ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell rallied for 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and had four plays inside the 10 to tie the game, but Colgate's defense held on to send the Big Red to its third consecutive heartbreaking loss, this time 28-21 on Friday evening at Schoellkopf Field. The Raiders improved to 2-3 with the victory, while the Big Red slipped to 0-3.
After not making the plays they needed in weeks one and two to hold on to wins, this time Cornell made plenty in the fourth quarter, again showing continued growth. Senior
Luke Hagy posted his sixth consecutive 100-yard game with 121 yards on just 11 carries with a pair of touchdowns. Included was a 79-yard run, a career-long and the 10th-longest run in school history. Hagy's 1-yard piledriving run into the end zone with 4:03 left in the fourth quarter got the Big Red back within 28-21, setting up a third consecutive exciting ending for Cornell.
Senior wide receiver
Ben Rogers caught six passes for 127 yards and sophomore
James Hubbard has four catches for 62 yards and a 27-yard touchdown catch on a fourth quarter flea-flicker pass from junior
Robert Somborn. Somborn ended the night 18-of-31 passing for 272 yards and one touchdown while leading an offense that didn't turn the ball over.
Cornell's defense, which struggled to contain electric Colgate quarterback Jake Melville for long stretches, settled in during the fourth quarter, forcing two punts and a fumble on Colgate's final three possessions to get back in the game. Sophomore
Nick Gesualdi had a game-high 10 tackles and broke up two passes and senior
JJ Fives had nine tackles, including one for a loss.
Seth Hope recovered a fumble to set up Hagy's second touchdown.
Melville led Colgate by completing 18-of-28 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns while running for 97 more yards on 14 carries with a touchdown. John Wilkins had a 100-yard day on the ground with 19 carries for 106 yards and a score.
The Big Red got the ball back with 1:56 left and quickly moved from the Cornell 37 to the Colgate 10 in a matter of four plays, but four consecutive pass plays into the end zone fell incomplete as Colgate was able to take a knee to claim its seventh straight win in the series.
Notes to Know• Senior
Luke Hagy posted his sixth consecutive 100-yard game with 11 carries for 121 yards and two touchdowns. The last time a Cornell player had as many consecutive games of the century mark was when future NFL tailback Chad Levitt also had six straight during the 1996 campaign.
• His seven 100-yard rushing games ranks seventh in school history.
• Hagy's two rushing touchdowns moved him into 13th place in Cornell history in career rushing touchdowns (15) and ninth in career points (144).
• Hagy moved into seventh for career rushing yards (1,965) at Cornell, passing Scott Malaga '89 (1,925) and moving with 35 yards of becoming the seventh 2,000-yard rusher in school history.
• His electric 79-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter was the first Big Red run of at least 70 yards since Stephen Liuzza (81 yards on Nov. 4, 2006 vs. Dartmouth)
• Hagy also caught two passes to move into ninth place in Cornell history for career receptions (131) and 12th overall for career receiving yards (1,438).
• With his two catches for 17 yards, Hagy now has a reception in all 32 career varsity games.
• Junior quarterback
Robert Somborn moved into 18th place in Cornell history for career passing yards (1,804).
• Junior punter
Chris Fraser averaged 47.0 yards on five punts, including a season-long 60-yard kick.
• Senior
Ben Rogers had 235 all-purpose yards on the day, surpassing his previous career high of 224 at Yale in 2013.
• It was Rogers' first 100-yard receiving game of his career.
• Sophomore wide receiver
James Hubbard's 27-yard touchdown reception was the longest reception of his career.
• Sophomore safety
Nick Gesualdi finished with two pass breakups, tied for his career best.
• Gesualdi also hit double figures in tackles for the second straight game, matching his career high with 10 set last weekend at Yale.
• Sophomore linebacker
Daniel Crochet had the first pass breakup of his career
Turning Point - for Cornell• Colgate scored touchdowns on four of five possessions from the middle of the first quarter to the beginning of the third, chewing up 330 yards on 43 plays. They then embarked on a 13-play, 69-yard drive that ended in a field goal attempt. Cornell nearly blocked the kick, which went wide left.
• From there, the Big Red defense kept Colgate off the scoreboard and limited the Raiders to 65 total yards and one turnover on its final three possessions while making its comeback.
• Cornell got the comeback started with a flea-flicker touchdown from
Robert Somborn to
James Hubbard by way of
Luke Hagy.
• After trying to go over the top on a play-action pass and getting intercepted, the defense got the ball back on a fumble and set up a Hagy touchdown to get within a score.
• On that drive, Somborn connected with
Ben Rogers on three passes for72 yards, including a 39-yard gainer on fourth-and-15 with just over four mintues to play.
Turning Point - for Colgate• The Raiders scored three times in four possessions to end the first half and take a 21-7 lead, but it was the opening drive of the second half that saw the Raiders convert a third-and-17 and fourth-and-4 thanks to Jake Melville's escapability.
• He found John Maddaluna for 35 yards on the third-and-17, avoiding two pass rushers, and did the same thing five plays later, except that he tucked the ball and went 14 yards himself to extend the drive, then scored himself from the 2.
• That 13-play, 90-yard scoring drive looked as though it might have taken the sails out of Cornell, though the Big Red didn't quit.
Quotable"We started too slow, came back furiously and it was kind of the inverse of the first two games. We made plays in the fourth quarter to come all the way back and came within one play of tying the football game. We didn't execute the way we needed to, started too slow and really put ourselves in the hole. We got behidn the sticks offensively on the first three drives and their quarterback is a really special talent. He made a lot of big plays. I tip my hat to that young man and to Coach Hunt. They have a great program, a classy program. Coming up short is heartbreaking to these young men and my staff, but we have to put four quarters together and three sides of the ball together." -- David Archer '05, the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Cornell Football
Friday Facts and Figures• The only day Cornell has played fewer games on than Thursday (four) is Sunday (one). The lone Cornell football game played on a Sunday came on Oct. 1, 1893 - almost 122 years to the day - when the Big Red defeated Gettysburg College 16-0.
• Cornell is now 33-4 in games played at home on days other than Saturday and 16-5 in the month of October.
• The Big Red is now 1-3 all-time in Friday games dating back to the first one, an 18-8 loss to Williams on Oct. 31, 1890.
CNY Series• Colgate won its seventh straight matchup between the programs and now trails just 48-46-3 in the 97 all-time meetings.
• The Raiders have won 30-of-37 meetings dating back to 1975.
• It was the first time the two teams had met on a day other than Saturday since 1904, when the teams suited up against each other on Wednesday, Seot, 28 with the Big Red taking a 17-0 victory prior to Schoellkopf Field being built.
Next Up• Cornell will welcome defending Ivy League champion and 2015 Ancient Eight preseason favorite Harvard to Schoellkopf Field on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 12 p.m.
• The game will be broadcast live on the American Sports Network.
• The Big Red and the Crimson will be meeting for the 80th time dating back to the first meeting in 1890, with Harvard winning 13 of the last 14 games to lead all-time 44-32-2.
