FOLLOW THE BIG RED
Cornell Game Notes I Colgate Game Notes I Purchase Tickets
Live Video (Colgate subscription I Live Audio (RedCast subscription) I Live Stats I Facebook I Twitter I YouTube I InsideCornellFootball
Sign up to receive text messages I Sign up for weekly newsletters

CORNELL INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I Statistics I History I Virtual Guide I Record Book

COLGATE INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I Statistics

GAME INFORMATION
Game #5: Cornell at Colgate
Kickoff: Saturday, Oct. 15, at 1:00 p.m. ET
Site: Andy Kerr Stadium (10,221), Hamilton, N.Y.
2011 Records: Cornell (2-2, 0-2 Ivy); Colgate (3-3, 0-1 Patriot)
Series Record: Cornell leads 48-42-3
Last Meeting: Colgate won 44-3, Oct. 16, 2010, in Ithaca, N.Y.
Radio: WHCU 870 AM, Barry Leonard (play-by-play), Buck Briggs (color)
Television: Time Warner Cable, Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Danny Liedka (color), Steve Flamisch (sidelines)
Live Stats: Available at www.GoColgateRaiders.com
Live Video: Available at www.GoColgateRaiders.com
Tickets: Available by calling (607) 254-BEAR

HEAD COACH KENT AUSTIN
Kent  Austin, the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Football, is in his second season at the helm of the Big Red (4-10 overall, .286; 1-8, Ivy, .111) ... Austin has won CFL Grey Cups as a player, assistant coach and head coach ... previously was offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Ole Miss, Austin was hired as head coach on Jan. 27, 2010.ITHACA, N.Y. — A pair of longstanding Central New York rivals will attempt to launch themselves back into conference play with momentum when Cornell visits Colgate on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. at Andy Kerr Stadium. The contest will be televised locally in Central New York on Time Warner Cable, or you can also tune in to listen to Barry Leonard and Buck Briggs on the call on WHCU 870 AM or through the RedCast subscription service.

Cornell's offense has proven it can hang with anyone on its schedule through four contests. Sophomore quarterback Jeff Mathews has emerged as one of the top signal callers in the Ivy League in his second year as the starter, the Big Red offense has begun to put together explosive plays in bunches. In four games this season, Cornell has already posted 16 offensive plays that have covered 20 yards or more. Mathews ranks in the top 20 nationally and in the top two in the Ivy League in both total offense (275.2) and pass efficiency (155.16). His classmate, Grant Gellatly, has rushed for two scores of better than 20 yards and leads the team in rushing for the second straight year. Mathews' primary receivers, senior Shane Savage and juniors Kurt Ondash and Luke Tasker, have combined to haul in 51 passes for 909 yards and eight touchdowns. They are averaging a lofty 17.8 yards per catch. The offensive line, which doesn't feature a senior, has surrendered just six sacks after giving up a nation's worst 49 sacks a year ago.

The defense has been much improved over the 2010 season. Cornell has surrendered just 119.0 rushing yards per game (down from 246.1 ypg. in 2010) and 387.2 total yards per game (down from 437.2 ypg. in 2010). Cornell has registered 12 sacks and 30 total tackles for loss and is on pace to obliterate last season's totals of 12 sacks and 38 TFL. Leading the way has been linebackers Brandon Lainhart (41 tackles, 2.0 TFL) and Brett Buehler (35 tackles, 7.0 TFL, 2 FF). The duo is joined at the top of the tacklers' list by Rashad Campbell (27 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 2 INTs) and Josh Barut (22 tackles). The defensive line, led by Zack Imhoff (18 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 2 FF) and Hugh Stewart (13 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks), has been one of the best units in the Ivy League over the first four weeks. Opposing running attacks are averaging just 3.1 yards per carry, a far cry from last year's 5.8 yards per carry.

The special teams have been led by senior place-kicker Brad Greenway, a nominee for the Fred Mitchell Award. Greenway has been perfect so far this season, making all four of his field goals and each of his 13 extra points. He has also averaged 37.1 yards per punt, including a 58-yard kick. Campbell is averaging 21.8 yards per kickoff return. Special teams have also blocked four total kicks (two punts, an extra point and a field goal) in the first four contests.

