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Cornell vs. Colgate, 2014 FB

Football

Football Opens 2014 Campaign at Colgate on Saturday

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CORNELL INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I 2013 Statistics I History and Records

COLGATE INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I Statistics

GAME INFORMATION
Game #1: Cornell at Colgate
Date: Saturday, Sept. 20, at 1:00 p.m.
Site: Andy Kerr Stadium (10,221), Hamilton, N.Y.
2014 Records: Cornell (0-0, 0-0 Ivy); Colgate (0-2, 0-0 Patriot)
Series Record: Cornell leads the series 48-44-3
Last Meeting: Colgate won 41-20, Oct. 5, 2013, in Ithaca, N.Y.
Television: Time Warner Cable Sports
Radio: WHCU 870 AM, Barry Leonard (play-by-play), Buck Briggs (color)
Live Video: www.PatriotLeagueNetwork.com
Live Stats: Available at www.CornellBigRed.com
Tickets: Available by calling (607) 254-BEAR or online here

HEAD COACH DAVID ARCHER '05
David Archer '05, the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Cornell Football, is in his second season at the helm of the Big Red (3-7 overall,.300; 2-5, Ivy, .286) ... Archer is the youngest Division I head football coach in the country ... he had been an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at his alma mater for six years ... Archer was hired as head coach on Jan. 3, 2013.
STORY LINES
• Cornell opens its 127th season of football when it visits Colgate at Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, N.Y. on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 1 p.m.
• The game will be televised in Central New York and around the state on Time Warner Cable Sports and is available online as part of the Patriot League Digital Network.
• The Big Red's radio broadcast featuring Barry Leonard and Buck Briggs can be heard locally on WHCU 870 AM or live online as part of the Ivy League Digital Network.
• The Big Red has won five of its last seven season openers and holds a 91-31-4 all-time record to begin a campaign.
• A year ago, David Archer '05 won his collegiate head coaching debut with 45-13 victory over Bucknell at Schoellkopf Field in the 2013 season opener.
• Cornell wasn't as successful when the Big Red met Colgate later in the season, as the Raiders captured a 41-20 victory at Schoellkopf Field as Jeff Mathews
• From the moment Jeff Mathews '14 took a knee out of the victory formation in his final collegiate play, and just seconds after Tre' Minor '14 broke through the line to block a game-tying PAT attempt at Penn to close out the 2013 campaign, the collective eyes of Cornell football started preparations for 2014.
• Year two of the David Archer '05 era begins with the momentum of a season-ending two-game win streak carrying the Big Red into an epic offseason.
• Vast improvements in the weight room thanks to generous alumni, a spring and fall of putting in the time to master the offensive, defensive and special teams schemes and tremendous recognition of alumni playing professional football have highlighted this year's off season.
• After decades of a revolving door of head coaches, Archer and his staff will look to provide added stability in the processes they put into place. Retiring Penn coach Al Bagnoli has faced six Cornell head coaches during his 23 years on the sidelines for the Quakers while winning nine Ivy League titles. Harvard's Tim Murphy seven Ivy League titles in 21 years are nearly matched by the Cornell coaches he's faced over that span (six).
• It will be year two of the defense and special teams systems being put in place and year one of the offensive scheme.
• The defense will continue to be a multiple front, 3-4 base system and the special teams will continue to try and dominate field position by blocking kicks, getting great kick coverage and setting up open field returns.
• The offense will introduce a dynamic, yet balanced attack that will take the best of what Cornell had long been known for – a relentless running attack and, more recently, a passing game that takes advantage of gaps and matchups.
• Only 14 seniors dot the roster, with three being fifth-year returners.
• Four Cornellians dot NFL rosters this fall, with two-time Super Bowl champion Kevin Boothe '06 leading the way in his ninth pro season.  Boothe rejoined the team that drafted him, the Oakland Raiders. Former Big Red receiver Bryan Walters '10, who won a Super Bowl last winter, continues to compete for his hometown Seattle Seahawks. Second year center J.C. Tretter '13 took over the starting center position in the preseason for the Green Bay Packers before missing the first several week of the season with an injury. Record-setting quarterback Jeff Mathews '14 made the Indianapolis Colts practice squad after originally signing with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent.

