Carnegie Mellon Wins Asa S. Bushnell Bowl Over Brockport
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Carnegie Mellon University Tartans jumped on SUNY Brockport early and never let up Saturday afternoon, opening up a 30-0 halftime lead en route to a 37-7 win over the Golden Eagles in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Asa S. Bushnell Bowl at Gesling Stadium on the campus of Carnegie Mellon.
Carnegie Mellon (10-1) - which placed second in the Presidents' Athletic Conference and closes its season on a seven-game winning streak - now hold a 4-4 mark all-time in ECAC Bowl games and the Tartans picked up their first ECAC Bowl win since 2015, when Carnegie Mellon beat Bridgewater State, 48-13, in the Legacy Bowl. Meanwhile, Brockport (8-3) - the runner-up in the Empire 8 Conference - was playing in the postseason for the seventh consecutive year.
Carnegie Mellon scored its first touchdown on the game's opening drive, as the Tartans marched 73 yards in 11 plays before Joey McGinnis IV plunged into the end zone on a 1-yard run. The extra point by Justin Caputo was good and Carnegie Mellon led, 7-0, with 9:15 to go in the first quarter. Brockport was forced to punt on its opening drive and Carnegie Mellon's Robert Coury was able to block the punt, putting the Tartans in business at the Brockport 24-yard line. Two plays later, McGinnis had his second 1-yard touchdown run of the game and suddenly Carnegie Mellon led, 14-0, with 7:39 still to go in the first quarter.
The Tartans extended their lead to 17-0 when Caputo made a 35-yard field goal with 10:22 left in the second quarter and on the subsequent kickoff, the Carnegie Mellon special teams struck again. Coury forced a fumble that was recovered by the Tartans' Ethan Ming at the Golden Eagle 25-yard line. Carnegie Mellon made Brockport pay again, as quarterback Ben Mills found Dominic Voiland for an 11-yard touchdown pass to extend the Tartans' lead to 24-0 with 8:58 remaining in the half.
Coury recovered another Brockport fumble on the Golden Eagles' next drive and Caputo finished off the Carnegie Mellon possession with a 29-yard field goal to put the Tartans in front, 27-0. Caputo added one more field goal, this one from 39 yards out, to send the Tartans into halftime with a commanding 30-0 lead.
The Tartans cruised in the second half, adding one final score on a 14-yard pass from Mills to Brian Stacy with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter. Brockport avoided the shutout with just 5 seconds to go in the game when Isaiah Simmons got a touchdown on a 16-yard run for the Golden Eagles.
Mills finished the game 25-for-39 for 291 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Carnegie Mellon offense, which rolled up 401 total yards and 24 first downs. Ethan Reifer was his top target with eight catches for 137 yards. Brendan McCullough had six receptions for 27 yards and Kaveh Wojtowich finished with five receptions for 50 yards. Tre Vasiliadis was the workhorse for the Tartan ground game, gaining 67 yards on 18 carries.
Brockport quarterback Jake Ritts was just 9-for-21 passing for 74 yards for the Golden Eagles, who had just 250 total yards and 15 first downs. Alex Card had four catches for 35 yards and Brian Caldwell, Jr. finished with three receptions for 22 yards. Simmons was the leading ground gainer for Brockport, picking up 81 yards on 20 carries, and Cameron Mesh pitched in 53 yards on 11 carries for the Golden Eagles in the loss.