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GAME INFORMATION
Game #7: Cornell at Princeton
Kickoff: Saturday, Oct. 29, at 1:00 p.m. ET
Site: Princeton Stadium (28,000), Princeton, N.J.
2011 Records: Cornell (2-4, 0-3 Ivy); Princeton (1-5, 1-2 Ivy)
Series Record: Princeton leads 57-34-2
Last Meeting: Cornell won 21-19, Oct. 30, 2010, in Ithaca, N.Y.
Television: Verizon Fios1 Sports, Ralph Bednarczyk (play-by-play), Tom Criqui (color), Eva Zaccaria (sidelines)
Radio: WHCU 870 AM, Barry Leonard (play-by-play), Buck Briggs (color)
Live Stats: Available at
www.GoPrincetonTigers.com
Live Video: Available at
www.GoPrincetonTigers.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 (4-12 overall, .250; 1-9, Ivy, .100) ... 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. — Arguably the most exciting and certainly the most competitive series in the Ivy League over the past two decades will be renewed when Cornell visits Princeton on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. at Princeton Stadium. If you are in the Ithaca area, you can tune in to listen to Barry Leonard and Buck Briggs on the call on WHCU 870 AM. You can listen also to the live audio stream of the game by subscribing to
RedCast at www.CornellBigRed.com.
Cornell's offense has proven it can hang with anyone on its schedule. 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. Cornell has already posted 28 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 (297.6) and pass efficiency (149.51). Mathews' primary receivers, senior
Shane Savage and juniors
Kurt Ondash and
Luke Tasker, have combined to haul in 89 passes for 1,522 yards and 12 touchdowns. They are averaging a lofty 17.1 yards per catch. Senior tight end
Ryan Houska is the team's leading rusher and also among the team's top receivers. The offensive line, which doesn't feature a senior, has surrendered just 2.8 sacks per game after giving up a nation's worst 4.9 sacks per game a year ago.
The defense has been much improved over the 2010 season. Cornell has surrendered 163.3 rushing yards per game (down from 246.1 ypg. in 2010) and 393.5 total yards per game (down from 437.2 ypg. in 2010). Cornell has registered 13 sacks and 38 total tackles for loss and is on pace to obliterate last season's totals of 12 sacks and 38 TFL. The defensive line, led by
Zack Imhoff (33 tackles, 10.0 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 3 FF, FR), has been another vastly improved unit over the first six weeks. Linebackers
Brandon Lainhart (59 tackles, 3.0 TFL) and
Brett Buehler (48 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 2 FF) rank among the Ancient Eight's leading tacklers. The duo is joined at the top of the tacklers' list by
Rashad Campbell (40 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 2 INTs) and
Josh Barut (45 tackles, 2 FF). Opposing running attacks are averaging just 3.9 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 nearly perfect so far this season, making 9-of-10 field goals and each of his 16 extra points. He has also averaged 36.5 yards per punt, including a 58-yard kick. Campbell is averaging 24.8 yards per kickoff return, including an 85-yard touchdown at Colgate. Special teams have also blocked four total kicks (two punts, an extra point and a field goal).
With Princeton at 1-5 overall entering the weekend, both teams will be attempting to finish strong in the final four games with their young rosters. If it is anything like the last 21 years, the spectators at Princeton Stadium should be ready for a game that goes down to the final minute. In all, 17 of the last 21 meetings (including 10 of the last 11) between the two teams has been decided by a touchdown or less and 11 have been decided by a field goal or less or in overtime. Five of the last six games have been decided in the final minute.
To have a game like that, Cornell will need to take advantage of Princeton's league-worst pass defense and contain senior quarterback Tommy Wornham and a pair of talented freshmen (RB Chuck Dibilio and WR Matt Costello). The duo are already the school's all-time freshman leader in receiving and rushing.
A WIN OVER PRINCETON WOULD:
• make Cornell 3-4 on the year.
• snap a six-game Ivy League losing streak.
