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

BUCKNELL INFORMATION
Roster I Schedule & Results I Statistics

GAME INFORMATION
Game #2: Cornell at Bucknell
Date: Saturday, Sept. 27, at 6:00 p.m.
Site: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium (13,100), Lewisburg, Pa.
2014 Records: Cornell (0-1, 0-0 Ivy); Bucknell (3-0, 0-0 Patriot)
Series Record: Cornell leads the series 42-11
Last Meeting: Cornell won 45-13, Sept. 21, 2013, in Ithaca, N.Y.
Television: None
Radio: WHCU 870 AM, Barry Leonard (play-by-play), Buck Briggs (color)
Live Video: www.PatriotLeagueNetwork.com
Live Stats: www.BucknellBison.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 (3-8 overall,.273; 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.

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STORY LINES
• The Big Red completes its two-game road swing to open the 2014 season when it visits Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium in Lewisburg, Pa.
• The game will be broadcast live on the Patriot League Network, with the radio call from Barry Leonard and Buck Briggs on 870 WHCUAM and the Ivy League Digital Network.
• Cornell will be out for its first win of the year against an undefeated Bucknell squad (3-0) that is 8-1 in its last nine games.
• The Big Red has some history on its side, owning a 42-11 edge in the all-time series and winning the last seven contests between the programs.
• Cornell lost its season opener to fellow Patriot League foe Colgate this past Saturday, dropping a 27-12 contest.
• There were plenty of bright spots despite the loss.
• Special teams continued to be a huge plus, as senior place-kicker John Wells connected on a pair of field goals and put three of his kickoffs through the back of the end zone, while sophomore punter Chris Fraser averaged 40.0 yards on four kicks.
• Sophomore Luis Uceta piled up 125 all-purpose yards, including 111 on returns.
• Defensively, Cornell got big efforts from sophomore Miles Norris (13 tackles, two sacks) and senior Justin Harris (three tackles, tackle for loss, fumble recovery) among others.
• Outside of a pair of huge Colgate runs (a 53 and 63 yard run by Raiders' quarterback Jake Melville), the Raiders recorded 278 yards on 61 plays (4.6 yards per play).
• The offensive line, featuring three new starters, allowed just one sack and helped the team to 122 rushing yards - the most in a non-conference game since posting 135 yards in a win at Bucknell in 2010.
• Cornell's new offense generated a healthy 4.9 yards per play and was more balanced than any time in the last four seasons (122 yards rushing, 149 passing).
• The new offense featured three quarterbacks, led by junior James Few. Making his second career start under center, Few completed 10-of-19 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.
• Freshmen Jake Jatis (3-of-3 passing, 50 yards; 4 rushes, 29 yards) and Kyle Gallagher (2-of-3 passing, -3 yards) also had an opportunity to run the offense.
• Senior Lucas Shapiro caught three passes for 34 yards and the Big Red's lone touchdown, his eighth career score.
• Junior Luke Hagy ran 13 times for 62 yards and caught one pass, while rookie Demetrius Daltirus (five carries, 15 yards) and Ahmad Avery (three carries, 11 yards) also earned chances running the ball.
• Bucknell is 3-0 for the first time in 17 years and holds wins over VMI (42-38), Marist (22-0) and Sacred Heart (36-20).

ABOUT BUCKNELL
• Bucknell is 3-0 for the first time since 1997 after dropping Sacred Heart 36-20 last weekend in Fairfield.
• The Bison also own wins over VMI (42-38) and Marist (22-0) and are now 8-1 in their last nine games dating back to last season.
• The team is averaging 33.3 points and 412.7 yards per game on offense while surrendering less than 300 yards per contest defensively.
• Bucknell has turned the ball over just three times this season and has jumped out quickly on its opponents, outscoring foes 20-7 in the first quarter and 61-34 in the first half this year.
• Sophomore running back C.J. Williams (124.7 ypg., four touchdowns) leads the offense on the ground, while the connection of sophomore quarterback R.J. Nitti (247.3 ypg., eight touchdowns) and junior wide receiver Bobby Kaslander (16 catches, 247 yards, three touchdowns) have led the offense.
• Nitti threw for four touchdowns in last weekend's triumph at Sacred Heart.
• Senior linebacker Evan Byers is averaging 12.7 tackles per game, while junior safety Clayton Ewell has a pair of interceptions on the other side of the ball.
• Head coach Joe Susan is in his fifth season on the Bucknell sidelines and sports a 29-28 record. He guided the Bison to a 6-5 overall record and a 3-2 Patriot League mark a season ago, good for second in the conference).
• The Bison return 40 letter winners and 17 starters (nine offense, eight defense) from a year ago.

