Tartans Travel to Chicago

Oct. 17 – (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University football team will take the field for the seventh game of the season Saturday, October 20.  The Tartans will make their longest journey in 2007, as they travel to Chicago, Ill., to play the University of Chicago Maroons at Stagg Field for a 1:00 pm Central Standard Time kick.

The series between Carnegie Mellon (2-4, 0-1) and Chicago (3-2, 0-1) started in 1988 when the University Athletic Association (UAA) was formed.  The Tartans hold a 16-3 advantage, while winning the first ten meetings. There have been two games decided in overtime and only four decided by three points or less.  Carnegie Mellon has won six of the last seven including a 27-0 win last year in Pittsburgh.

Mistake free football will be the key to the game for both teams.  The Tartans have a minus seven turnover margin, as the Maroons are at even zero.  During Carnegie Mellon’s four game loosing streak they have turned the ball over 14 times compared to twice in their two wins.  The same holds true for Chicago, as they have turned the ball over 11 times in their two losses compared to only time in their three wins.

The Tartans are led by senior running backs Robert Gimson (Palm Beach Gardens., Fla./The Benjamin School) and Travis Sivek (Traverse City, Mich./St. Francis), as they rank one and two in rushing yards in the UAA, while Sivek leads the UAA in scoring with nine touchdowns.  Last year, Gimson rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns against the Maroons with Sivek gathering 97, combining for 241 of the Tartans 272 yards on the ground.  

Over the last three years Sivek is averaging twenty carries per game against Chicago including a 27 carry, 120-yard outing as a freshman, while adding one touchdown.  On the flip side, the last time the Tartans traveled to Chicago, Sivek was held to just 24 yards on nine carries.  The Tartans as a team were held to 59 yards on the ground and dropped a 35-6 decision at the hands of the Maroons.

Seniors Jon Scholl (Coraopolis, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic) and Jonathan Bodnar (Cheswick, Pa./Deer Lakes) head a defense that ranks second in total defense in the UAA.  Both Scholl and Bodnar had a team-high 11 tackles in the loss to Case Western Reserve.  The 11 tackles for Bodnar was a career-best.  Scholl leads the association with 14.8 tackles per game and ranks fourth nationally.  Senior defensive lineman Richard Hauffe (Manassas, Va./Osbourn) plays a valuable part in the Tartans front seven.  Hauffe leads the UAA with 6.5 sacks and ranks second with 10.5 tackles for a loss.

The Maroons are led by freshman running back Thomas Parks.  Parks ranks third in the UAA in rushing behind Gimson and Sivek.  Parks averages 93.4 yards per game and has found the end zone seven times ranking third in the association.  Chicago’s passing game has seen three different quarterbacks get the start this season with their two main targets of freshman Clay Wolff and senior Mike Albian, as they rank two and three in the UAA.  Wolff has 28 receptions for 320 yards and five touchdowns, while Albian has 22 receptions for 312 yards and one score.

Chicago’s defense is led by freshman defensive lineman Justin Kaderabek and linebackers Mike DeNoma and Gaby Fernandez.  The Maroons are allowing just 92.2 yards per game on the ground ranking first in the UAA.  Kaderabek plays a huge part in the first ranked rush defense, as he is second on the team with 34 tackles and ranks first in the UAA with 13.5 tackles for a loss and second with six sacks.   Sophomore defensive back Chris Leamy ranks second nationally averaging one interception per game.