Box Score

Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. -- In a battle of Central New York unbeatens, No. 25 Colgate proved to be too much for Cornell, knocking the Big Red from the ranks of the unbeatens with a 45-23 win on Saturday afternoon at Andy Kerr Stadium. Colgate improved to 5-0 on the season with the Homecoming victory, while Cornell slipped to 2-1. 

Colgate's bruising running game softened the Cornell defense, which was out on the field for nearly 39 minutes in the contest, with Nate Eachus piling up 129 yards and three touchdowns and Jordan McCord posting 98 yards and two scores to go along with a 51-yard reception. Greg Sullivan ended the game with 84 rushing yards and a score while completing 14-of-18 passes for 217 yards. All total, the Raiders collected 561 yards of offense with 344 coming on the ground. Colgate moved the chains 32 times for first downs.



Freshman Nick Mlady recorded his first career touchdown, while senior Randy Barbour registered his 13th with a 32-yard pass from Ben Ganter in the fourth quarter. Junior defensive back Emani Fenton scooped up a fumble and returned it 32 yards for his first career touchdown as well. Senior Bryan Walters piled up 234 all-purpose yards in the loss, while linebackers Brandon Lainhart (15) and Chris Costello (13) each reached double figures in tackles.

Colgate's No. 1 rushing offense made its mark in the first half, accumulating 177 yards to go along with its 161 passing yards. The 338 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes pushed the home team to a 24-10 lead. The Big Red's highlights consisted of Brad Greenway's career-long 45-yard field goal and 171 all-purpose yards from Walters, including a pair of catches for 75 yards. Colgate's Sullivan was 10-of-13 passing for 161 yards, while Eachus and McCord combined for 129 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

After Colgate marched down the field twice for scores to open the game, Greenway hit on a career-long 45-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-3. One play after Sullivan connected with McCord on a 51-yard bomb, Sullivan lost the exchange and an opportunistic Anthony Ambrosi jumped on it to give the Big Red possession to wind down the quarter. Cornell wouldn't be able to convert that turnover into points though, and a Drew Alston punt gave the Raiders the ball back at their own 39. Colgate marched 61 yards in 11 plays in just under six minutes that resulted in a 1-yard dive by Eachus to make it 21-3 with 8:47 left in the quarter.

The visitors picked up some momentum with a quick strike score using a pair of big plays. An end-around for freshman Abdul Taylor netted 21 yards, followed on the next play by a 43-yard bomb from Ganter to Walters all the way down to the 11. A short pass to Liuzza and a strong run by Barbour, who was tackled just short of the goal, left the final inches to freshman Nick Mlady. Mlady made the most of his carry, driving through a pile for his first career touchdown. Greenway's PAT kick made it 21-10 with 6:35 left in the half.

The Raiders would use another uber-long drive, this time a 16-play, 68-yard march that took the final 6:25 of the half and resulted in a 29-yard field goal by Evan Colborne to send the home team into the half with a 24-10 edge.

Colgate came out of the second half and again marched down the field, this time a 10-play, 84-yard drive that ended with a 21-yard Jordan McCord touchdown to put the game away. The score made it 31-10.An Eachus score from 9-yards out made it 38-10 early in the fourth quarter, and Sullivan reached the end zone with four minutes to play to cap the Raiders' scoring.

Cornell never gave up, even scoring twice in the fourth quarter. The first, a 32-yard screen pass from Ganter to Barbour saw the senior avoid four tackles on his way to paydirt. The Big Red scored its final points when the defense forced a fumble and junior Emani Fenton scooped it up and took it back 32 yards for the score, Cornell's first fumble return for a touchdown since 2004. 

Cornell will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 12:30 p.m. when it meets defending Ivy League champion Harvard at Schoellkopf Field, kicking off a three-game homestand. The Crimson lead the all-time series 39-32-2 and have won seven of the last eight meetings between the programs.