Cornell University Athletics

ITHACA, N.Y. — Two teams attempting to finish strong at a crossroads of their season meet when Cornell visits Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov. 3, at 12 p.m. at Memorial Field. The Big Red (4-3, 1-3 Ivy) and the Big Green (2-5, 2-2 Ivy) will square off on the YES Network as part of the Ivy League’s television package.

Coming off a heartbreaking 34-31 loss at Princeton, a young Big Red squad will attempt to gain the confidence needed to win on the road, while goals of seven wins (the most since 1999) and a winning Ivy League record (the third in the last four seasons) are still within reach. Dartmouth, also a young team, will attempt to continue its momentum after picking up wins over Penn and Columbia and throwing a scare into Ancient Eight leader Harvard on the road last weekend.

It was a mixed bag for Cornell on a rainy Friday night in Princeton, as the offense piled up 418 yards of total offense and scored 31 points, but turned the ball over six times. The defense forced the Tiger passing game into a 10-of-24 performance for just 96 yards, but missed tackles in the run game allowed Princeton to rush for 277 yards. The special teams totalled 173 return yards and blocked a punt, but also allowed a fake field goal for a touchdown and lost a fumble on a return. All-in-all, anyone who watched the nationally televised game on ESPNU saw a Big Red team on the brink of breaking through.

Cornell will face a confident Dartmouth team that already has matched last season’s win total overall and in conference action under head coach Buddy Teevens. The Big Green gave a great effort last weekend at Harvard in a 28-21 loss as it was unable to overcome four turnovers. Cornell has won three straight contests between the two teams, and six of the last seven contests overall.

A WIN OVER DARTMOUTH WOULD:
• improve the Big Red to 5-3 overall and 1-3 in Ivy play.
• guarantee Cornell a .500 overall record for the third straight season.
• narrow Dartmouth’s lead in the all-time series to 50-40-1.
• give the Big Red a four-game win streak against the Big Green.
• make Cornell 2-4 all-time in televised football games on the YES Network.
• snap a five-game Ivy road losing streak.
• be the 610th in program history (10th most in the Football Championship Subdivision).

THE CORNELL-DARTMOUTH SERIES: (Dartmouth leads 50-39-1) This will be the 91st meeting between Cornell and Dartmouth, with the Big Green holding a 50-39-1 lead in the series. The two teams first met in 1900, a 23-6 Cornell win. The Big Red won last year’s matchup 28-25 in Ithaca, N.Y. The two teams have been fairly evenly matched in recent years, with 10 of the last 14 meetings being decided by a touchdown or less (Cornell holds a 9-5 lead during that stretch).

NOTES VS. PRINCETON:
• Junior Nathan Ford completed his first 14 passing attempts of the game, setting a school record previously held by Pete Dorset of 13 in 1947. The record is now 17 after he completed his final three passes in the win over Brown.
• Senior place-kicker Peter Zell was 4-of-4 on extra points, giving him 45 straight makes. That set a school record previously held by Pete Gogolak (44) from 1961-63.
• Junior Jesse Baker blocked his first career kick, a third quarter punt.
• Junior Gus Krimm intercepted his first career pass.
• Sophomore Stephen Liuzza’s 44-yard pass to classmate Jesse Baker was the longest pass play of the season for the Big Red.

I SAY YES: Cornell is just 1-4 in games televised by the YES Network since the Ivy League and the network started their broadcast agreement in 2002. During the first season, Cornell dropped a 52-23 decision at Harvard. In 2003, the Big Red fell to Penn in the season finale, 59-7. Cornell has played three contests on YES since head coach Jim Knowles’ first season in 2004. The Big Red split a pair of home games his first season, blocking a fourth-quarter extra-point kick for a 21-20 victory over Princeton, while the defending Ivy League champion Penn Quakers held on for a 20-14 victory in the season finale. In 2005, Cornell had a rematch with the Tigers and dropped a 20-17 overtime decision at Princeton Stadium.

WALTERS NAMED IVY LEAGUE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Oct. 29): Sophomore Bryan Walters was named Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time in his career after piling up 157 return yards and 272 all-purpose yards in a loss to Princeton. Included was a season-long 32-yard punt return, part of a 56-yard day on four punt returns. He also returned five kickoffs for 101 yards, including a season-long 32-yard effort. At receiver, Walters caught 10 passes for 115 yards, becoming the first Big Red receiver to catch 10 passes in a game since 2003 and the first to record 100 yards in a game since 2004.

MOVING THE CHAINS: The Cornell offense has piled up 81 first downs in its last three games, an average of 27 first downs per game. Included was a school record 33 first downs in the win over Brown. So far this season, Cornell has averaged 24.0 first downs per game. The school record for first downs in a season is 224 in 1996.

