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GAME INFORMATION
Game #1: Cornell at Bucknell
Kickoff: Saturday, Sept. 20, at 6:00 p.m. ET
Site: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium (13,100), Lewisburg, Pa.
2008 Records: Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy); Bucknell (2-0, 0-0 Patriot)
Series Record: Cornell leads 36-11
Last Meeting: Cornell won 38-14, Sept. 15, 2007, in Ithaca, N.Y.
Radio: WHCU 870 AM, Barry Leonard (play-by-play), Buck Briggs (color)
Live Stats: Available at www.CornellBigRed.com
Live Video: Available at www.CornellBigRed.com
Tickets: Available by calling (607) 254-BEAR
HEAD COACH JIM KNOWLES '87
The Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Football Jim Knowles is in his fifth season at the helm of the Big Red (20-20 overall, .500; 13-15 Ivy, .464) ... Knowles, an All-Ivy defensive end and three-year letter winner on the gridiron, was hired by his alma mater as head coach on Jan. 30, 2004.
ITHACA, N.Y. — After another long preseason wait, the Cornell football team will start its 10-game in 10-week march through the 2008 campaign when it visits longtime rival Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 6 p.m. at Christy Mathewson Stadium. The Big Red opens its 122nd season of football against a Bison team off to its first 2-0 start since 2003. The game can be heard locally on WHCU 870 AM with Barry Leonard on the call, or at www.CornellBigRed.com as part of the RedCast subscription service.
Cornell, with 19 starters and 39 letter winners back in the fold from last season's 5-5 team, will attempt to continue its non-conference win streak that currently sits at five games. That is the longest win streak over non-Ivy League opponents since capturing six straight games from 1997-99. To continue that success, Cornell will have to reverse its well-documented recent struggles away from Schoellkopf Field. Cornell will be looking to snap a four-game road losing skid to the Bison and pick up the team's first win in Lewisburg since 1994. As a program, the Big Red has dropped 19 of its last 23 road contests.
The Big Red are coming off a 5-5 campaign in 2007, but with a group of 33 seniors providing the leadership, expectations run high around the Cornell program. The first recruiting class under head coach Jim Knowles '87 includes All-Ivy selections Zac Canty (wide receiver) and Steve Valenta (offensive tackle), as well as three-year starting quarterback Nathan Ford, on offense. They combine with fifth-year senior Luke Siwula, the No. 5 all-time leading rusher at Cornell, and wide receiver Bryan Walters to form a potent offense that scored at least 30 points in six games a season ago.
While the offense should be potent, the defense should be much-improved over a year ago with experience returning at every position. All-Ivy selections Graham Rihn (linebacker) and Tim Bax (safety) are tremendous senior playmakers, while three-year starters Gus Krimm (safety) and Frank Kunis (defensive line) will be leaned upon heavily.
Special teams is again expected to be a strength, as both the punt and kickoff coverage teams ranked among the best in the country a season ago. Senior Nick Maxwell returns as an All-Ivy candidate at punter, and sophomore Brad Greenway possesses a strong leg as the team's new place-kicker. Bryan Walters has also proven to be one of the nation's most dangerous returners in his first two seasons, having already set the school's punt return yardage record (618 yards on 57 returns). He ranks second all-time at Cornell in all-purpose yards per game (170.2), behind only Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy runner-up Ed Marinaro '72.
The game against Bucknell renews a series that dates back to 1888, the Big Red's second season of football. Cornell leads the all-time series 36-11 based largely on the strength of a 24-game win streak that spanned 88 years (1891-1979). More recently, Bucknell has won four of the last seven meetings, with the two teams splitting the four games since Knowles took over at his alma mater.
The Bison, under head coach Tim Landis, are off to a perfect start after holding off Robert Morris 17-14 last weekend with a blocked kick with three seconds remaining. Bucknell, which runs the spread option attack, is averaging 441.5 yards and 32.5 points in its first two contests.