• be the 621st in program history (11th most in the Football Championship Subdivision).
THE CORNELL-PRINCETON SERIES: (Princeton leads 57-34-2) This will be the 94th meeting between Cornell and Princeton, with the Tigers holding a commanding 57-34-2 advantage. The two teams first met in 1891, a 6-0 Princeton win. In all, 14 of the last 16 meetings have been decided by a touchdown or less. The Big Red dropped the Tigers 21-19 last season in Ithaca as
Emani Fenton '11 intercepted a last-second pass in the end zone to seal the victory.
NOTING THE LOSS TO BROWN
• Senior place-kicker
Brad Greenway booted three field goals and an extra point for 10 total points. In the process, the became the school's career leader in kicking points with 157.
• Sophomore
Jeff Mathews threw for 402 yards, the sixth 400-yard passing game in school history.
• Senior
Shane Savage had 12 catches for 163 yards and a TD. The 12 receptions is the seventh-most in a single game at Cornell, while the 163 yards ranks eighth.
• Sophomore
Josh Barut had a career-high 15 tackles and forced a fumble for the second straight game.
• Junior
Kurt Ondash had his second 100-yard receiving game of 2011 with 110 yards on five catches, including a 17-yard touchdown.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Sophomore
Jeff Mathews needs 50 yards to hit ninth on the season yards list, 58 to hit eights, 132 to reach seventh, 178 to get to sixth and 354 yards to hit the top five.
• Mathews needs one passing touchdown to move into the top five on the school's career list and two to move to fourth.
• Senior
Shane Savage needs five receptions to reach sixth on the school's career list. He only needs one for his 27th consecutive varsity contest with a catch.
• Savage is 16 yards shy of moving to 17th on the season receiving yards list, needs 27 to reach 16th, 40 to hit 15th, 49 to get to 14th, 74 to hit 13th, 77 to get to 12th, 92 to reach 11th and 117 to get into the top 10.
• Junior
Luke Tasker is 108 yards shy of becoming the school's 17th career 1,000-yard receiver.
• Senior
Brad Greenway has 157 career points and needs 11 to hit fourth on the school's all-time list.
• Seventeen of the last 21 contests (including 10 of the last 11 meetings) between Cornell and Princeton have been decided by a touchdown or less, and 12 of them have been decided by a field goal or less or in overtime.
GREAT START FOR MATHEWS: Sophomore
Jeff Mathews is off to a strong start in 2011, completing 62 percent of his passes (131-of-211) for 1,852 yards and 13 touchdowns. His 149.51 quarterback rating would be the highest single-season mark in school history. He is also on pace to toss for 3,087 yards, a mark that would be a Cornell school record.
WHERE MATHEWS RANKS: Sophomore
Jeff Mathews has gotten noticed for his strong start in 2011. He ranks seventh nationally in total offense at 296.7 yards per game, while sitting 20th nationally in passing efficiency (149.51). 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.
GREENWAY CLIMBING THE KICKING CHART: Senior
Brad Greenway has 157 career kicking points and has four games remaining to add to that total. He set the school's kicking scoring record last weekend with the first of his three field goals to surpass John McCombs '00, who had 148 points.
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.
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 89 passes for 1,522 yards and 12 touchdowns through six contests. They are averaging a lofty 17.1 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. His best game came with a 12-catch, 163-yard effort against Brown. Savage has upped his career numbers to 125 receptions for 1,524 yards and 10 touchdowns. Savage has a reception in all 26 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).
UP TO THE TASK: Junior
Luke Tasker posted his first career 100-yard game in the season-opening win over Bucknell (102 yards) and registered his second four weeks later at Colgate with three catches for 109 yards and a touchdown. He ranks third on the team with 25 catches and receiving yards (444) and touchdowns (three). Tasker is averaging 17.8 yards per catch with three 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 27 catches for 475 yards and three touchdowns. His 17.6 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.
