(Photo credit: Jeff Gamza)Moon Township, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University football team jumped out of the gates with a fury and then used a late rally to take down Notre Dame (Ohio), 35-24, on Homecoming Saturday afternoon at an overcast and humid Joe Walton Stadium.
RMU jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first minute of the second quarter, but the Falcons then scored 24 straight points. The Colonials pitched a shutout in the second half and scored two touchdowns in the final 12 minutes to pull out a victory.
Sophomore
Cole Blake saw the most extended action of his young collegiate career and did not disappoint as he rushed 25 times for a game-high and career-best 136 yards.
Redshirt freshman wide receiver
Kyle Buss caught nine passes for 108 yards and a touchdown while adding 24 rushing yards. Buss' nine receptions broke the RMU freshman single-game record while he also found the end zone for the first time as a collegian.
True freshman
Warren Robinson returned three punts for 89 yards, including a 66-yard return for a touchdown. Robinson's punt return TD was the fourth in RMU history, but the first by a rookie, and it was the second-longest punt return ever by a Colonial.
Redshirt senior captain
Forrest Mason contributed nine tackles, tying his career high, while adding 2.0 tackles for loss and an interception returned for a touchdown. The first pick of his career helped the defensive lineman find the end zone for the first time as a Colonial.
True freshman
Mathew Barr finished 14-for-18 for 156 yards. He threw for a touchdown and ran for two as well, becoming the first Colonial freshman quarterback to post multiple rushing TD in a contest. Barr's 77.8 completion percentage is the third-highest in RMU single game history (min. 10 attempts).
RMU received the opening kickoff and promptly marched down the field to strike first. After a 17-yard pass from Barr to Buss opened the drive, the Colonials ran the ball 12 straight times with Barr, Buss and sophomore
Rameses Owens. Barr found the end zone from one yard out on a third-and-goal play.
Robert Morris forced a three-and-out and would advance into Falcon territory before punting. The Colonials forced a second straight three-and-out. Robinson caught the ensuing punt while backpedaling at his 34-yard line, but he quickly found his bearings and weaved his way through traffic for a 66-yard touchdown down the right sideline.
Redshirt sophomore
Sam Woods then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, the first fumble recovery of his career, to keep momentum with the hosts.
Three plays later, Barr found Buss for a 26-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter.
Notre Dame then began to find its footing for a time as the Falcons took over for the remainder of the quarter. The guests drove 75 yards to find the end zone on their next drive, as the possession was capped with a nine-yard pass.
RMU then drove into Falcon territory but would commit its lone turnover of the day as an interception was returned by Notre Dame to the RMU 26-yard line. The Colonials would force a field goal attempt from the red zone as the Falcons pulled within 21-10.
Robert Morris was backed up on its next drive and would punt after three plays, giving the Falcons the ball near midfield.
Notre Dame would use a 45-yard touchdown pass and a 51-yard touchdown pass, sandwiched around a Colonial three-and-out, to take the lead right before the half.
A trio of punts began the second half before RMU drove 63 yards on nine plays into Falcon territory. However, the Colonials' subsequent field goal try was wide.
After a Notre Dame punt, each team was stopped on fourth down while in the opposing teams' territory.
Robert Morris then drove 65 yards on 12 plays to take the lead as it only faced one third down on the possession. Barr would keep the ball on an option rush to the right from two yards out to put the Colonials back on top with 11:17 remaining in the game.
After a pair of punts, Notre Dame drove into Colonial territory, but redshirt senior captain
Mike Stojkovic broke up a pass on third down to force a punt.
RMU took over on its own 1-yard line and would face third-and-six from the five, but Blake made three consecutive rushes of over 10 yards to help get the team some breathing room. His rushes helped the Colonials flip the field and move into Falcon territory before they were forced to punt.
On the fourth play of Notre Dame's next drive, redshirt junior
Austin Trgovcich tipped the quarterback's pass right as he was releasing it, and the ball popped up in the air. After fumbling with it for a moment, Mason corralled it and rumbled the other direction for a touchdown, essentially removing all doubt from the proceedings.
Sophomore strong safety
Ryan Richards Jr. intercepted the Falcons at his own 4-yard line on Notre Dame's final possession to give RMU its second interception in as many Falcon drives. The pick was also Richards' third in three games in 2015.
Trgovcich finished with a team-high 11 tackles, tying his career high, as he also notched a half tackle for loss. Stojkovic added 10 stops, reaching double digits for the third time in three games, while redshirt junior
Kimani Smith tallied eight tackles, tying his career high.
True freshman
Adam Check posted a net average of 37.0 yards on his punts. He contributed four punts downed inside the 20-yard line, tying the RMU single-game school record.
RMU had advantages in most statistical categories, including first downs, rushing yards, completion percentage, total yards, turnover margin, time of possession and third down conversion percentage.
Buss' nine catches are tied for the third most in single-game RMU history while Robinson's 89 punt return yards are the fifth-highest figure in a contest by a Colonial.
RMU carried the ball a single-game school record 63 times Saturday. Owens rushed 14 times for 54 yards.
Robert Morris improved to 16-6 all-time when playing on Homecoming and edged up to 20-14-1 when playing a program for the first time in school history.
RMU will have its final outing before beginning conference play next Saturday, Sept. 26, as it travels to nationally ranked South Dakota State at 6:00 p.m. (ET).
