ITHACA, N.Y. - For the second consecutive year, the Cornell football team picked off a ranked team at home, this time dropping No. 23 Albany 23-21 in front of 6,571 fans at Schoellkopf Field on Saturday evening. The Big Red picked up its first win of the year in improving to 1-2, while Albany slipped to 3-2.

Junior Luke Siwula ran for 162 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries as part of a Big Red rushing attack that posted 237 yards on the ground. Sophomore quarterback Nathan Ford was 12-of-28 passing for 112 yards and his first career score in the air, with senior Anthony Jackson coming down with a 4-yard catch in the end zone in the second quarter. Ford's favorite target was sophomore Zac Canty, who caught five passes for 49 yards. The Big Red has 19 first downs and owned a decisive 35:30-24:30 time of possession advantage in the win. Cornell also turned around its fortunes in the red zone, scoring on 4-of-5 opportunities.

Junior Peter Zell booted three field goals, including a career-long 45-yard effort in the second quarter. Defensively, Cornell limited a run-first Albany attack to 111 yards on 33 carries and 247 yards of total offense in the game. Junior Colin Nash had seven tackles and his first career interception in the victory, returning it 24-yards to set up a Zell field goal.

For Albany, Daniel Bocanegra came off the bench to toss for 136 yards and a touchdown, a 22-yard pass to Mike Wall. Mark Sheehan also returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown in the loss. Marcus Allen led the Great Danes with his 39 yards on 10 carries, while Colin Simmons had 37 yards on nine carries.

Cornell dominated the first quarter, gaining 120 total yards of offense to Albany's 20, while holding the ball for 10:38. The Big Red, who had converted only 27 percent of its third down possessions in its first two games, connected on 5-of-7, while holding the Great Danes to just 1-of-2.

Cornell opened the game with a long drive down the field, going 77 yards on 16 plays. The Big Red used an 11-yard pass from Ford to Canty on third-and-6 to move to the Albany 10-yard line, and a 9-yard rush by Canty on the next play moved Cornell down to the Albany one. Unfortunately, the Big Red lost ground on its next two plays, before an incomplete pass on fourth-and-three allowed the Great Dane to take over on downs.

Albany's first possession resulted in a three-and-out and the ensuing punt put the Big Red in outstanding field position as Bryan Walters returned the ball 15 yards to put Cornell on the Albany 35. The Big Red would need only seven plays after that to get its first touchdown of the season. Siwula accounted for 30 yards of offense on the drive, including a six-yard run for the touchdown. Zell's extra-point was good and Cornell would take its first lead of the season over an opponent, 7-0.

The defense, which held Albany to three-and-out on its first possession, would keep on the pressure and Nash came up with his first career interception, taking it 24 yards to put the Big Red on the Albany 13. The offense had trouble moving the ball, gaining only two yards, but Zell's 28-yard attempt split the uprights to put the home team up, 10-0.

Albany's offense continued to struggle on the opening drive of the second quarter, but a 38-yard punt by Chris Lynch which rolled out of bounds at the Cornell 2-yard line pinned the Big Red deep in its own territory.

A three-and-out possession by Cornell, followed by a 31-yard punt by Michael Bolling gave the Great Danes good field position as they took over on the Cornell 35. Albany would need only two plays to get on the board, scoring on a 22-yard completion to Mike Wall. Kicker Jason Fralicker would hit the PAT to make it 10-7 with 11:45 remaining before the half.

The Big Red would string together another long drive on its very next possession, using 4:12 of game clock and 12 plays to go 70 yards. Cornell would open the drive with five-straight rushes, including four by Siwula, to move the ball 33 yards. Back-to-back Cornell penalties would force the Big Red to go to the air and Ford would send a rocket 19-yards to Anthony Jackson, moving the ball to the Albany 28-yard line. Three more rushes by Siwula would move the ball 24 yards before Ford and Jackson would hook up again for a four-yard touchdown pass. Zell remained perfect on the night, connecting on another extra-point attempt to put Cornell up, 17-7.

Once again, the Big Red defense would hold Albany to a three-and-out drive, and a miscue by Lynch, who punted the ball only 12 yards, gave Cornell outstanding field position at the Albany 35-yard line.

After moving the ball only two yards, Zell would nail a career-best 45-yard field goal attempt, bettering his old mark by 10-yards, to put the Big Red up, 20-7 with 3:24 before the half.

The teams would trade possessions to close out the second quarter and Cornell would go into the break with a 20-7 lead.

For the half, the Big Red would put up nearly triple the offensive yardage (141-52) and held the ball nearly twice as long as Albany (19:08-10:52), while Siwula rushed for more yards (93) than the entire Great Dane team (51).

After trading the first four possessions of the third period, Big Red punter Nick Maxwell (Lacey, Wash.) would blast a career-long 51 yard punt, which David McCarty returned it just three yards to put the Great Danes on their own 35-yard line. Albany then used nine plays to drive 65-yards for a touchdown, the lone score of the period. The drive was highlighted by a 38-yard pass from Bocanegra to Ross Jatkola, who would have scored had it not been for a diving tackle by Nash to bring him down at the Cornell 5-yard line. The Big Red defense nearly held Albany without a touchdown, but Omar Johnson managed to power through the line on fourth-and-one, and the extra point by Fralicker pulled the Great Danes within six, 20-14.

Cornell's first possession of the fourth quarter started well, with a 15-yard rush by Shane Kilcoyne, but Mark Sheehan intercepted a pass attempt by Ford that was batted in the air by the defensive line and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown. Fralicker would give Albany its first lead of the game as his PAT put the Great Danes up, 21-20 with 11:08 to play.

After getting the ball back on the ensuing kick off, it looked as though the Big Red would be forced to punt after gaining only five yards on three plays, but the game would turn back around for good as Cornell faked the punt and Michael Boyd (Pasadena, Texas) had his first career rush go for seven yards to give the Big Red a much-needed first down. The enegrized offense saw  Ford find Canty for an 18-yard gainer, then saw  Siwula bust up the gut for consecutive 14-yard runs. The trick play paid off when Zell would strike a 33-yard field goal to cap an 11 play, 64-yard drive, putting the home team back up on top, 23-21, in what would turn out to be the game-winning score.

Two Albany penalties on the ensuing kick off, one for holding and one for a personal foul after the play, would pin the Great Danes back on their own 7-yard line and the Big Red's defense would come up big, forcing a three-and-out.

Cornell would receive the Albany punt on its 41-yard line, but were unable to move the ball, going three-and-out. Still, the Big Red managed to run nearly four minutes of the clock and the ensuing 32-yard punt by Maxwell placed Albany on its own 25-yard line.

The Great Danes would make it interesting, using eight plays to go 21 yards, but had a fourth-and-4 pass attempt go incomplete. Cornell would take over on downs and take two knees to run out the clock for its first victory of the year.

The Big Red returns to the road to face Harvard on Saturday, Oct. 7, at 12:30 p.m. in Cambridge, Mass.