[Careless Whisper]

Topsy-Turvy Tartans Escape Detroit as MAC Champions
No. 23 Carnegie Mellon turned the ball over seven times, but scored the game’s final 10 points to claim its first MAC title



Left: Tartans cornerback Jon Crowell outraces the Eastern Michigan special teams on his momentum-shifting 78-yard punt return touchdown in the third quarter. /
Right: Heisman Trophy favorite Eddie Williams turns the corner on what would be the game-winning score for CMU. (Marie Thompson / Getty Images)

by Jayson Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter

DETROIT, Mich. -- All week leading up to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship Game, the message from Carnegie Mellon head coach Jules Nottingham was simple: “Remember 2009. Don’t take your opponent lightly.”

Three years ago in Detroit, Carnegie Mellon was the team that was dismissed by undefeated Toledo, but the underdog Tartans controlled the game until the very end where the Rockets’ talent won out. Tonight, the roles were reversed, as it was MAC West Division runner-up Eastern Michigan throwing haymaker after haymaker, but in the end No. 23 Carnegie Mellon secured its first MAC championship with a 34-28 victory over the Eagles.

Carnegie Mellon (12-1, 8-0 MAC) never trailed Eastern Michigan (5-8, 5-3 MAC) by more than four points over the course of the contest, but seven turnovers gave it a mountain to climb. The Tartans tossed five interceptions, fumbled the ball away twice, and was stopped on fourth down twice as a part of their mistakes – however, their defense forced six turnovers, and as mistake-prone as their offense was, they held a distinct 35:15 to 24:45 advantage in time of possession that limited the Eagles’ opportunities.

“Certainly not the way we thought the game would go, but we’re obviously satisfied with the result,” said Nottingham. “There were a lot of nerves out there and all the credit goes out to Eastern Michigan for how they played. If this game was played the exact same way nine more times, chances are (Eastern Michigan) would have come out with the win more often than not. We’re thrilled to have achieved our goal of MAC champions and look to finish this season on a high note in the bowl.”

The game’s plot was hinted at on CMU’s opening drive as Lawrence McIntire was stuffed on fourth down from the EMU 34-yard line. The defense responded with a pair of clutch sacks by Matt Butler and Nathan Ford to force the Eagles into a turnover on downs, but Kevin Wilson threw his first interception on the very next play to give EMU the ball on the Tartans’ 25-yard line.

The Eagles returned the favor with Tom Bowie’s first of four picks on the night, with Jabari London snagging his first of two at his team’s four-yard line. Wilson then dug his offense out of a hole by connecting with Travis Sledge for 39 yards, and four plays later he found McIntire on a wheel route for a 38-yard touchdown to make it 7-0.

Wilson’s second interception came on an underthrow to begin the second quarter, but CMU’s defense held strong and forced a three-and-out. The senior then extended a drive with a 48-yard pass to Eddie Williams on third down, but the trek ended up scoreless when Gerald Culver was stopped on fourth down from the EMU seven-yard line. The Eagles responded with an eight-play, 93-yard journey ending in a Maurice Kearney 10-yard run with 1:14 remaining in the half, and Wilson threw pick number three at the end of the frame on an overthrow to Williams.

Williams made a rare error on the first Tartans drive of the second half, fumbling the ball on a jet sweep with EMU taking over at the CMU 49-yard line. Three plays later, the Eagles were ahead 14-7 when Bowie found Quintin Johnson for a 35-yard touchdown. That seemed to wake up the MAC East Division champions, with Joseph Love’s 35-yard field goal followed by a 78-yard punt return touchdown by Jon Crowell and a 66-yard pick six from little-used cornerback Aaron Webb to swing the score in favor of the Tartans, 24-14, with 12:47 left in regulation.

That lead lasted all of 28 seconds. EMU scored on its next offensive play, as Bowie took advantage of blown coverage to find Erik Davis for a 78-yard score. McIntire then fumbled on CMU’s ensuing possession, and Bowie hooked up with Matt Dowdell for a 16-yard touchdown to make it 28-24 in favor of the Eagles with 12:19 on the clock.

The Tartans regrouped after the momentum swing, slowly churning out a 10-play, 70-yard drive capped by a Williams four-yard touchdown run on the jet sweep, making it 31-28 CMU. Webb then collected his second career interception to set the Tartans up inside the red zone, only for Wilson to throw his fifth interception and give EMU a lifeline.

