CMU Rallies Past W&J

#20 Carnegie-Mellon held Washington & Jefferson to 55 yards offense after intermission and rallied from a 7-0 halftime deficit to beat the Presidents, 12-7. W&J had rolled up 225 yards in the first half but managed only one score, that a 41-yard Jake Pugh-to-Keaton Hall fourth-down conversion. Three times earlier in the half, W&J had the ball inside the Tartans’ 35 yard line including first downs at the Tartans’ 14, 34 and 25 yard lines on consecutive possessions but came away empty. W&J’s defense played well enough to win, holding CMU’s offense to a pair of Cole Hanna field goals. The winning points came midway through the fourth quarter when Colton Jones threw a Pick Six for the second straight week, intercepted by Logan Young and returned 42 yards for the winners’ only touchdown of the game. Including sacks, W&J had -21 yards rushing in the second half and just 76 yards passing, 25 of those yards on a final desperation possession.  The loss drops W&J to 3-2 in the PAC and almost certainly out of the race for the conference title and NCAA playoff bid. The win is Carnegie-Mellon’s first in Washington since 1982.