Scott BresslerAnother sloppy game ended all hopes of a postseason berth for Washington University football. The Bears suffered an 18-13 loss to Carnegie Mellon University Saturday, ending its four-game winning streak and dropping the team to 6-2 overall, 1-1 in UAA play.
The Tartans scored 16 unanswered points to extend the lead to 18-7 with 10:10 left in regulation. Wash. U. responded with a 76-yard touchdown drive, but the Tartans ran off the final 4:01 in the game and never gave back the ball for the potential tying score.
Carnegie Mellon outgained the Bears by the narrow margin of 291-286, but the Tartans ran the ball 69 times for 215, only passing five times. As a result, Carnegie Mellon held the football for over 20 minutes more than the Bears.
“Carnegie did a good job on first down getting five or six yards. They put some drives together, and once they were winning in the second half, they were able to open up their offense more and hit two big passes on us,” said linebacker Mike Elliot, a captain. “We knew what they were going to do and had a great game plan, but we weren’t able to execute.”
“Carnegie ran the wing-t offense, which is a tricky offense. They can run the same play out of many different formations, which made it tough for us to know what exactly was coming,” added sophomore linebacker Andrew Berryman.
Despite controlling the game, Carnegie Mellon needed only one scoring drive greater than 50 yards due to Wash. U. miscues. After a Matt Adams coffin-corner punt put the ball on the Wash. U. two-yard line, Bear quarterback Buck Smith was sacked in the end zone for a safety to make the score 2-0.
The Bears took a 7-2 lead with 13:47 left in the first half on a Jim O’Brien touchdown run and brought the lead into the locker room. However, a quick three-and-out that ended with a blocked punt, gave the Tartans the ball 21 yards from the goal line, and eight straight rushes produced a touchdown and an 8-7 lead. An extended drive from the Tartans and then a field goal resulting from a Smith interception provided enough points to hold off the Bears.
The Bears had been unstoppable during the four-game winning streak, but Berryman did not think that the bye week negatively impacted the team.
“If anything, it allowed us to recover a little and be better prepared to play that type of offense. We just need to start executing when the opportunities arise.”
Washington University’s final UAA game of the season against Case Western Reserve University will be a battle for a share of the UAA title. Since Case has beaten Carnegie Mellon, a win against Wash. U. would give it sole possession of the UAA crown. However, if Wash U. prevails, Wash U., Carnegie Mellon and Case Western will share the UAA title, bringing the Bears their first UAA title since 2004.