A WIN OVER BUCKNELL WOULD:
• give Cornell a season-opening win over the Bison for the third time in four years.
• improve the Big Red's lead in the all-time series to 37-11, including 3-2 under head coach Jim Knowles.
• improve Cornell's record in season openers to 88-29-4.
• make Cornell 124-69-7 vs. Patriot League foes.
• be the 611th in program history (10th most in the Football Championship Subdivision).
THE CORNELL-BUCKNELL SERIES: (Cornell leads 36-11) This will be the 48th meeting between Cornell and Bucknell, with the Big Red holding a 36-11 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 their next contest against Cornell. Last year, the Big Red hammered Bucknell 38-14 at Schoellkopf Field.
SCOUTING BUCKNELL:
• Bucknell enters the game with a perfect 2-0 record for the first time since 2003. The Bison won the opener over Duquesne, 48-42, before using a field goal block with three seconds to play to hold off Robert Morris last weekend, 17-14.
• The Bison, who run the spread option attack, have opened it up a bit in the air over the first two games. Bucknell has averaged 218.5 yards per game on the ground with five touchdowns, while averaging 223.0 yards in the air with four scores.
• Defensively, the Bison have been stout against the run, allowing just 83.0 yards per game, but the pass defense has been suspect, surrendering 347.0 yards per game in the air with seven touchdowns over two games.
• One thing that hasn't changed is that the team continues to control the time of possession battle, keeping the ball for more than 34 minutes per contest. A key has been converting 13-of-26 third downs.
• Quarterback Marcello Trigg has completed 24-of-32 passes for 420 yards and three touchdowns through two games, with his favorite target being Shaun Pasternak, who had hauled in 10 passes for 227 yards. Running back A.J. Kizekai is the team's leading rusher and is again among the national leaders in all-purpose yardage, posting 138.0 yards per game in the first two contests.
• Sixth-year head coach Tim Landis has posted a 25-33 record at Bucknell and is 78-85-1 in 16 seasons as a head coach overall. Landis is 2-3 all-time against Cornell.
FOR OPENERS: If the Big Red continues its 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 87-29-4 (.742) in season openers and is 8-4 against Bucknell when Cornell plays the Bison to open the season.
LATE START: For the fourth time in five years, Cornell was the last NCAA Division I football team to be scheduled to play its opener. Due to a postponement of Nicholls State's game at New Mexico State on Sept. 4, however, the Big Red will not actually be the last Division I team to kickoff. Due to Hurricane Gustav, that contest was postponed and forced Nicholls State to actually open on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET at Memphis. The game against New Mexico State has yet to be rescheduled. Cornell was one of four teams to open simultaneously at 7 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2004 and was the final team to start in 2006 with its 7 p.m. start on Sept. 16 at Bucknell. Last season, the Big Red opened on Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
CORNELL VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Cornell has a 123-69-7 record against the seven current members of the Patriot League football conference, including a 36-11-0 edge over Bucknell. Cornell has advantages over Colgate (48-39-3), Fordham (4-2-0), Georgetown (2-1-0), Holy Cross (5-0-0), Lafayette (14-8-2) and Lehigh (14-8-2).
POINTS AND MORE POINTS: Cornell's 270 points in 2007 ranked 13th on the single-season list. The record is an incredible 434 set in 1892.
MOVING THE CHAINS: The Cornell offense set a school record for first downs in a season in 2007 with 231, surpassing the previous mark of 224 in 1996.
WHOLE LOTTA SCORING: The Big Red scored at least 30 points in four straight weekends during the 2007 campaign, the first time it reached the 30-point mark in four consecutive weekends since Coach Gil Dobie's 1921 national championship team had six straight games over 30 points. Cornell opened that 8-0 season with 41 (St. Bonaventure), 55 (Rochester), 110 (Case Western), 31 (Colgate), 59 (Dartmouth) and 41 (Columbia). In 2007, the Big Red scored at least 30 points in consecutive games vs. Brown (38), Princeton (31), Dartmouth (31) and Columbia (34).
