The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

[moose141]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

Man, what a day. Manning continues to mash other defenses, and great to see that whoever you threw in at QB seemed to get the job done, whether it was Keyes or Wilson. Surprising to see that Satele has been so dreadful this season, he seemed last year to almost be neck and neck with Manning for a while in terms of production.

[Careless Whisper]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

Man, what a day. Manning continues to mash other defenses, and great to see that whoever you threw in at QB seemed to get the job done, whether it was Keyes or Wilson. Surprising to see that Satele has been so dreadful this season, he seemed last year to almost be neck and neck with Manning for a while in terms of production.

I've been surprised with Satele's struggles as well. He just hasn't fit well in the new offense and every time I try to give him a chance, it seems like he fumbles. Manning had a slight issue with fumbles last season too, but at least he produced a 1,300-yard season out of it. I definitely want to add a back or two into the mix in recruiting to compete with Satele, hopefully someone with a little more quickness that would fit the spread better.

[Careless Whisper]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

by Jeff Greenberg, Carnegie Mellon insider for Rivals.com

Win and in for Tartans

Carnegie Mellon can officially punch its ticket to the MAC Championship Game with a win on Saturday against Buffalo, after Kent State erased a 24-10 fourth-quarter deficit to stun Akron on the road Wednesday, 27-24.

The Golden Flashes’ Eugene Jarvis provided the Tartans with a golden opportunity, lifting his team to bowl eligibility with 180 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries.

If CMU wins, it would face #19 Toledo, who raced past Bowling Green on Tuesday, 34-7, to remain unbeaten at 12-0. If the Tartans were to fall to the Bulls then the MAC East Division representative would come down to a tiebreaker, and there isn’t much clarity on what would be the decider between them and the Zips, who didn’t play each other this season.

Keyes good to go for Buffalo

After leaving last week’s win over Kent State twice with an elbow injury, junior quarterback Justin Keyes is practicing with no limitations ahead of the regular-season finale this Saturday against Buffalo.

“Justin (Keyes) probably could have came back into the game if we needed him,” said CMU head coach John Elliott. “But with the lead that we had and Kevin (Wilson) needing some work, we felt it was a good time to get him some rest so that he was at his best this weekend.”

After two years of struggles, Keyes (130.7 QB rtg., 143-228, 1,763 yards, 13 TD, 18 INT; 101 carries, 386 yards, 6 TD) was in an open competition for the starting job during fall camp, but beat out freshmen Kevin Wilson (125.9 QB rtg., 17-32, 238 yards, 1 TD) and Bryan Williams. The junior has already thrown for 513 more yards and six touchdowns more than his previous best marks.

Burton claims MAC Defensive Player of the Week

After tallying six tackles, an interception, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery last Saturday against Kent State, junior cornerback Calvin Burton was named MAC Defensive Player of the Week.

This is the second weekly award for ‘Big Play’ Burton this season, who is having a superb third-year campaign. He has accumulated 40 tackles, a sack, six interceptions, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries, and has returned two interceptions for touchdowns. Burton now has a school record 17 interceptions in his collegiate career, which is three more than what Anthony Cain snagged from 1975-78.

Satele to see less work

Sophomore runningback Nate Satele will see less time going forward after committing his sixth fumble last Saturday against Kent State.

After providing a solid second option in his freshman season with 422 rushing yards, three touchdowns, and a 4.9 yards-per-carry average, Satele (59 carries, 215 yards, 3 TD) has faced the sophomore struggles in 2009. His reduced role shouldn’t hinder junior runningback Jim Manning (265 carries, 1,615 yards, 19 TD; 32 catches, 384 yards, 4 TD), who is a shoo-in for All-MAC honors and potentially more.

Cousins nearing 1,000 yards

Redshirt senior wide receiver Kevin Cousins has been one of the season’s biggest individual success stories, taking a big step forward from an injury-riddled 2008.

Cousins, a transfer from Penn State, suffered through inconsistency and a torn shoulder muscle last season and finished with 301 yards and a touchdown on 25 receptions. His final hurrah has been much different however, as he’s 88 yards shy of the 1,000-yard milestone and has 60 catches and six touchdowns.

