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“We did not come out and produce on the offensive end today,” said Washington University head coach Larry Kindbom. “This is a tough loss for our football team, but we played hard today.”
Carnegie Mellon picked up the game’s only points of the first quarter after Clay Crites sacked junior quarterback Buck Smith in the end zone on a play-action pass for a safety.
Washington U, which ranks third in Division III in turnovers gained, capitalized on a CMU turnover to set up the Bear’s first score of the game. Five plays later, freshman Jim O’Brien scampered in from two-yards out to make it 7-2 with 13:47 left in the second quarter.
The Bears attempted a fake punt inside on their own 46-yard line, but CMU’s defense swarmed on it and took over possession on the 43. Washington U.’s defense though stopped Carnegie Mellon on WU’s 12-yard line, holding fullback Travis Sivek to just his third negative rush of the season.
Washington U.’s defense was the story in the first half, holding the nation’s 12th leading rushing team (279.0 ypg) to 103 yards on 31 carries. The Bears' offense struggled compiling just 133 yards of total offense in the first half. Senior Tyler McSparin had 10 tackles for the Bears in the first half. Carnegie Mellon had a 17:42-12:18 advantage in time of possession in a first half, which took just 58 minutes.
Carnegie Mellon blocked a punt by junior Tommy Bawden early in the third quarter, and was recovered by the Tartans at the WU 28-yard line. Eight plays later, Sivek scored from one-yard out to make it 8-7.
 On the Tartans next possession, CMU ran it 10-straight times before Phil Pantalone connected with Jeremy Doo for a 40-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 15-7 with 1:00 left in the third. The Tartans added another score when Colin Marks drilled a 20-yard field goal to make it 18-7.
A 39-yard pass from Smith to freshman Tom Gulyas set up a one-yard touchdown run by O’Brien to trim the lead to 18-13 with 4:07 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Sivek finished the day with 122 yards on 36 carries as Carnegie Mellon won its second-straight game against Washington U., and improved its all-time record against the Bears to 14-11. He also became just the ninth player in the last 88 games to rush for more than 100 yards.
Sophomore Andrew Berryman recorded a career-high 23 tackles in the loss, including 20 assisted stops. McSparin added a career-best 16 tackles, while senior Michael Elliott added a career-high 15 stops.
The Tartans outgained Washington U. 291-286 in total offense, including a 215-96 advantage on the ground. O’Brien had a nice showing running for a career-high 59 yards on 13 carries, while Smith completed 16-of-27 passes for 163 yards.
Washington University wraps up UAA play at Case Western Reserve University (8-0, 2-0 UAA) on Sat., Nov. 3, at Noon (ET) in Cleveland, Ohio. A victory at Case Western Reserve would make it a three-way tie for the UAA championship.
  
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