#17 Tartans Edged by #3 Johns Hopkins 28-27

(BALTIMORE, Md.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team, ranked 17th nationally, traveled to Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday to play the third-ranked Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins University. The Tartans were outscored 21-3 in the second half and dropped a 28-27 contest to the Blue Jays. The Tartans are now 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Centennial Conference action while Johns Hopkins remains unbeaten at 5-0, 2-0.

Game Information
#17 Carnegie Mellon 27, #3 Johns Hopkins 28
Records: Carnegie Mellon (3-2, 1-1 CC), Johns Hopkins (5-0, 2-0 CC)
Location: Baltimore, Md. (Homewood)

How it Happened

• The Tartans took the opening drive and went 76 yards on 10 plays which resulted in a 1-yard touchdown throw from freshman Mark Wamhoff to junior Brendan McCullough. Senior placekicker Justin Caputo's PAT made the score 7-0 with 10:44 to play in the first quarter.  
• On the ensuing Blue Jays possession, a blocked punt freshman Lucas Bishop set the Tartans up on the Johns Hopkins 34-yard line. Five plays later, a 39-yard field goal by Caputo made the score 10-0 with six minutes in the first.
• Following an interception at the Tartans' 4-yard line by senior Connor Warren, Carnegie Mellon drove 96 yards on 10 plays which resulted in a second 1-yard touchdown pass from Wamhoff. This time the freshman signal caller found junior Anthony Vallano on a jump pass over the offensive line with 8:22 to play in the half to make the score 17-0.
• Johns Hopkins answered with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard rush by quarterback Bay Harvey that made the score 17-7 with four minutes to play in the half.
• The first play out of the two-minute timeout, senior quarterback Joey McGinnis IV connected with freshman Nick McCullough on a 21-yard touchdown strike to the front corner of the endzone which made the score 24-7.
• On the opening drive of the second half, Johns Hopkins made the score 24-14 as Harvey connected with Josh Moore on a 39-yard catch-and-run which capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive.
• Carnegie Mellon countered the Blue Jays scoring drive with a 14-play, 73-yard drive that took 8:35 off the clock and ended with a 19-yard field goal by Caputo to push the Tartans lead to 27-14.
• With 7:59 to play, a 1-yard touchdown run by Geoff Schroeder pulled the Blues to within six points at 27-21. The score was set up after a 37-yard punt return by Alex Orecchio that started the drive on the Carnegie Mellon 23-yard line.
• Johns Hopkins took its first lead of the contest with 4:37 to play when Harvey ran it in from 36 yards out on fourth-down-and-two. The score gave the Blue Jays a 28-27 lead.

Stats

• The Tartans ended the game with 369 yards of total offense, including 309 passing while Johns Hopkins also total 369 yards with 245 coming by way of the air.
• McGinnis threw for a career-high 307 yards on 20-of-32 a touchdown and an interception.
• Brendan McCullough led the Tartan receivers with seven receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown.
• Nick McCullough and junior Reece Kolke both had four catches. McCullough had 67 yards and a score while Kolke ended with 49.
• Harvey threw for 245 yards on 25-of-36, a touchdown and an interception. Harvey also ran for 59 yards and two touchdowns.
• Senior Bennett Grace, junior DJ Johnson, sophomore Jack Lawson and senior Leighton Tarke each ended with eight tackles for the Tartans.

Game Notes

• This was the first meeting between Carnegie Mellon and Johns Hopkins on the gridiron since 2005. The series is tied at 6-6.
• This was the third ranked opponent the Tartans have faced this year. They are now 1-2 in those contests.
• Caputo's three PATs give him 109 for his career and ties him for the most in program history.
• The Tartans streak of 49 straight games when leading after three quarters of play was snapped.
• Brendan McCullough moved into sixth on the school's all-time receiving list with 1,504 yards for his career.

Up Next

• Carnegie Mellon will return home on Saturday, October 18 and will host Centennial Conference foe Gettysburg College at 1:00 p.m. on the turf of Richard M. Lackner Field at Geslimg Stadium.