RUN, PASS, CATCH: Senior tight end
Ryan Houska was named the team's Most Valuable Player a year ago. Houska 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 leads the team in rushing (219 yards, 4.9 yards per carry, TD) and is averaging 9.3 yards on his 12 catches.
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 18th nationally in sacks per game (0.9) and is 17th in tackles for loss (1.7). He leads Cornell's defensive line in tackles (33) after being converted from linebacker, where he was an honorable mention All-Ivy pick in 2010. He made 13 stops with 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a key forced fumble against Colgate
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 59 and 48, respectively. Lainhart has added 3.0 tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery, while Buehler has 7.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a pass breakup and two forced fumbles. Lainhart surpassed 200 career tackles with a career-high 14 against Harvard, and has upped that total to 221.
CAMPBELL IN CONTROL: Senior cornerback
Rashad Campbell sits fourth on the team with 40 tackles and has also posted 4.5 tackles for loss, a sack,a fumble recovery 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 24.8 yards per return for the year, including an 85-yard touchdown at Colgate.
PICKING UP A LOSS: Cornell's defense has been spending much more time in the offensive backfield in the 2011 season, already posting 38 tackles for loss in six contests (6.3 per game). Two players rank among the top 50 nationally in tackles for loss (
Zack Imhoff - 17th with 1.7;
Brett Buehler - 44th with 1.3).
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 620-476-34 (.564) 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
FOR OPENERS: The Big Red continued its historical pattern of success in season openers with a 24-13 victory against Bucknell on Sept. 17. The Big Red sports an all-time record of 90-30-4 (.742) in season openers.
BIG RED ON HOMECOMING: Cornell football improved its record in Homecoming games to 33-29-2 record dating back to 1948 with its 24-13 triumph over Bucknell on Sept. 17.
THE IVY OPENER: Cornell opened the 56th official season of Ivy League play with a 37-17 loss at Yale on Sept. 24. The Big Red now has a 26-28-2 record in 56 conference starters. The Big Red has now faced Yale 12 times (each of the last 12 seasons) in Ivy openers with a 4-8 mark.
BIG RED IN SEPTEMBER: The Big Red football team has had great success in the early fall over the years, particularly in September. The Big Red is 101-57-5 (.635) all-time during the month.
By The Numbers
• 3 Ivy League Rookies of the Year (Derrick Harmon - 1981; John McNiff - 1989;
Jeff Mathews - 2010)
• 3 Ivy League championships (1971, 1988, 1990)
• 4 Ivy League Players of the Year (Ed Marinaro - 1970 and 1971; Derrick Harmon - 1983; Chad Levitt - 1996)
• 5 national championships (1915, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1939)
• 12 Capital One Academic All-Americans
• 18 members of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame
• 42 Big Red players who have gone on to play professionally
• 124 years of Cornell football
• 126 All-Americans
• 620 victories (10th-most among Football Championship Subdivision teams)
• 4,715 rushing yards by Ed Marinaro in three years, No. 2 all-time in the Ivy League
• 7,710 passing yards for Ricky Rahne, No. 3 all-time in the Ivy League
Highlights
• Legendary Hall of Fame coach Glenn “Pop” Warner played and coached at Cornell.
• On Nov. 16, 1940, Cornell was part of the historic “Fifth-Down” game with Dartmouth. Down 3-0 late in the game, Cornell was awarded a mistaken fifth-down play and scored a touchdown to earn a 7-3 win. After watching tape of the game, the Big Red forfeited the result, ending the top-ranked Big Red's 18-game win streak. It still serves as the most honored show of sportsmanship in the history of college football as the only time a game has been decided off the field.
• Peter Gogolak introduced soccer-style kicking to America in 1961
• Ed Marinaro became college football's all-time leading rusher and finished second in the Heisman Trophy race in 1971, graduating with 4,715 rushing yards.
UP NEXT: Cornell will remain on the road to face Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 1:30 p.m. in Hanover, N.H.