Tartans to Play Salisbury in ECAC Legacy Bowl

Game Notes - pdf

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team will play Salisbury University in the 2016 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Legacy Bowl Championship Sunday, November 20. Kick is set for 11:00 a.m. on the turf at Franklin Field on the campus of University of Pennsylvania, who are serving as host in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Carnegie Mellon enters the contest with a record of 7-3 after finishing the regular season with five straight wins. In Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play, the Tartans finished tied for third with a mark of 6-2 while the Cardinal and Gray won their 10th University Athletic Association (UAA) championship after defeating Case Western Reserve University, 26-21, in the 31st Academic Bowl on Saturday, November 12.

The Tartans are led on the ground by the nation's third leading rusher and two-time PAC Offensive Player of the Year, junior Sam Benger (Hingham, Mass.). Benger has rushed for 1,581 yards this season and 23 touchdowns, breaking his previous single-season school record of 22 set last season. In the Tartans win over Case Western Reserve, Benger became the school's all-time leading rusher and has rushed for 4,243 yards for his career.

Salisbury ended its regular season with the identical mark of the Tartans at 7-3 and finished tied for third in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) with a record of 6-3.  

Offensively, the Sea Gulls are led on the ground by a trio of backs. Senior Ryan Kolb leads the team with 810 yards and four touchdowns and averages 10.0 yards per carry. Classmate Connor Canonico has rushed for 752 yards and nine scores while quarterback Ryan Jones has run for 539 yards and seven touchdowns. Jones has also passed for 856 yards and tossed nine touchdowns.   

When the teams collide on the gridiron Sunday, the Tartans will look to defend their Legacy Bowl title from last year when they defeated Bridgewater State, 48-13, in New Britain, Connecticut.