Football Looks for 500th Win on Homecoming Against Washington University

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team returns home Saturday, October 29 to face Washington University on homecoming weekend for a 12:00 p.m. kickoff.  The Tartans will take the field looking for the program's 500th win, as well as picking up the homecoming win.

The Tartans' loss to the nationally-ranked Tigers of Wittenberg University last Saturday was a close one, 27-23, and head coach Rich Lackner's team will be looking to bounce back against the Bears.

Saturday's meeting will be the first for both teams in University Athletic Association (UAA) play and pits the two most successful programs in the conference historically against each other.  Carnegie Mellon and Washington have combined to win or share 13 of the 21 titles since the conference sponsored football at the start of the 1990 season.

The Bears hold a one game advantage over the Tartans in conference openers.  Washington is 15-6 in openers and Carnegie Mellon is 14-7, however all six of Washington's losses have came at the hands of the Cardinal and Gray.

The game also matches two long-tenured coaches who sit in the top ten in wins for Division III active head coaches.  Lackner has 174 wins and is tied for seventh, while Washington's head coach Larry Kindbom is tenth with 169 victories.

Once again, Carnegie Mellon's offense will rely on the legs of its 15th nationally-ranked running attack that has averaged 258 yards per game.  The Bears are statistically strong at stopping the run.  Coming into Saturday's game, they have allowed an average of 122 rushing yards per game, which is the 25th best rush defense in Division III football.

Lackner discussed the ending of Saturday's loss to nationally-ranked Wittenberg, and his keys to beating the Tartans' first conference foe of 2011.