The Raiders, after opening the season 1-3, have started to get back on a roll over the last two weeks, outscoring Monmouth and Fordham 64-28. Much of the bounce back has been due to the recovery of All-America running back Nate Eachus and the development of quarterback Gavin McCarney. Eachus is averaging 157.0 rushing yards per game, a mark that would rank first nationally if he had enough games to qualify. Instead, the Patriot League's leading rusher is McCarney, who is averaging 92.2 yards per game with eight scores. In the passing game, he is completing 64 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns. The Colgate offense is averaging 412.3 yards per game, but the defense is surrendering nearly 30 points per contest. Head coach Dick Biddle has posted a 123-58 overall record in 16 years on the sidelines in Hamilton, N.Y.

A WIN OVER COLGATE WOULD:
• make Cornell 3-2 on the year.
• give Cornell a perfect 3-0 non-conference record for the first time since 2007 and only the fifth time since moving to a 10-game schedule in 1985 (1992, 1994, 1998, 2007).
• snap a three-game skid against the Raiders.
• give the Big Red its first win in Hamilton, N.Y. since 1992 (lost four straight).
• be the 621st in program history (11th most in the Football Championship Subdivision).

THE CORNELL-COLGATE SERIES: (Cornell leads 48-42-3) Cornell and Colgate will be meeting for the 94thtime dating back to the first contest 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 26 of the last 33 meetings, including 10 straight (1993-2005) before the Big Red commenced on a two-game win streak. The Raiders won last year's meeting 44-3 at Schoellkopf Field.

CORNELL VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Cornell has a 128-73-7 record against the seven current members of the Patriot League football conference, including a 48-42-3 edge over Colgate. Cornell has advantages over Bucknell (40-11), Fordham (4-3-0), Georgetown (2-1-0), Holy Cross (5-0-0), Lafayette (14-8-2) and Lehigh (15-8-2).

NOTING THE LOSS TO HARVARD
• Senior Shane Savage hauled in eight passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns. The 152 receiving yards ranks 13th in a single game all-time at Cornell. He has now caught multiple touchdowns in each of his last two games, a feat last seen in 1999 when Joe Splendorio caught two against both Yale and Columbia.
• Senior Brandon Lainhart had a career-high 14 tackles, one off his career high. He surpassed the 200 mark for his career in the process and ended the day with 203 stops.
• Sophomore Jeff Mathews threw three touchdown passes for the second straight game. It is only the third time a Cornell QB passed for at least three touchdowns in consecutive games, joining Bill Lazor who tossed for three against both Yale and Columbia in 1992 and Ricky Rahne, who tossed for three against Yale and four vs. Columbia in 1999.
• Freshman Andrew Nelson made his first career start at strong safety and recorded six tackles.
• Also making their first career starts were senior Nick Booker-Tandy (corner back) and Kurt Ondash (wide receiver).
• Senior Ryan Houska rushed for his second career score and posted a season-high 30 rushing yards on seven carries.
• Senior Brad Greenway continued his perfect kicking season with a 31-yard field goal and four extra-point kicks. He has now made all four field goals and each of his 13 PAT kicks.
• Sophomore transfer Josh Barut made 12 tackles and two pass breakups.



WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Cornell will attempt to snap a three-game skid against Colgate.
• The Big Red will attempt to complete a 3-0 non-conference schedule for the first time since 2007 and just the fifth time since 1985.
• With three touchdown passes, sophomore Jeff Mathews would become the first Cornellian with three straight contests with three or more scores.
• Mathews needs 107 yards to move up to sixth place on Cornell's career passing yardage list. He needs 452 yards to move into the top five.
• Mathews needs two passing TDs to move into eighth on the career list, three to move to seventh, four to go to sixth and five to jump into the top five.
• With two touchdown receptions, senior Shane Savage would become the first Big Red receiver to haul in multiple touchdown catches in three consecutive games.
• Savage needs four receptions to reach eighth on the career receptions list and seven to move into seventh.
• Savage is eight yards shy of moving into the top 10 in career receiving yards and needs 20 yards to reach ninth.
• Senior Brad Greenway has 139 career kicking points and needs seven more to reach second place on the school's career list. He needs nine to join John McCombs '00 atop the list with 148 points.

GREAT START FOR MATHEWS: Sophomore Jeff Mathews is off to a strong start through four contests, completing 64 percent of his passes (80-of-125) for 1,122 yards and nine touchdowns. His 155.20 quarterback rating would be the highest single-season mark in school history. He is also on pace to toss for 2,805 yards, a mark that would rank third all-time at Cornell.

