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GAME INFORMATION
Game #5: Fordham at Cornell
Kickoff: Saturday, Oct. 17, at 12:30 p.m. ET
Site: Schoellkopf Field (25,597), Ithaca, N.Y.
2009 Records: Fordham (2-3, 0-1 Patriot); Cornell (2-2, 1-1 Ivy)
Series Record: Cornell leads 4-2
Last Meeting: Cornell won 42-14, Sept. 25, 1999, in Ithaca, N.Y.
Television: Time Warner Cable Sports (channel 26 in Ithaca), Mark Larson (pbp), Dale Drypolcher (color), Dan Liedka (sideline)
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 sixth season at the helm of the Big Red (26-28 overall, .481; 16-21 Ivy, .432) ... 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.

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ITHACA, N.Y. — The 2009 Cornell Homecoming will feature a pair of the winningest teams in college football history when the Big Red faces Fordham on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 12:30 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field. The game will be televised live on Time Warner Cable Sports (channel 26 in Ithaca), and the contest 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. Live video of the game will also provided at no charge on IBNSports.com. 



Cornell will attempt to snap a two-game losing skid and a two-game Fordham win streak when the two teams meet for the first time since the 1999 campaign. The Big Red is coming off a 28-10 loss to defending Ivy League champion and 2009 preseason favorite Harvard on Oct. 10, part of a four-game span that started at No. 25 Colgate (the 2008 Patriot League champion), continues this week with the 2007 Patriot League champion Rams, and ends next weekend with 2008 Ivy League co-champion Brown. 

The Big Red will be meeting Fordham for the first time on Homecoming, but has posted a 5-2 record against Patriot League foes on the celebration day, including wins in three of the last four years against members of the league. Head coach Jim Knowles '87 has a 4-1 record on Homecoming, including four straight wins. All together, he has been part of Cornell teams that have posted a 16-2 mark on Homecoming (3-1 as a varsity player, 9-0 as assistant coach, 4-1 as head coach).

For the second straight week, Cornell struggled to run the ball or to stop the run in the loss to the Crimson, allowing Harvard to control the pace throughout and possess the ball for more than 36 minutes. The visitors ran for 251 yards, the second straight opponent to post at least 250 yards rushing, and limited the Big Red to 62 yards on the ground, the second straight game Cornell has been under 100 yards. Despite that, the Crimson led just 14-10 heading into the third quarter, and a meaningless Harvard touchdown with nine seconds left made the game look more lopsided on the scoreboard than it really was. 

Special teams continued to make big plays, highlighted by a career-long 47-yard field goal by junior Brad Greenway, tied for the eighth-longest in Big Red history. Junior punter Drew Alston also had a career-long 62-yard kick and did not allow a return yard on his six punts. Sophomore wide receiver Shane Savage scored his second career touchdown offensively, while junior safety Ben Heller had an interception and both Dempsey Quinn (12 tackles) and Aaron Levine (10 tackles) reached double figures in stops for the second straight home game.

Cornell will have its hands full if it wants to move above .500 overall, as Fordham enters the game with momentum after a dominant 35-7 home win over Bryant last weekend. The Rams opened the season on a three-game losing streak, including a 40-28 loss to Columbia, but has rebounded with consecutive wins. Head coach Tom Masella relies on an offense that ranks among the nation's best (480.0 yards per game) with senior quarterback John Skelton running it. Skelton is considered a potential NFL player at 6-5 and 258 pounds, and already holds all of Fordham's passing records.

A WIN OVER FORDHAM WOULD:
• give Cornell a 5-2 edge in the all-time series and extend the win streak over the Rams to five games.
• guarantee the Big Red a winning non-conference record for the fifth straight year.
• give Cornell a 20-9 record at home under head coach Jim Knowles '87.
• be the 617th in program history (10th most in the Football Championship Subdivision).

THE CORNELL-FORDHAM SERIES: (Cornell leads 4-2) Cornell and Fordham will be meeting for the seventh time dating back to the first meeting in 1909. The Rams took home the first two meetings, winning 12-6 in 1909, then knocking off the Big Red 27-6 in 1917. After a 76-year hiatus, the two teams met again in consecutive years (1993 and 1994). Cornell won the 1993 meeting handily, earning a 48-6 triumph to begin a four-game win streak that is active heading into the weekend. The last meeting came during the 1999 season, a 42-14 Big Red triumph at Schoellkopf Field.