BUZZ AROUND CAMPUS: In its five home games in 2007, Cornell averaged 8,897 people with a high of 13,035 to see the Big Red top Colgate on Homecoming weekend. That was nearly twice as many as the 2006 average of 5,008 fans per game. Cornell's five-game total of 44,486 fans surpassed the six-game total of 30,045 from 2006.
RING MY BELL: When head coach Jim Knowles '87 returned to his alma mater in 2004, he introduced a Victory Bell and a new Cornell fight song. After every win, the Cornell team gathers in the locker room and sings the fight song, and one player is chosen to ring the bell. After 10 wins, the bell is retired and a new one is introduced. The Big Red retired its second bell after a 34-14 victory over Columbia in the 2007 home finale. A new bell will be rung with its first win of 2008
NOTES VS. BUCKNELL IN 2007:
• The Big Red's 38 points was the most in a season opener since posting a 39-8 win over Princeton to open the 1986 campaign, Jim Knowles' senior year playing for Cornell. The 24-point margin of victory was also the most since 1986.
• The 38 points was also the most by a Big Red team against the Bison since 1915 (41-0 win), while the 24-point margin of victory was the biggest for Cornell against Bucknell since 1978 (24-0 win).
• The following players earned their first collegiate starts: Dario Arezzo (DE), Quentin Bernhard (RT), Horatio Blackman (WR), Stephen Liuzza (WR), Frank Morand (DB), Graham Rihn (LB) and Loren Rosenberg (LG).
• The following players saw their first collegiate game action: Chris Costello (LB), Trevin Cowman (DL), Emani Fenton (DB), Josh Gajdos (DB), Ben Ganter (QB), Brandon Lainhart (LB), Aaron Levine (LB), Babak Motamedi (OL), Ryne Posey (DL), Jordan Tuttel (OL) and Andy Wade (DB).
• The Big Red held the nation's leader in all-purpose yards, A.J. Kizekai, to 160 yards, 95.5 yards below his average.
• Cornell's 29 first downs were two short of a single-game record and were the most since registering 29 at Buffalo in 1997.
• Cornell scored on 6-of-7 red zone opportunities with five touchdowns and a field goal. The Big Red nearly made it 7-of-7, but a 38-yard field goal attempt hit the left uprights.
• The 12 receivers catching passes were the most for the Big Red since 14 different players hauled in catches vs. Harvard in 2001.
CHARTING FORD'S RISE: Senior quarterback Nathan Ford continues to move up the career passing charts. Here is where he stands entering the 2008 campaign.
Career Yardage
1. Ricky Rahne (1998-01) 7,710
2. Bill Lazor (1991-93) 5,697
3. Nathan Ford (2005-pr.) 3,451
Career Completions
1. Ricky Rahne (1998-01) 678
2. Bill Lazor (1991-93) 470
3. Nathan Ford (2005-pr.) 335
Career Attempts
1. Ricky Rahne (1998-01) 1226
2. Bill Lazor (1991-93) 873
3. Shawn Maguire (1983-85) 562
4. Nathan Ford (2005-pr.) 559
Career Completion Percentage
1. Mike Hood (1996-98) .607
2. Nathan Ford (2005-pr.) .599
3. Steve Joyce (1994-95) .567
HITTING THE MARK: Nathan Ford threw for at least 200 yards in each of the Big Red's first seven games in 2007, the most 200-yard passing games since Ricky Rahne surpassed 200 yards in all 10 games of the 2000 season. He did not attempt a pass after being injured early in the game at Dartmouth, did not play vs. Columbia and saw only second half duty against Penn in the season finale.