WHERE MATHEWS RANKS: Sophomore Jeff Mathews has gotten noticed for his strong start in 2011. He ranks 14th nationally in total offense at 275.3 yards per game, while sitting 17th nationally in passing efficiency (155.16). He is first in the Ancient Eight in total offense and second in pass efficiency.

CLIMBING THE CAREER PASSING LIST: For most quarterbacks in the Ivy League, midway through their sophomore years might bring their first varsity appearance, or sometimes even their first start. Big Red sophomore Jeff Mathews, has already broken through top 10 lists all-time at Cornell.     
    
RECEIVERS AT THE TOP: Cornell's three top receivers so far in 2011, senior Shane Savage and juniors Kurt Ondash and Luke Tasker, have combined to haul in 51 passes for 909 yards and eight touchdowns through four contests. They are averaging a lofty 17.8 yards per catch.

SAVAGE WARRIOR: Senior Shane Savage, who will be fifth-year eligible in 2012, became the 16th player in school history to reach 1,000 career receiving yards with his four-catch, 99-yard effort against Bucknell in the season opener. He later became the ninth Cornellian to haul in 100 passes with four catches for 32 yards and two scores vs. Wagner, and added to that total with a career-high 152-yard effort with two scores on eight catches against Harvard. Savage has upped his career numbers to 101 receptions for 1,120 yards and seven touchdowns. Savage has a reception in all 24 career contests and could potentially catch a pass in 40 varsity appearances barring injury or being blanked in a contest. If he catches passes in 40 consecutive games, he would break the school record of 39 set by Keith Ferguson '03, Cornell's all-time leading receiver (202 receptions, 2,569 yards). Savage enters the weekend with 109 receptions and nine touchdowns.  

UP TO THE TASK: Junior Luke Tasker posted his first career 100-yard game in the season-opening win over Bucknell (102 yards) and ranks third on the team with 14 catches in four contests. Tasker is averaging 19.4 yards per catch with two touchdowns so far in 2011. He surpassed the 50 catch mark for his career with four receptions for 88 yards and a score vs. Harvard.

DASHING THROUGH THE DEFENSE: Junior wide receiver Kurt Ondash entered the season with 11 catches for 62 yards and a touchdown. He's matched or surpassed those numbers already this season, sitting second on the team's charts with 16 catches for 287 yards and a touchdown in the first four contests. His 17.9 yards per catch ranks second on the Big Red. Ondash hauled in an 87-yard touchdown to seal the win over Bucknell in the season opener, the fifth-longest touchdown pass in school history.

GELLATLY ON THE RUN: Sophomore Grant Gellatly was the leading rusher for the Big Red a year ago despite missing two contests. He has picked up right where he left off, scoring a pair of rushing touchdowns from outside of 20 yards over the first two contests. He is averaging 3.9 yards per carry and 50.5 yards per game. Gellatly recorded 95 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries against Yale in the 2011 Ivy opener.

RUN, PASS, CATCH: Senior tight end Ryan Houska was named the team's Most Valuable Player a year ago. Houska was third on the team in receiving (27 receptions, 268 yards, 2 touchdowns) and rushing (27 carries, 106 yards, 1 touchdown) in 2010. He became the fourth Cornell player since 1980 to run, pass and catch a touchdown during their varsity careers - Houska did it all in one season. Luke Siwula '08 (20 rush, 1 throw, 4 receptions), John Tagliaferri '86 (8 rush, 1 throw, 2 receptions) and Derrick Harmon '84 (26 rush, 1 throw, 2 receptions) have also hit on that statistical oddity. This season, Houska is second on the team in rushing yardage (84 yards, 4.2 yards per carry, TD) and is averaging 12.6 yards on his five catches.

KEEPING THE QB UPRIGHT: Cornell's offensive line has been its most improved group this season, allowing just six sacks in the team's first four contests. Last year, the Big Red gave up 49 in 10 contests, the most of any school in the nation.

GREENWAY CLIMBING THE KICKING CHART: Senior Brad Greenway has 139 career kicking points and has six games remaining to add to that total, which currently ranks third in program history.