NOW THAT’S DEFENSE: The Big Red went into halftime struggling defensively against a high-powered Brown attack that came into the game averaging 464 total yards. After the Bears piled up 308 yards in the first half en route to a 24-14 advantage, it didn’t look good for the Big Red. However, whatever adjustments were made at halftime seemed to work perfectly. Brown managed just 95 yards in its 33 plays in the second half and overtime as the Big Red rallied for a 38-31 win in the extra session.

BUZZ AROUND CAMPUS: In its first four home games this season, Cornell has averaged 10,279 people with a high of 13,035 to see the Big Red top Colgate on Homecoming weekend. That is more than twice as many as last year’s average of 5,008 fans per game. Cornell’s four-game total of 41,117 fans is already more than last year’s six-game total of 30,045. A large part of that credit goes to a student Cornell Marketing Group led by Cornell athletics employee Elle Nichols and Jeff Hall, as well as the Cornell Football Association.

RING MY BELL: When head coach Jim Knowles ‘87 returned to his alma mater in 2004, he introduced a Victory Bell and a new Cornell fight song. After every win, the Cornell team gathers in the locker room and sings the fight song, and one player is chosen to ring the bell. After 10 wins, the bell is retired and a new one is introduced. With one bell already retired, the Big Red will retire the second bell with one more win in 2007.

FORD MOVING ON UP: Junior quarterback Nathan Ford moved up three spots on the school’s career passing list and became the fifth Cornell quarterback to reach 3,000 career passing yards with his 292 yards vs. Brown. He now stands fourth with 3,347 yards. Ford needs 59 yards to pass Mike Hood ‘99 for third, but is a full 2,350 yards away from second place Bill Lazor ‘94.

PICKING THEM APART: Junior quarterback Nathan Ford’s return to the spread offense that he ran so well in high school has been tremendously successful. In the season-opening win over Bucknell, Ford completed 31-of-45 passes for 288 yards. He hit 10 different receivers in the contest. Ford’s 31 completions were the most since Ricky Rahne completed 31 passes against Harvard in 2001, while the 45 attempts were the most since Rahne put the ball up 50 times at Penn that same year. He bettered both marks by hitting on 34-of-54 passes for 292 yards in the overtime victory over Brown. In seven games this season, Ford has passed for 1,798 yards and completed 64.7 percent of his passes. He passed for 6,357 yards and 72 touchdowns at Palo Alto HS, running for 19 additional scores.

BUILT FORD TOUGH: Junior quarterback Nathan Ford scored twice on 1-yard keepers in the win over Bucknell, and scored on a 2-yard keeper vs. Princeton, increasing his total of rushing touchdowns to nine in his two seasons as a starter.

HITTING THE MARK: Junior quarterback Nathan Ford has thrown for at least 200 yards in each of the Big Red’s first seven games, the most 200-yard passing games since Ricky Rahne surpassed 200 yards in all 10 games of the 2000 season.

CHARTING FORD’S RISE: Junior quarterback Nathan Ford continues to move up the passing charts for season and career records. Here is where he stands entering the Dartmouth game.

Career Yardage
1. Ricky Rahne (1998-01) 7,710
2. Bill Lazor (1991-93) 5,697
3. Mike Hood (1996-98) 3,406
4. Nathan Ford (2005-pr.) 3,347

Career Completions
1. Ricky Rahne (1998-01) 678
2. Bill Lazor (1991-93) 470
3. Mike Hood (1996-98) 334
4. Nathan Ford (2005-pr.) 326

Career Attempts
1. Ricky Rahne (1998-01) 1226
2. Bill Lazor (1991-93) 873
3. Shawn Maguire (1983-85) 562
4. Mike Hood (1996-98) 550
5. Mark Allen (1971-73) 543
6. Nathan Ford (2005-pr.) 536

Career Completion Percentage
1. Nathan Ford (2005-pr.) .608
2. Mike Hood (1996-98) .607
3. Steve Joyce (1994-95) .567

Season Yardage
1. Ricky Rahne (2000) 2,944
4. Bill Lazor (1992) 2,206
5. Bill Lazor (1993) 2,030
6. Ricky Rahne (2001) 1,984
7. Mike Hood (1998) 1,910
8. Nathan Ford (2007) 1,798

Season Completions
1. Ricky Rahne (2000) 252
2. Ricky Rahne (1999) 225
3. Nathan Ford (2007) 200

Season Attempts
1. Ricky Rahne (2000) 479
2. Ricky Rahne (1999) 388
3. Ricky Rahne (1998) 355
4. Bill Lazor (1993) 328
5. Bill Lazor (1992) 328
6. Nathan Ford (2007) 309

Season Completion Percentage
1. Nathan Ford (2007) .647
2. Mike Hood (1997) .636

SPRING FLING: Junior quarterback Nathan Ford had a busy spring in 2007. Besides continuing control of the starting quarterback job during his first spring practice and keeping things in order in the classroom as an operations research and industrial engineering major, Ford moonlighted as a baseball player. Under head coach Tom Ford (no relation), Nathan earned team MVP and second-team All-Ivy honors after leading the Big Red in batting with a .338 average in 38 games. He also had a team-best 27 RBI to go along with six doubles and two home runs, while his 48 hits led the Big Red. The baseball team finished the 2007 season with a 15-23 record and an 8-12 mark in Ivy League play.

