMU
10:34	(TOWS) Nick Williams 7-yard run (Mark Bencivengo kick)	14	7
2:28	(TOWS) Rasheed McClaude 22-yard run (Mark Bencivengo kick)	21	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		TOWS	CMU
10:20	(TOWS) Drew Mack 23-yard interception return (Mark Bencivengo kick)	28	7
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		TOWS	CMU
12:40	(TOWS) Sean Schaeffer 1-yard run (Mark Bencivengo kick)	35	7
8:07	(CMU) Robert Riley 7-yard run (Justin Thompson kick)	35	14

Towson Tigers

Carnegie Mellon Tartans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Justin Keyes 6/22 62 1 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Robert Riley 27 117 4.3 1 Justin Keyes 5 14 2.8 0 Jim Manning 1 14 14.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Ali Concepcion 3 27 9.0 0 Pete Carlson 1 23 23.0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Matt Johnson 10 0 0 0 Aaron Crosby 9 0 0 0 Calvin Burton 4 0 0 0 Devon Elliott 3 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Justin Thompson 0/0 2/2 2 --