QUICK HITS
• Cornell will start the second half of its 2015 season looking for a fresh start when Brown visits Schoellkopf Field on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 12:30 p.m.
• The game can be viewed on the Ivy League Digital Network, with Barry Leonard and Jason Weinstein also on the call on WHCU 95.9 FM/870 AM.
• The Big Red dropped its first five straight to open the season and its sixth consecutive game overall when it fell at Sacred Heart 31-6 last weekend.
• There have been plenty of bright spots despite the team's 0-5 start, as the Big Red has played one of the toughest schedules in the country.
• Cornell's first five opponents combined to go 40-15 a year ago with the losses coming against two-time defending Ivy League champion and nationally ranked Harvard, two-time defending Northeast Conference champion and FCS playoff participant Sacred Heart, a pair of teams that won eight games and finished second in their conferences a season ago (Bucknell and Yale) and perennial Patriot League contender Colgate.
• The first three of those games came down to the final two minutes, with both Bucknell and Yale scoring late to pull ahead and Colgate holding off a furious Cornell rally.
• Cornell's young roster will have a chance to soak in lots of support from the 1990 Ivy League Championship Big Red squad that will be celebrating its 25th anniversary this weekend.
• That 1990 team is the last Cornell football team to claim at least a share of the Ivy title.
• Despite missing nearly all of last weekend's contest, senior Luke Hagy surpassed the 2,000-yard rushing mark, becoming the seventh player to do so in school history.
• He now is just 52 receiving yards from becoming the first Ivy League player to surpass 2,000 rushing and 1,500 receiving yards in a career.
• Junior punter Chris Fraser leads the Football Championship Subdivision and the Ivy League in punting and ranks fifth in all of college football at 47.4 yards per punt.
• In all, 10 of his 25 punts have traveled at least50 yards.
• Sophomore safety Nick Gesualdi, the 2014 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, leads the team in tackles (28) and pass breakups (five).
 • David Archer '05, the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Cornell Football, is in his third season at the helm of the Big Red (4-21 overall, .160; 3-13, Ivy, .188).
• Archer is the second 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.

THE SERIES
• This will be the 63rd meeting between Cornell and Brown, with the Bears holding a 35-26-1 advantage.
• The two teams first met in 1895, a 6-4 Cornell win.
• Brown has won 12 of the last 14 meetings, with Cornell's last win coming in 2007, an exciting 38-31 overtime win at Schoellkopf Field.
• The Bears won last year's contest 42-16 in Providence, R.I. despite Robert Somborn connecting with Chris Lenz for a pair of touchdown passes.
 
ABOUT BROWN
• Brown enters the weekend on a high with a 3-2 overall record (1-1 Ivy) after handing Princeton its first loss of the year.
• The Bears scored in the final minute of the nationally televised contest to claim the 38-31 victory.
• Brown enters the contest with a three-game winning streak after consecutive victories over Rhode Island (41-31), Holy Cross (25-24) and Princeton (38-31), the final two coming in dramatic fashion.
• The win streak came after opening the year 0-2 with losses to Bryant (20-16) and Harvard (53-27).
• Quarterback Marcus Fuller is the league's leading passer at 308.8 yards per game.
• Fuller has completed 66 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
• Brown's high-powered offense also features three of the conference's top four leaders in receptions per game and three of the top six in yards per game, led by Troy Doles (33 catches, 609 yards and four touchdowns).
• Place-kicker Grant Senne is a weapon on special teams, ranking first in the Ancient Eight in scoring among kickers (37 points) with seven field goals (7-of-11).
• Senne also punts for the Bears.
• Defensively, Zachary Gillen (fourth, 38 tackles) and William Twyman (seventh, 35 tackles) rank among the top 10 in the Ivy League in tackles, while Michael Walsh has five tackles for loss from his safety position.
• Brown is last in the Ancient Eight in scoring defense (31.8 ppg.), but sits second in total offense (479.4 ypg.).
• Head coach Phil Estes is in his 18th season on the Brown sidelines and sports a 106-68 career record with three Ivy League titles (1999, 2005, 2008).

A WIN OVER BROWN WOULD ...
• give Cornell its first win of the season, making it 1-5.
• make the Big Red's Ivy record 1-2 on the season.
• snap a six-game losing streak dating back to last season.
• end an eight-game home losing streak, the longest at Cornell since an 11-game skid from 1974-76.
• cut the Bears' lead in the all-time series to 35-27-1.
• be the 632nd in program history (12th-most in the Football Championship Subdivision).
 
