Sep 07, 2024
(GREENVILLE, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team, ranked 22nd, traveled to Greenville, Pennsylvania, Saturday afternoon for a season opening contest against the Thiel College Tomcats. This President's Athletic Conference (PAC) game saw the Tartans controlling the whole game with a deep offense and their typical stonewall defense, as they left Greenville with a 58-0 win.
Game Information
Carnegie Mellon 58, Thiel 0
Records: Carnegie Mellon (1-0, 1-0 PAC), Thiel (0-1, 0-1 PAC)
Location: Greenville, Pa. (Alumni Stadium)
How it Happened
- Carnegie Mellon's special teams struck early in the first quarter with a tackle for loss against Thiel punter and strong safety Zach Smith to set the Tartans offense up at the Thiel 10-yard line.
- Tartan junior kicker Justin Caputo opened the scoring with a 27-yard field goal to make the score 3-0 with 11:34 to go in the first quarter.
- Thiel senior kick returner and wide receiver Chase Lawler muffed the ensuing kick-off and the Cardinal and Gray recovered the ball at the Thiel 15-yard line.
- Carnegie Mellon graduate student running back Tre Vasiliadis put the Tartan's first touchdown of the season on the board with a 4-yard rush to make the lead 10-0 with 10:34 left in the first.
- Graduate student quarterback Ben Mills quickly connected with sophomore wide receiver Brendan McCullough on three consecutive drives, with passes of 33, 34 and 21 yards to put the Tartans ahead 30-0 at the 12:50 mark of the second quarter.
- Two rushing touchdowns on consecutive possessions for the Tartans from junior quarterback Joey McGinnis IV extend the Tartans' lead to 44-0 with 7:14 in the second quarter. McGinnis' scores came from 1-yard and 3-yards out.
- Mills tacked on another touchdown pass with a 15-yard laser to sophomore wide receiver Reece Kolke, who caught his first career touchdown pass. The score extended the lead to 51-0 with 2:46 left in the half.
- Before the end of the first half, a misplaced Thiel deep snap was recovered by the Tartans at the Thiel 10-yard line, setting up Vasiliadis to find the endzone once again on a gritty 8-yard rush to put the Tartans up 58-0 at the break.
- In the fourth quarter, the Tartans defense stood strong as the held the Tomcats out of the endzone after having first and goal at th 1-yard line to preserve the shutout.
Stats
- The Carnegie Mellon and Thiel offenses played an even 59 downs a piece, with the Tartans outgaining the Tomcats 313-75, 216 yards coming in the first half.
- The Tartans defense held the Tomcats two yards rushing.
- Mills lead the Tartans in passing with 159 yards on 9-of-14, along with four touchdowns.
- McCullough led the Tartans receivers with a career-high 109 yards and three touchdowns on five receptions.
- Vasiliadis and McGinnis IV led the Tartans on the ground by tallying two touchdowns a piece with 42 yards on nine carries and 19 yards on four carries, respectively.
- Graduate student linebacker Thomas Coury led the Tartans with eight tackles. Graduate student defensive back Adrian Williams and junior linebacker Connor Warren each tallied seven in the win. Coury finished the game with 3.5 TFLs and 0.5 sacks, as well.
- Besides Caputo's 27-yard field goal, the junior converted 7-of-8 on point after attempts, as the lone miss being from on a block by Thiel senior defensive lineman Luke Faber.
- Thiel had 13 penalties for 89 lost yards compared to Carnegie Mellon's four for 35 lost yards.
Game Notes
- Carnegie Mellon leads the all-time series 37-11-2.
- The Tartans have won nine straight contests over the Tomcats.
- The Tartans have seven shutouts over the last five seasons.
- The Tartans have now won eight straight contests.
- The Tartans have won 21 straight games when winning the takeaway battle.
- Mills moved into third in program history in career passing yards and now has 5,423 for his career.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ryan Larsen
- "I'm really proud of how our guys competed today! We challenged them to focus on the turnover battle, winning on special teams, and limiting pre/post snap penalties; and especially in the first half we accomplished all three goals. What is most exciting is we truly believe we can play better and have plenty to learn from after today. We cannot wait to get back to work and play in front of our fans at home next week, where we will honor Coach Lackner on the Lackner Field naming game!"
Up Next
- Carnegie Mellon will open its home schedule on Saturday, September 14 with a 1:00 p.m. kick against Geneva College.