Box Score The Case Western Reserve University football team saw its 2022 season end with a 20-7 loss to 19th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University in the 36th playing of the Academic Bowl at DiSanto Field on Saturday evening.
With the loss, the Spartans end their 2022 campaign with a 6-4 overall record, including a 5-3 record in PAC games.
Carnegie Mellon took a 14-0 lead heading into halftime behind a pair of touchdowns, each on a short field. The Tartans recovered a fumble on the CWRU one-yard line and scored two plays later to go ahead 7-0 with 11:52 to play in the opening quarter. A second Spartan fumble helped set up a 25-yard touchdown pass from Ben Mills to Kris Hughes with 11:04 left to give Carnegie Mellon a two-touchdown advantage.
First-year quarterback Aaron Filips and senior running back Antonio Orsini helped to get the Spartans back in the game early in the third quarter, combining to rush for 53 yards on the Spartans' first drive of the frame with Filips reaching the endzone on a three-yard run, cutting the Tartans' lead to 14-7. After the Tartans missed a field goal on their next drive, the Spartans drove to CMU's 20-yard line, but a blocked field goal kept CWRU off the board. Carnegie Mellon added a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to cement their victory.
Orsini finished the game with 88 rushing yards, while Filips added 47 on the ground and 100 passing. Sophomore wide receiver Noah Coyne caught seven passes for 96 yards in the game. Defensively, junior linebacker Gabe Troch totaled nine tackles, while graduate student cornerback Colin Schuster registered eight tackles and three pass breakups.
Carnegie Mellon ran its NCAA-best winning streak to 17-straight games dating back to last season. The Tartans, who won the PAC Championship with a 10-0 overall record and an 8-0 mark in conference games will advance to the NCAA playoffs next weekend.
Saturday also marked Senior Day for the Spartans, who recognized their 17 graduating players before the start of the game with a ceremony. The class, which includes several players in their fifth year on the team, has gone 29-12 overall with a 25-10 PAC record since 2018 while winning the PAC Championship and making an NCAA playoff appearance in 2019.