ABOUT COLGATE
• Colgate brings a deceptive 0-2 record into its Homecoming matchup with the Big Red after a 30-10 loss to FBS Ball State and a 28-25 defeat at national power Delaware.
• The Raiders are averaging better than 160 rushing yards per game as a team with dual threat quarterback Jake Melville leading the way. The sophomore is averaging 7.3 yards per carry and is coming off a 118-yard day on the ground against the Blue Hens.
• Melville is 29-of-51 passing for 272 yards through the air in the two games. His favorite target has been junior John Quazza, who has caught 10 passes for 133 yards.
• Sophomore place-kicker Jonah Bowman ranks among the national leaders in field goals (five) and paces the squad in scoring with 17 points.
• Colgate has typically been known for its mistake-free football, and this year has shown the same characteristics. The Raiders have been called for just seven penalties and have committed just one turnover in its first two contests.
• Chris Morgan (16-6—22) and Vinny Russo (11-10—21) both are averaging double figure tackles per game while combining for 3.5 tackles for loss.
• First-year head coach Dan Hunt took over the program after 17 seasons on the sideline with Colgate legend Dick Biddle. He had been offensive coordinator for seven seasons prior to taking over the head job.

THE CORNELL-COLGATE SERIES
• Cornell and Colgate will be meeting for the 96th time dating back to the first contest in 1896.
• The Big Red owned the early series, going 13-0-1 in the first 14 games (1896-1911), while also posting nine and seven-game win streaks before 1951.
• Colgate has had the better of the series since 1975, capturing 28 of the last 35 meetings, including 10 straight (1993-2005) before the Big Red commenced on a two-game win streak.
• The Raiders have won five consecutive contests by a combined score of 203-96 (40.6-19.2), including a 41-20 Colgate win last season in Ithaca.

A WIN OVER COLGATE WOULD ...
• improve Cornell's record in season openers to 92-31-4.
• extend Cornell's win streak to three games dating back to last year, its longest since starting the 2008 campaign with three consecutive wins (at Bucknell, vs. Yale, at Lehigh).
• snap a five-game losing skid against the Raiders.
• be the 629th in program history (11th-most in the Football Championship Subdivision).
• give Cornell a 104-58-5 record all-time in the month of September.
• be the 631st in program history (12th-most in the Football Championship Subdivision).

CORNELL VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
• Cornell has a 130-75-7 record against the seven current members of the Patriot League football conference, including a 48-44-3 edge over Colgate.
• The Big Red has advantages over Bucknell (42-11), Fordham (4-3-0), Georgetown (2-1-0), Holy Cross (5-0-0), Lafayette (14-8-2) and Lehigh (15-8-2).
• The Big Red will play all three non-conference games against Patriot League foes for the first time since 2009 (defeated Bucknell at home, lost at Colgate, vs. Fordham). Cornell will also visit Bucknell on Sept. 27 and will play host to Lehigh on Oct. 18.

THE LAST TIME OUT (Cornell 42, Penn 41 - Nov. 23, 2013 at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pa.)
• Jeff Mathews hung his head as he was walking off the field with just over a minute to play. The greatest passing quarterback in Ivy League history by any measure had just thrown an interception that was returned for an apparent game-tying Penn touchdown with 71 seconds left on the clock in his final collegiate game.



• Then sophomore Luke Hagy ran over to him. "He told me I was looking at it all wrong, and that we still had 1:11 left to go win it," Mathews said.
• Tre' Minor had other plans - he just wanted to let the offense take a knee and go home.
• The senior broke through the middle of the line and blocked the extra-point attempt to give Cornell a 42-41 victory at Franklin Field.
• Mathews was again unbelievable in his final collegiate game, completing 33-of-47 passes for 467 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another. He closed out his career with 45 Cornell and 18 Ivy League records to his name.
• Three of his wide receivers surpassed 100 yards, with senior Grant Gellatly catching 11 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown to lead the way. He ended his season with 90 catches for 1,226 yards, good for single season school marks for receptions and receiving yards. His career numbers of 194 receptions for 2,486 yards both rank second all-time at Cornell.
• Brett Buehler had six tackles to surpass 100 for the season, ending with 104. Freshman Miles Norris had six stops and blocked a punt to go along with his 2.5 tackles for loss.

