ITHACA, N.Y. - Junior linebacker James White scooped up his first career fumble recovery and ran in a 15-yard touchdown on Saturday, but the football team mustered little else in a 51-13 loss to Yale at Schoellkopf Field. Cornell falls to 0-3 on the season and 0-1 in Ivy League play.

Yale (3-0, 1-0) jumped out to a 20-0 lead after the first quarter, thanks in large part to going a perfect 4-for-4 on third-down conversions.

"Yale is rolling right now and did a nice job of getting us off the field, especially early on in the game," said David Archer '05, the Rojer J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Football. "Things didn't click for us today. We had some miscues, some were self-inflicted, but my hat's off to Yale."

Cornell found some traction early in the second quarter. Junior quarterback James Few ran a sneak for a first down on third-and-one, then completed a pass to sophomore wide receiver Collin Shaw in the slot on the left side for another first down on the next play. After no gain on a running play, Few found senior wide receiver Lucas Shapiro for a 10-yard completion on right side to drive the Big Red into Bulldogs territory.

While three straight incompletions led to another punt, Cornell's defense came up with a big play to get the home side on the board. Yale completed a pass to the right side, but junior cornerback Del Barnes stripped the ball out of the receiver's hands, and White scooped it up and ran for the touchdown to cut the home side's deficit to 20-6.

But Yale regained control to take a 34-6 lead into the half. On the Bulldogs' final possession, Cornell junior linebacker J.J. Fives sacked Yale quarterback Morgan Roberts on third down. Roberts then found Deon Randall on fourth down for a diving catch up the right sidelines before the duo hooked up again on a 16-yard touchdown strike with less than two minutes left in the half.

Coming off a stunning overtime victory against Army last weekend, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 20-point lead after the first quarter on Saturday. Cornell's only first time in the opening 15 minutes came on a Yale personal foul.

A botched pitch on an end-around led to a Cornell three-and-out on the game's first possession. Yale returned the ensuing punt 26 yards to set up excellent field position at the Cornell 39-yard line.

Junior linebacker Bobby Marani nearly picked off a pass on Yale's first play from scrimmage, then cleaned up an open-field tackle with freshman safety Nick Gesualdi to put the Bulldogs in third-and-long right off the bat. But Roberts then completed a pass to Sebastian Little for a first down. Two plays later, Tyler Varga took a pitch around the left side for a 6-yard touchdown and put the Big Red in an early 7-0 hole.

Yale's next drive was equally effective. Varga's 30-yard rumble up the left sideline set up a 33-yard touchdown pass from Roberts to Randall. The Big Red defense thwarted the two-point conversion attempt, leaving its deficit at 13-0 less than seven minutes in.

The Bulldogs' next possession ended on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Roberts to a wide-open Grant Wallace, with the extra point stretching the visitors' lead to 20 points.

Cornell's lone offensive touchdown of the day came with 1:08 remaining in the fourth quarter, when Few found junior running back Luke Hagy for a six-yard reception on fourth down. Shaw was the Big Red's leading receiver with four receptions for 72 yards.

Roberts was 26-of-30 passing for 312 yards and five touchdowns before sitting out the fourth quarter. Of the Big Red's 189 total yards, 120 came through the air and Hagy rushed for 68 yards on 18 carries.

The Big Red is back in action next Saturday at Harvard.