QUICK HITS
• The 129th football team to represent Cornell University will take to the field for the first time when the Big Red visits Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. at Christy Mathewson Field in Lewisburg, Pa.
• The contest will be broadcast live on the Patriot League Network and locally on WHCU 870 AM, with Barry Leonard and Jason Weinstein on the call.
• The Big Red will be the second-to-last Division I football team to kick off when it opens a promising 2016 campaign against a familiar foe (2015 Ivy champ Dartmouth kicks off against New Hampshire an hour later).
• Cornell leads the all-time series 42-13 entering the 56th "Battle of the 'Nells", though the Bison have won two straight matchups between the teams.
• The two teams first squared off in 1888, the Big Red's second season on the gridiron and its seventh varsity game, with Cornell taking a 20-3 triumph that year.
• The Big Red will be out to snap an eight-game non-conference losing streak and a five-game road skid.
• The Big Red's 27 seniors will be looking to help Cornell improve consecutive 1-9 campaigns.
• After two seasons of putting one of the nation's youngest lineups on the field, the Cornell football team is still maturing, but will enter the season with more playing experience than any season under head coach David Archer '05.  
• The 2015 season saw the play on the field quantifiably better by nearly every measure over 2014.
• There is every reason to believe 2016 will continue the Big Red on an upward trajectory under Archer.
• Cornell's total offense, rushing and passing yards were all up over 2014, all the while allowing fewer sacks and converting a higher percentage on third downs.
• Defensively, the Big Red allowed fewer total yards and seven less touchdowns than the previous year and posted its first shutout in 22 seasons.
• Cornell led the Ancient Eight in net punting, its kickoffs netted 10 additional yards over 2014 and the team doubled up the number of field goals.
• On offense, the Big Red returns five of the team's six top rushers, six of the top eight receivers and the top four quarterbacks.
• Juniors Josh Sweet and Jack Gellatly and sophomore Chris Walker return to carry the football, while fifth-year senior Ben Rogers has ranked among the national leaders in all-purpose yardage in each of the last two years.
• Three starting offensive linemen and the top five reserves all return up front.
• Defensively, the Big Red cut down its scoring defense by four points per game over 2014, allowed 20 fewer yards of offense and held opponents out of the end zone in the red zone more often.
• Over the final three weekends of the season, the Big Red defense allowed just 18.3 points per game and 364.7 yards per game despite playing Ivy League co-champs Dartmouth and Penn on the road.
• Special teams is bolstered by the return of 2015 All-American punter Chris Fraser.
• The consensus preseason first-team FCS All-American and former Ivy Rookie of the Year is on the radar of every NFL scout and has a chance to become the first Cornellian to be named first-team all-conference in four straight seasons (third player in Ivy history).
  • David Archer '05, the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Cornell Football, is in his fourth season at the helm of the Big Red (5-25 overall, .167; 4-21, Ivy, .160).
• Archer is the seventh-youngest Division I head football coach in the country.
• He had been an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at his alma mater for six years.
• Archer was hired as head coach on Jan. 3, 2013.

THE SERIES
• This will be the 56th meeting between Cornell and Bucknell, with the Big Red holding a 42-13 lead in the series.
• The two teams first met in 1888, a 20-3 Cornell win.
• The Big Red won the first three meetings before Bucknell claimed a 4-0 victory in 1891.
• It would be 88 years and 24 games before the Bison would win its next contest against Cornell.
• Bucknell snapped a seven-game losing streak against Cornell with a 20-7 victory over the Big Red in Lewisburg, Pa. on Sept. 27, 2014 and has now won two straight meetings.
 
ABOUT BUCKNELL
• Bucknell is 1-1 on the season after suffering its first loss of 2016, dropping a 30-19 road contest to Duquesne last Saturday.
• The Bison opened the season with a 26-10 victory at Marist.
• Bucknell is in season number 131, ninth in the FCS. Cornell is 10th in its 129th season of football.
• The Bison, under head coach Joe Susan, finished second in Patriot League play in 2014 and are picked to place fifth this season.
• The Bison had a league-high seven players picked to the preseason all-league team.
• Bucknell returns 37 letter winners from last year's team, which topped Cornell 19-14 in Ithaca, N.Y. thanks to a late touchdown.

CORNELL VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
• Cornell has a 130-80-7 record against the seven current members of the Patriot League football conference, including a 42-13 edge over Bucknell.
• The Big Red has advantages over Colgate (48-46-3), Fordham (4-3-0), Georgetown (2-1-0), Holy Cross (5-0-0), Lafayette (14-8-2) and Lehigh (15-9-2).
• Cornell will play two of its three non-conference games against Patriot League opponents.
• The Big Red will also visit Colgate on Saturday, Oct. 1. 

A WIN OVER BUCKNELL WOULD ...
• extend the Big Red's series record against Bucknell to 43-13, including 2-2 under head coach David Archer '05.
• improve Cornell's record in season openers to 92-33-4, including 2-2 under Archer.
• end a two-game skid against Bucknell.
• make the Big Red 4-1 in its last five visits to Lewisburg, Pa.
• move its record all-time against Patriot League opponents to 131-80-7
• snap an eight-game non-conference losing streak dating back to 2013.
• give Cornell a 104-62-5 (.623) record all-time in the month of September.
• be the 633rd in program history (13th-most in the Football Championship Subdivision).
 