SCOUTING FORDHAM:
• The Rams improved to 2-3 on the season with a 35-7 home win over Bryant on Oct. 10 at Jack Coffey Field. Fordham enters the contest on a two-game winning streak after losing contests to Rhode Island (41-28), Columbia (40-28) and Colgate (20-12) to begin the campaign.
• For the second straight week, the Big Red defense runs into an NFL prospect on the other side of the ball. A week after scheming against All-America offensive tackle James Williams of Harvard, the Big Red will match up with senior quarterback John Skelton of Fordham. So far this season, Skelton has completed 113-of-192 passes for 1,520 yards and 10 touchdowns, while throwing five interceptions. He is second nationally in total offense with 335.8 yards per game.
• Skelton's favorite target has a familiar name, as his brother Stephen Skelton has hauled in a team-best 30 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns, including two against Bryant.
• Fordham's offense is piling up an average of 480 yards of offense while surrendering 382.4 per game. The Rams are passing for 304 yards per game, a mark that ranks second nationally. Running back Xavier Martin has 10 career 100-yard rushing games, including a 122-yard effort against Bryant.
• Fourth-year head coach Tom Masella has had success at both Central Connecticut State, where the led the team to consecutive Northeast Conference championships, and Fordham, where he guided the Rams to the 2007 Patriot League crown. He was the 2007 Patriot League Coach of the Year, directing Fordham to a spot in the Football Championship Subdivision playoff.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
• Cornell's pass defense, ranked No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision (pass efficiency defense) will face an offense that ranks second nationally in total offense and seventh in the country in passing offense.
• The Big Red has lost consecutive home games just once in head coach Jim Knowles' six seasons and have never lost home games on back-to-back weekends.
• Senior running back Randy Barbour needs six yards on the ground to become the 28th 1,000-yard rusher in Big Red history.
• With 872 career punt return yards, senior wide receiver Bryan Walters is 30 yards away from matching the Ivy League record of 902 set by Penn's Mark Fabish 13 years ago.

CORNELL VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Cornell has posted a winning record all-time against every member of the Patriot League, accumulating a 126-71-7 record against the seven current members, including a 4-2-0 edge on Fordham. Cornell also has advantages over Bucknell (38-11-0), Colgate (48-41-3), Georgetown (2-1-0), Holy Cross (5-0-0), Lafayette (14-8-2) and Lehigh (15-8-2).

PATRIOT GAMES: Dating back to the 2005 season, the Big Red has had a clear advantage against Patriot League opponents, going 9-4 with wins in seven of the last nine meetings. Colgate broke Cornell's six-game win streak against Patriot League foes last year with a 38-22 win. This season, the Big Red is 1-1 against Patriot foes with a 33-9 win over Bucknell at home and a 45-23 loss at No. 25 Colgate.

ANOTHER HISTORIC MATCHUP: Cornell ranks 10th all-time in NCAA history among Division I Football Championship Subdivision teams in victories with 616, and will play six of its 10 games against other teams ranked in the top 10, including games against each of the top five. Fordham sits fifth in football wins with 740.

NONE SHALL PASS: The Cornell pass defense has been outstanding so far in 2009, ranking first among 118 schools in the Football Championship Subdivision in pass efficiency defense through four games. The Big Red's 78.43 efficiency ranking is eighth-best among all 621 NCAA football schools heading into the weekend. Cornell has surrendered just 151.0 yards per game in the air and has allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete just 45 percent of their pass attempts with six interceptions and just one touchdown. Defensive backs Emani Fenton (seven pass breakups) and Rashad Campbell (three pass breakups) have been joined by big play safeties Dempsey Quinn (interception, two pass breakups), Ben Heller (two interceptions, one pass breakup) and Anthony Ambrosi (interception, four pass breakups). Cornell will be severely challenged this week by Fordham's John Skelton, who ranks second nationally in total offense.

PLAYER NOTES VS. HARVARD:
• Junior place-kicker Brad Greenway's 47-yard field goal was the longest by a Big Red kicker since A.J. Weitsman booted a 47-yarder against Colgate in 2005. Those two kicks are tied for the eighth-longest in Cornell history.
• Sophomore Shane Savage scored on a 17-yard pass from Ben Ganter, giving him touchdowns in each of his first two collegiate home games.
• Junior Ben Heller recorded his second career interception.
• With his 134 yards, senior Bryan Walters moved past Keith Elias of Princeton for seventh on the Ivy League's all-time all-purpose yardage list with 4,758.
• Junior Drew Alston had a 62-yard punt, the longest by a Cornell kicker since the 2003 season (Michael Baumgartel, 61 yards vs. Harvard).
• Freshman Ben Moody had his first two varsity carries, registering two total yards.

UP NEXT: Cornell closes its three-game homestand next weekend when it faces Brown on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 12:30 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field. The Big Red trails the Bears in the all-time series 29-26-1, including a 27-7 Brown victory a season ago in Providence.