Strong Second Half and Special Teams Play Lifts #15 Tartans to a 30-27 OT Win at Washington & Jefferson

(WASHINGTON, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team, ranked 15th nationally, traveled to Washington, Pennsylvania, to play the Presidents of Washington & Jefferson College Saturday afternoon. The Tartans erased a 19-point halftime deficit to leave Cameron Stadium with a 30-27 overtime victory.

Game Information
Carnegie Mellon 30, W&J 27
Records: Carnegie Mellon (4-0, 4-0 PAC), W&J (3-1, 3-1 PAC)
Location: Washington, Pa. (Cameron Stadium)

How it Happened

• Carnegie Mellon opened the scoring with a 31-yard field goal from junior kicker Justin Caputo, to cap a 13-play, 43-yard drive eating up 5:23 going up 3-0 with 8:01 in the first quarter.
• Following a forced fumble, W&J responded with a 14-yard touchdown strike from senior quarterback Jacob Pugh to junior wide receiver John Peduzzi and led 7-3 at the 3:11 mark.
• Following a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, the Presidents capped another short drive with a 39-yard field goal by junior kicker Deven Wyandt to extend the lead to 10-3 to close the quarter.
• W&J struck again with an 11-yard touchdown run from senior running back Owen Petrisek, finishing a 7-play, 67-yard drive of 3:08 to further extend the lead to 17-3 with 12:35 left in half.
• On a W&J punt situation with 8:52 left in the half, a high snap led the punter out of bounds to give the Tartans a safety, closing the gap to 17-5 with 8:52 left in the half.
• The Presidents struck again before the end of the first half. The score came on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Pugh to junior wide receiver Jacob Macosko to cap a six-play, 60-yard drive of 1:26 to go up 24-5 at the break.
• Carnegie Mellon opened the second half with an 84-yard touchdown strike from graduate student quarterback Ben Mills to sophomore wide receiver Reece Kolke, quickly capping a two-play, 86-yard drive of 33 seconds to close the gap to 24-12 at the 14:19 mark in the third quarter.
• The Tartans would get their second safety of the game off an offensive holding call in President's endzone, cutting the lead to 24-14 with 3:35 left in the third quarter.
• Two plays after the safety, the Tartans would find the endzone on a 36-yard touchdown pass, once again from Mills to Kolke, to further close the gap to 24-21 to round out the third quarter.
• The Tartans cleared the deficit off a 28-yard field goal from Caputo to tie the game at 24-24 with 9:37 left in the game.
• With 5:39 left in the game, W&J attempted a 28-yard field goal which was blocked by Carnegie Mellon graduate student linebacker Logan Young, turning the ball over to the Tartans at their own 11-yard line.
• Four plays later, the Tartans were forced to punt the ball back to the Presidents' 48-yard line with just under four minutes left in the game.
• After a series of defensive stops, the fourth quarter closed at 24-24, sending the Tartans and the Presidents into overtime.
• W&J would score first on a 29-yard field goal from Wyandt to put the Presidents up 27-24.
• Carnegie Mellon would strike back on its second play in overtime. Mills connected with Kolke for a third touchdown of the afternoon. This time a 20-yard strike, ending the game with a 30-27 victory.

Stats

• Carnegie Mellon outgained W&J 376-366 in total offense.
• Kolke turned in a career day with 162 receiving yards on five completions along with three touchdowns to lead the Tartans receiving corps.
• Mills ended the game passing for 218 yards on 13-24 completions and three touchdowns, along with an interception. He added 50 yards on the ground. Mills also took care of punting duties, averaging 45.2 yards on six punts with a long of 59. He also placed three punts inside the Presidents 20-yard line, including two inside the 5-yard line.
• Tartan graduate student running back Tre Vasiliades led the Tartans on the ground with 96 yards on 24 rushes.
• Tartans graduate student defensive back Adrian Williams and graduate student linebacker Robert Coury led the defense with nine tackles each.
• Senior defensive back Nolan Pitsenberger ended with eight tackles.
• Caputo finished the game connecting on both his field goals and extra points.

Game Notes

• The Tartans lead the all-time series 37-31-5.
• The win marked the fifth straight for the Cardinal and Gray over the Presidents.
• It was the 17th overtime game played in program history for the Tartans. They now have an 8-9 record in overtime games.
• The overtime game was the first for the Tartans since the 2018 season. Carnegie Mellon defeated Case Western Reserve University 29-23 in Cleveland.
• The loss for W&J snapped its nine-game home winning streak.
• The 162 yards receiving for Kolke is the first 100-yard receiving game of his career. His three touchdowns are mark his first multi touchdown game of his career.
• The last safety recorded by the Tartans was October 23, 2021, against Thiel.
• The Tartans have won 13 straight contests when scoring first.
• The Tartans have an 11-game winning streak.
• Mills tied the career passing touchdown mark and has 56 for his career.
• Mills ranks second in program history with 6,011 career passing yards. He needs 626 more to become the all-time leader.
• Vasiliadis ranks third in program history in career rushing yards with 3,034.

Thoughts From Head Coach Ryan Larsen

• "In a game that lived up to all the expectations of being a great battle between two great teams, I couldn't be more proud of our effort, execution, and energy. All three phases came up huge in the second half, when it mattered most, and a game like this is one we will all remember for a long time. We will enjoy the victory for 24 hours, then onto Waynesburg!"

Up Next

• Carnegie Mellon will host Waynesburg University on Saturday, October 5. Kick is set for 7:00 p.m. on the turf of Richard M. Lackner Field at Gesling Stadium. The game will be the 12th Annual Cindy Lackner Game.