ITHACA, N.Y. -- Two fourth down plays, one converted by Cornell and one stopped by the Big Red, made all the difference as Cornell won a tight 17-14 triumph over Central New York rival Colgate on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. The Big Red stifled the Raiders in front of a strong Homecoming crowd of 13,035 in improving to 3-2 overall. Colgate slipped to 3-3 with the loss.

Sophomore Bryan Walters caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from junior Nathan Ford on a fourth-and-19 play with 12:01 to play in the fourth quarter to put Cornell into the lead, then the Big Red defense stuffed Raider tailback Jordan Scott on fourth-and-1 on the ensuing Colgate possession to give the home team the ball back in visitor territory. Those two plays proved to be the difference in a game that featured hard-hitting defenses in a contest that neither team led by more than four points.

Walters' acrobatic catch wasn't the only athletic highlight from the Big Red sophomore class, as defensive back Frank Morand returned an interception 72 yards for a touchdown, the Big Red's first INT return for a score since 2001. Morand ended the day with five tackles and a career-high four pass breakups.

Walters capped off a six-catch, 92-yard day with his score from junior Nathan Ford, who completed 26-of-45 passes for 285 yards and the game-winning touchdown, while the defense limited the Raiders to 265 yards of total offense. Junior Tim Bax had 10 tackles in the win, while Gus Krimm had nine stops.

Jordan Scott led Colgate with 110 yards on 33 rushes, but the Raider passing game struggled to a 10-of-30 passing day for 130 yards. Quarterback Alex Relph did hit Pat Simonds and Erik Burke for touchdowns in the loss. All-America linebacker Mike Gallihugh continued his fantastic senior season, posting 13 tackles, a pass breakup and an interception in the loss.

After opening the game with a three-and-out defensive stand, the Big Red offense went on a 10-play drive that ended with a Peter Zell 50-yard field goal attempt. Zell's kick fell just short, but Colgate wasn't able to convert on the miss, clearing just 29 yards before punting. Jacob Stein's kick pinned Cornell at its own two, and after three short gains, punted the ball back to the Raiders. Standing at the back of his own end zone, junior Nick Maxwell booted the ball 43 yards to give the Cornell defense a chance to hold the Raiders near midfield.

After ending the quarter by trading punts, Cornell opened with the ball in the second quarter and began a 16-play drive that ate up 6:45 and ended with a Zell chip shot from 23 yards out that got the home team on the board.

Consecutive punts by both offenses ended when the Raiders took the lead. Relph, who entered the drive 1-for-8 passing, connected on just his second pass of the day with a 25-yard toss to Pat Simonds. Two plays later the duo connected again for a 25-yard touchdown pass. The conversion kick made it 7-3 Colgate with 2:39 left in the half.

A long kickoff return by Walters (29 yards) put Cornell in good position to start the last drive of the quarter. Five straight completions brought Big Red down to Colgate 37. Facing a fourth-and-10 with 33 seconds left, Ford was drilled as he threw, but hit Walters for 15 yards to the Raider 22. Three plays later and with time running out in the half, Zell attempted a 37-yard field goal, and despite Tommy Bleymaier's valiant attempt to bring down a high snap, the senior wasn't able to get everything into his kick, which fell short to end the half.

Colgate took back the momentum on Cornell's opening drive when Ford was intercepted by Ted Marshall at the Cornell 33. Ford's tackle jarred the ball loose, but Gallihugh fell on it to give the Raiders the ball. A sure touchdown pass was broken up by senior captain Colin Nash to bring up fourth-and-seven. Relph's pass was intercepted by Morand, who juggled the ball momentarily before racing down the left sideline to the house. Zell's kick made it 10-7.

Colgate responded immediately with a five-play, 44-yard drive that ended with Relph finding Erik Burke for a 24-yard touchdown with 5:37 left to play in the third, making it 14-10.

Another Cornell turnover was squandered by the Raider offense, and when Cornell took the ball back, it scored the apparent go-ahead touchdown on a 13-yard pass from Ford to Horatio Blackman. A personal foul wiped the touchdown off the board and made it third-and-19. An incomplete pass intended for Walters forced Cornell into a long fourth down conversion, but Walters and Ford were up for the challenge. Ford put a perfect pass deep to Walters, who made an acrobatic diving catch in the end zone on a ball only he could catch to put the Big Red up for good at 17-14 with 12:01 to play.

After converting on the fourth down, the Big Red defense went to work. Colgate handed the ball off to Scott four straight times, the last two needing one yard to move the chain, but the junior tailback and the nation's leading rusher was stuffed on consecutive plays, much to the delightment of the boisterous home crowd.

After Cornell punted the ball away, the visitors picked up a quick first down, but again were forced to punt three plays later with 7:18 left. The Big Red went 46 yards on eight plays and took 2:59 off the clock before turning the ball over on downs itself, as a fourth-and-4 pass from the Colgate 7-yard line went incomplete. Backed up in the shadow of its own end zone,  the Raiders went 33 yards to the 40 before a short rush by Scott, a no-gainer and an incomplete pass brought up fourth-and-13. The Cornell defense put pressure on Relph, who was forced to heave a throw up for the grabs, but it fell to the ground with 47 seconds left harmlessly five yards in front of any Raider. The Big Red ran out the clock to pick up the victory.

Cornell returns to action next weekend, ending its three-game homestand with a contest against Ivy League foe Brown on Saturday, Oct. 20, at 1 p.m.