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ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell junior quarterback Jeff Mathews has been named one of two finalists for the 2012 Asa S. Bushnell Cup signifying the Ivy League's Offensive Player of the Year. The honor will be announced on Monday, Dec. 3 in New York City as part of the festivities surrounding the NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Mathews and Harvard senior quarterback Colton Chapple are the finalists for Offensive Player of the Year, while a pair of candidates will also vie for the Defensive Player of the Year. Defensive back AJ Cruz of Brown and defensive end Mike Catapano of Princeton will be the two finalists on the other side of the ball.

Each of the finalists and their respective head coaches will be present for the awards' presentation at 12:30 p.m. Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris will unveil the winners' names at the event in front of a packed crowd of media representatives, NFF Board members and notable Ivy League football alumni and dignitaries. George Pyne, a NFF Board Member since 2008, will emcee the Bushnell Cup presentation for the second-straight year. Pyne played offensive tackle at Brown, captaining the 1988 football team and earning All-Ivy League and All-New England honors. The presentation will be streamed live on FootballFoundation.org and IvyLeagueSports.com.

Mathews, the 2011 Bushnell Cup winner and the first sophomore to win the award a year ago, was named second-team All-Ivy after another record-setting season and despite playing through numerous injuries. One of 20 players on the Walter Payton Award Watch List, he was a preseason first-team FCS All-American by Beyond Sports College Network in 2012. He was a two-time conference Offensive Player of the Week in 2012 who led the Ivy League in passing attempts (405), completions (251) and yards (3,196). Mathews also finished second in passing touchdowns (18), completion percentage (.620) and pass efficiency (137.5) for players with at least five starts. He ranked second nationally in passing yardage (355.1), third in total offense (338.4), 21st in points responsible for (13.8) and 32nd in pass efficiency (137.5). Mathews became Cornell's career passing leader with his 315-yard, three-touchdown effort against Dartmouth, surpassing Ricky Rahne's record of 7,710 yards. His 8,331 yards after three seasons is second all-time in Ivy League history.

The record-setting passed for at least 300 yards in seven of the nine games in which he appeared. He completed 35-of-51 passes for 525 yards and four touchdowns (0 interceptions) in the win over Princeton. Mathews opened the season by completing 38-of-56 passes for 489 yards and three touchdowns (0 interceptions) in a 34-27 loss at Fordham. He also ran for a score. Mathews passed for 340 yards and four touchdowns without a pick in the win over Yale en route to earning Ivy League co-Offensive Player of the Week honors and threw for 445 yards and a touchdown, along with a late two-point conversion to tie the game, in a 35-28 loss to Ivy champ Penn.

Mathews will be attempting to become the fourth Ivy League player to capture the Bushnell Cup twice, joining fellow Cornellian Ed Marinaro (1970 and 1971), Yale running back John Pagliaro (1976 and 1977) and Harvard wide receiver Carl Morris (2001 and 2002).

Cornell has had four previous players win the Bushnell Cup a total of five times, including Mathews a season ago. Ed Marinaro was a two-time winner (1970, 71), while Derrick Harmon captured the award in 1983 and Chad Levitt took home the trophy in 1996.