BIG HITTER ON THE DIAMOND: A highly-recruited baseball player out of high school, Nathan Ford chose Cornell in part because of the opportunity to play on the gridiron as well as on the diamond. In 2008, while Ford was going through spring football practice, the catcher/third baseman was named to the All-Ivy first team. Ford earned his second all-league honor after being named to the second team in 2007 as a third baseman. This past season, Ford pitched in at two key spots on the diamond, playing 11 games at third base and nine games behind the plate in Ivy League action in place of injured starter Adam Jacobs. He led the Big Red in batting (.410) and RBI (28). He also had a school-record 17 doubles, more than twice as many as anyone else on the roster. He added two triples to go along with three home runs. Ford also drew 16 walks to just 15 strikeouts on the year. He enters his senior season hitting .358 for his career, a mark that ranks second all-time behind Erik Rico '02 (.362).
HALF DOZEN AT TWO GRAND: With his 81-yard effort against Bucknell in the 2007 opener, senior Luke Siwula became the sixth player in program history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards. The Cortland, N.Y., native, joined Ed Marinaro '72, Chad Levitt '97, Derrick Harmon '84, John McNiff '92 and Gary Wood '64 at the milestone. He enters the 2008 opener against Bucknell with 2,195 yards. Next up on the list is McNiff with 2,557 yards.
SIWULA FOR SIX: Senior Luke Siwula scored a career-best three touchdowns in the season opening win over Bucknell in 2007, and three more against Georgetown, giving him 18 career rushing touchdowns and 22 total scores. His 22 total touchdowns is tied with Pete Larson '67 and Scott Oliaro '93 for sixth on the school's list. Siwula is tied for ninth on the school's all-time scoring list with 132 career points.
ANOTHER HUNDRED: Luke Siwula enters the 2008 season with nine career 100-yard rushing games, fifth all-time in Cornell history. In 2005, Siwula became the first Cornell running back to record six 100-yard games in one season since Malaga in 1988. He was the fifth player to post a season with six or more 100-yard games (Ed Marinaro in 1969, 1970 and 1971; Dan Malone in 1972; Joe Holland in 1978; Malaga; and Siwula), with Heisman Trophy runner-up Ed Marinaro doing it in three straight seasons.
BIG-PLAY BAX MOVING IN ON 200 TACKLES: After finishing second in the Ivy League in tackles in 2007 with 100, senior safety Tim Bax enters the season opener with 197 career stops. With three tackles, Bax will become the 20th Cornell defender to register 200 career knockdowns.
VALENTA LEADS THE LINE: All-America candidate Steve Valenta enters the season as a three-year starter at left tackle and has made 20 consecutive starts while playing in all 24 games in which he has been available. During his two seasons as a starter, the Big Red has averaged 23.0 points and 150.5 rushing yards per game with 35 total touchdowns on the ground.
PEOPLE TAKE NOTICE: Senior tackle Steve Valenta has earned a level of recognition heading into 2008, earning preseason all-conference honors from a variety of publications. With the success of recent graduate Kevin Boothe '06 fresh in the minds of NFL scouts, the 6-5, 309-pound Valenta has already brought several to campus to see him practice. He is currently rated among the top 100 tackles in college football by nfldraftscout.com.
WALTERS OBLITERATES PUNT RETURN RECORDS: After just two seasons with the Big Red, junior Bryan Walters already holds the career punt return yardage record (618 on 57 returns) and the top two single-season marks (345 in 2007, 273 in 2006). He enters the 2008 season tied for second in career punt return attempts (57) and needs seven to surpass Brian Romney '06 atop that list.
WALTERS AN ALL-PURPOSE OPTION: Junior Bryan Walters is among impressive company through two seasons as an all-purpose threat, ranking second in school history behind Hall of Famer Ed Marinaro with his 141.6 yards per game. Marinaro averaged an incredible 183.2 yards in his career, good for 5,117 total yards. If Walters continues at his current pace for his remaining 20 contests, he will end with 5,098 all-purpose yards. Below is how he ranks all-time at Cornell.
OH YEAH, HE'S ALSO A RECEIVER: Junior Bryan Walters became an All-Ivy candidate as a sophomore wideout, hauling in 48 passes for 592 yards and four touchdowns. His receptions and receiving yards ranked him among the top 60 nationally. As a freshman, Walters caught three passes for 33 yards in limited action.