OTHERS DOING DOUBLE DUTY: Ford isn’t the only multi-sport athlete on the team, as senior place-kicker Jay Harding (mid-distance) competed last season for the nationally ranked men’s track and field team. Cornell won both the indoor and outdoor Heptagonal Championships last season, giving it seven of the last eight Heps crowns. In addition, sophomores Andrew Bohl, Conner Hare and Isaac Minor will join track when the Big Red football season is complete. Sophomore Carl Landers competes for the Big Red’s nationally ranked wrestling squad.

EX-ZELL-ENT: Senior place-kicker Peter Zell has made a name for himself among Ivy League kickers, connecting on all 23 extra points and making 7-of-14 field goals. He converted five extra-point kicks in the opener against Bucknell and added a 27-yard field goal, while booting five conversion kicks and a 24-yard field goal vs. Brown. He then made a 40-yarder at Georgetown along with all six conversion kicks. Zell finished 2006 ranked 34th nationally with his nine field goals made, including three against both Yale and No. 23 Albany. Included was a game-winning kick with 6:22 left in the contest against the Great Danes, as well as a career-long 45-yard field goal in the same contest. In 2006, Zell was 9-of-14 on field goals and a perfect 22-of-22 on extra-points to lead the team in scoring with 49 points.

CONVERTING THE PATs: Senior place-kicker Peter Zell enters the Dartmouth game having connected on 45 consecutive PAT kicks, breaking the previous school record of 44, set by Pete Gogolak from Nov. 18, 1961 straight through his final season of 1965. For his career, Zell is 47-of-48 on extra-point kicks.

ZELL KICKING UP SCORING CHART: Senior place-kicker Peter Zell ranks fourth in school history in career kicking points with 95 and needs 16 over his final three games to move into third place. Here is where he ranks.

Career Kicking Points
1. John McCombs (1997-99) 148
2. John Rodin (1993-96) 146
3. John Killian (1969-71) 111
4. Peter Iverson (1998-01) 95
    Peter Zell (2005-pr.) 95

BARBOUR BREAKS OFF CAREER DAY: Sophomore tailback Randy Barbour showed the Ivy League what might be in store for the next three seasons with a career-high 159-yard, three-touchdown effort in the Big Red’s overtime victory over Brown. The 5-9, 190-pound back carried the ball a career-high 32 times in the victory and scored on runs of 2, 13 and 5 yards, the last coming in overtime to provide the final margin. The Huntsville, Ala. native entered the contest with 31 career carries for 135 yards and a score, but surpassed each of the totals against the Bears. Barbour had come off the bench to post 69 yards and a touchdown earlier this season against Georgetown. For the season, Barbour leads the team with 382 rushing yards and is second with five scores.

CANTY CATCHES ON: Junior wide receiver Zac Canty emerged as the team’s go-to receiver as a sophomore has continued in that role this season. Canty had a career-high 10 catches for 84 yards in the overtime win over Brown and hauled in eight passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns against Princeton. He began the year with three catches for 37 yards, including a 21-yard reception, against Bucknell, and currently leads the team with 40 catches. Canty started all 10 games in 2006, catching a team-best 41 passes for 499 yards and three touchdowns. Canty averaged a solid 12.2 yards per catch and hauled in at least three passes in nine of his 10 contests in 2006. He had a career-high seven catches for 93 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown, in the Big Red’s win over Ivy co-champion Princeton. Canty also had five receptions that went for 74 yards and a touchdown at Harvard, 71 yards on five grabs against Ivy co-champ Yale and 49 yards on his five receptions against No. 23 Albany.

CANTY CATCHES EVERYTHING: With a strong finish, junior wide receiver Zac Canty could become the fifth player in Cornell history to record 100 career catches. He enters the Dartmouth game with 81 and needs to average seven receptions per game to reach that mark before his senior campaign.

CANTY CATCHES EVERYDAY: Junior Zac Canty has a reception in 17 straight games dating back to the 2006 season opener.