Bowl eligible Tartans projected to play in GMAC Bowl

Carnegie Mellon has entered the bowl projections following its sixth win last Saturday, and ESPN projects it to play Central Florida in the GMAC Bowl on Jan. 6, 2010.

If the projection holds up, the Tartans would play the 8-4 Knights in the next-to-last bowl on the schedule. Around the rest of the MAC, projections currently have Buffalo playing BYU in the New Orleans Bowl, #19 Toledo playing Princeton in the Motor City Bowl, Ball State facing Louisiana Tech in the Texas Bowl, and Central Michigan taking on Wake Forest north of the border in the International Bowl.

[sgf83]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

Hopefully the Tartans can get into the MAC Championship and win a bowl game.

[Tyro11]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

Not a typo! I've been implementing about 60-80 real-life players into each recruiting class, whether it be through the traditional create-a-prospect mode, or finding a computer-generated recruit that best fits with a real player's skillset, and editing the name/height/weight/etc to match. I plan on continuing that until present day with the hope that most of these real-life players make the NFL, so that years down the line, the pro ranks aren't filled with just unfamiliar computer-generated names.

Funny enough, Texas Tech actually has Luck, RG3, and Terrelle Pryor as quarterbacks on its roster - three of the 10 (?) prospects I actually created in that class. Bryant's quarterback at Miami is Cam Newton. Even the lesser programs will get legitimate real-life players, like Maryland who has former NFL players Isaiah Pead, Andre Ellington, and Courtney Upshaw on its roster.

Illegal recruiting in Lubbock? Haha Luck, RG3, and Pryor in the same QB group is crazy. What's crazier is you could probably start Luck at QB and the other two at WR and still be pretty damn good

[Careless Whisper]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

Manning ‘Runs’ Towards School and National Glory
Carnegie Mellon’s junior runningback has emerged as a national star and potentially the school’s first NFL Draft pick since 1940



Jim Manning, shown here running over an Eastern Michigan defender, has run for 1,615 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior. (Mark Jefferies / Getty Images)

by Jayson Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- If you manage to catch a glimpse of Jim Manning on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University, chances are that he’s running.

Manning purposely left his car back in his hometown of Reisterstown, Md. this summer, so his form of transportation resides in his size 11 Nikes. That means running to class, running to practice, running to the gym, and running to the Tepper School of Business – where he had been waiting for 10 minutes to start our interview while I looked for parking.

“That’s one of the benefits of not having my car here,” Manning says with a laugh.

His new preference for foot travel isn’t a result of packed parking lots, however. Manning sees it as a way to continually work at his craft, looking at ways to improve after what he considers a “disappointing” sophomore season.

“There were too many times my first two seasons where I felt tired in the fourth quarter,” said Manning. “The stats may suggest that I had a good year, but I didn’t think so. I thought that I fumbled the ball too much, I was winded at the end of games, and I suffered little injuries here and there that forced me out for a couple of series. That was frustrating and I knew going into this season I needed to be better, and I figured (not bringing my car on campus) was an easy way to help me improve.”

It’s a little frightening to consider a 1,396-yard, 10-touchdown second-year campaign disappointing, but Manning’s expectations for himself are higher than you and I’s. Four years ago, he imagined his name at the top of a program’s rushing record books – though that dream school wasn’t the one he landed at.

Turning down a dream
In Manning’s bedroom back at home, the walls aren’t filled with Carnegie Mellon mementos and memorabilia. A single token of his varsity career at Franklin High School hangs by his bed – the red and white number 27 jersey he accumulated 3,624 rushing yards and 39 touchdowns in. But beside it, and on the walls opposite of his bed, are dozens of pictures and posters of another team wearing red and white – Ohio State University.

“I was a big Ohio State fan growing up,” said Manning. “Always wanted to go there. I remember vividly the championship over Miami (Florida) when I was 13, and I still have the recruiting letter Coach (Jim) Tressel sent me. I wear 27 because of Eddie George and tend to model my game around him. I really truly thought I was going to be a Buckeye.”

Manning received a scholarship offer from his dream school after his junior season, where he ran for 1,441 yards and 14 touchdowns while leading Franklin to an 8-2 record. But recruiting sites such as Rivals and Scout weren’t the biggest believers in the six-foot-one, now 205-pound tailback, giving him a three-star grade due to a lack of versatility and explosiveness.