GREENWAY A NOMINEE FOR FRED MITCHELL AWARD: Senior place-kicker Brad Greenway has been named to the 2011 Fred Mitchell Award Watch List. He is among 50 kickers on the Watch List for excellence on the field and in the community. Greenway has led the team in scoring in each of his first three varsity seasons and will be attempting to become the first player in school history to lead the team in scoring all four years. Last season, Greenway led the team in scoring with 26 points on 4-of-5 field goals and 14-of-15 extra-point kicks. Off the field, Greenway has been very active serving not only the Ithaca community, but also communities throughout the world. He was part of a program that gathered school supplies, cleats and jerseys to bring to children in Ghana as part of community service initiative. He also visited an Agent Orange community in Vietnam that has disabled children whose parents were impacted during the Vietnam War. There, he visited several schools to play with children. He reads to elementary school students as a volunteer as part of the Big Red Readers program. He also served as a volunteer coach in the Challenger Soccer Camps for special needs children. Greenway has also volunteered at Ithaca's Salvation Army by helping organize clothes and goods throughout the store, as well as volunteering with the Boys and Girls Club of San Diego.

SACK IMHOFF: Senior defensive end Zack Imhoff registered a monster game in the win over Wagner with 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a blocked kick. The 3.5 sacks ranks as the third-most by a Cornell player in a single game, while the two forced fumbles tied the school record. For the season, Imhoff is seventh nationally in sacks per game (1.1) and is ninth in tackles for loss (1.9). He leads Cornell's defensive line in tackles (18) after being converted from linebacker, where he was an honorable mention All-Ivy pick in 2010.

LINEBACKERS MAKING PLAYS: Senior Brandon Lainhart and sophomore Brett Buehler have been putting it all on the line to make plays for the Big Red and rank 1-2 in tackles with 41 and 35, respectively. Lainhart has added two tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery, while Buehler has seven tackles for loss, a sack, a pass breakup and two forced fumbles. Lainhart surpassed 200 career tackles with a career-high 14 against Harvard, giving him 203 in his career.

STEWART DOMINATING UP FRONT: Junior defensive tackle Hugh Stewart has been his dominant best in the interior of the defensive line, registering four tackles for a loss and two sacks. He recorded a pair of sacks against Bucknell in the opener and notched six tackles vs. Wagner.

CAMPBELL IN CONTROL: Senior cornerback Rashad Campbell sits third on the team with 27 tackles and has also posted 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack and two interceptions. Campbell has now tallied at least one interception in all four of his varsity seasons and has nearly reached his career total of 5.0 tackles for loss entering the year. As the team's primary kick returner, the senior is averaging 21.8 yards per return for the year and 23.2 yards for his career.

PICKING UP A LOSS: Cornell's defense has been spending much more time in the offensive backfield in the 2011 season, already posting 30 tackles for loss in four contests (7.5 per game). That mark ranks 25th nationally in the FCS. Two players rank among the top 20 nationally in tackles for loss (Zack Imhoff - ninth with 1.9; Brett Buehler - 16th with 1.8).

THE CORNELL CAPTAINS: The Cornell football team has elected six team captains to lead the Big Red into the 2011 season, including the first-ever sophomore captain in school history. Sophomore quarterback Jeff Mathews joins senior defensive end Zack Imhoff, corner back Rashad Campbell and place-kicker Brad Greenway, junior wide receiver and punt returner Luke Tasker and center Bob Bullington as team captains. The top two vote getters on offense, defense and special teams earned the honor.

IMHOFF, GREENWAY HONORED: Senior defensive end Zack Imhoff (Defensive Player of the Week) and Brad Greenway (Special Teams Player of the Week) have each earned Ivy League weekly honors after helping the Big Red defeat Wagner 31-7 on Oct. 1. Imhoff posted six tackles, including 3.5 sacks, while forcing two fumbles and blocking a punt. Greenway made a field goal, all four extra points, kicked off and averaged 36.6 yards on five punts, including a career-long 58-yarder.

BIG PASS PLAYS HIGHLIGHT WIN OVER BUCKNELL: Cornell used three plays of 64 yards or more in the passing game en route to its 24-13 victory over Bucknell on Sept. 17. Junior Luke Tasker hauled in a 65-yard pass from Mathews, while senior Shane Savage went 64 yards for a touchdown on a deep ball from the quarterback. Mathews then sealed the win with an 87-yard toss to junior Kurt Ondash, the fifth-longest pass play in school history.

