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Postgame Press Conference

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Yale scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter and grinded out a 21-7 victory over Cornell in front of more than 16,000 fans at Schoellkopf Field on Saturday afternoon. The Big Red slipped to 0-2 (0-1 Ivy), while the Bulldogs improved to 2-0 (1-0 Ivy) with the victory.

Freshman quarterback Jeff Mathews, making his first collegiate start and the first start ever by a freshman in Cornell's storied history, completed 23-of-35 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown of 8 yards to Nick Booker-Tandy late in the first quarter. It was the first college score for both players.Mathews' favorite target was Shane Savage, who hauled in seven passes for 80 yards. Booker-Tandy ended the day with six catches for 70 yards and a score and rushed for 27 more.



Defensively, Cornell hunkered down in the second half, but a big play for Yale and a big play for the Big Red that was called back sent Yale to its second win of the year. Brandon Lainhart had a game-high 14 tackles, while Brian Gee notched 13 for his second straight contest in double figures. Senior Emani Fenton had a pair of interceptions, including one that was returned all the way to the Yale 3, but was later called back on an illegal block. That play, along with an interception on the first play of the second half that ended up resulting in the go-ahead score, was all the Bulldogs would need for the hard-earned win.

Patrick Witt was 18-of-32 passing for 232 yards and a touchdown, but it was the ground game of Alex Thomas (18 carries, 124 yards and a touchdown) and Mordecai Cargill (16 carries, 89 yards) that proved to be the difference. As a unit, Yale grounded out 211yards and two touchdowns on 40 carries. 

Yale took the ball to open the game, but its 11-play drive stalled in the Red Zone, as Cornell senior Ben Heller broke up a pass in the end zone on third-and-4 from the 9. Yale lined up for a 27-yard field goal attempt, but the kick sailed wide right to keep the game scoreless.

Senior Marcus Hendren took it right back at Yale, as the tailback went 16 yards around end before being knocked out of bounds. He was injured on the play and didn't return, but Cornell flipped field position when All-Ivy punter Drew Alston pinned the Bulldogs inside their own 7-yard line.

Facing a third-and-7 from the Yale 31, Witt found Christodoulou on a quick out and the speedster broke a tackle and went 69 yards for the score. The extra-point made it 7-0 with 6:01 left on the first quarter clock.

Cornell responded in a big way. Mathews led a steady march, engineering a 10-play, 72-yard drive that ended with the freshman going back across the field and finding Booker-Tandy in the flat. The junior tailback went the final 8 yards for his first career touchdown. Brad Greenway knocked through the extra point to knot the game at 7-7 with 2:06 left in the quarter.

Neither team could find a way to score over the final 17 minutes of the first half, though the biggest play was one that came back. Fenton stepped in front of a Witt pass at the Cornell 28 and returned it all the way to the Yale 3, but the play was whistled for an illegal block on the return. Instead of starting inside the 5, the Big Red lost 69 yards on the exchange, starting its drive at the 28. A 20-yard completion from Mathews to Savage picked Cornell back up, but it ended with a beautiful 45-yard punt by Alston that was downed at the Yale 2.

The Bulldogs began another offensive march, but it was stuffed on a fourth-and-6 when senior linebacker Brandon Lainhart burst through the line for a sack to give Cornell the ball back and prevent Yale from going up at the break.

The third quarter saw the Bulldogs pull away. On the first play from scrimmage of the second half, Chris Money came from his deep safety position and stepped in front of a Mathews pass to give the visitors the ball back just 10 seconds into the second half. Yale made the most of the turnover, taking advantage of a pair of pass interference calls to get down to the 1 before Thomas punched it across the line with 10:29 left in the third to make it 14-7 after the conversion.

Stalled drives by each team ended in punts, but the return to Cornell was fumbled and Yale again took advantage of the turnover, pouncing on the ball on the Cornell 30. A 23-yard run by Thomas brought the Bulldogs to the 8, and three plays later Witt found the end zone on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1 to make it 21-7 with 1:28 left in in the third.

The Big Red continued to battle into the fourth with drives of nine and 10 plays, but both ended without points on the scoreboard. The last gasp ended with an incomplete pass from Mathews to Tasker with 4:24 left and Yale was able to run out the clock.

Cornell will head to Bucknell in search of its first win of 2010 on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 3:30 p.m. in a game that will be televised by CBS College Sports.