CORNELL ON OPENING DAY
• If the Big Red continues its historical pattern of success in season openers, it could be big trouble for this year's opponent, Bucknell.
• The Big Red sports an all-time record of 91-33-4 (.727) in its 128 previous season openers.
• Cornell opened the 2015 campaign with a 19-14 loss to Bucknell on Sept. 19 after the Bison scored with under two minutes to play for the comeback victory.
• The Big Red has won five of the last nine season openers.
• In four of the last 13 years, Cornell has been the last Division I football team to kick off its season (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2011). The Big Red will be the second-to-last team to start, as Dartmouth kicks off at 7 p.m.
 
CORNELL HALL OF FAME TO ADD TWO GRIDDERS
• A pair of Cornell football legends will be inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame on Homecoming weekend.
• All-American and two-time NFL Super Bowl champion Kevin Boothe '05 and top 10 all-time rusher Scott Oliaro '92 will be among 10 inductees.
• Boothe three-time first-team All-Ivy pick and four-year starter for the Big Red at offensive tackle.
• He became just the fourth Cornell player to earn first-team all-league honors three times.
• A sixth round pick in the NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders, Boothe played a decade in the NFL and won two Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants, including as a starter in 2011.
• One of Cornell's most versatile offensive players, Oliaro holds the single-game rushing record (288 yards) and the single-game all-purpose yardage record (395 yards), ranks seventh all-time in career touchdowns, eighth all-time in career all-purpose yards and 10th all-time in career rushing yards.
• He led the team in receptions in 1989 and 1990, points in 1990 and 1992, and rushing yards in 1992.
• Oliaro was named to the All-Ivy second team in 1990 and 1992.
• He was named one of the top 50 athletes in Vermont sports history by Sports Illustrated.

SOME NOTES TO KNOW
• Senior punter Chris Fraser will attempt to become the third player in Ivy League history to become a four-time, first-team All-Ivy League pick (Harvard linebacker Dante Balestracci - '00, '01, '02, '03; Harvard running back Clifton Dawson - 03, '04, '05, '06).
• Fraser was named to the STATS FCS Preseason All-America first team, as well as first-team All-America by Football Gameplan, Athlon and Lindy's Sports.  He is a preseason second-team pick by College Sports Madness.
• Junior Jake Jatis became just the second Cornellian to earn a start at quarterback as a freshman, joining all-time Ivy leading passer Jeff Mathews '13 with starts in five contests in 2014.
• Senior Eric Sade (men's ice hockey) and junior Ryan Weigel (track and field) have each competed in two sports for the Big Red.
• The Big Red will play its 100th all-time game vs. Dartmouth, its 99th game vs. Princeton and its 98th game against Colgate.
• The Big Red offense hasn't been shut out in 59 games, with the last coming against Penn (34-0 to close out 2009).
• In 2004, Cornell was picked to finish eighth in the preseason media poll. It bucked that trend to become the second Ivy League team ever to go from an 0-7 campaign to a winning league record (4-3) in the span of a year.
• The first football game at Cornell, an intramural contest featuring 40 players per side, occurred on campus in 1869.
• Since taking over the program, head coach David Archer '05 is 4-2 in the trophy series games against Columbia (Empire Bowl, 3-0) and Penn (Trustees' Cup, 1-2).
• The Big Red roster features 14 players who stand 6-5 or taller, with sophomore offensive linemen Maximilian Gardner and Zach Strong each reaching 6-9.
 
BIG RED RANKED AMONG TOP 100 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PROGRAMS IN HISTORY
• Cornell was ranked as one of the top 100 football programs of all-time according to the Associated Press in a ranking released in August 2016.
• At No. 72, the Big Red ranked ahead of a number of Bowl Championship Subdivision (BCS) schools and second among Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) programs.
• Only Penn (No. 66) placed higher among current FCS schools, while other Ivy League teams on the list included Dartmouth (No. 87), Yale (No. 90), Princeton (No. 81) and Columbia (No. 99).
• Few collegiate football programs have the storied history of Cornell.
• With more than 120 seasons of football in the books, the Big Red has claimed five national titles, won more than 600 games and  has  had  legendary  players  and  coaches  perform  on  historic  Schoellkopf Field.
• Names such as Glenn "Pop" Warner and Heisman Trophy finalist and NCAA record-breaker Ed Marinaro have suited up for  Cornell,  while  seven  College  Football  Hall  of  Famers  have  set  the  strategy  as  head  coaches.
• In all, 138 All-Americans and 11 National Football Hall of Fame members have played for the Big Red.
• The top 10 schools on the list, done to celebrate 80 years of the Associated Press poll, are Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Alabama, USC, Nebraska, Michigan, Texas, Florida State and Florida.