SAY CHEESE: Junior wide receiver Jesse Baker was a record-setting wide receiver at Platteville HS in Wisconsin, and he has continued that roll on the Big Red varsity. He hauled in eight passes for 83 yards against No. 21 Yale and caught five passes for 62 yards in the overtime win over Brown. He ranks third on the team in catches (33) and receiving yards (338). Baker had a breakout 2006 campaign, ranking second on the team with 22 catches for 320 yards and a pair of scores. He hauled in seven passes for 96 yards, both career highs, in the first half at Harvard before leaving the game with a concussion. He also notched four catches for 80 yards and his first collegiate score in the win over Colgate.

AIR ATTACK: Sophomore Bryan Walters had the game-winning touchdown, a diving 29-yard catch, in the win over Colgate to cap a six-catch, 92-yard day. Earlier in the year he had four catches for 88 yards and a touchdown, and set a school record for kickoff returns (10) and established a new personal best for all-purpose yards (276), against Yale. Walters also became the first Cornell receiver to catch two scores in a game since Keith Ferguson at Brown during the 2000 campaign.

HITTING 100: Sophomore Bryan Walters had 10 catches for 115 yards against Princeton, the first time a Cornell player had hauled in 10 passes since John Kellner vs. Columbia in 2003, and the first Big Red player to hit 100 yards receiving since Brian Romney vs. Penn in 2004.

WITH A BULLET: Sophomore Bryan Walters ranks second in the Ivy league and 10th nationally in all-purpose yardage, gaining 180.9 yards per game so far this year.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS IN 2007: Sophomore Bryan Walters set a school record with his 10 kickoff returns in the Big Red’s loss to No. 21 Yale, falling just shy of the record for return yards with his 183. Vince Bates held both records with nine returns for 198 yards against Brown during the 2000 campaign.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS IN 2006: A two-time Ivy League weekly honoree in 2006, sophomore wide receiver Bryan Walters earned the team’s Jeff Stenstrom Award as the player who contributes the most to the performance of the special teams in 2006. He returned punts in the season opener, averaging 9.0 yards on three returns with a 24-yard burst counting as one. Walters ranked among the top returners in the country in 2006. He was 14th nationally in kickoff returns (24.5 yards per return) and 27th in punt returns (10.1 yards per return). Walters 105.9 all-purpose yards per game was good for 58th nationally and fourth in the Ivy League. His 274 yards in punt returns broke a 58-year-old school season record, and his 88-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter against Penn proved to be the game-winner. Walters also caught three passes for 33 yards against nationally ranked Harvard.

AN ALL-PURPOSE STAR: Sophomore Bryan Walters is averaging 140.9 all-purpose yards per game for his career, a mark that would rank behind only Cornell Hall-of-Famer Ed Marinaro ‘72 (183.2) and ahead of such luminaries as Derrick Harmon ‘84 (140.7) and Chad Levitt ‘97 (134.7). If he continues at his current pace for his final 23 career games, Walters would finish second in school history with 5,354 total yards, ahead of Chad Levitt’s school record of 5,117 all-purpose yards.

CAJUN SPICE: One of the team’s top athletes, sophomore Stephen Liuzza has been a big weapon for the Big Red offense, catching 23 passes for 196 yards. The quarterback/wide receiver has also rushed 15 times for 75 yards (5.0 ypc.) and a touchdown and is 2-of-2 passing for 49 yards. In the season-opening win over Bucknell, Liuzza caught a team-best seven passes for 84 yards with a long catch of 28 yards. He posted 104 all-purpose yards, including 72 rushing yards on seven carries and a touchdown, in the win over Georgetown. Included was an electric 42-yard run where he broke several tackles.

CORNELL’S SLASH: Sophomore Stephen Liuzza set a freshman record for passing yards in a season (139) and a game (114 vs. Penn), earning Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors twice in 2006. He was also fourth on the team in rushing, recording 135 yards on 25 carries and scoring two touchdowns. He broke off an electric 81-yard touchdown run in the win over Dartmouth, the longest run from scrimmage by a Big Red quarterback and the ninth-longest run in school history. Liuzza came off the bench to lead the Big Red against Penn, going 7-of-14 passing for 114 yards and also scoring a touchdown while tallying 22 rushing yards.

THEY WALK THE LINE: Experienced offensive linemen return, with rare four-year starter Ted Sonnenberg (center), three-year starter Brian McGuire (right guard) and two-year starter Steve Valenta (left tackle) paving the way for a young, but veteran, offense in 2007. Senior Loren Rosenberg (left guard and Quentin Bernhard (right tackle) earned their first career starts in the opener.

BIG PLAY BAX: Junior Tim Bax has been the team’s best big-play defender the last two seasons, and that has continued in 2007. Bax ranks second in the Ivy League and 39th nationally in tackles per game, posting 9.6 stops per outing. Included was a career-high 15 stops at No. 21 Yale. He has added 4.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups and a forced fumble so far in 2007. For his career, the All-Ivy candidate has 164 tackles, including 14.0 for a loss, three sacks, three interceptions, 12 pass breakups and three forced fumbles.

