ITHACA, N.Y. - Cornell rushed for 261 yards as a team and held off a late Dartmouth charge to claim a 28-25 win over Dartmouth on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. Sophomore quarterback Nathan Ford rushed for a career-high 80 yards and two touchdowns and also passed for a score as the Big Red evened its record at 4-4 (2-3 Ivy). Dartmouth slipped to 1-7 (1-4 Ivy) with the loss.

Big Red quarterbacks combined for 171 yards rushing, as freshman backup Stephen Liuzza ran for 91 yards, including an electric 81-yard touchdown run that is the longest by a quarterback in Big Red history. Ford's 80 yards came on 16 carries, while he was also efficient passing at 7-of-10 for 96 yards. His one touchdown went to junior Luke Siwula, who also carried 17 times for 67 yards. Gus Krimm had a team-best nine tackles, while Ryan Blessing made seven stops and had two of the team's six sacks.

The Big Green trailed 28-10 with 10:12 to play before scoring twice to get within a field goal. Milan Williams scored twice on the ground, including a 1-yard run with 4:46 to play to get Dartmouth within three. He ended the afternoon with 55 yards on 11 carries and scored twice. Mike Fritz added 298 yards in the air on 21-of-35 passing. His favorite target was Ryan Fuselier, who grabbed five passes for 96 yards and also caught a two-point conversion.

Dartmouth began its opening drive on its 29-yard line and despite an eight-yard run by Milan Williams on second down, the Big Green went three-and-out, thanks to a sack by Krimm to stall the Dartmouth drive. Bryan Walters took the ensuing punt 15 back yards to give the Big Red a short field, beginning its first drive of the game on the Big Green's 44-yard line. From there, Cornell would need only four plays to go the remaining 44 yards to paydirt. Ford began the drive with a 14-yard rush on first down to get to the Big Green 30. After two short-gains, Ford would hit a wide-open Siwula for a 23-yard touchdown reception, and Peter Zell's extra-point gave the home team a 7-0 lead with 11:27 to play.

The Big Red defense held Dartmouth to another three-and-out, and the offense would capitalize, using 11 plays to march 77 yards down field for its second touchdown of the game. Ford, who capped the drive with a four-yard naked bootleg, carried the load on the drive, completing two passes to Zac Canty for a combined 17 yards, while rushing for another 35. Zell connected on the extra point to give Cornell the 14-0 lead with 4:54 to play in the opening stanza.

Dartmouth was hurt by a block in the back penalty on the kickoff return and was forced to begin its third possession of the game on its own 10-yard line. The Big Green finally earned its first first-down of the game with a 14-yard rush by Fritz. The quarterback then got the visitors over midfield for the first time on the afternoon when he was flushed from the pocket and scampered 28-yards to get to the Cornell 41-yard line. Dartmouth would convert a big third down when Fritz hit Phil Galligan on the sideline for a 16-yard reception to put the visitors on the Cornell 25-yard line. On the very next play, Fritz had Eric Paul wide open over the middle, but a well-timed hit by junior defensive back Colin Nash broke up the play. Fritz was sacked on the next play by senior Ryan Kiscadden, and a great open field tackle by Krimm on third down forced a Big Green field goal attempt. Andrew Kempler would convert the 39-yard kick to cap an 11-play, 69-yard drive and make it 14-3 with 30 seconds to play in the first quarter.

Liuzza would see action in the next Cornell series, and on just the second play from scrimmage, he would etch his name into the Big Red record book with an 81-yard touchdown run. Not only was the score Liuzza's first career touchdown, but it ranks as the longest run in school history by a Cornell quarterback and the ninth-longest run in school history by any player. Liuzza broke up the middle and went untouched up the middle, outrunning two Dartmouth safeties for his first career score. Zell converted the PAT and the home team would go up, 21-3 just 50 seconds into the second quarter.

The Big Green answered with a touchdown of its own on its next possession, going 67 yards in 10 plays. After steadily moving downfield, Dartmouth faced a critical fourth-and-five at the Cornell 26-yard. The Big Green would get flagged for a delay of game penalty to force a fourth-and-10, but it converted when Fritz hit Galligan over the middle to get a first down at the Cornell 18-yard line. After a 9-yard rush by Julian Collins, Williams would drive nine more yards up the gut to score and Kempler's extra point would bring the Big Green within 11 points, 21-10. Williams fumbled the ball at the 6 on his scoring rush, but the ball bounced right back into his hands en route to the end zone.

The Big Red got an outstanding kickoff return by Walters, who ran 47 yards to get to the Dartmouth 42-yard line, but for the first time all day, the Cornell offense stalled and sophomore Nick Maxwell was forced to punt. Maxwell's strong punt forced the Big Green to start on its own 9-yard line. Dartmouth picked up two first downs, but back-to-back sacks by Ryan Blessing and Anthony Sabo for a combined loss of 17 yards forced a Big Green punt.