NEW VIDEO BOARD: Cornell unveiled a brand new video board during its Homecoming contest against Bucknell on Sept. 17. The 18x31 video board produced by Daktronics is being run by Cornell athletics with assistance from Varsity Media out of Rochester, N.Y.  The board will have many exciting interactive features for fans and the multi-camera production will also allow for instant replays and multiple angles of the action.

STATING THE STATES: Cornell's 105-player roster includes student-athletes from 27 different states and the District of Columbia. Leading the way is the talent-rich state of California with 15 student-athletes, one of four states that have produced at least 10 current Big Red players (New York - 13; Ohio - 10; Pennsylvania- 10).

IVY PRESEASON POLL: The Cornell football team, under second-year head coach Kent Austin, was picked to finish tied for seventh in the Ivy League media preseason poll. Overall, there were 17 voters in the poll (two media representatives per school and one national media representative). PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Penn (12 first-place votes) 129 points; 2. Harvard (2 first-place votes) 118 points; 3. Yale (1 first-place vote) 95 points; 4. Brown (2 first-place votes) 90 points; 5. Dartmouth 73 points; 6. Columbia 45 points; 7. Cornell 31 points; 7. Princeton 31 points.

BOOKER-TANDY NAMED TO ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM: Senior corner back Nick Booker-Tandy was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I first-team in 2010. He was one of 12 Ivy League players named to the Academic All-District team. In the classroom, Booker-Tandy has posted a 4.0 grade point average in Applied Economics and Management and was an Academic All-Ivy nominee.

CORNELL ALL-TIME: The Big Red has an overall record of 620-474-34 (.565) in its 124 years of football. The program's 620 wins ranks 11th among all FCS schools. Over the years, Cornell has taken on 87 different opponents, with its most frequent opponent being Penn (118 meetings).

BOOTHE, WALTERS ON NFL ROSTERS: Former Cornellians Kevin Boothe '06 and Bryan Walters '10 are on opening day NFL rosters this season. Boothe, an All-American offensive lineman for the Big Red, is in his sixth season in the National Football League and fifth with the New York Giants. He joined former star tailback Derrick Harmon '84 as the second Cornell alumnus to earn a Super Bowl ring after playing 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. Walters is in his first season as a wide receiver with the San Diego Chargers after setting Ivy League and Cornell records for career kick return and punt return yardage. He ranks first at Cornell and second in Ivy League history in all-purpose yardage.

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF GOGOLAK'S HISTORIC KICK: This season marks the 50th anniversary of Pete Gogolak becoming the first soccer-style kicker in football history. His 41-yard field goal at Princeton on Oct. 28, 1961 went into the record books.

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.

STORIED RIVALRIES: The Big Red is involved in three of the top 20 most-played rivalries in college football. Heading into the 2011 campaign, the Cornell-Penn series ranks fifth in most games played with 118. The 98 meetings between Cornell and Columbia ranks 12th, while the Cornell-Colgate rivalry stands 17th with 94 games played. 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 91 years. They trail only the Lafayette-Lehigh series, which has been played every year since 1897.

LATE START: For the fourth time in the last eight years, Cornell was the last Division I football team to kick off its season. The 6:07 p.m. kick-off against Bucknell on Sept. 17 was the latest of the Ivy League schools to open its season. Penn (vs. Lafayette), Brown (at Stony Brook) and Princeton (vs. Lehigh) were scheduled for 6 p.m. kickoffs. The Big Red was also the final team to open in 2004, 2006 and 2007.

INSIDECORNELLFOOTBALL.COM: Cornell football launched a new web site, www.InsideCornellFootball.com, this spring to provide all the latest information on the Big Red program. Tune in for new, exclusive videos and other information.

WHAT'S THE FREQUENCY?: All of the Big Red's football games in 2011 are carried live on WHCU (870 AM) in the Ithaca area and on the internet at www.CornellBigRed.com. Barry Leonard returns for his 14th season in the booth and 12th season in the play-by-play chair, while Buck Briggs '76 is back to provide the color commentary for a 11th season. Special guests will also make appearances throughout the year.

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: Cornell returns home to meet Brown on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 12:30 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field. The Bears knocked off the Big Red last season 27-14 in Providence, R.I.