DEFENSIVE SCORE: Cornell scored its first defensive touchdown since 2004 when sophomore Frank Morand returned an interception 72 yards to the house in the win over Colgate. The Big Red had gone 26 games without the defense scoring, as the offense punched in 77 touchdowns since Nate Tarsi’s 50-yard fumble recovery led to a score against Dartmouth in 2004. The last time a Cornell player had returned an interception for six points was in 2001 when Kevin Rooney rumbled 22 yards against Columbia for a touchdown.

BARBOUR NAMED IVY LEAGUE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (OCT. 22): Sophomore tailback Randy Barbour ran for a career-high 159 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning score in overtime, as the Big Red defeated Brown 38-31 in overtime. Barbour toted the pigskin 32 times in securing his first career 100-yard game, scoring on runs of 2, 13 and 5 yards, the last giving Cornell its first victory over Brown in four years. Barbour also caught three passes for 25 yards in the win. He entered the game with one career touchdown. Barbour was responsible for 12 of the Big Red’s school record 33 first downs.

MORAND NAMED IVY LEAGUE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Oct. 15): Cornell sophomore cornerback Frank Morand was named the Ivy league Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Big Red top Colgate 17-14. Morand posted career highs of five tackles and four pass breakups and changed the momentum of the game with a 72-yard interception return for a touchdown. Morand stepped in front of a pass on a fourth-and-6 chance on the Raiders’ first possession of the third quarter and gave Cornell the lead. It was the Big Red’s first defensive touchdown of any kind since 2004 and the first Cornell INT return for a score since 2001. The return was the sixth-longest in school history. Morand helped Cornell hold Colgate to 10-of-30 passing for 130 yards, and assisted in holding Jordan Scott, the nation’s leading rusher entering the game, to 78 yards below his season average (187.6).

ZELL NAMED IVY LEAGUE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Oct. 1): For the second time in his career, senior place-kicker Peter Zell was named the Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week after helping Cornell defeat Georgetown 45-7 last Saturday. Zell scored nine points, booting a 40-yard field goal and extending his streak of consecutive made extra points with six more in the win. Zell also had plenty of leg on a 48-yarder that would have been a career-long, but went just wide left in the first quarter. For the season, the senior ranks second on the squad in scoring with 17 points and extended his total of consecutive conversion kicks to 33.

RIHN NAMED IVY LEAGUE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (SEPT. 17): Senior linebacker Graham Rihn made big plays for the Big Red in the 38-14 victory over Bucknell, making five tackles, including two for a loss with a sack included, and also forced two fumbles in his first collegiate start. The converted linebacker had a sack on the Bison’s first possession to set the tone, then forced fumbles in both the second and third quarters to keep the defense rolling. Rihn matched his career totals for both tackles for loss and sacks in the win.

HALF DOZEN AT TWO GRAND: With his 81-yard effort against Bucknell in the 2007 opener, senior Luke Siwula became the sixth player in program history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards. The Cortland, N.Y., native, joined Ed Marinaro ‘72, Chad Levitt ‘97, Derrick Harmon ‘84, John McNiff ‘92 and Gary Wood ‘64 at the milestone and he enters the Harvard game with 2,195 yards. Next up on the list is McNiff with 2,557 yards.

SIWULA FOR SIX: Senior Luke Siwula scored a career-best three touchdowns in the season opening win over Bucknell, and three more against Georgetown, giving him 18 career rushing touchdowns and 22 total scores. His 22 total touchdowns is tied with Pete Larson ’67 and Scott Oliaro ‘93 for sixth on the school’s list. Siwula is tied for ninth on the school’s all-time scoring list with 132 career points.

MORE SIWULA FOR SIX: Siwula nearly matched his 2006 season total of four rushing touchdowns in his first game against Bucknell and his third game vs. Georgetown and equalled his total from a year ago (four rushing, two receiving).

ANOTHER HUNDRED: Luke Siwula recorded his ninth career 100-yard rushing game with 145 yards on 29 carries in last season’s 38-14 win over Colgate, moving him up the Big Red career rushing list. His nine 100-yard efforts (three in 2006) surpassed Scott Malaga ‘89 for fifth all-time in Cornell history. In 2005, Siwula became the first Cornell running back to record six 100-yard games in one season since Malaga in 1988. He was the fifth player to post a season with six or more 100-yard games (Ed Marinaro in 1969, 1970 and 1971; Dan Malone in 1972; Joe Holland in 1978; Malaga; and Siwula), with Heisman Trophy runner-up Ed Marinaro doing it in three straight seasons.