CORNELL ON OPENING DAY
• If the Big Red continues its historical pattern of success in season openers, it could be big trouble for this year's opponent, Colgate.
• The Big Red sports an all-time record of 91-31-4 (.738) in its 126 previous season openers.
• Cornell opened the 2013 campaign with a 45-13 victory over Bucknell at Schoellkopf Field on Sept. 21, 2013 after rallying from a 10-0 deficit.
• The Big Red has won five of the last seven season openers.
• In four of the last 11 years, Cornell has been the last Division I football team to kick off its season (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2011).
• Cornell last opened a season against Colgate in 1974 when the Big Red topped the Raiders 40-21 on Sept. 28, 1974.
• The Big Red is 16-6-1 against Colgate all-time in season openers, meeting in 1896-97, 1899, 1901-02, 1904, 1906, 1940, 1956-63, and 1969-74.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
• For the second straight season, Cornell held a preseason scrimmage at Mynderse Academy in Seneca Falls, N.Y., approximately 43 miles North from the Big Red campus.
• A pair of former Big Red football players have been elected to the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame and will be inducted the weekend of Nov. 7-9.
• Clarence Fauntleroy '54 won letters in football as a first string left tackle/left guard in 1951 and 1952, but was better known for his lacrosse exploits. He was a two-time All-America selection in lacrosse, receiving third-team honors in 1954, when Cornell compiled an overall record of 9-3, and he received honorable mention All-America honors in 1955, when the Big Red went 8-3-1.
• Ricky Rahne '02 was a three-year starter at quarterback who set 33 Cornell passing and total offense records. His 7,718 passing yards ranked third all-time in Ivy League history. Rahne was a two-time honorable mention All-Ivy League selection and was named honorable mention All-America by Don Hansen's Football Gazette in 2000. The three-time team MVP became the all-time leader in completions (678), yards (7,710), touchdown passes (54) and 200-yard games (25) among others. He also graduated in the top spot in total offense with 7,994 yards (7,710 passing, 284 rushing) during his Cornell career.

BIG RED ELECTS THREE CAPTAINS FOR 2014
• The Cornell football team elected three seniors as captains for the 2014 season.
• All-Ivy League candidates Justin Harris (DL), Rush Imhotep (S) and Lucas Shapiro (WR) received an overwhelming majority of votes from their upperclassmen teammates to lead the squad into the upcoming campaign.
• "When I saw the results of our team elected vote for captains I couldn't be more pleased. The coaching staff unanimously approved the choices of Rush Imhotep, Justin Harris and Lucas Shapiro to serve as the 2014 captains of Big Red football. Being captains of this team is a special honor and its one that is earned over years of constant, consistent hard work and caring for your teammates. These guys embody the positive influence and levels of leadership that we promote and develop in our program. I'm excited and honored to have Lucas, Justin and Rush as our team captains." — David Archer '05, the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Cornell Football

THREE NEW FACES ON THE SIDELINES
• Cornell has three new faces on the sidelines in 2014.
• The Big Red brought on new offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Roy Istvan and running backs/tight ends coach Guido Falbo.
• Istvan will restructure the offense after six seasons at Rhode Island, including three as offensive coordinator. He also coaches at Buffalo, Milton Academy and his alma mater, Southern Connecticut.
• Falbo spent the last two seasons at Alderson Broaddus, helping start the Division II program as defensive coordinator. He also had prior stops at RPI, UMass, Rhode Island, St. Lawrence, Syracuse, Western Connecticut, California (PA), Princeton and Maine Maritime Academy.
• New Director of Football Operations Aaron Klein '12 takes over the position after serving as an undergraduate and graduate manager for the last six seasons. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the program.

BIG RED INVOLVED IN STORIED RIVALRIES
• The Big Red is involved in three of the top 20 most-played rivalries in college football.
• The Cornell-Penn series ranks fifth in most games played with 121.
• The 100 meetings between Cornell and Columbia ranks 12th, while the Cornell-Colgate rivalry stands 17th with 96 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 94 years.
• They trail only the Lafayette-Lehigh series, which has been played every year since 1897.

FOOTBALL GETS NCAA RECOGNITION (AGAIN)
• Football has been publicly recognized by the NCAA for its Academic Progress Report (APR) score being in the top 10 percent nationally each year since the scores were first tabulated in 2004-05.
• Only eight schools have been honored each year (Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Dayton, Penn, Princeton and Yale), with seven coming from the Ivy League.
• The APR measures semester-by-semester records for every individual team in Division I with regard to each team members' continuing eligibility, retention and progress toward graduation.

STATING THE STATES
• Cornell's 102-player roster is made up of student-athletes from 29 states, as well as the District of Columbia.
• A team-high 18 players come to Cornell from California, while another 12 attended school in bordering Pennsylvania and 10 are from the home state of New York.
• Six players are from Texas and five apiece came from Georgia, Maryland and Michigan.

