Box Score (PDF)

HAMILTON, N.Y. – Colgate looked like a team playing with the emotion of its first home game under a new coach, desperate for a win on Homecoming. Cornell looked like a team on the way up, but not quite there (yet). A game of inches went the way of the established program and the Raiders took home a 27-12 victory over the Big Red on Saturday afternoon at Andy Kerr Stadium.

The win was Colgate head coach Dan Hunt's first victory, but came after being promoted after 19 years on the Raiders' sideline, including 18 under legendary head coach Dick Biddle. A program that has built a reputation on grinding teams down in the trenches with the run game did what it always does. Cornell, meanwhile, gave fans a first look into the future. Many years from now, Big Red fans may look back to this game as the first day it started establishing its own identity.

Underclassmen made big plays throughout for the Big Red, but it was upperclassmen that did all of the scoring. Fifth-year senior John Wells booted a pair of 27-yard field goals and junior James Few hit senior Lucas Shapiro for a 17-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter. Few ended the day 10-of-19 for 102 yards and a touchdown. In the end, however, Colgate was Colgate. The Raiders' ability to keep the chains moving on the ground, long its calling card, made all the difference.

The home team ran the ball 46 times for 270 yards, with quarterback Jake Melville leading the way with 10 carries for 113 yards and a 53-yard touchdown. He also completed 11-of-17 passes for 124 yards in the win. James Travellin ran eight times for 46 yards and a score, while Jonah Bowman kicked a pair of field goals.

The Big Red defense wasn't outclassed, however, making a number of big plays throughout the day. Sophomore Miles Norris had 13 tackles and a pair of sacks to lead the unit, while junior JJ Fives also recorded a sack. Junior Twan Terrell and sophomore Michael Staples each had eight stops and fifth-year senior Justin Harris had a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery. Both junior Jarrod Watson-Lewis (seven tackles) and senior Rush Imhotep (five tackles) each had a pass breakup.

Offensively, sophomore Luis Uceta posted 125 all-purpose yards, while junior Luke Hagy ran 13 times for 62 yards. Freshman quarterback Jake Jatis completed each of his three passes for 50 yards and ran four times for 29 more yards in his first varsity appearance for the Big Red, which played three different quarterbacks. Fellow freshman Kyle Gallagher completed 2-of-3 passes during his stint. Sophomore Chris Fraser, the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year, was again outstanding, averaging 40.0 yards on his four punts with a long of 57 yards, while Wells put three of his four kickoffs through the back of the end zone to go along with his two field goals.

Colgate, which has controlled the series of Central New York rivals of late with six straight wins, was never able to run away from the visitors. The Big Red surrendered 224 yards on the Raiders' first four drives, but only 170 yards the rest of the way. By that time the home team was already leading 13-3.

Cornell got up to game speed on both ends of the field midway through the second quarter and used a sustained drive to get on the board for the first time with a chip-shot field goal by John Wells and a late defensive stand in the red zone, limiting the home team to a matching field goal. Colgate entered the half with a 13-3 lead, but Cornell knew it would be getting the ball to open the third quarter.

The Big Red's only first half scoring came at the end of a 10-play, 63-yard drive that resulted in Wells' 27-yard field goal, the 10th of his career. A big 23-yard run by Jatis highlighted the drive that featured 34 yards on the ground by freshmen. That score cut into a 10-0 Colgate lead that was only that small thanks to the Big Red defense.

Cornell stopped Colgate on its first possession when senior captain Rush Imhotep broke up a third down pass, but the Raiders marched 76 yards on its second drive to get on the scoreboard with a 1-yard run by John Wilkins. The big chunk of the 13-play drive came on a 31-yard run by Travellin. A third down sack by Norris on the following Raider drive forced a field goal, and Jonah Bowman was up to the task on a 36-yarder to make it 10-0 with 8:53 left in the second. The last Colgate drive of the first half went 63 yards on seven plays in just 2:30 and featured a 63-yard jaunt by Melville, switching field position from the Colgate 32 all the way down to the Cornell 5 before  Watson-Lewis caught the quarterback from behind for the touchdown-saving tackle. A huge third-and-2 stop for no gain by Norris and sophomore Jake Lambirth forced another Bowman field goal, this time from 29 yards, to allow Cornell to enter the break trailing just 13-3.

Cornell took the ball to open the second half, but after an initial first down completion from Few to junior Chris Lenz opened the drive, the Big Red offense stalled. Cornell punted and the Fraser kick was downed on the 2 after traveling 57 yards to set up the defense. It used a three-and-out, highlighted by a third-down pass breakup by Watson-Lewis, to get the visitors the ball back in good field position. A pair of Few completions to sophomore Collin Shaw and some tough running by Hagy drove the ball to the Colgate 22 before a Uceta rush brought it inside the red zone. Three consecutive runs brought up first-and-goal from the Colgate 4, but Cornell was called for three straight penalties to push the ball back to the 24. Two plays later, Few hit Shapiro in the left corner of the end zone and the senior got his foot down for the score. The PAT snap sailed high, leaving the Big Red trailing just 13-9.

Colgate answered right back, and Melville again showed his big play ability, scrambling through the defense and racing untouched for a 53-yard score to make it 20-9. That would be how the game would enter the fourth quarter.

Jatis, who earlier had a big run, this time completed a 39-yard strike to junior VJ Fitzpatrick to set up a second 27-yard field goal by Wells to get back within a score at 20-12 on the first play of the fourth, but the Big Red would get no closer. The home team essentially put the game out of reach with a five-play, 61-yard drive set up by a great return on the kickoff by John Maddaluna. Melville later hit Maddaluna with a 28-yard pass down to the Cornell 5, and two plays later Travellin barreled in from 2 yards out. Bowman's kick made it 27-12 with 12:37 left.

After a three-and-out, the Big Red defense forced one of their own with Harris stopping Melville for no loss and junior JJ Fives sacking the Colgate quarterback on a third-and-1 to force a punt. Cornell's offense went back to work, marching from its own 22 to the Colgate 23 before Few was intercepted, the Big Red's first turnover of the day.

The Big Red would force a turnover of its own and Harris recovered it with 22 seconds left, again showing Cornell was playing until the final whistle.

Cornell completes its season-opening two-game road swing when it visits Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Cornell leads the series 42-11, including last year's 45-13 victory at Schoellkopf Field in Archer's first game as head coach at his alma mater.