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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 23 Harvard raced out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back, finishing off Cornell 45-13 on Saturday afternoon at Harvard Stadium. The Crimson extended their win streak to 11 in improving to 4-0 (2-0 Ivy). The Big Red slipped to 2-2 (1-1 Ivy) with the loss.

Cornell's Jeff Mathews threw for 307 yards and a touchdown while being intercepted twice. With his effort, he moved into second on the school's career passing yardage list, ahead of Nathan Ford. He ended the afternoon with 6,549 yards.  It was also his school-record ninth 300-yard passing game. His favorite target was Grant Gellatly with 111 yards on six catches, good enough for his third career 100-yard game. Luke Tasker added eight catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. John Wells also booted a pair of field goals (25 and 42 yards).

Defensively, the Big Red got 11 tackles from Rush Miller, while Brett Buehler was also in double figures with 10. Andrew Nelson  posted nine tackles and two pass breakups, Brian Gee had five tackles and an interception and Jarrod Watson-Lewis made three tackles and had three pass breakups. After allowing touchdowns on each of Harvard's first three possessions, it allowed the Big Red to get back into it by allowing just three points on the team's next seven possessions. Cornell got within 24-13 during that span.

Harvard's Colton Chapple completed 24-of-36 passes for 362 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception. He also ran for a score. Treavor Scales ran for 106 yards and a touchdown, while Andrew Berg (10 catches, 132 yards and three touchdowns) and Ricky Zorn (five catches, 100 yards, touchdown) each surpassed 100 receiving yards. Joshua Boyd led the defense with eight tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. The Crimson had seven tackles for loss and four sacks in the win while forcing the Big Red into a 2-of-13 day converting third downs.

It looked as though the Crimson wouldn't give the Big Red a chance. Just 29 seconds into the second quarter it was 21-0 Harvard. Cornell righted the ship, scoring 10 consecutive points to get within 21-10. Mathews completed 12-of-21 passes for 188 yards and a 3-yard touchdown pass to Luke Tasker midway through the second to get the visitors on the board. John Wells kicked a 25-yard field goal late in the half to get Cornell back to 21-10.

The early story was the connection of Chapple and Berg. The two hooked up seven times for 71 yards and all three Harvard scores, all coming in the game's first 15:29. Chapple hit Berg from 17, 9 and 15 yards to build the big lead.

Cornell took the opening kickoff and marched to an apparent first down, but a bang-bang play that could have been an incompletion was instead ruled a fumble and the Crimson took over. Four plays later, Chapple hit Berg from 17 yards out and less than two and a half minutes in, Harvard led 7-0.

The Big Red struggled to move the ball on its first several possessions, going into the wind and with a relentless Crimson defensive line giving Mathews little time to find an open receiver. Mathews was sacked twice and was hit a third time forcing an intentional grounding call. Each time, Harvard took advantage. The Crimson scored on almost identical nine-play scoring drives, with both ending with Berg in the end zone on the receiving end of a Chapple dart, making it 21-0.

But just when it looked like the rout was on, Cornell responded. The defense forced three straight empty possessions, though the first featured a dropped touchdown pass followed by a missed 30-yard field goal. Cornell took that momentum and went 80 yards for its first score. Mathews marched the Big Red quickly down the field in six plays covering just 2:45, including an outstanding touch pass over Hagy's shoulder for a 44-yard gainer. The Big Red finally converted when Mathews hit Tasker from 3-yards out for a score to make it 21-7.

After trading punts, Cornell forced a three-and-out to claim the ball with four minutes left. The offense went back to work, with Mathews hitting Gellatly for 31 yards, Mlady for 21 and Tasker for 18, but the drive stalled out. Wells stepped up and hit his first field goal of the year, a 25-yard kick, to make it 21-10 going into the break.

The second half started with a healthy dose of Treavor Scales, including runs of 17 and 29 yards on the first drive of the third quarter. Cornell's defense stiffened, surrendering a 20-yard field goal after Andrew Nelson nearly intercepted a third down pass attempt.

Cornell answered right back with a field goal of its own after a 10-plahy drive. Wells was perfect from 42 yards for a career-long effort, getting the visitors back to within 24-13.

With all the momentum, the Big Red defense got the ball back for the offense on the first play of Harvard's ensuing drive. Chapple's pass attempt was tipped into the air by Brett Buehler and grabbed by Brian Gee for a sudden change. A 9-yard pass to Jake Allyn and a 6-yard run by Gellatly put the ball 1st-and-10 at the Harvard 14, but a sack pushed the Big Red backwards. The drive ended with a 37-yard missed field goal attempt by Wells after the kick sailed wide right.

It was the Big Red's last real chance. After three straight possessions ended in punts, Harvard commenced a five-play, 80-yard scoring drive that ended when Chapple threw up a pass that Zorn outjumped a Cornell defender for in the end zone from 24 yards out. The PAT made it 31-13.

A Mathews interception on the ensuing Cornell drive put the Crimson back in scoring position, and Scales delivered from six yards out. A Big Red three-and-out then gave the ball back to Harvard, and the Crimson got a 4-yard scramble for a score from Chapple to make it 45-13 with 4:54 left on the clock. Mathews was picked off one more time, as part of Cornell's desperation last drive with 2:42 remaining.

The Big Red returns home to begin a stretch of three home games in four weeks when it plays host to Monmouth on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 12:30 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field. It will be the first-ever meeting with the Hawks and will also close out the non-conference schedule.