[Careless Whisper]

Two Steps Back: Ball State Backup Torches Tartans
Carnegie Mellon gave up four touchdown passes to Ball State backup Tanner Justice in a 42-14 defeat

by Alicia Brown, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter

MUNCIE, Ind. -- When Ball State quarterback Nate Davis departed in the first quarter with back spasms, it was easy to think that Carnegie Mellon could score an upset win in its Mid-American Conference (MAC) opener.

Instead, Davis’ understudy Tanner Justice put forth the best performance of his collegiate career, torching the Tartans for 229 passing yards and four touchdowns as the MAC favorite Cardinals picked up a 42-14 victory over CMU this afternoon.

“I think our level of play dropped when (Tanner) Justice came in,” said fourth-year head coach John Elliott. “We got complacent and thought that the effort and energy levels didn’t have to remain the same with their backup in, when (Ball State) still had the same skill position guys around him on offense. I’m disappointed that was the case, because even though I felt Ball State was one of the league’s best entering the season, the way we’ve played to start I felt we could have competed for a win in this one.”

Davis managed to give Ball State (3-1, 1-0 MAC) an early 7-0 lead before leaving, connecting with Dante Love for a 25-yard touchdown. Carnegie Mellon (1-3, 0-1 MAC) answered at the end of the first quarter courtesy of a Jim Manning three-yard dive, then took a 14-7 advantage with 9:53 remaining the half after Justin Keyes found Stephen Carter for a 23-yard touchdown. Behind Justice, however, the Cardinals bounced back to tie the game before the break, as Corey McGee scored on a nine-yard sweep with 2:30 on the clock.

Justice’s takeover in the second half coincided with major offensive struggles for the Tartans, as Keyes completed just one pass over the final 30 minutes and Manning managed just 21 yards on the ground. The BSU backup gave the hosts the lead for good on its opening drive with a 32-yard pass to Love, then found the redshirt senior – who entered the afternoon with just three catches for nine yards on the season – two other times to open up a 35-14 gap. He added his fourth touchdown pass with 4:05 to go, finding Eric Bradford from 11 yards out to set the final score.

Manning’s streak of 100-yard performances ended at two games, as he only compiled 65 ticks on 18 carries. Keyes finished with 57 yards passing, a touchdown, and an interception on 5-of-17 passing.

Justice entered the day with three touchdown passes and 11 interceptions in his career. Love was the beneficiary of Justice’s career performance, finishing with eight catches for 128 yards and four touchdowns. McGee also excelled on the ground, tallying 168 yards and a score on 23 carries.

Carnegie Mellon will look to rebound next weekend at home when it hosts Bowling Green.

Carnegie Mellon Tartans at Ball State Cardinals
Sep 26, 2009	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Carnegie Mellon Tartans (1-3, 0-1 MAC)	7	7	0	0	14
Ball State Cardinals (3-1, 1-0 MAC)	7	7	14	14	42

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		CMU	BALL
9:04	(BALL) Nate Davis 25-yard pass to Dante Love (Ian McGarvey kick)	0	7
0:58	(CMU) Jim Manning 3-yard run (Jon Foster kick)	7	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		CMU	BALL
9:53	(CMU) Justin Keyes 23-yard pass to Stephen Carter (Jon Foster kick)	14	7
2:30	(BALL) Corey McGee 9-yard run (Ian McGarvey kick)	14	14
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		CMU	BALL
10:37	(BALL) Tanner Justice 32-yard pass to Dante Love (Ian McGarvey kick)	14	21
2:52	(BALL) Tanner Justice 9-yard pass to Dante Love (Ian McGarvey kick)	14	28
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		CMU	BALL
14:13	(BALL) Tanner Justice 47-yard pass to Dante Love (Ian McGarvey kick)	14	35
4:05	(BALL) Tanner Justice 11-yard pass to Eric Bradford (Ian McGarvey kick)	14	42

Carnegie Mellon Tartans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Justin Keyes 5/17 57 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jim Manning 18 65 3.6 1 Justin Keyes 9 9 1.0 0 Clarence Cabral 2 9 4.5 0 Nate Satele 2 5 2.5 0 Brandon Brewer 2 5 2.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Stephen Carter 2 26 13.0 1 Jim Manning 1 17 17.0 0 Kurt Thompson 1 8 8.0 0 David Young 1 6 6.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Matt Johnson 7 0 0 0 Jon Crowell 5 0 0 0 Chris Hill 4 0 0 0 Aaron Crosby 4 0 0 0 Mark Toth 4 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Jon Foster 0/0 2/2 2 -- PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Andy Fitzhugh 6 283 47.2 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Jon Crowell 5 151 30.2 0 Stephen Carter 1 12 12.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Jon Crowell 1 7 7.0 0

Ball State Cardinals PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tanner Justice 14/27 229 4 0 Nate Davis 3/5 37 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Corey McGee 23 168 7.3 1 Tanner Justice 1 10 10.0 0 Jacolby Bond 2 8 4.0 0 Calvin Smith 1 6 6.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Dante Love 8 128 16.0 4 Eric Bradford 3 64 21.3 1 Joe Everett 2 16 8.0 0 Corey McGee 1 27 27.0 0 Jacolby Bond 1 21 21.0 0 Calvin Smith 1 5 5.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Drew Duffin 5 0 0 0 Trey Buice 5 0 0 0 Brad Haumiller 4 0 0 0 Kenny Meeks 4 0 0 0 Jacolby Bond 1 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Ian McGarvey 0/2 6/6 6 -- PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Mike Gibbs 2 65 32.5 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Joe Everett 2 28 14.0 0 Dante Love 1 21 21.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Dante Love 5 76 15.2 0

--------------------

Author's Note: Forgot to take a picture again, though this time was out of frustration.