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* RedCast audio unavailable for Saturday's home game; free live video available

GAME INFORMATION
Game #9: Columbia at Cornell
Kickoff: Saturday, Nov. 14, at 12:30 p.m. ET
Site: Schoellkopf Field (25,597), Ithaca, N.Y.
2009 Records: Columbia (2-6, 1-4 Ivy); Cornell (2-6, 1-4 Ivy)
Series Record: Cornell leads 60-33-3
Last Meeting: Columbia won 17-7, Nov. 15, 2008, in New York, N.Y.
Radio: WHCU 870 AM, Seth Cantor (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 (26-32 overall, .448; 16-24 Ivy, .400) ... 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. — After dropping consecutive road games by a total of seven points, the Cornell football team will look forward to sleeping in their own beds and sending its 16 seniors out on a high note when it faces Columbia today at Schoellkopf Field. The contest can be heard locally on WHCU 870 AM with Seth Cantor on the call or at www.CornellBigRed.com as part of the RedCast subscription service. Live video of the contest is available at no charge on IBNSports.com.



While out of contention for an Ivy League title, both Cornell and Columbia have plenty to play for and to build on during the season's final two weeks. With youngsters littering the two-deep for both teams, experience heading into the 2009 offseason will be at a premium. Sending off the seniors with as many wins as possible is an obvious motivating factor, as is the possibility of finishing as high as third in the league. But maybe most important in the short term will be escaping their current losing streaks. The Big Red enters the contest having lost six straight, while the Lions have dropped five consecutive contests.

The Big Red is coming off a 20-17 overtime loss at Dartmouth last weekend. For the second straight week, Cornell couldn't maintain a fourth-quarter lead and headed home with a heartbreaking defeat. An Ivy League record and some tremendous individual performances weren't enough to put the team into the winning column, but still highlighted a thrilling back-and-forth contest.

The Cornell offense was able to post its third 200-yard rushing game in four weeks behind the strong running of seniors Randy Barbour (94 yards) and Ben Ganter (61 yards). Ganter tossed for a pair of two touchdowns, hitting freshman Ben Moody and senior Bryan Walters each with a score. For Walters, it was his 12th career score. But it was just the beginning of his big day.

After several weekends of watching opponents kick away from him, the senior was finally able to return a couple of punts, returning three kicks for a total of 23 yards. Though he wasn't able to break one for a score, Walters did break the Ivy League record for career punt return yards, ending the day with 921. The Bothell, Wash., native already owned the conference's kickoff return yardage mark and moved into second place on the Ancient Eight's all-purpose yardage list. Joining him as a special teams standout was junior Drew Alston. In a game of field position, the Big Red punter  was the best weapon for either team. He averaged 42.3 yards on six punts, putting five of his kicks inside the Dartmouth 20 with three of the kicks being downed inside the 10. He had a 58-yard punt and a 49-yard kick on consecutive possessions, and his hangtime allowed Dartmouth to gain just one return yard on his six punts.

Defensively, the Big Red held the Big Green scoreless for the first three quarters using a bend, but not break, defense. But for the second-straight week, a breakdown on one play allowed its opponent to break a long touchdown. This time it was Dartmouth freshman Greg Patton, rushing for a 52-yard score en route to a Dartmouth record 243-yard day. Junior safeties Anthony Ambrosi and Dempsey Quinn spearheaded the attack for the Big Red. Ambrosi had eight tackles, including three stops for a loss and two sacks, and also chipped in an interception and a forced fumble that was recovered by the Big Red. Quinn had a career-high 16 tackles and forced and recovered a fumble. Senior linebacker Chris Costello, who earlier in the week was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team, had seven tackles and a sack in the loss.

A WIN OVER COLUMBIA WOULD:
• snap Cornell's six-game losing streak.
• extend the Big Red's record in the all-time series to 61-33-3.
• be the third consecutive win over the Lions at Schoellkopf Field.
• make Cornell 4-2 against the Lions under head coach Jim Knowles' direction.
• be the 617th in program history (10th most in the Football Championship Subdivision).

THE CORNELL-COLUMBIA SERIES:  (Cornell leads 60-33-3) This will be the 97th meeting between Cornell and Columbia, with the Big Red holding a 60-33-3 lead in the series. The two teams first met in 1889, a 20-0 Cornell win. The Lions won last year's matchup 17-7 in New York City. The two teams have been fairly evenly matched in the past two decades, splitting the last 20 meetings shortly after Cornell had won 12 straight contests between the teams, the longest streak in the series history.

PLAYER NOTES VS. DARTMOUTH:
• Senior Bryan Walters became the Ivy League's career punt return yardage leader with his 23 yards on three returns. He passed Penn's Mark Fabish's 902 yards and ended the day with 921.
• Junior Anthony Ambrosi was dominant, particularly in the first half when he made five tackles, including two sacks, intercepted a pass and forced a fumble that Cornell recovered.
• Junior punter Drew Alston averaged 42.3 yards on six kicks, including a 58-yarder, and allowed just one punt return yard. He pinned five of his six punts inside the 20.
• Freshman Ben Moody's first career reception was a 16-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
• Junior Dempsey Quinn had a career-high 16 tackles. He also forced and recovered a fumble.

NO NEED TO RETURN: Cornell's special teams, particularly the return coverage teams, have both been among the best in the country. The punt coverage team has allowed just 11 return yards, the second-fewest yards allowed in the country (Southeastern Louisiana is first with -14). The Big Red is one of just two teams nationwide to allow less than a yard per return at 0.58. Cornell is also 11th nationally in kickoff return yardage allowed at 17.48 per return and 437 total yards (fourth fewest in the country).

COSTELLO NAMED TO ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM: Senior Chris Costello has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first-team. Costello was one of eight Ivy League players who will be on the ballot with a chance to earn Academic All-America honors. A preseason All-American by Consensus Draft Services, Costello ranks second in the Ivy League and 10th nationally with 10.9 tackles per game. Costello has tallied 87 stops with three sacks and 12 tackles for loss. He also has a pair of pass breakups, has three forced fumbles and blocked a kick, while starting all eight contests. The middle linebacker was credited with 14 tackles,  4.0 tackles for loss, a sack, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup in the team's loss to Fordham. He has also had 15 tackles against Bucknell and another 14 at Princeton. Costello was named Ivy League Player of the Week on Sept. 21 after his effort in the Big Red's 33-9 win over Bucknell earlier this year. In the classroom, Costello has posted a 3.39 grade point average in Natural Resources. The Academic All-Ivy selection was named the New York High School Football Coaches Association Player-Scholar Athlete of the Year in Class AA and to the National Football Foundation's “Golden Dozen” scholar-athlete team at John Jay HS.

UP NEXT: The Big Red will close out the 2009 campaign when it visits Penn at Franklin Field on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 1 p.m.