“That was really frustrating, I’m not going to lie,” said Manning of his recruiting rankings. “Just because I didn’t time the best in the 40 or played much of a factor in our passing game at Franklin didn’t mean I couldn’t do those things. I knew my talents and that I could contribute right away wherever I went, but over time it felt like I was becoming less of a priority to most of the teams recruiting me.”

Those teams included Notre Dame, Penn State, Virginia Tech, and numerous other BCS-level schools that had offered Manning between his junior and senior seasons. But he saw that those teams also had offers out to other runningbacks, ones with higher rankings on Rivals and Scouts, and felt like he was more of a luxury rather than a necessity.

“I wasn’t afraid of competition at all,” said Manning. “I just wanted to feel like a priority, like I was going to make an immediate difference. I believed I was better than the guys ranked ahead of me, but as time went on I didn’t think I would be given the chance right away to prove it and would have to settle for a redshirt.”

At the beginning of Manning’s senior year, he received a letter in the mail from an unfamiliar school – Carnegie Mellon. The runningback knew vaguely of the team’s historic leap from NCAA Division III to Division I competition, but after the upper tier schools came knocking at his door, the lower tier ones ended their interest. When he opened up the envelope and saw that it was a scholarship offer, he didn’t think too much of it – that is, until his phone rang literally seconds later.

“It must have been fate when that happened,” said Manning with a chuckle. “But really, I hadn’t given much thought of going to a smaller school once I had offers rolling in. Coach (John) Elliott and the staff just kept reaching out, kept calling, and made me feel wanted and like I was needed to achieve the goals they wanted to achieve. It wasn’t something that clicked right away, but as the weeks went on and I kept getting more messages from CMU rather than the other schools, I found myself becoming more comfortable and excited with the idea of helping build a program from the ground up.”

After being at the Tartans’ 27-24 overtime win over Shippensburg – their only triumph of a 1-11 campaign in 2007 – for his official visit, Manning made it official that he was pursuing a new dream with Carnegie Mellon.

“I just love that it’s only four hours away so that my family can come up every home game,” Manning said in an interview with Rivals reporter Jeff Greenberg after committing. “Their academic reputation is well-regarded, and I believe in what Coach Elliott is building there. I’m excited to be a Tartan.”

“How is this guy here?”
While he was made a priority in recruiting, Manning didn’t immediately become the starting runningback as a freshman. One of the lone bright spots from the Tartans’ 1-11 debut Division I campaign was their rising senior tailback Robert Riley, who rushed for 1,034 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 2006.

“I didn’t like being second fiddle to Robert (Riley) at first,” said Manning. “Especially when I saw all my classmates taking starting jobs right away. The coaches were adamant that it was going to end up as a 50-50 split by midseason and that we needed Robert to be successful. I have a ton of love for him though, because he never looked down on me as this hot-shot freshman or was upset when the coaches named me the starter midway through. He was the perfect mentor and my biggest supporter.”

Manning made his first impact in a wild 22-21 comeback win against Indiana State, scoring on a 52-yard run in the fourth quarter and finishing a yard shy of the century mark on just 10 carries. He dealt with injuries over the next couple of contests before a breakout performance in a 55-54 double-overtime loss to Rhode Island, where he came off the bench to rush for 179 yards and two scores on 31 carries.

“We all knew Jim’s talent even before he stepped on campus but Robert was really good the year before,” said CMU fourth-year head coach John Elliott. “With how young our team was, I felt we needed a veteran leader in the lineup so that’s why I started Robert. But Jim made his presence known really quickly, and after that performance against Rhode Island, it became obvious to both our staff and team that moving him into the starting role would be the best move to win games.”

After having his starting debut delayed with another injury, Manning rewarded the staff with some eye-popping numbers. Outings of 162 yards on 31 carries at McNeese State and 151 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries at Dartmouth were impressive enough, but he saved his best for October 27, 2007 when he rushed for a school record 321 yards and three scores in a come-from-behind 24-21 win over Villanova.

