[Careless Whisper]

A Perfect Strike: Tartans Knock Down Sixth Win
Now bowl eligible, Carnegie Mellon can claim a share of the MAC East Division title with a win next week



Redshirt senior wide receiver Kevin Cousins beats two Kent State defensive backs on this third-quarter touchdown catch. (Ronda Rodriguez / Getty Images)

by Alicia Brown, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Thanks to another flying start – this one of 20 straight points to begin the game – Carnegie Mellon has reached bowl eligibility with its sixth win this afternoon, a 34-21 decision over Kent State at Gesling Stadium.

Carnegie Mellon (6-5, 5-2 MAC) has reached the bowl game standard in just its second FBS season and fourth season overall as a Division I program. The Tartans also have put themselves in position for a possible Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship Game berth, needing a win in their regular-season finale next week against Buffalo to force a tiebreaker situation.

“I’ve said it a lot over these last few weeks but I’m really proud of these guys,” said CMU fourth-year head coach John Elliott. “We knew what was at stake today and didn’t put too much pressure on ourselves in order to accomplish our goal. The defense was rock solid and really did a great job at holding (Eugene) Jarvis in check, it seemed like they have something to prove after last week. And I was impressed with how Kevin (Wilson) came into the game cold and kept our offense moving.”

Despite losing starting quarterback Justin Keyes twice due to an elbow injury, the CMU offense was methodical in all facets, with a lone Nate Satele fumble being the only blemish. The attack began following a Matt Johnson interception on Kent State’s (5-6, 3-4 MAC) opening drive, as Keyes cashed in on a one-yard sneak to put the hosts ahead 7-0.

Calvin Burton then arrived at the turnover party by recovering his own forced fumble, and on the very next play Jim Manning went 44 yards on a Keyes screen pass to double the advantage. Todd Andriano snagged an errant Anthony Magazu throw on the Golden Flashes’ next attempt, and that drive ended in a Jon Foster 22-yard field goal following Keyes’ first departure.

Keyes, who returned to the game a drive later, went out for good in the third quarter after a Kirk Belgrave sack. KSU dented the scoreboard on the ensuing drive with a Magazu 10-yard toss to Coleman Lynn, but Kevin Wilson answered with the first touchdown pass of his career – a 44-yard strike to Kevin Cousins to make it 27-7.

The Tartans sealed the game early in the fourth quarter after Manning took a direct snap and raced 67 yards for a score. CMU had an opportunity to add to its lead but Satele fumbled in the red zone, the sixth of the season for the backup runningback. Andriano kept the visitors off the scoreboard briefly with a red zone turnover of his own on a second interception, but the Golden Flashes would add a pair of garbage time touchdowns with their backup quarterback.

Manning nearly hit 200 yards for the third time in four games, finishing with 197 on 22 carries. Cousins reached the century mark receiving with 129 yards on eight catches, and Wilson finished 10-of-14 passing for 118 yards and the aforementioned score.

Jarvis was held to 60 yards rushing on 14 carries for Kent State.

Carnegie Mellon closes the regular season out with Senior Day next Saturday, November 28 against Buffalo.

Kent State Golden Flashes at Carnegie Mellon Tartans
Nov 21, 2009	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Kent State Golden Flashes (5-6, 3-4 MAC)	0	0	7	14	21
Carnegie Mellon Tartans (6-5, 5-2 MAC)	17	3	17	0	34

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		KENT	CMU
7:55	(CMU) Justin Keyes 1-yard run (Jon Foster kick)	0	7
3:35	(CMU) Justin Keyes 44-yard pass to Jim Manning (Jon Foster kick)	0	14
0:43	(CMU) Jon Foster 22-yard field goal	0	17
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		KENT	CMU
5:14	(CMU) Jon Foster 39-yard field goal	0	20
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		KENT	CMU
3:15	(KENT) Anthony Magazu 10-yard pass to Coleman Lynn (Kevin Mays kick)	7	20
0:53	(CMU) Kevin Wilson 44-yard pass to Kevin Cousins (Jon Foster kick)	7	27
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		KENT	CMU
12:16	(CMU) Jim Manning 67-yard run (Jon Foster kick)	7	34
4:36	(KENT) Brock Fitzhenry 1-yard run (Kevin Mays kick)	14	34
0:26	(KENT) Jon Brown 18-yard pass to Drew Brown (Kevin Mays kick)	21	34

Kent State Golden Flashes PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Anthony Magazu 15/27 140 1 4 Jon Brown 9/16 111 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Eugene Jarvis 14 60 4.2 0 Brock Fitzhenry 3 9 3.0 1 Andre Flowers 1 7 7.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Coleman Lynn 7 128 18.2 1 Darren Rogers 6 45 7.5 0 Drew Brown 5 26 5.1 1 Phil Garner 3 22 7.3 0 Alan Vanderink 1 19 19.0 0 Eugene Jarvis 1 8 8.0 0 Caleb Burch 1 3 3.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Kirk Belgrave 10 1 0 0 Anthony Mirando 8 0 0 0 Will Johnson 8 0 0 0 Chauncey Johnson 8 0 0 0 B.G. Walters 6 0 0 0 Lester Troutman 4 0 0 0 Darrius Carter 3 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Kevin Mays 0/0 3/3 3 -- PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Jake Kilroy 4 163 40.7 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Darren Rogers 4 94 23.5 0 Eugene Jarvis 3 72 24.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Coleman Lynn 1 12 12.0 0 Eugene Jarvis 1 2 2.0 0

Carnegie Mellon Tartans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Justin Keyes 7/11 120 1 0 Kevin Wilson 10/14 118 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jim Manning 22 197 8.9 1 Nate Satele 12 32 2.6 0 Justin Keyes 9 18 2.0 1 Korey Harper 1 2 2.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Kevin Cousins 8 129 16.1 1 Jim Manning 2 46 23.0 1 Stephen Carter 2 24 12.0 0 Kurt Thompson 2 17 8.5 0 Jeremy Miller 1 12 12.0 0 David Young 1 8 8.0 0 Issac Schroeder 1 2 2.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Calvin Burton 6 0 1 0 Erik Sellers 6 0 0 0 Matt Burnsides 5 1 0 0 Matt Johnson 5 0 1 0 David Brown 4 1 0 0 Zac Hood 2 2 0 0 Todd Andriano 2 0 2 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Jon Foster 2/3 4/4 10 39 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Andy Fitzhugh 2 76 38.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Stephen Carter 1 23 23.0 0 Calvin Burton 1 13 13.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Stephen Carter 3 10 3.3 0