Bowie converted a pair of third downs to put the Eagles on the CMU half of the field, but Matt Burnsides made sure his only tackle of the game was an important one, forcing and recovering a fumble on Kearney. The Tartans tacked on a 25-yard field goal from Love with 1:46 remaining, and on EMU’s ensuing kickoff return, Tim Wright punched the ball out and it was recovered by Graham Taylor to seal the game.

Williams finished the evening with 158 yards on 12 receptions and the game-winning touchdown run, breaking the NCAA single-season and career receiving yards marks in the process. Sledge was also over the century mark in receiving yards, compiling 103 on six catches.

“There is no one more deserving of the Heisman Trophy than Eddie Williams,” added Nottingham in his post-game interview on ESPN. “He has proven time and time again that he is the best player in America and dominates no matter what level the competition is. A 12-catch game with one touchdown is a quiet game by his standards, and yet he was able to deliver when it mattered the most.”

Wilson finished with 325 yards passing on 22-of-44 attempts with his first-quarter touchdown and five interceptions. Bowie had 288 passing yards on 13-of-28 attempts, three scores, and four picks.

The MAC title is Carnegie Mellon’s 15th conference championship in program history, and its first since it won the University Athletic Association (UAA) title in 1997.

The No. 23-ranked Tartans and their 12-1 record will now await their bowl fate, which is to be determined tomorrow.

Eastern Michigan Eagles at Carnegie Mellon Tartans
Dec 8, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Eastern Michigan Eagles (5-8, 5-3 MAC)	0	7	7	14	28
#23 Carnegie Mellon Tartans (12-1, 8-0 MAC)	7	0	10	17	34

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		EMU	CMU
1:23	(CMU) Kevin Wilson 38-yard pass to Lawrence McIntire (Joseph Love kick)	0	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		EMU	CMU
1:14	(EMU) Maurice Kearney 10-yard run (Corey Thomas kick)	7	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		EMU	CMU
9:48	(EMU) Tom Bowie 35-yard pass to Quintin Johnson (Corey Thomas kick)	14	7
4:55	(CMU) Joseph Love 35-yard field goal	14	10
2:53	(CMU) Jon Crowell 78-yard punt return (Joseph Love kick)	14	17
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		EMU	CMU
12:47	(CMU) Aaron Webb 66-yard interception return (Joseph Love kick)	14	24
12:34	(EMU) Tom Bowie 78-yard pass to Erik Davis (Corey Thomas kick)	21	24
12:19	(EMU) Tom Bowie 16-yard pass to Matt Dowdell (Corey Thomas kick)	28	24
6:20	(CMU) Eddie Williams 4-yard run (Joseph Love kick)	28	31
1:46	(CMU) Joseph Love 25-yard field goal	28	34

Eastern Michigan Eagles PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tom Bowie 13/28 288 3 4 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Maurice Kearney 15 95 6.3 1 Billy Young 1 -3 -3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Erik Davis 4 131 32.7 1 Quintin Johnson 3 105 35.0 1 Brian Thomas 3 15 5.0 0 Matt Dowdell 2 30 15.0 1 Lou Benson 1 7 7.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Hassan Gold 8 0 0 0 Ryan Ealy 6 0 1 0 Chase Ogletree 6 0 0 0 Ryan Bentley 5 0 0 0 Sam Miller 5 1 0 0 Brendan Bridges 4 0 2 0 Vincent Gaddis 3 0 1 0 David Warren 3 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Corey Thomas 0/0 4/4 4 -- PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Mark Fields 4 172 43.0 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Brian Thomas 3 62 20.6 0 Tony Miller 2 39 19.5 0 Erik Davis 2 38 19.0 0

Carnegie Mellon Tartans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Kevin Wilson 22/44 325 1 5 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Lawrence McIntire 13 28 2.1 0 Eddie Williams 4 21 5.2 1 Gerald Culver 3 9 3.0 0 Jeff Gilmore 1 8 8.0 0 Clay Armstrong 2 6 3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Eddie Williams 12 158 13.1 0 Travis Sledge 6 103 17.1 0 Lawrence McIntire 2 40 20.0 1 Chris Smith 2 24 12.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Jabari London 7 0 2 0 Zac Hood 6 1 0 0 Matt Butler 5 1 0 0 Graham Taylor 4 0 0 0 Brandon Williams 3 0 0 0 Aaron Webb 2 0 2 1 Nathan Ford 1 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Joseph Love 2/2 4/4 10 35 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Kyle Holland 4 70 17.5 0 Jeff Gilmore 1 50 50.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Jon Crowell 3 106 35.3 1