“That was the definition of single-handily winning a game,” said Elliott of Manning’s performance against Villanova. “I think hours after the game ended and the locker room was clear, I was in my office and just said to myself, ‘How is this guy here?’ I’ve never witnessed anything like that in my life. I knew he could play at a higher level than what we were at, but even that performance surpassed my wildest expectations. We were forced to keep calling Jim’s number and he answered the call every single time.”

“He was unbelievable,” added Riley of his successor. “I didn’t want to relinquish the starting job to Jim – I don’t think anyone would in the situation I was in – but I wanted the team to do well and he showed quickly how special of a talent he was. Standing on the sidelines and watching him gash (Villanova) on that day, I never thought for a second that I needed to go in and spell him. It was like watching LaDainian Tomlinson or (Willis) McGahee.”

Despite not starting until the sixth game and missing most of two of those contests due to injuries, Manning finished his first season with 1,291 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, adding a kick return touchdown in the season finale at Idaho State, and earned Sports Network FCS Freshman All-American accolades.

Just run, baby
While his 1,396 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns seem like qualifiers for good sophomore season, Manning knew that his level of play wasn’t where he wanted it to be following Carnegie Mellon’s FBS opener at No. 18 Wisconsin.

“I was just awful,” said Manning of his 3.3 yards-per-carry performance in the 43-10 defeat. “I thought that I had the college game figured out and was going to show the schools that didn’t prioritize me in recruiting what they were missing, but I didn’t have an answer for the speed and strength that Wisconsin’s defense had. Losing three fumbles was just the icing on top of the cake – it made me realize that I had a long way to go in order to be at the level I expected to be at.”

Manning rebounded with three consecutive 100-yard efforts – highlighted by a 286-yard, four-touchdown explosion against Buffalo – but then finished the year with just two more games hitting the century mark. Even though that final six-game stretch came with a 5.3 yards-per-carry mark, it was the lack of carries that stayed on his mind all offseason.

“I want to be that 30-carry-a-game type back,” said Manning. “I want to be the workhorse. I want to be the guy. So when I wasn’t able to do that and was only able to give my team 15 carries here, 20 there, that really frustrated me. I didn’t get myself in the right shape prior to the season in order to be that kind of back, and it forced me out of some drives and games early. My stamina wasn’t where I wanted it to be, and what ate at me more was seeing us as a team struggle and drop game after game. We knew that the first year (moving to the FBS level) was going to be difficult, but that doesn’t mean we were going to accept losing games.”

What came next in January was the simplest of suggestions, almost sounding as of a joke, by new offensive coordinator Jules Nottingham.

“Coach (Jules Nottingham) asked me in the weight room one day how much I ran,” said Manning. “I was a little dumbfounded by the question to be honest, because I’m one to do extra conditioning drills and such after practice. But he was insistent on making that more a part of my daily routine, whether it be getting a few miles in on the treadmill before lift or even joining the track team for a few workouts.”

“I told Jim that he didn’t need to add any more muscle or weight in order to be better,” added Nottingham. “Added muscle wasn’t going to help him stay at his best in the fourth quarter, and he didn’t need to be this 225-pound power back in order to dominate in the conference. I knew his skillset by watching tape and knew that he could bring a unique look to our spread offense if he could just stay on the field longer. As for the whole track thing, I only suggested to join the team for workouts – not actually take part in meets!”

Without any background in the sport, Manning asked CMU track & field head coach Rob Bowers in late January if he could work with the team on off days during spring football practice. Bowers accepted the runningback and let him work primarily in the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles, and in just a month he was suiting up for the Tartans over the remainder of their spring meet schedule, cumulating in third-place finishes in both events at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships.

“You can see right away how gifted of an athlete he is,” said Bowers. “And I figured with his football talents, the best way to help him excel was to have him focus on the hurdles rather than traditional sprinting events. I think because he had no pressure on him with track being an unfamiliar sport, but at the same time there was a clear goal in mind to beat the people you’re racing against. Having a nice balance of this being new to him and performing to the point where there were internal expectations, it allowed him to flourish and really help springboard him into the year he’s having out on the football field.”