An interference penalty on the ensuing punt gave Cornell outstanding field position, starting the drive in Dartmouth territory on the 46-yard line, but again, the offense stalled, and a failed fourth-down conversion gave the visitors the ball on their 37-yard line.

Fritz would open the ensuing drive with a 20-yard screen pass to Williams to move into Big Red territory at the 43-yard line, but a sack by Blessing pushed the ball back to midfield and eventually forced another Dartmouth punt. Cornell took a knee to run out the final 42 seconds on the first-half clock.

On the kickoff to begin the second half, Dartmouth sent the ball out of bounds, giving the Big Red the ball on its 35-yard line. The highlight of the drive would come when Ford hit a wide-open Brian FitzPatrick over the middle for a 17-yard reception to move to the Dartmouth 44-yard line, but the momentum was short-lived when a sack by Brett Lowe for a loss of eight yards forced a Maxwell punt. Maxwell's punt set the Big Green back to its 12-yard line, but back-to-back rushes by Williams for a combined 26 yards moved the visitors to their 38-yard line. From there, the Cornell defense clamped down, forcing a Dartmouth punt.

The Big Red went go three-and-out on its next possession, and a 47-yard punt by Maxwell put Dartmouth on its 32-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Fritz hit Brian Evans for a 43-yard reception to move deep in Big Red territory, getting to the Cornell 25-yard line. That would be as far as the Big Green would get, however, and Kempler's 42-yard field goal fell short.

Liuzza came in for his second series of the game and Cornell moved the ball to its 43-yard line before being forced to punt. Once again, Maxwell's punt set the Big Green back deep in its own territory, starting on its 21-yard line, and Dartmouth couldn't move the ball, punting three plays later.

Cornell received the Big Green punt at its own 40-yard line and Ford promptly hit Canty for a 24-yard reception up the sideline to move to the Dartmouth 31-yard line. After a 1-yard rush by Siwula, Ford hit senior wide receiver Anthony Jackson in the flat on the right sideline for a 12-yard gain, moving the ball to the Dartmouth 18-yard line. Siwula broke off a 12-yard rush on the next play, taking the ball to the Dartmouth 6, and Liuzza put the Big Red right on the doorstep with a rush up the middle. Ford capped the nine-play, 60-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone, and Zell made it 28-10 with the extra point with 12:44 to play in the contest.

Dartmouth started its comeback shortly after. On Dartmouth's next drive, it looked as though the Big Red defense would force another three-and-out, but a fake punt extended the drive for the Big Green. A pass interference penalty on Cornell on third-down moved Dartmouth near midfield and a reception by Williams and back-to-back completions moved the Big Green to the Cornell 20-yard line. Another pass interference call against the Big Red brought Dartmouth down to the 11, and a pass from Fritz to Lowe gave the Big Green its second touchdown of the game. Kempler capped the 12-play, 77-yard drive with the extra-point to make it 28-17 with 10:12 to play.

Cornell managed to eat three minutes off the game clock on its next drive, but it wasn't able to manage much yardage, punting from its own 31-yard line. For the first time all game, the Big Green would have good field position off a punt, beginning its drive on its 34-yard line. On just its second play from scrimmage, Fritz hit Ryan Fuselier in the middle of the field for a 53-yard completion to put Dartmouth on Cornell 7-yard line. Facing fourth-and-goal on the two-yard line, the Big Red was flagged for its third pass interference penalty of the game, giving Dartmouth a fresh set of downs on the Cornell 1-yard line. The Big Green needed only one play to take advantage of the call as Williams plunged into the end zone, and the Fritz hit Fuselier on the two-point conversion to pull within a field goal, 28-25 with 4:46 to play.

Dartmouth attempted an onside kick, but Kempler drilled the ball right at FitzPatrick, who fell on it at the Cornell 45-yard line. Facing a critical fourth-and-inches, the Big Red lined up in the shotgun formation, but Ford immediately tucked the ball away and rushed four yards to get to the Cornel 32-yard line, all but sealing the victory for the Big Red. Cornell picked up one final first down to run out the remainder of the clock, giving Cornell its second Ivy win and improving the team's record at home this season to 4-1.

The Big Red will attempt to capture its first road game of the season next weekend when it visits Columbia at 12:30 p.m. at Wien Stadium in New York City. Cornell holds a 59-31-3 advantage in the all-time series and has won two straight meetings, including a dominant 45-7 win in Ithaca last season and an improbable 32-26 contest the year before in head coach Jim Knowles' first year.