HONORS NOT NEW TO WALTERS: Junior Bryan Walters is a three-time weekly Ivy League honoree, capturing Special Teams Player of the Week twice during his career and Rookie of the Week honors once as a freshman.
CANTY OUT TO JOIN THE 100 CATCH-1,000 YARD CLUB: Senior Zac Canty enters his final campaign with 90 catches for 946 yards and is likely to become the sixth player in school history to tally 100 career catches and the 13th to reach 1,000 receiving yards this season.
CANTY WITH THE GRAB: Senior Zac Canty has at least two catches in 19 of the Big Red's last 20 games. Canty did not play against Columbia last season, snapping a streak of 18 straight games with a catch.
BAKER TO MAKE A RUN ON BOTH LISTS AS WELL: Senior Jesse Baker would also surpass 100 catches and 1,000 receiving yards by matching his 2007 totals of 42 catches for 420 yards. He enters his final season with 64 receptions for 740 yards and a pair of scores in 20 varsity contests.
BAKER, BLACKMAN ALSO HAVE STREAKS: Seniors Jesse Baker and Horatio Blackman each bring a 10-game streak of consecutive contests with a reception into the 2008 campaign.
CAN YOU SPARE A RECEIVER: The Big Red returns all 14 players that caught a pass a season ago, accounting for 100 percent of the team's 281 catches for 2,611 yards and nine touchdowns from a season ago.
• Nine receivers reached double figures in catches, with two more catching eight balls.
• Six players hauled in at least 20 passes and three caught at least 40.
• Eight players had a reception of at least 20 yards.
• Rising seniors accounted for 179 catches (63.7 percent) and 1,600 yards (61.3 percent).
• Tight ends accounted for 19 catches (6.8 percent) and 169 yards (6.5 percent).
• Tailbacks accounted for 23 catches (8.2 percent) for 190 yards (7.3 percent).
LIUZZA SETTLES IN AT WR: Junior Stephen Liuzza has settled in at wide receiver after being the definition of a utility athlete in his first two seasons. The converted quarterback has seen action behind center, in the slot and in the backfield in his 17 varsity contests. The Slidell, La. native caught 23 passes for 196 yards a season ago, but also saw action in three games at quarterback. He posted 423 yards of total offense in just three quarters of play against Dartmouth in front a national television audience on YES, the third-best total in school history.
THE CAPTAIN: Senior Tommy Bleymaier had a breakout junior season, hauling in career highs of 29 catches for 224 yards, easily surpassing his totals from his first two seasons (11 catches, 162 yards). A third-down specialist out of the slot, 16 of his 40 career receptions have extended drives for the Big Red. The son of Boise State AD Gene Bleymaier and a former walk-on, the 5-9, 170-pound receiver had 16 catches for 145 yards in the team's final three contests a season ago, including a career-high nine catches for 107 yards at Dartmouth.
KILCOYNE ALWAYS DANGEROUS: Senior Shane Kilcoyne is one of the team's most dangerous threats in the open field, and the Big Red will attempt to find a way to get him the ball in open space in 2008. The senior caught 10 passes for 61 yards and rushed 42 times for 124 yards a season ago, but it was his seven kick returns that averaged 27.0 yards, including a 94-yard touchdown return vs. Columbia, that showed his true potential. Kilcoyne enters his final season with 920 all-purpose yards and six career touchdowns.
LINE 'EM UP: A year after starting three All-Ivy linemen that ended the season with 100 career starts, the 2008 campaign will have a new look in the trenches. With three-year starter Steve Valenta returning at left tackle (20 starts) and two-year starter Quentin Bernhard (10 starts) bookending the right side, Cornell will be working in three brand new starters in the interior. Junior Andrew Bohl (right guard) and seniors Justin Mortensen (left guard) and Babak Motamedi (center) bring a combined 13 games of reserve experience into the year. The starting offensive line averages 6-3 and 297 pounds.