Mission accomplished. With a pair of Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championship bronze medals joining the Ohio State memorabilia and car keys at home, Manning left his past internal disappointment in the dust and is running towards a brighter future. He is among the nation’s leaders in rushing yards (1,615) and touchdowns (19) and has shattered previous career highs in catches (32), receiving yards (382), and receiving touchdowns (4). The runningback has failed to produce more than 100 rushing and receiving yards combined only once, and is on a streak of six 100-yard rushing performances in the last seven contests.

With All-America buzz surrounding the junior computational finance major as well as the projections of becoming Carnegie Mellon’s first selection in the NFL Draft in nearly 70 years should he declare early, Manning and his bowl-eligible Carnegie Mellon teammates are perfectly fine slowing down to a jog and enjoying the view around them.

“This season has been so much fun and everything I would ever want from my college experience,” said Manning. “And I know it’s not even close to being over yet.”

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

Love the Manning interview...

[Careless Whisper]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

Love the Manning interview...

Thanks, glad you enjoyed! I wanted to flex some writing muscles and also provide a little background and character, and also a tribute for Manning, especially when I think it's likely he'll declare for the NFL Draft after the season based on his statistics and now 90 OVR rating. I obviously hope he doesn't and sticks around for another year, but based on past history with mid-major runningbacks and coming off big seasons, I'm not very hopeful.

[young22]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

Love that interview! I'm gonna have to do a feature on my guy Henderson when he leaves haha.

[moose141]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

Awesome. Love to see a long read on a guy, really fleshes out the dynasty and gives it so much character to a player who lives just as a bunch of pixels on the screen. Great read, really have to commend you on the depth of bringing CMU's program to life. Always one of my most anticipated reads on here.

[Careless Whisper]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

Love that interview! I'm gonna have to do a feature on my guy Henderson when he leaves haha.

Appreciate it! And you definitely should, if anyone would deserve it in your report it would have to be Henderson (and definitely not Campbell ).

Awesome. Love to see a long read on a guy, really fleshes out the dynasty and gives it so much character to a player who lives just as a bunch of pixels on the screen. Great read, really have to commend you on the depth of bringing CMU's program to life. Always one of my most anticipated reads on here.

Much appreciated, thank you for the kind words. While it's easy to report on just games, recruiting, and stuff going on around the nation, it is never my intention to do just that. I enjoy creating this unique universe and both rewriting history as well as giving the school and its (pixelated) players some life. I like throwing these kind of stories into the mix, whether it be a player feature or a newspaper column, in hopes of not letting the report be so cut-and-dry, and definitely have more ideas planned for future seasons!

[Careless Whisper]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

by Jeff Greenberg, Carnegie Mellon insider for Rivals.com

Bracey, Mikulec give soft verbals to Carnegie Mellon

Carnegie Mellon received soft verbal commitments from three-star cornerback Richard Bracey (North Madison, Ohio) and offensive tackle Jim Mikulec (Plum, Pa.) after their official visits over the weekend, but both will take official visits to Michigan this weekend.

Bracey, a five-foot-eleven, 175-pound defensive back from Madison High School, now has the Tartans as the favorite for his services, with Iowa and Michigan trailing. He still plans on taking all his official visits, with a trip to Iowa City looming following this weekend’s move to Ann Arbor.

Mikulec, a six-foot-two, 290-pound offensive lineman from Plum High School, also moved CMU to the top spot in his list of schools, with Michigan and Alabama trailing. Sources say it is a two-school race however, with the Crimson Tide not factoring into Mikulec’s final decision.

McMillian keeps Tartans third after official visit

Three-star wide receiver Jake McMillan (Seven Oaks, S.C.) enjoyed his official visit to Carnegie Mellon over the weekend, but the school did not move up from its third position in his recruiting lit.

McMillan, a six-foot-two, 195-pound target from Irmo high School, was impressed with the way CMU treated his parents on his official visit, but doesn’t feel like the school offers the same opportunities his other two finalists, Georgia and Miami (Fla.), do. He plans on taking official visits to both schools in the coming weeks before making his commitment.

Shaw spurns Tartans, commits to Iowa

Carnegie Mellon lost out on one of its soft verbals over the weekend when three-star defensive tackle Chris Shaw (Celina, Ohio) gave his commitment to Iowa.

