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CORNELL INFORMATION
Roster I
Schedule & Results I
2012 Statistics I
History and Records
BUCKNELL INFORMATION
Roster I
Schedule & Results I
Statistics
GAME INFORMATION
Game #3: Cornell at Bucknell
Date: Saturday, Sept. 29, at 6:00 p.m. ET
Site: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium (13,100), Lewisburg, Pa.
2012 Records: Cornell (1-1, 1-0 Ivy); Bucknell (1-2, 0-1 Patriot)
Series Record: Cornell leads 40-11
Last Meeting: Cornell won 24-13, Sept. 17, 2011, in Ithaca, N.Y.
Television: None
Radio: WHCU 870 AM, Barry Leonard (play-by-play), Buck Briggs (color)
Live Stats: Available at
www.BucknellBison.com
Live Video: Available at
www.BucknellBison.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 third season at the helm of the Big Red (8-14 overall, .364; 5-10, Ivy, .333) ... 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.
STORY LINES
• The Cornell football team will step back out of Ivy League play when it visits longtime rival Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
• It will be the 52nd “Battle of the 'Nells”, with Cornell holding a decisive 40-11 lead in the all-time series. The Big Red has won six consecutive matchups between the teams.
• Kent Austin earned his first win as a collegiate coach in Lewisburg, Pa. back in 2010 when the Big Red topped the Bison 21-12.
• The Big Red ran off with a 45-6 victory over Yale, posting the largest margin of victory over the Bulldogs in school history. The win came in front of a Homecoming crowd of 15,333 at Schoellkopf Field.
• Cornell brings in one of the nation's most explosive passing offenses behind All-America candidate
Jeff Mathews, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year. The Big Red ranks in the top 10 nationally in passing (second, 414.5 ypg.), total offense (fourth, 500.0 ypg.) and passing efficiency (eighth, 168.12).
• The defense sits in the top 40 nationally in scoring defense (31st, 20.0 ppg.) and is second in turnover margin (+2.5).
• Mathews is on the cusp of becoming the third Cornellian to surpass 6,000 career passing yards, entering the game with 5,964 yards. With one touchdown pass he will reach 40 for his career, becoming the second Big Red signal-caller to reach that milestone.
• He will be throwing to three receivers ranked among the top 10 nationally in receptions per game (
Luke Tasker - fourth, 10.0;
Grant Gellatly - sixth, 9.5;
Kurt Ondash - eighth, 8.0).
• Adding balance will be freshman running back
Luke Hagy, the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week. Hagy rushed for a career-high 88 yards and two touchdowns in last weekend's win over Yale. He piled up 157 all-purpose yards.
• Mathews will be going against a Bucknell defense that ranks fourth in the country in sacks (3.7) and sixth in tackles for loss (8.7).
A WIN OVER BUCKNELL WOULD
• move Cornell to 2-1 overall and even the team's record at 1-1 in non-conference action.
• extend its win streak over the Bison to six games and extend its advantage in the series to 41-11.
• give Cornell a 102-57-5 record all-time in the month of September.
• be the 625th in program history (11th-most in the Football Championship Subdivision).
THE CORNELL-BUCKNELL SERIES
• This will be the 52nd meeting between Cornell and Bucknell, with the Big Red holding a 40-11 lead in the series.
• The two teams first met in 1888, a 20-3 Cornell win.
• The Big Red won the first three meetings before Bucknell claimed a 4-0 victory in 1891.
• It would be 88 years and 24 games before the Bison would win its next contest against Cornell.
• The Big Red won its fifth straight game over Bucknell last year with a 24-13 triumph in Ithaca.
CORNELL VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
• Cornell has a 128-74-7 record against the seven current members of the Patriot League football conference, including a 40-11 edge over Bucknell.
• The Big Red has advantages over Colgate (48-43-3), Fordham (4-3-0), Georgetown (2-1-0), Holy Cross (5-0-0), Lafayette (14-8-2) and Lehigh (15-8-2).
ABOUT BUCKNELL
• Bucknell slipped to 1-2 on the season after dropping its Patriot League opener to Lafayette 20-14 on Sept. 22 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
• The Bison trailed 20-7, but rallied late and had a chance to play for the tie in the final minutes with the ball.
• Bucknell's defense totaled 13 tackles for loss in the loss, with 13 different players in on at least one stop. The Bison were second nationally in turnovers forced a year ago and were third in rushing defense. Only two of Bucknell's last seven opponents have reached 20 points against the Bison defense. Over that span, Bison foes are averaging 14.9 points per game.
• Coming off a 6-5 season a year ago, third-year head coach Joe Susan has the Bison trending upward after going 1-10 in his first year.
• Former Patriot League Rookie of the Year Brandon Wesley leads the Bison offense, averaging 208.7 yards per game with three touchdowns.
NEXT UP
• The Big Red will head to harvard for a key early Ivy League contest on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m.
• Harvard has won five straight in the series and hasn't been beaten by Cornell in Cambridge since the 2000 season.