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* Ambrosi Named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week
* Big Red Receives Votes In The Sports Network FCS Top 25 Poll
* Coach Knowles Previews the Colgate game (VIDEO)

GAME INFORMATION
Game #3: Cornell at No. 25 Colgate
Kickoff: Saturday, Oct. 3, at 1:00 p.m. ET
Site: Andy Kerr Stadium (10,221), Hamilton, N.Y.
2009 Records: Cornell (2-0, 0-0 Ivy); Colgate (4-0, 1-0 Patriot)
Series Record: Cornell leads 48-40-3
Last Meeting: Colgate won 38-22, Oct. 18, 2008, 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.GoColgateRaiders.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 (26-26 overall, .500; 16-20 Ivy, .444) ... 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. — Central New York rivals Cornell (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) and No. 25 Colgate (4-0, 1-0 Patriot) will bring unbeaten records into their showdown on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. at Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, N.Y. 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. It will be the first time in 43 years (since 1966) that both teams enter the matchup with unblemished records, as Cornell was 1-0 and Colgate was 2-0 (outscoring opponents 72-0) prior to the Big Red's 15-14 triumph at home. 



Cornell and Colgate will meet for the 92nd time (17th most-played in Division I history) on the gridiron in a series that dates back to their first meeting in 1896. The Big Red leads the all-time series 48-40-3, but the defending Patriot League champion Raiders have won 24 of the last 31 contests between the two programs, including a 38-22 triumph on Schoellkopf Field a year ago. 

Both squads enter the game after being severely tested in their conference openers, with both squads taking the victory.

Cornell successfully defended a Yale two-point conversion with no time remaining to stave off overtime and earn a 14-12 win at the Yale Bowl to improve to 2-0 for the second straight year. The Big Red knocked off the Bulldogs in a defensive epic despite making just three first downs and totalling 166 yards of offense with the big play and a stout defense. While Yale was tough to move the ball on, so was Cornell, surrendering just 296 yards while giving up just 3.3 yards per play in the win. Cornell's defense forced three turnovers and held the Bulldogs to 7-of-25 on third-down conversion attempts.

Cornell scored on its first offensive play, as a double pass led to an 81-yard touchdown toss from senior Stephen Liuzza to classmate Bryan Walters, the fifth-longest pass play in Big Red history. Junior Anthony Ambrosi, making his first career start at safety, intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown for what proved to be the game-winning points.. The win marked the first time Cornell knocked off Yale in consecutive years since the 1995-97 seasons yielded three straight victories for the Big Red as Cornell celebrated its first Ivy League road victory since knocking off Penn 16-7 in the 2005 season finale, snapping a 10-game losing streak against Ancient Eight foes away from home.

No one on the field was busier than junior Drew Alston, who punted 15 times, but didn't allow one return yard in a game of field position. In all, three of his kicks pinned opponents inside their own 20. In two games in 2009, Alston's opponents have attempted 10 punt returns on his 23 kicks and have posted -1 return yards.

Colgate improved to 1-0 in conference play by topping future Cornell opponent Fordham 20-12 behind a big day by receiver Pat Simonds. Simonds hauled in nine passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. He wasn't the only offensive star, as quarterback Greg Sullivan threw two touchdown passes and ran for another while accumulating 308 total yards on the night. Running back Jordan McCord rushed 41 times for 192 yards, following up his 44 carry, 212-yard effort against Dartmouth the previous week. 

A WIN OVER COLGATE WOULD:
• extend Cornell's lead in the all-time series to 49-40-3.
• make the Big Red 3-0 in a season for the second straight year after defeating a Patriot League opponent on the road (Lehigh in 2008).
• give the Big Red three wins in the last four seasons against Colgate and even Jim Knowles' record against the Raiders at 3-3.
• make Cornell 8-1 against Patriot League teams in the last nine meetings and give Cornell a 10-3 record against conference schools under Knowles.
• hand the Big Red its first win over the Raiders in Hamilton since 1992, snapping a three-game skid.
• be the 617th in program history (10th most in the Football Championship Subdivision).

THE CORNELL-COLGATE SERIES: (Cornell leads 48-40-3) Cornell and Colgate will be meeting for the 92nd time dating back to the first meeting in 1896. The Big Red owned the early series, going 13-0-1 in the first 14 games (1896-1911), while also posting nine and seven-game win streaks before 1951. Colgate has had the better of the series since 1975, capturing 24 of the last 31 meetings, including 10 straight (1993-2005) before the Big Red commenced on a two-game win streak. The Raiders won last year's meeting 38-22.

CORNELL VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Cornell has a 126-70-7 record against the seven current members of the Patriot League football conference, including a 48-40-3 edge on Colgate. Cornell has advantages over Bucknell (38-11-0), Fordham (4-2-0), 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 9-3 with wins in seven of the last eight meetings. Colgate broke Cornell's six-game win streak against Patriot League foes last year with a 38-22 win, but the Big Red started a new streak when it topped Bucknell 33-9 in the season opener on Sept. 19.

THE IVY OPENER: Cornell opened the 54th official season of Ivy League play with a thrilling 14-12 win over Yale on Sept. 26, evening its record at 26-26-2 record in 54 conference starters. The Big Red has now faced Yale 10 times (each of the last 10 seasons) in Ivy openers with a 4-6 mark. 