SIWULA RETURNS AS A FIRST-TEAM ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN: Senior running back Luke Siwula was named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America first-team last year. Siwula was the fifth Big Red player to earn first-team Academic All-America honors, joining running backs Joe Holland (1977-78) and Derrick Harmon (1982-83) and defensive linemen Dave Van Metre (1985) and Kevin Rooney (2003). Siwula, a second-team All-Ivy pick in 2006 and a first-teamer in 2005, piled up 885 yards and four touchdowns on the ground and caught 11 passes for 141 yards and two more scores. Siwula had three 100-yard games, including two contests of more than 140 yards. In the classroom, Siwula carries a 3.60 grade-point average in Industrial and Labor Relations and is a two-year first-team academic all-district and academic All-Ivy pick. Siwula was joined on the Academic All-District team by classmate Michael Boyd. The Academic All-America program honors 816 male and female student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA, the College Sports Information Directors of America; a 2,000-member organization consisted of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.

GANG TACKLING: Cornell’s defensive philosophy of swarming to the ball has worked well in 2007, as 14 different players have reached double figures in tackles and eight have registered a sack with 15 players recording a tackle for loss. Last year 15 different players reached double figures in tackles and 11 had at least 20 stops. In all, 17 different players recorded at least one tackle for a loss with 12 different players registering a sack. Junior safety Tim Bax leads the way for the Big Red with 67 tackles this year, while senior linebacker Doug Lempa’s 4.5 sacks paces the squad.

WINNING AT SCHOELLKOPF: The Big Red has played 448 games in front of fans at Schoellkopf Field, posting a 281-152-15 record (.644). In 2006, the Big Red went 5-1 at Schoellkopf with wins over nationally ranked Albany and Princeton, as well as Central New York rival Colgate. This year Cornellis 3-1, bringing the team’s record to 15-5 at Schoellkopf Field under head coach Jim Knowles ’87.

NOTES VS. BUCKNELL:
• The Big Red’s 38 points was the most in a season opener since posting a 39-8 win over Princeton to open the 1986 campaign, Jim Knowles’ senior year playing for Cornell. The 24-point margin of victory is also the most since 1986.
• The 38 points was also the most by a Big Red team against the Bison since 1915 (41-0 win), while the 24-point margin of victory is the biggest for Cornell against Bucknell since 1978 (24-0 win).
• The following players earned their first collegiate starts: Dario Arezzo (DE), Quentin Bernhard (RT), Horatio Blackman (WR), Stephen Liuzza (WR), Frank Morand (DB), Graham Rihn (LB) and Loren Rosenberg (LG).
• The following players saw their first collegiate game action: Chris Costello (LB), Trevin Cowman (DL), Emani Fenton (DB), Josh Gajdos (DB), Ben Ganter (QB), Brandon Lainhart (LB), Aaron Levine (LB), Babak Motamedi (OL), Ryne Posey (DL) and Jordan Tuttel (OL), Andy Wade (DB).
• The Big Red held the nation’s leader in all-purpose yards, A.J. Kizekai, to 160 yards, 95.5 yards below his average.
• Cornell’s 29 first downs were two short of a single-game record and were the most since registering 29 at Buffalo in 1997.
• Cornell scored on 6-of-7 red zone opportunities with five touchdowns and a field goal. The Big Red nearly made it 7-of-7, but a 38-yard field goal attempt hit the left uprights..
• The 12 receivers catching passes were the most for the Big Red since 14 different players caught a pass vs. Harvard in 2001.

NOTES VS. YALE:
• The 51 points allowed were the most given up by a Cornell defense since Brown scored 56 against the Big Red in a 56-40 Bears victory in 2000.
• The 39-point margin of defeat was Cornell’s largest since dropping a 59-7 contest at Penn in the final game of the 2003 campaign.
• The Big Red allowed Yale to pile up 293 rushing yards, the most against a Cornell defense since Colgate had 291 yards during the 2003 campaign.
• Bryan Walters became the first Cornell receiver to catch two touchdown passes in a game since Keith Ferguson caught two scoring throws against Brown in 2000.
• Walters also had a school record 10 kickoff returns in the loss, piling up 183 return yards, just shy of the record of Vince Bates (198 at Brown, 2000)\
• Junior Tim Bax had 15 tackles, including 13 solo stops, the most by a Cornell player since Joel Sussman had 18 against Harvard in 2005.