Shaw, a six-foot-five, 316-pound defensive lineman from Celina High School, had visited the Tartans on Oct. 31 and gave a soft commitment afterward, while still planning to take his other official visits. He was in Iowa City last Saturday for the Hawkeyes’ 27-20 win over Minnesota, and contacted the coaches at CMU and Wisconsin shortly after to let them know he was making his commitment to Iowa.

Final home game for eight seniors this weekend

Carnegie Mellon will recognize the careers of eight senior football players as part of Senior Day festivities before its game against Buffalo on Saturday.

Quarterback Alex Smith (no stats), wide receivers Kevin Cousins (60 catches, 912 yards, 6 TD), Jeremy Miller (1 catch, 12 yards), and Kurt Thompson (13 catches, 112 yards), tight end Parker Jacobs (1 catch, 12 yards), offensive tackle Cory Minor (no stats), and defensive tackles Walter Hunter (1 tackle) and Terrance Knox (no stats) will be playing the final home game of their careers.

Cousins has been the most productive player of that bunch, accumulating 85 catches for 1,213 yards and seven touchdowns in his two seasons with the Tartans. Smith has played in nine games over his career, starting five of them as a freshman in 2006. He has thrown for 705 yards on 83-of-171 passing, one touchdown, nine interceptions, and a 74.6 quarterback rating while at CMU.

Carnegie Mellon In-Season Recruiting Targets
Jabari London, FS, *** (6’0”, 191 lbs.; South Laurel, Md. / Laurel) – Soft Verbal
- Carnegie Mellon, Vanderbilt, Bowling Green
Jim Mikulec, OT, *** (6’2”, 290 lbs.; Plum, Pa. / Plum) – Soft Verbal
- Carnegie Mellon, Michigan, Alabama
Richard Bracey, CB, *** (5’11”, 175 lbs.; North Madison, Ohio / Madison) – Soft Verbal
- Carnegie Mellon, Iowa, Michigan
Jake McMillan, WR, *** (6’2”, 195 lbs.; Seven Oaks, S.C. / Irmo) – Top 3
- Georgia, Miami (Fla.), Carnegie Mellon
Chris Shaw, DT, *** (6’5”, 316 lbs.; Celina, Ohio / Celina) – Removed (Verbal to Iowa)
David Jones, TE, *** (6’4”, 252 lbs.; Louisville, Miss. / Louisville) – Removed (Verbal to Florida State)
Steven Ellis, DE, *** (6’6”, 225 lbs.; Shelby, Ohio / Shelby) – Removed (Verbal to Notre Dame)
Patrick Weaver, WR, *** (6’2”, 190 lbs.; Booneville, Miss. / Booneville) – Removed (Verbal to Texas)
Kaleb Harris, HB, *** (5’11”, 200 lbs.; Cheviot, Ohio / Colerain) – Removed (Verbal to Wisconsin)
John Hughes, QB, *** (6’4”, 232 lbs.; Athens, Ohio / Athens) – Removed (Verbal to Wisconsin)
Clay Blanco, WR, *** (6’4”, 190 lbs.; Holbrook, Ariz. / Holbrook) – Removed
Orlando Johnson, OT, *** (6’2”, 273 lbs.; Landen, Ohio / Landen) – Removed
Hunter Williams, G, *** (6’2”, 286 lbs.; Cumberland, Md. / Fort Hill) – Removed
Jon Rice, TE, *** (6’4”, 231 lbs.; Santa Barbara, Calif. / Ventura) – Removed
Kevin Stanley, OT, *** (6’2”, 290 lbs.; Washington, D.C. / St. John’s) – Removed

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

Even with your success on the field this year, it sucks to see you still struggling to land very many in-season recruits. However it's nice to know besides the loss of Cousin (maybe Manning) you have a most of your key contributors coming back.

[Careless Whisper]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

Even with your success on the field this year, it sucks to see you still struggling to land very many in-season recruits. However it's nice to know besides the loss of Cousin (maybe Manning) you have a most of your key contributors coming back.