FOR OPENERS: The Big Red continued its pattern of success in season openers with a 33-9 triumph over Bucknell on Sept. 19. The Big Red sports an all-time record of 89-29-4 (.746) in season openers and is 10-4 against Bucknell when Cornell plays the Bison to begin a campaign.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
• The Big Red will attempt to knock off Central New York rival Colgate in an early-season battle of unbeatens.
• Senior running back Randy Barbour needs 50 yards on the ground to become the 28th 1,000-yard rusher in Big Red history.
• With 871 career punt return yards, senior wide receiver Bryan Walters is 31 yards away for matching the Ivy League record of 902 set by Penn's Mark Fabish 13 years ago.
• Two of the nation's top ranked defenses will meet, as both squads rank in the top 25 in total defense (Cornell 20th, 267.0 ypg.; Colgate 22nd, 273.3 ypg.) and in the top 20 in scoring defense (Cornell 4th, 10.50; Colgate 18th, 15.75)
• Colgate leads the nation with 260.3 yards rushing per game, while the Big Red ranks 20th nationally in total defense, surrendering just 267.0 yards per game.
• Raiders' quarterback Greg Sullivan is the eighth-most efficient passer in the FCS (159.04), while the Cornell defense leads the country in pass efficiency defense (63.46).

REVIEWING THE YALE WIN: In a game of play and punt, it was the first Cornell offensive snap that made all the difference. The Big Red defense made sure of it. Cornell improved to 2-0 for the second straight year, spoiling the home debut of Yale coach Tom Williams with an exciting 14-12 victory over the Bulldogs on Sept. 26 at the Yale Bowl. Bryan Walters took an 81-yard pass from Stephen Liuzza to the house on the first offensive play of the game for the Big Red and the defense limited Yale to 296 total yards, including breaking up a potential game-tying two-point conversion with no time left to earn the victory. In between, junior safety Anthony Ambrosi returned an interception 20 yards for a score, the first pick six for a Cornell player since Frank Morand returned an interception 71 yards in a win over Colgate in 2007. Junior Drew Alston also starred, punting 15 times, the most by a Cornell player since 1942. He averaged 34.7 yards despite repeatedly kicking into the wind, helping the Big Red maintain field advantage in a game decided by it. Senior Bryan Walters piled up 176 all-purpose yards, including 73 on punt returns to move within 31 yards of the Ivy League record. The Cornell defense got a career-high nine tackles and a pass breakup from Rashad Campbell, while Emani Fenton made four stops and broke up four passes in the victory. Besides Ambrosi's interception, he added two tackles for loss and three pass breakups. Senior linebacker Chris Costello notched seven tackles and a sack.

NOTES VS. YALE:
• Cornell's 166 yards of offense are the fewest in a win since single-game records were kept beginning in 1974 and the fewest by any Big Red team since registering just 143 yards vs. Yale in 2002 in a 50-23 defeat. The team's three first downs is the fewest in a win in school history.
• With the 81-yard touchdown pass from Stephen Liuzza to Bryan Walters, Liuzza enters the weekend with the longest rush (65 yards vs. Bucknell) and pass (81 yards to Walters at Yale) of any Ivy League player so far this season.
• The win snapped a 10-game Ivy League road losing streak, the program's longest since losing 10 in a row from 1959-61.
• The Big Red improved to 9-2 in games decided by three points or less since Jim Knowles took over the program.
• The victory marked the first time Cornell knocked off Yale in consecutive years since the 1995-97 seasons yielded three straight victories for the Big Red
• Making their first collegiate starts on defense were Anthony Ambrosi (Rover safety) and Ricky Ballou.

FUN WITH NUMBERS: Several statistical oddities show up in Cornell's 2-0 start thus far.
• The Big Red has generated 47 total points despite being ranked in the bottom 25 nationally in both rushing and passing offense, and 103rd overall in total offense. Despite that, Cornell is second in scoring offense in the Ancient Eight.
• Cornell's offense has generated just 15 first downs through two games, but has also made six plays of 30 or more yards.
• Opponents have run a total of 50 more offensive plays in two games, an average of 25 snaps per game.
• Cornell's opponents have attempted 10 punt returns on 23 Big Red kicks this season, but junior Drew Alston and the coverage team have allowed a total of -1 return yards. Only Southeastern Louisiana, which has had three punts returned for -7 yards, has had fewer return yards this season on them.
• The Big Red has four interceptions this season, all coming from first-year starters collecting their first career picks.
• Seven defensive players already have double figures in tackles, not including junior defensive back Emani Fenton, who leads the nation in passes defended (3.0 per game).

RENOWNED DEFENSE: The Big Red is ranked among the top 20 nationally in several defensive categories, including holding the nation's top rank in pass efficiency defense (63.46), the best mark among any Division I school (Florida is tops in the FBS at 75.31). Cornell also ranks in the top 10 in scoring defense (fourth, 10.50) and turnover margin (sixth, +2.0). The defense ranks 15th in tackles for loss (8.0 per game), 18th in pass defense (141.5 ypg.) and 20th in total defense (267.0 ypg.).

EXPLOSIVE PLAYS: In its two games this season, the Big Red has demonstrated the ability to put together explosive plays on offense, defense and specials teams. So far, the Big Red has scored five times from outside of 20 yards and has nine plays of that distance or more, including the longest pass and second-longest rush so far this season in the Ivy League.

UP NEXT: Cornell opens a three-game homestand when it returns home to face defending Ivy League champion Harvard on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 12:30 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.