#17 Tartans Win Inaugural Centennial Contest 56-7 Over McDaniel

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team, ranked 17th nationally, competed in its inaugural Centennial Conference (CC) contest on Saturday when the Green Terror of McDaniel College traveled to Pittsburgh. The Tartans defeated the Green Terror 56-7 and are now 3-1 overall and 1-0 in CC play while the Green Terror move to 1-3, 0-1.

Game Information
#17 Carnegie Mellon 56, McDaniel 7
Records: Carnegie Mellon (3-1, 1-0 CC), McDaniel (1-3, 0-1 CC)
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. (Richard M. Lackner Field at Gesling Stadium)

How it Happened

• With three minutes left in the first quarter, freshman quarterback Mark Wamhoff capped off a seven-play, 59-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run out of the wildcat formation.
• After the Tartans held McDaniel to a three-and-out, it took them six plays to extend the lead to 14-0 with 14:13 to play in the first half. The score came when senior quarterback Joey McGinnis IV connected with junior Reece Kolke on a 12-yard pass.
• The score was pushed to 21-0 five minutes later when senior Shadrak Agyei found the end zone on a 4-yard run,
• On the second play of the Green Terror next possession, Tartans defensive back junior DJ Johnson stepped right in front of the intended receiver and returned an interception to the house pushing the score to 28-0 with 8:12 on the clock in the second quarter.
• Before the end of the half, the Tartans made the score 42-0 with another 1-yard run by Wamhoff and a McGinnis IV 20-yard touchdown throw to junior Brendan McCullough.
• The start of the second half began with a 73-yard kickoff return for freshman Nick McCullough. Four plays later, graduate student Jake Langdon ran it in from four yards away to make the score 49-0.
• The Tartans final points of the afternoon occurred two plays on McDaniel's ensuing possession. Sophomore Robert Sturges recorded a forced sack fumble on the Green Terror 2-yard line and then junior Gabe Bonnet jumped on the ball in the end zone to give the Cardinal and Gray a 56-0 advantage.
• McDaniel scored its only touchdown in the last ten seconds of the game off a 2-yard run by Micajah Cobbs.

Stats

• Carnegie Mellon recorded 436 yards of total offense with 106 coming from the ground while McDaniel finished the game with 172 yards of total offense.
• The Tartans defense held the Green Terror to -4 yards rushing and recorded 13 tackles for a loss, including six sacks.
• McGinnis IV threw for a career-high 278 yards on 11-of-14 and two touchdowns in a little over two quarters of play.
• Kolke and Brendan McCullough both had a total of four receptions for the Tartans with Kolke recording 129 yards and a score and McCullough having 99 yards and a touchdown.
• Sturges recorded a career-high five tackles and 3.0 sacks for a loss of 46 yards while he forced a fumble and had two quarterback hurries.  
• Junior Josh Huffman recorded a career-high six tackles while junior Amani Tchamwa tied a career-high with five tackles.

Game Notes

• This was the first meeting between the two institutions on the gridiron.
• Carnegie Mellon has won 23 straight games when scoring a special teams or defensive touchdown
• The Tartans have won 49 straight games when leading after three quarters of play.
• The Tartans have won 29 straight games when holding their opponents to 14 points or less.
• The Tartans have won 28 straight contests when winning the turnover battle.
• The Tartans have won 18 straight games when recording 400 yards of total offense.
• Brendan McCullough moved into ninth on the school's all-time receiving list with 1,406 yards for his career. He also moved into sixth on the all-time touchdown receptions list with 14 for his career.
• Sturges' three sacks are the most for a Tartan in a single game since Evan Roper recorded three against Thiel on October 7, 2023.

Thoughts From Head Coach Ryan Larsen

• "I am incredibly proud of the effort our team showed in all three phases as we not only prepared for our first ever Centennial Conference matchup, but the way we played on the field. In every aspect of today's games, our players kept our culture at the central point of our mission, and the result followed! We will enjoy this historic day, but know, we are right back to work tomorrow!"

Up Next

• Carnegie Mellon will continue CC play on Saturday, October 11 when it travels to Baltimore, Maryland for a 12:00 p.m. kick at third-ranked Johns Hopkins University.