BARBOUR CUTS CLOSE: Junior Randy Barbour is the team's leading returning rusher after posting 477 yards and six scores a season ago. The 5-9 tailback earned Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors after rushing for 159 yards and three touchdowns in an overtime win over Brown a season ago, the sixth-best rushing total this decade. He will again tandem with senior Luke Siwula to form Cornell's own version of "thunder and lightning."
RIHN BIG TACKLER: Senior captain Graham Rihn is recognized as one of the top defensive players in the Ivy League, and he will have a chance to give the league's coordinators headaches one last time this fall. An honorable mention All-Ivy pick as a junior, Rihn is the team's active leader in tackles for loss (12) and has posted 64 career stops in total. He was a two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week a season ago, earning the award after dominant performances in wins over Bucknell (5 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles) and Columbia (8 tackles, 4.5 TFL, blocked kick).
KRIMM A SAFETY VALVE: Senior Gus Krimm has been a steady playmaker in the defensive backfield over the last two seasons, ranking fourth on the team each year with 58 total tackles. Krimm enters his senior season with 20 consecutive starts and 116 tackles to go along with 10 pass breakups.
MAXWELL SMART PUNTER: Senior punter Nick Maxwell has continued to be among the top punters in the Ivy League in his two seasons as a starter. Maxwell has averaged 38.1 yards on 93 career punts, putting 25 of his kicks inside the opponents' 20-yard line. He has had only three touchbacks and one kick blocked in his career. The Lacey, Wash., native averaged a career-best 39.2 yards per punt as a junior. His hangtime, as well as the team's punt coverage team, allowed just 166 return yards on 28 returns, an average of 5.9 yards per attempt.
BOOTHE '06 BECOMES SECOND CORNELLIAN TO WIN SUPER BOWL RING: Former All-American offensive lineman Kevin Boothe '06 joined former star tailback Derrick Harmon '84 as the second Cornell alumnus to earn a Super Bowl ring. Boothe played on special teams during the New York Giants' run to Super Bowl XLII. Boothe and the Giants upset the previously unbeaten New England Patriots, 17-14, on Feb. 3, 2008 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Harmon earned his ring as a running back and returner for the San Francisco 49ers, joining Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and company in a 38-16 triumph over the Miami Dolphins on Jan. 20, 1985 in Super Bowl XIX.
SIWULA NAMED SECOND-TEAM ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN, JOINS TWO ON ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS: Senior Luke Siwula was named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America second team in 2007, making his third appearance on the national team. Michael Boyd '08 joined Siwula on the first-team Academic All-District squad for the third straight year and were joined by Graham Rihn when the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA District I football team was announced. All three players were honored for their achievements on the gridiron and in the classroom and were part of 17 Ivy League players who advanced to the national ballot for Academic All-America honors. The team is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America within the district, which covers all Division I-A and Division I-AA schools in New England, New York and the eastern Canadian provinces. In order to be eligible for the team, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve, have completed at least two semesters and maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.20.
CORNELL MENTIONED TWICE ON ESPN'S LIST OF TOP 40 MOMENTS THAT DEFINE COLLEGE FOOTBALL: No list about the greatest college football moments would be complete without Cornell, but the Big Red was mentioned twice in the top 40 Plays, Performances and Moments that Define College Football by ESPN's Ivan Maisel in 2007. Big Red Hall of Famer Pete Gogolak and the Fifth-Down Game were each placed among the list of the top 40. Gogolak's 41-yard field goal against Princeton on Oct. 28, 1961 that made him the first soccer-style kicker in college football was placed No. 38 on Maisel's list. Here is what Maisel wrote about that contest:
"It wasn't that Cornell sophomore Pete Gogolak made a 41-yard field goal against Princeton. It was the way he made it. The Hungarian immigrant kicked the football from the side, soccer-style. In three seasons, Gogolak made 44 consecutive extra points but only 9 of 27 field-goal attempts. It didn't matter. Gogolak revolutionized place-kicking. Straight-on kickers, like milkmen and typewriter repairmen, became relics."