THE CORNELL-BUCKNELL SERIES
• This will be the 54th meeting between Cornell and Bucknell, with the Big Red holding a 42-11 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 seventh straight game over Bucknell last year with a 45-13 triumph in Ithaca in head coach David Archer's first game.
 
A WIN OVER BUCKNELL WOULD ...
• give the Big Red its first win of 2014.
• make Cornell 3-1 in its last four games dating back to last year, including 2-1 in road games.
• extend its win streak over the Bison to eight games.
• give Cornell a 104-59-5 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 130-76-7 record against the seven current members of the Patriot League football conference, including a 42-11 edge over Bucknell.
• The Big Red has advantages over Colgate (48-45-3), 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 visited Colgate last weekend and will play host to Lehigh on Oct. 18.

THE LAST TIME VS. BUCKNELL
• Down 10-0 late in the first quarter, with rain pouring down and a crowd of more than 15,000 starting to head for cover, the Big Red rallied around first-year head coach David Archer '05. Cornell outscored the Bison 45-3 the rest of the way and the Big Red made everyone forget about the weather in a 45-13 victory at Schoellkopf Field.
• The Big Red didn't commit a turnover on offense while taking advantage of six Bison miscues. The home team scored a pair of defensive touchdowns and didn't allow a touchdown (Bucknell's lone one came from its special teams).
• Senior Tre' Minor scooped up a fumble and returned it 18 yards for a third quarter score. Five minutes later, sophomore Jarrod Watson-Lewis went one better and scrambled 82 yards for a touchdown.
• Senior Brett Buehler posted a team-best nine tackles and forced two fumbles, while junior Michael Turner had a fumble recovery and an interception.
• Senior quarterback Jeff Mathews continued to rewrite the Cornell record book with a 15-of-23 passing day for 285 yards and three touchdowns despite adverse passing conditions.
• With his strong afternoon, Mathews became the school's all-time leader in completions (688) and total offense (8,096), surpassing Ricky Rahne '02 on both lists.
• Mathews' favorite target was junior Lucas Shapiro, who hauled in five passes for 113 yards and a 30-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter that put the Big Red into the lead.
• Senior Grant Gellatly added 66 yards on five catches, while Luke Hagy and Chris Lenz, both sophomores, each caught touchdown passes. For Lenz, his 44-yard scoring catch was his first career reception.
• Senior place-kicker John Wells booted a 38-yard field goal and six successful PAT kicks.



OFFENSIVE NOTES
• The Big Red has scored at least 20 points in 24 of its last 31 games.
• Cornell has at least one passing touchdown in 17 consecutive games and 33 of its last 34 contests.
• Cornell hasn't been shut out in 41 games, with the last coming against Penn (34-0 to close out 2009).
• The team's 122 rushing yards were the most in a non-conference game since posting 135 yards in a win over Bucknell in 2010.
• Freshmen Jate Jatis and Demetrius Daltirus posted 44 rushing yards on nine carries at Colgate.
• Lucas Shapiro caught three passes for 34 yards and a touchdown, his eight career scoring catch. He now has a touchdown catch in three straight non-league games.
• Junior quarterback James Few has three career passing touchdowns in 38 attempts after his 17-yard scoring strike to Shapiro against Colgate.
• Junior Luke Hagy ran for 62 yards on 13 carries to lead the Cornell rushing attack, upping his career yardage total 950. He will look to become the 29th player in school history to surpass 1,000 career rushing yards and the first since Randy Barbour in 2009.

DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Taking away Colgate's two big plays (quarterback runs of 53 and 63 yards), the Big Red defense limited the Raiders to 278 yards on 61 plays (4.6 yards per play).
• Sophomore Miles Norris, who entered the season with 15 career tackles, nearly matched that total against Colgate with a game-high 13 stops to go along with two sacks.
• Junior linebacker JJ Fives was credited with a career-best 1.5 tackles for a loss and his career career sack vs. the Raiders.
• Senior Justin Harris had three tackles and added a tackle for loss and fumble recovery.
• Sophomore starters Mike Staples (eight) and Jake Lambirth (seven) combined for 15 tackles on the defensive line, with both securing career highs on the stat sheet.
• The tackle count was even throughout the lineup, with 20 from the defensive line, 33 from the linebackers and 18 from the defensive backfield.
• In its final 10 quarters of 2013, Cornell allowed 803 yards on 166 plays (4.8 yards per play), an average of 321.2 ypg.
• After allowing an average of 217.1 rushing yards per game over the first eight contests (on 4.6 yards per carry), the Big Red surrendered just 106 total yards in its final two games (both wins) on 2.3 yards per carry.
• The Big Red did not allow a defensive touchdown in its 2013 season opener again Bucknell, the first time it had done that since Sept. 18, 1999 at Princeton, a 20-3 Cornell win.
• In fact, Cornell's defense outscored Bucknell's offense in that game 14-6.
• Cornell's defense came up with five turnovers against the Bison (four fumble recoveries and an interception), and the Big Red came up with six turnovers total, the most against any opponent since Princeton coughed up the football seven times in a 31-16 Big Red victory on Sept. 17, 1994.
• That was also the last time Cornell was +6 in a game in turnover margin.
• Cornell's two defensive scores (Tre' Minor's 18-yard fumble return, Jarrod Watson-Lewis' 82-yard fumble return) against the Bison made for the first game with a pair of touchdowns from the unit since it scored twice against Brown on Oct. 24, 2009 (Anthony Ambrosi 26-yard fumble, Brandon Lainhart 24-yard interception).
• Cornell surrendered just 27 yards rushing on 19 carries against Harvard, its lowest rushing total surrendered since Yale had zero yards on 28 carries in 2008.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• Senior John Wells has been outstanding on kickoffs in each of his last three seasons, averaging 61.0 yards with 46 touchbacks in 106 kickoffs (43 percent). He put 52 percent of his kickoffs through the back of the end zone (26-of-50) a season ago and started out strong this year with three of his four kickoffs resulting in touchbacks in the season opener at Colgate.
• Wells booted a pair of 27-yard field goals in the opener, giving him 11 for his career. With 71 career points, he needs 12 to join the top 10 for career kicking points.
• A year ago, three kickers were 32-of-34 on PAT kicks with the returners hitting 19-of-20 extra-point kicks.
• Sophomore Chris Fraser, the 2013 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, picked up right where he left off a season ago. His four punts averaged 40.0 yards at Colgate, including a 57 yard kick that was pinned inside the 5. Fraser's net punting average was a strong 39.5 yards against the Raiders.
• After having his first career punt returned for a 59-yard touchdown in 2013, Fraser's next 48 punts were returned a total of 96 yards (18 return attempts, 5.3 yards per return).
• Cornell led the Ancient Eight in punting average (42.9) and net punting average (38.1). The team's net punting average ranked 13th nationally.
• Sophomore Luis Uceta took over as the team's primary punt and kick returner in the season opener at Colgate and piled up 111 return yards (105 kickoff yards on six returns; one punt return for six yards.
• Junior longsnapper Dylan Chayes has three career tackles, one for each fumble recovery he has had on special teams.
• The Big Red blocked six total kicks in 2013, including a punt returned for a touchdown and a game-winning PAT block with just over a minute to play in the 2013 season finale win over Penn (42-41).
• Cornell ranked ninth nationally with its six blocked kicks in 2013 and was second with its three blocked punts, just one behind national leader Jackson State (four).

NEXT UP
• Cornell opens its home schedule with a matchup against Yale on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 12:30 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
• The game will serve as the Ivy League opener for both teams.
• Yale won last year's contest 38-23 to extend its lead in the all-time series to 45-29-2.