CORNELL FOOTBALL AT 126 YEARS
• This is the 128th year since the start of Cornell football, but it will be the 127th season.
• The first official Big Red football team was formed in 1887, and Cornell has sponsored a squad every year since except 1918 during World War I.
• The Big Red has an overall record of 630-490-34 (.560) in its 126 years of football.
• The program's 630 wins rank 12th among all FCS schools.
• Over the years, Cornell has taken on 88 different opponents, with its most frequent opponent being Penn (121 meetings).

CORNELLIANS IN THE NFL
• Four Cornellians were on NFL opening day rosters.
• Ninth year pro Kevin Boothe '06 signed as a free agent with the Oakland Raiders this past offseason after seven years with the New York Giants.
• Boothe 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. He has been part of two Super Bowl championship teams, including starting at left guard during the Giants' 21-17 Super Bowl XLVI win over the New England Patriots in February 2012.
• This will be his second go-around with the Raiders, the team he was drafted by. Boothe started as a rookie in 2006 after being picked in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft (pick #176).
• Boothe entered the season having played in 105 career games with 62 starts (38 consecutive regular season, 42 including playoffs).
• Bryan Walters '10, one of the Big Red's all-time greats at wide receivers, begins his fifth NFL season after earning a Super Bowl ring last year with the Seattle Seahawks.
• He previously had spent time with the San Diego Chargers and the Minnesota Vikings.
• Walters caught three passes for 27 yards in 2011 with the Chargers and is now the Seahawks' starting punt returner.
• Second-year offensive lineman JC Tretter '13 was an FCS All-American before being drafted in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers in 2013.
• Tretter suffered an injury during official team activities (OTA) and missed his first NFL season, but is slated to be the Packers' starting center when he returns from a preseason injury.
• Record-setting quarterback Jeff Mathews went undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft but signed with the Atlanta Falcons. After being released in the preseason, Mathews was picked up for the practice squad of the Indianapolis Colts.

IVY PRESEASON POLL
• The Cornell football team, under second-year head coach David Archer '05, was picked to finish seventh in the Ivy League media preseason poll.
• There were 17 voters in the poll (two media representatives per school and one national media representative).
• 1. Princeton (128 pts —nine first-place votes); 2. Harvard (127 pts — eight first-place votes); 3. Dartmouth (91 pts); 4. Penn (79 pts); 5. Yale (68 pts); 6. Brown (65 pts); 7. Cornell (34 pts); 8. Columbia (20 pts)

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
• Cornell holds claim to 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.

NEXT UP
• The Big Red remains on the road to play Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. at Christy Mathewson Stadium in Lewisburg, Pa.
• Cornell leads the all-time series 42-11, including last season's 45-13 victory over the Bison at Schoellkopf Field in head coach David Archer's debut.
• The Big Red has won seven straight in the "Battle of the Nells" series.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Brett Buehler

#42 Brett Buehler

ILB
6' 1"
Senior
Grant Gellatly

#7 Grant Gellatly

WR
5' 10"
Senior
Jeff Mathews

#9 Jeff Mathews

QB
6' 4"
Senior
Tre

#56 Tre' Minor

OLB
6' 2"
Senior
Luke Hagy

#25 Luke Hagy

RB
6' 0"
Junior
Rush Imhotep

#5 Rush Imhotep

S
6' 2"
Senior
Miles Norris

#24 Miles Norris

ILB
6' 0"
Sophomore
Lucas Shapiro

#14 Lucas Shapiro

WR
6' 5"
Senior
Justin Harris

#90 Justin Harris

DL
6' 6"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Brett Buehler

#42 Brett Buehler

6' 1"
Senior
ILB
Grant Gellatly

#7 Grant Gellatly

5' 10"
Senior
WR
Jeff Mathews

#9 Jeff Mathews

6' 4"
Senior
QB
Tre

#56 Tre' Minor

6' 2"
Senior
OLB
Luke Hagy

#25 Luke Hagy

6' 0"
Junior
RB
Rush Imhotep

#5 Rush Imhotep

6' 2"
Senior
S
Miles Norris

#24 Miles Norris

6' 0"
Sophomore
ILB
Lucas Shapiro

#14 Lucas Shapiro

6' 5"
Senior
WR
Justin Harris

#90 Justin Harris

6' 6"
Senior
DL