The Fifth-Down Game of Nov. 16, 1940, against Dartmouth was also on the list at No. 35.
"It wasn't that No. 2 Cornell scored on a fifth-down, 6-yard pass in the final minute to defeat Dartmouth 7-3 in 1940 that made referee Red Friesell's blunder so memorable. It was that, after seeing the films, Cornell president Dr. Edmund Ezra Day directed his team to forfeit the game. Cornell lost its 18-game unbeaten streak but gained stature for playing with honor, instead of merely by the rules."
STORIED RIVALRIES: The Big Red is involved in three of the top 20 most-played rivalries in college football. Heading into the 2008 campaign, the Cornell-Penn series ranks fifth in most games played with 115. The 95 meetings between Cornell and Columbia ranks 12th, while the Cornell-Colgate rivalry stands 17th with 90 games played. The Big Red's oldest active rivalry is with Bucknell. Although the teams have met just 47 times, the squads first faced off during the 1888 season, Cornell's second season of football. 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 88 years. They trail only the Lafayette-Lehigh series, which has been played every year since 1897.
SWEET 600: Cornell became the 10th Football Championship Subdivision program and 42nd among all NCAA classifications to reach 600 wins when it defeated Penn 16-7 in the 2005 season finale at Franklin Field. Entering the 2008 season, 38 Division I programs (I-A and I-AA) have reached that mark.
CORNELL ALL-TIME: The Big Red has an overall record of 610-450-34 (.573) in its 120 years of football. The program's 610 wins rank 10th among all FCS schools. Over the years, Cornell has taken on 87 different opponents, with its most frequent opponent being Penn (115 meetings).
AP NO. 1: Cornell is the only Ivy League school to be ranked No. 1 in the weekly Associated Press poll, holding the top ranking for three weeks (10/15-10/29) of the 1940 season. The No. 1 ranking ended with the historic "Fifth Down Game" against Dartmouth. The Big Red ended that campaign with a 6-2 record that included wins over Army, Syracuse and Ohio State.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS: Cornell has won 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.
LIVE AND IN YOUR HOME: You can see live streaming video of each of the Big Red's five home games courtesy of Cornell athletics and IBN Sports. Visit www.CornellBigRed.com or www.IBNSports.com for more information. For subscription information for Cornell's other sports through the Redcast subscription service, visit Cornell's web site, www.CornellBigRed.com.
WHAT'S THE FREQUENCY?: All of the Big Red's football games in 2008 are carried live on WHCU (870 AM) in the Ithaca area and on the internet at www.CornellBigRed.com. Barry Leonard returns for his 11th season in the booth and ninth season in the play-by-play chair, while Buck Briggs '76 is back to provide the color commentary for an eighth season. Special guests will also make appearances throughout the year.
GET SIRIUS: The Cornell football team will make two live appearances on SIRIUS Satellite Radio during the upcoming 2008 season as part of a 12-game Ivy League Game of the Week package. This season will mark the fourth year of SIRIUS Radio's broadcast of the football and men's basketball. The Big Red will face Brown on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 12:30 p.m., then plays host to Princeton on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. SIRIUS will feature both football and basketball games from all eight Ivy League schools (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale), and showcase some of the best matchups of the season. All games will be broadcast on Sirius 130.
LIVE STATS: If you can't make it to Schoellkopf Field, you can follow the Big Red live on the internet with Live Stats. Just follow the link on www.CornellBigRed.com for official stats updated in real-time for each of the Big Red's home games.
UP NEXT: The Big Red returns for Homecoming 2008, opening Ivy League play against preseason favorite Yale on Saturday, Sept. 27, at 1 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field. The game will also be the first contest on Schoellkopf's renovated FieldTurf surface.