NOTES VS. GEORGETOWN:
• The victory snapped a five-game road losing streak by the Big Red and guaranteed a winning non-league record for the second-consecutive year.
• The 38-point margin of victory was the most in a road game since dropping Columbia 41-0 during the 1990 campaign.
• The Big Red surpassed 200 yards rushing (252) and passing (209) in the same game for the first time since topping Lafayette 41-34 on Oct. 18, 1997, at Schoellkopf Field.
• Cornell limited Georgetown to 288 yards of offense, the second time this season a Big Red opponent has been held under 300 yards (Bucknell - 240 yards).
• A week after throwing for a touchdown against Yale, sophomore Randy Barbour scored his first TD with 13:00 left in the fourth quarter. He ended the game with a career-high 69 yards rushing.
• The Big Red’s five rushing touchdowns give the Big Red 10 in the first three games, the most in the first three games of a season since 1971 when Ed Marinaro ran for nine and Bob Joehl added one..
• Sophomore Nick Zerante’s 11-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was just his second varsity catch.
• Cornell’s 252 rushing yards were the most since piling up 261 vs. Dartmouth last season.
• Stephen Liuzza’s first quarter 42-yard run was the longest by a Big Red player this season.
• For the second time in 2007, 12 different Big Red receivers caught passes.
• Freshman Emani Fenton (DB) and sophomore Bryan Walters (WR) earned their first career starts.
• Freshmen Dempsey Quinn (S) and Chris Ciarvella (DL) saw their first varsity action. Quinn had three tackles, while Ciarvella had a sack.

NOTES VS. HARVARD:
• Senior captain Colin Nash’s 90-yard return of a blocked conversion kick for a defensive extra-point was the first of its kind by the Big Red.
• Juniors Chi Chi Madu and Dario Arezzo each collected their first career interceptions.
• Madu and sophomore Trevin Cowman each blocked extra points. It was Madu’s second career blocked kick and marked the first time Cornell blocked two kicks in a game since Madu and Frank Kunis blocked efforts in 2006 at Harvard.
• Junior linebacker Doug Lempa had two sacks, giving him 3.5 sacks in his last two games.
• Six different receivers had at least three catches.
• Sophomore Bryan Walters’ 221 all-purpose yards ranks as his second-highest total, behind the 276 yards her piled up at Yale.
• Cornell has alternated wins and losses for the last seven contests dating back to last year.
• Junior William Macias (TE) and sophomore Avery Fenton (TE) saw their first varsity action.

NOTES VS. COLGATE:
• The win was the second straight Homecoming victory over the Raiders after dropping 10 straight contests to Colgate.
• Cornell ended its non-conference campaign with a perfect 3-0 record for the first time since the 1998 season.
• Frank Morand’s 72-yard interception return for a TD was the sixth-longest such return in school history and was the first interception return for a score by the Big Red since Kevin Rooney’s 22-yard return against Columbia in 2001.
• Bryan Walters set career highs with six catches for 92 yards.
• The Big Red limited the nation’s leading rusher, Jordan Scott, to 110 yards on 33 carries (3.3 ypc.). In the last two seasons, Scott has 152 yards on 50 carries against the Big Red (3.0 ypc.).
• Cornell improved to 3-13 all-time under Jim Knowles when entering the fourth quarter trailing.
• The Big Red defense stopped Colgate on three of four fourth-down conversion attempts, including two in the decisive fourth quarter.
• Junior linebacker Brian Ostrowsky made his first career start, as did sophomore wide receiver Matt Kenney.

NOTES VS. BROWN:
• The rally from the Big Red’s 17-point deficit (31-14) was the second-largets overcome in a Cornell win under head coach Jim Knowles behind a 19-point deficit (26-7) in a 32-26 win at Columbia in 2004.
• The victory snapped an eight-game stretch of alternating wins and losses for Cornell.
• Cornell’s 33 first downs was a school record (31, done four times).
• Junior wide receiver Tommy Bleymaier scored his first career touchdown on an 8-yard run after a fake field goal in the third quarter.
• Junior wide receiver Horatio Blackman also scored his first career touchdown on a 14-yard pass reception in the fourth quarter.
• Freshman Emani Fenton’s interception on the final play of regulation was the first of his career.
• Junior Zac Canty had 10 catches, the most by a Big Red player since John Kellner hauled in 10 passes against Columbia in 2003.
• Despite allowing 403 total yards, the Cornell offense surrendered just 19 total yards in the fourth quarter and overtime.
• The Big Red stopped Brown on all four of its fourth-down conversion opprtunities.

BIG RED ELECTS CAPTAINS FOR 2007: Seniors Brian McGuire and Colin Nash have been elected co-captains for the 2007 season. An honorable mention All-Ivy pick in 2006, the 6-2, 290-pound McGuire enters his third year as a starter at right guard, helping anchor one of the top run-blocking offensive lines in the FCS. The 6-0, 176-pound Nash intercepted a team-best three passes and broke up nine others in 2006, ranking sixth on the Big Red in tackles with 47 and starting all 10 games on defense.