WELCOME BACK TO THE IVY CHAMPS OF 1990
• Cornell will honor its last Ivy League championship football team, the 1990 squad, this weekend at Schoellkopf Field.
• The Big Red posted a 6-1 Ivy League record to claim a share of the conference crown under first year head coach Jim Hofher '79.
• The Big Red led the league in rushing (249.2 ypg.) and total offense (375.0 ypg.) while outscoring conference opponents 180-95.
• Three of the team's offensive linemen — Jay Bloedorn, Greg Finnegan and Chris Field — earned first-team All-Ivy honors, as did running back John McNiff and defensive lineman Tim Cronin.
• In all, 13 players received All-Ivy recognition.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The two-time defending Northeast Conference champion Sacred Heart Pioneers limited Cornell to 280 yards of offense and used a handful of big plays on both sides of the ball to top the Big Red 31-6 at Campus Field.
• RJ Noel was 15-of-22 passing for 270 yards and two touchdowns, with most of his looks going to Tyler Dube.
• Dube hauled in nine passes for 202 yards and a touchdown and also threw a 1-yard scoring pass.
• Nate Chavious ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries to lead a balanced offense, but it was the Pioneers' defense that made the difference.
• After forcing eight turnovers a week ago in a win over Robert Morris, Sacred Heart was able to keep Cornell's offense off schedule all day, posting 11 tackles for a loss of 64 yards to go along with five key penalties for 50 yards, to keep the Big Red at bay.
• Sacred Heart's James Rentz posted 11 tackles, including 2.5 sacks, and Connor Candito had 10 stops with 3.5 for a loss.
• Cornell controlled time of possession, but big plays proved to be the difference.
• The Big Red dropped its fifth straight to open the season despite a career-high 80 rushing yards and a touchdown from Josh Sweet, in relief of senior Luke Hagy.
• Hagy did become the seventh player in school history to surpass the 2,000-yard mark in his career with his lone carry in the first quarter.
 
SOME NOTES TO KNOW
• Senior running back Luke Hagy boosted his career rushing yards total to 2,001 against Sacred Heart, becoming the seventh rusher to reach 2,000 career yards at Cornell.
• Hagy also sits seventh on the school's all-purpose yardage list with 3,529 yards.
• He is 52 receiving yards away from becoming the first Ivy League player to surpass 2,000 career rushing yards and 1,500 career receiving yards.
• Hagy is the 29th player in school history to reach 1,000 career rushing yards and the first to hit the century mark in both rushing and receiving at Cornell.
• Hagy is one of just six players in school history to throw, pass and catch touchdown passes in their career. He joins Derrick Harmon '84, John Tagliaferri '86, Steve Lutz '89, Luke Siwula '08 and Ryan Houska '12 on that exclusive list.
• Junior punter Chris Fraser has earned first-team All-Ivy honors in each of his first two seasons. The last Cornellian to earn back-to-back first-team all-league accolades was Kevin Boothe '05.
• Fraser, who ranks first nationally in punting average (47.4 yards per punt), has led the Ivy League in punting average by at least two yards per kick in each of his first two seasons. He's more than three yards clear of his opposition through five games.
• Fraser's 47.4 yards per punt ranks fifth in all of college football — he ranks behind only FBS punters Michael Carrizosa of San Jose State (50.2), Drew Kaser of Texas A&M (49.5), Tom Hackett of Utah (48.0) and Tennessee's Trevor Daniel (47.6).
• Fraser was named to the STATS FCS Preseason All-America third team, joining fellow Ivy Leaguers Seth DeValve (Princeton, wide receiver) and Cole Toner (Harvard, offensive line) on the third team as the lone representatives from the conference.
•Sophomore Jake Jatis earned five starts under center a year ago, becoming the second Cornellian to earn a start at quarterback as a freshman, joining all-time Ivy leading passer Jeff Mathews '13.
• Cornell has had the last two Ivy League Rookies of the Year (Chris Fraser in 2013, Nick Gesualdi in 2014). No Ivy team has ever crowned Rookie of the Year three years in a row.
• Walk-on defensive back Eric Sade played for two seasons on the men's ice hockey team before joining the Big Red on the gridiron.
• Sophomore running back Josh Sweet had a career-high 80 yards and his first career touchdown on 22 carries against Sacred Heart.
• Junior wide receiver Marshall Deutz caught four passes for 74 yards vs. the Pioneers.
• Sophomore defensive lineman Geno DeMarco had a team-best and career-high eight tackles at Sacred Heart.
• Senior Julian Gallo had a career-long 40-yard reception in the first half at Sacred Heart.
• Junior running back Dane Brown earned his first varsity carry in the first half against the Pioneers.
• Sophomore Sean Scullen earned his second career start and first at outside linebacker vs. Sacred Heart.
• The Big Red will play its 99th all-time game vs. Dartmouth this season and its 98th against Princeton and has already played its 97th vs. Colgate.
• The Big Red offense hasn't been shut out in 54 games, with the last coming against Penn (34-0 to close out 2009).
• The last time Cornell was picked to finish eighth in the preseason media poll (2004), the Big Red became the second Ivy League team ever to go from an 0-7 campaign to a winning league record (4-3) in the span of a year.
• Since taking over the program, head coach David Archer '05 is 3-1 in the trophy series games against Columbia (Empire Bowl, 2-0) and Penn (Trustees' Cup, 1-1).
• Cornell reached 23,000 points in school history in its season opener against Bucknell. The program enters the weekend having scored 23,063 points over 1,169 games — an average of 19.7 points per game.
 
