PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The University of Chicago football team tied the game at 14-14 right before halftime, but Carnegie Mellon University took control of the second half to beat the Maroons 31-14 on Saturday.

The Maroons fell to 4-5 overall and 0-2 in UAA games. The Tartans improved to 6-3 overall, 1-1 in the UAA.

On the first drive of the game, Ben Clark blocked CMU's punt and cornerback Vincent Beltrano returned it 10 yards for a touchdown. The hosts responded by tying the score at 7-7 on its very next drive, going 69 yards and capping with a two-yard touchdown run.

The Tartans kept giving the ball to running back Patrick Blanks in the second quarter. Blanks accounted for 47 out of 69 yards during a second-quarter drive and punched the ball in for a touchdown from two-yards out.

Chicago wide receiver Dee Brizzolara was instrumental in securing the tying touchdown just before halftime. Brizzolara returned a punt 27 yards and made consecutive catches for 27 and 26 yards to reach the end zone with 1:06 remaining.

Carnegie Mellon took the lead in the third quarter thanks a fake punt that extended the drive. On 4th-and-1, Eric Rolfes broke off a 27-yard run to get into Chicago territory. Connor Young kicked a 45-yard field goal to make the score 17-14.

The Tartan defense came up with a big play following the field goal. A third-down sack led to a forced fumble, which was recovered on Chicago's two-yard line. Blanks then ran it in to increase the margin to 24-14 in favor of CMU.

The hosts closed out the scoring by pounding the ball on the ground and driving 80 yards for Blanks' third touchdown with 6:54 remaining in the game.

Chicago passed for 224 yards and rushed for 71 yards on the day, while Carnegie Mellon ran for 235 yards and passed for 86 yards. Maroons quarterback Vincent Cortina completed 20 of 32 passes for 193 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Brizzolara caught eight passes for 74 yards and a touchdown, while also completing a pass for 31 yards. Tailbacks Zak Ross-Nash and Ian Gaines ran for 36 and 34 yards, respectively.

Defensively, the Maroons racked up four sacks. Linebacker Schuyler Montefalco made a game-high 13 tackles, two tackles for a loss and one sack. Jacob Romeo (seven tackles), Brandon Bolock (five tackles) and Brian Duffy (five tackles) all had one sack each. Linebacker Ben Wade added eight tackles.

NEXT GAME: Saturday, Nov. 10 - Washington University-St. Louis at Chicago, 12 PM