I don't get it, but I'm not necessarily upset about it. Usually winning allows me to snag more recruits, but I haven't been able to get any solid verbals after my official visits. I try to score the first official visit for guys in hopes of ending their recruitment then and there, but maybe I should have tried to be the second visit for a few of these guys. Weird to think I may not end up with a single in-season commitment, but I'm all for this being a challenge and not a guarantee that I gain X amount of commitments just because I'm having a successful season.

[Careless Whisper]

Re: The Rise of the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (NCAA Football 07)

at
Buffalo Bulls (6-5, 3-4 MAC) at Carnegie Mellon Tartans (6-5, 5-2 MAC)
Saturday, November 28, 2009 | 12:30 PM (ET)
Pittsburgh, Pa. – Gesling Stadium | FSN Pittsburgh

Team Overview (C- overall, C offense, C- defense)
Buffalo reached bowl eligibility last week with a 30-20 win over Eastern Michigan after previously winning just twice over a seven-game stretch. The Bulls opened the year 3-0 with blowouts over Cornell (41-17), Duquesne (63-10), and Brown (45-7), but a 14-10 defeat at Princeton kickstarted the team’s current run of form.

Wake Forest transfer Brett Hodges (123.6 QB rtg., 205-356, 2,315 yards, 19 TD, 11 INT; 70 carries, 314 yards, 4 TD) has been solid in his final season of eligibility, and the offense hasn’t struggled much with the loss of fifth-year senior James Starks (96 carries, 539 yards, 5 TD) to a broken jaw. Senior Brandon Thermilus (86 carries, 568 yards, 5 TD; 10 catches, 189 yards, 1 TD) has done a good job replacing him, and freshman Daniel Williamson (54 catches, 609 yards, 10 TD) is having an outstanding rookie season at wide receiver. Redshirt junior Skyler Hagg (64 catches, 769 yards, 3 TD) is Hodges’ top target alongside Williamson and fellow first-year James Carter (35 catches, 281 yards, 1 TD).

The defense is led by redshirt senior cornerback Kendric Hawkins (29 tackles, 5 INT, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 TD), who could end up on an All-MAC team after the season. Fifth-year defensive end Dane Robinson (36 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 FF) is a threat off the edge, and sophomore Thomas Bratton (22 tackles, 1 sack) has played well in the interior over the last few weeks. The linebacker group is guided by sophomore playmaker Ben Mann (51 tackles, 2 INT, 3 FF), and redshirt freshman Justin Hansbro (18 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF, 1 TD) reenters the starting lineup with the injury to senior Justin Winters (50 tackles, 1 sack, 2 INT, 1 FF).

Buffalo’s specialists are both in their freshman seasons with first-year kicker Jason Franklin (12-21 FG, 37-37 XP) and second-year punter Dominique Nicholson (49 punts, 1,992 yards, 40.7 avg., 19 inside 20) – the latter replacing last year’s starter Dustin Parsons in the preseason. Hagg (28 kick returns, 564 yards; 25 punt returns, 290 yards) is the team’s top returner.

Season Results
09/05 | CORNELL | W, 41-17
09/12 | DUQUESNE | W, 63-10
09/19 | at Brown | W, 45-7
09/26 | at Princeton | L, 10-14
10/03 | at Western Michigan * | W, 21-14
10/10 | AKRON * | L, 21-34
10/17 | BOWLING GREEN * | L, 30-44
10/24 | at Toledo * | L, 6-37
10/31 | OHIO * | W, 24-10
11/14 | at Kent State * | L, 28-38
11/19 | EASTERN MICHIGAN * | W, 30-20

PFF Top Five
Kendric Hawkins, R-Sr., CB (86)
Brett Hodges, R-Sr., QB (84)
Skyler Hagg, R-Jr., WR (82)
Mike Newton, R-Sr., SS (82)
Dane Robinson, R-Sr., DE (82)

Injury Report
Buffalo: James Starks, R-Sr., HB (broken jaw – 1 week); Justin Winters, Sr., MLB (pulled groin – 2 weeks)
Carnegie Mellon: Jon Crowell, R-Fr., CB (torn shoulder muscle – 5 weeks)

Suspensions
Buffalo: Jared Cook, Fr., OT (team rules – 1 game); Jabari Long, Jr., DT (team rules – 1 game)
Carnegie Mellon: Brandon Brewer, So., FB (academics – season)