HAGY NOMINATED FOR GOOD WORKS TEAM
• Senior running back Luke Hagy has been nominated for the 2015 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, the most esteemed off the field honor in college football.
• The Good Works Team recognizes college football players from across the country who exemplify a superior commitment to community service and volunteerism.
• Hagy is one of just two Ivy League players nominated, along with Yale's Sebastian Little.
• Comprised of 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the NAIA, the final roster of 22 award recipients will be unveiled in September.
• In order to meet the criteria set forth by Allstate and the AFCA, each player must be actively involved with a charitable organization or service group while maintaining a strong academic standing.
 
THE WILSON PROJECT
• Junior tight end Nick Bland initiated "The Wilson Project" this fall as a way to give other members of the program an experience similar to his after having a ball signed for a family friend whose father passed away suddenly.
• Realizing the power of his simple gift of a football, he arranged to have 150 footballs for his teammates and staff to sign and provide to someone who has had a great effect on their life or someone they thought could use a positive influence.
• The players and staff had the balls signed by everyone in the program and then shipped or hand delivered, along with a note as why the recipient was getting the ball.
READ MORE ABOUT THE WILSON PROJECT HERE


 
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.
• Three Cornell sports (football, men's golf and women's soccer) have been publicly recognized each year since the APR was first released and are among just 129 teams across the country with that accomplishment.
• Cornell's score of 986 (out of 1,000) this past year is tied for its third-highest ever, behind only the 987 it had scored the previous two years.
• Only six FCS schools have been honored each year in football (Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Penn and Yale), with five 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 108-player roster is made up of student-athletes from 28 states, as well as Canada, South Africa and two from the District of Columbia.
• A team-high 15 players come to Cornell from California, while another 12 attended school in bordering Pennsylvania, 11 come from the home state of New York and 10 reside in Texas.
• Seven players are from Michigan, six players are from Maryland and five apiece come from Georgia and Virginia.
 
CORNELL FOOTBALL AT 128 YEARS
• This is the 129th year since the start of Cornell football, but it will be the 128th 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 631-504-34 (.554) in its 128 years of football.
• The program's 631 wins rank 12th among all FCS schools.
• Over the years, Cornell has taken on 89 different opponents, with its most frequent opponent being Penn (121 meetings).
 
CORNELLIANS IN THE PROS
• Cornell currently has four active players in professional football — two in the NFL (Bryan Walters, Jacksonville Jaguars; JC Tretter, Green Bay Packers) and two in the CFL (Jeff Mathews and Luke Tasker, Hamilton Tiger-Cats).
• Walters is coming off a career game for the Jaguars in a 31-20 loss to Houston, hauling in eight receptions for 87 yards.
• In 26 career games, Walters has 27 catches for 307 yards for San Diego, Seattle and Jacksonville and has also returned kicks (five for 122 yards - 24.4 yards per return) and punts (40 for 276 yards - 6.9 yards per return).
• Tretter has played in 14 career contests with the Green Bay Packers on the offensive line.
• He is also on the hands-team on special teams, recovering a pop-up kick in last weekend's 27-20 win over the San Diego Chargers.
• Mathews is starting at quarterback for former head coach Kent Austin in Hamilton and has completed 69 percent of his passes for 1,028 yards and four touchdowns with four interceptions and has scored six times on the ground.
• He is coming off a 21-of-25 day for 241 yards and a touchdown in a 23-11 win over Montreal last Sunday.
• Tasker, in his third season with Hamilton, has caught 55 passes for 751 yards and five touchdowns.
• Tasker caught eight passes for 107 yards in the win over Montreal.
 
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.
 
PETE GOGOLAK '64 EARNS NFF HONOR
• Cornell football great Pete Gogolak '64 and his brother, Princeton star Charlie Gogolak, have been named the National Football Foundation's Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award Recipients for 2015.
• The first soccer-style place-kicker in collegiate football history, Pete '64 set a national major college record of 44 consecutive kicking conversions from 1961-63.
• First presented in 1974, the NFF Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award provides national recognition to those whose efforts to support the NFF and its goals have been local in nature or who have made significant contributions to the game of football either to the manner in which it is played and coached or to the manner in which it is enjoyed by spectators.
• The Gogolaks become the 39th and 40th recipients of the award.
• The Gogolaks will be honored at the 58th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.
 
60TH SEASON OF IVY LEAGUE ATHLETICS
• Throughout the 2015-16 season, the Ivy League will be celebrating its 60th season with impactful content across IvyLeagueSports.com, The Ivy League Digital Network and the League's social media outlets.
• Be on the lookout for the #IvyAt60 hashtag to keep up the coverage of the League's 60th season.
 
NEXT UP
• Cornell will play three of its final four contests on the road beginning with its visit to Princeton on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 3:30 p.m.
• The game will be televised by NBC Sports Network.
• Princeton leads the all-time series 59-36-2 and has won two straight contests.
• The Tigers have outscored the Big Red 91-47 over the last two seasons, including a 38-27 triumph last season at Schoellkopf Field.