YOUR 2016 FOOTBALL CAPTAINS
• Seniors Miles Norris (ILB), Ben Rogers (WR), Matt Sullivan (TE) and Jackson Weber (ILB) were elected as team captains for the 2016 season.
• Norris is the program's 17th two-year captain (Jeff Mathews '14 is the lone three-time captain).
• Norris ranked fourth on the team in tackles (48) and paced the squad in forced fumbles (two) as a junior linebacker in 2015.
• The two-year starter and three-year letter winner has posted 134 tackles with 11.0 for a loss with 5.5 sacks, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovered and a blocked kick over his career.
• Rogers returns to the Big Red for a fifth season at wide receiver after ranking among the Ivy League and the nation's top all-purpose yardage leaders.
• He enters his final season within striking distance of becoming the 22nd Cornellian to reach 1,000 career receiving yards (782) and the 11th with 3,000 career all-purpose yards (2,160).
• Sullivan will begin his third season as a key cog on the offense from his tight end position.
• An excellent pass catcher and punishing blocker, he has hauled in 34 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns over the last two seasons.
• Weber, a consistent starter at linebacker over the past three seasons, is the team's active leading tackler (148).
• A three-year letter winner, he has started 27 consecutive games and led the team with 54 tackles a season ago.

BIG RED INVOLVED IN STORIED RIVALRIES
• The Big Red is involved in three of the top 20 most-played rivalries in the FCS.
• The Cornell-Penn series ranks fifth in most games played, a total that will reach 123 this season.
• The 103 meetings between Cornell and Columbia ranks 14th, while the Cornell-Dartmouth rivalry stands 18th with 99 games played.
• 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 97 years. They trail only the Lafayette-Lehigh series, which has been played every year since 1897.
 
FOOTBALL GETS NCAA RECOGNITION (AGAIN)
• Football has been publicly recognized by the NCAA for its Academic Progress Report (APR) score being in the top 10 percent nationally each year since the scores were first tabulated in 2004-05.
• Two Cornell sports (football and men's golf) have been publicly recognized each year since the APR was first released and are among just 110 teams across the country in all sports with that accomplishment.
• Cornell's score of 991 (out of 1,000) this past year is the highest in school history (the four highest scores in program history have come over the last four years - 987, 987, 986, 991).
• Only five FCS schools have been honored each year in football (Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Penn and Yale), with four coming from the Ivy League.
• The APR measures semester-by-semester records for every individual team in Division I with regard to each team members' continuing eligibility, retention and progress toward graduation.

BIG RED INVOLVED IN STORIED RIVALRIES
• The Big Red is involved in three of the top 20 most-played rivalries in the FCS.
• The Cornell-Penn series ranks fifth in most games played, a total that will reach 123 this season.
• The 103 meetings between Cornell and Columbia ranks 14th, while the Cornell-Dartmouth rivalry stands 18th with 99 games played.
• 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 97 years. They trail only the Lafayette-Lehigh series, which has been played every year since 1897.
 
STATING THE STATES
• Cornell's 115-player roster is made up of student-athletes from 31 states, as well as Canada, South Africa and the District of Columbia.
• A team-high 10 players come to Cornell from California, Pennsylvania and New York.
• Nine players are from Maryland, eight players are from Texas and seven apiece come from Michigan and Virginia.
 
CORNELL FOOTBALL AT 129 YEARS
• This is the 130th year since the start of Cornell football, but it will be the 129th season.
• The first official Big Red football team was formed in 1887, and Cornell has sponsored a squad every year since except 1918 during World War I.
• The Big Red has an overall record of 632-508-34 (.557) in its 127 years of football.
• The program's 632 wins rank 13th among all FCS schools.
• Over the years, Cornell has taken on 89 different opponents, with its most frequent opponent being Penn (122 meetings).
 
CORNELLIANS IN THE PROS
• Two Cornellians were on NFL opening day rosters in 2016.
• Bryan Walters '10, one of the Big Red's all-time greats at wide receivers, begins his seventh NFL season overall and second with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• He spent the last three seasons with his hometown Seattle Seahawks with a Super Bowl ring to his name in 2014.
• He previously had spent time with the San Diego Chargers and the Minnesota Vikings.
• Walters, a wide receiver and special teams returner, enters the season having played in 32 career games with two starts.
• He has caught 41 passes for 452 yards and a touchdown, returned six kickoffs for 123 yards and returned 43 punts for 282 yards.
• Fourth-year offensive lineman JC Tretter '13 was an FCS All-American before being drafted in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers in 2013.
• He was named the team's starting center and has played in 24 contests with three starts entering the year.
• Tretter suffered an injury during official team activities (OTA) and missed his first NFL season, and was slated to be the Packers' starting center in 2014 before a preseason injury.
• Has seen action at both tackle spots and left guard as well as at center.
 
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
• Cornell holds claim to 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.
 
NEXT UP
• The Big Red will open the 2016 home schedule with a Homecoming matchup against Yale on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 3 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
• The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 47-29-2 and have won the last three meetings, including a 33-26 matchup last September in New Haven, Conn.