CORNELL ALL-TIME: The Big Red has an overall record of 609-448-34 (.574) in its 120 years of football. The program’s 609 wins rank 10th among all FCS schools. Over the years, Cornell has taken on 87 different opponents, with its most frequent opponent being Penn (114 meetings).

CORNELL MENTIONED TWICE ON ESPN’S LIST OF TOP 40 MOMENTS THAT DEFINE COLLEGE FOOTBALL: No list about the greatest college football moments would be complete without Cornell, but the Big Red was mentioned twice in the top 40 Plays, Performances and Moments that Define College Football by ESPN’s Ivan Maisel. Big Red Hall of Famer Pete Gogolak and the Fifth-Down Game were each placed among the list of the top 100. Gogolak’s 41-yard field goal against Princeton on Oct. 28, 1961 that made him the first soccer-style kicker in college football was placed No. 38 on Maisel’s list. Here is what Maisel wrote about that contest:

"It wasn’t that Cornell sophomore Pete Gogolak made a 41-yard field goal against Princeton. It was the way he made it. The Hungarian immigrant kicked the football from the side, soccer-style. In three seasons, Gogolak made 44 consecutive extra points but only 9 of 27 field-goal attempts. It didn’t matter. Gogolak revolutionized place-kicking. Straight-on kickers, like milkmen and typewriter repairmen, became relics."

The Fifth-Down Game of Nov. 16, 1940, against Dartmouth was also on the list at No. 35.

"It wasn’t that No. 2 Cornell scored on a fifth-down, 6-yard pass in the final minute to defeat Dartmouth 7-3 in 1940 that made referee Red Friesell’s blunder so memorable. It was that, after seeing the films, Cornell president Dr. Edmund Ezra Day directed his team to forfeit the game. Cornell lost its 18-game unbeaten streak but gained stature for playing with honor, instead of merely by the rules."

AP NO. 1: Cornell is the only Ivy League school to be ranked No. 1 in the weekly Associated Press poll, holding the to87p ranking for three weeks (10/15-10/29) of the 1940 season. The No. 1 ranking ended with the historic "Fifth Down Game" against Dartmouth. The Big Red ended that campaign with a 6-2 record that included wins over Army, Syracuse and Ohio State.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS: Cornell has won five national titles in its storied football history. The Big Red claimed at least a share of the 1915 (Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, National Championship Foundation and Parke Davis), 1921 (Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation and Parke Davis), 1922 (Helms, Parke Davis), 1923 (Sagarin) and 1939 (Litkenhous, Sagarin) titles. All five teams went undefeated and dominated their opponents. The 1915 team was 9-0 and outscored its opponents 287-50 with four shutouts. The 1921, 1922 and 1923 squads each went 8-0 and outscored their opponents 392-21, 339-27 and 320-33, respectively. The teams allowed more than one touchdown in a game just once during that 24-game span while scoring 40 or more points 14 times. The 1939 team was 8-0 and defeated Syracuse, Penn State and Ohio State.

STORIED RIVALRIES: The Big Red is involved in three of the top 20 most-played rivalries in college football. Heading into the 2007 campaign, the Cornell-Penn series ranks fifth in most games played with 114. The 94 meetings between Cornell and Columbia ranks 12th, while the Cornell-Colgate rivalry stands 17th with 89 games played. The Big Red’s oldest active rivalry is with Bucknell. Although the teams have met just 47 times, the squads first faced off during the 1888 season, Cornell’s second season of football. The Cornell-Dartmouth and the Cornell-Penn series are the second-longest uninterrupted active series, as the teams have met every season since 1919, a span of 87 years. They trail only the Lafayette-Lehigh series, which has been played every year since 1897.

LATE START: For the third time in four years, Cornell was the last NCAA Division I football team to open its season. Division III Whittier College also played at 7 p.m. that night against Carthage, while all 10 teams from the Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) open this weekend. Cornell was one of four teams to open simultaneously at 7 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2004, the other time the Big Red kicked off the season last and was the final team to start in 2006 with its 7 p.m. start on Sept. 16 at Bucknell. It didn’t bother Cornell this season, as the Big Red captured a 38-14 win.

WHAT’S THE FREQUENCY?: All of the Big Red’s football games in 2007 are carried live on WHCU (870 AM) in the Ithaca area and on the internet at www.CornellBigRed.com. Barry Leonard returns for his 10th season in the booth and eighth season in the play-by-play chair, while Buck Briggs ’76 is back to provide the color commentary for a seventh season. Special guests will also make appearances throughout the season.

LIVE STATS: If you can’t make it to Schoellkopf Field, you can follow the Big Red live on the internet with Live Stats. Just follow the link on www.CornellBigRed.com for official stats updated in real-time for each of the Big Red’s home games.

UP NEXT: The Big Red returns home to celebrate Senior Day when it plays host to Columbia on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 1 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.