QUICK HITS
• The 2015 Cornell football season commences with plenty of fanfare when the Big Red hosts Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 3 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
• Cornell leads the all-time series 42-12 entering the 55th "Battle of the 'Nells", though the Bison snapped a seven-game losing skid in last season's 20-7 win over the Big Red in Lewisburg, Pa.
• Affectionately known as #Team128, the 2015 Big Red squad takes the field as the third squad to play under head coach David Archer '05.
• The weekend not only features Homecoming, but also the inauguration of Elizabeth Garrett, Cornell's 13th President, the 100th anniversary of Schoellkopf Field and the 1915 national championship team, as well as Hall of Fame Weekend.
• Legendary longtime football coach Pete Noyes is among 11 inductees to the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame. Cornell football players and coaches now comprise 146 of the 577 members (25 percent).
• The last time Cornell opened its home season on Homecoming against Bucknell, it was a special day for Big Red head coach David Archer '15. In his first game as head coach, the Big Red topped the Bison 45-13 in front of more than 15,000 fans in 2013.
• The Big Red's 21 seniors will be looking to help Cornell improve from last year's 1-9 campaign.
• While working toward building a championship program, third-year head coach David Archer '05 has consistently talked about laying a solid foundation so that once the building has been completed, it will stand the test of time. Ivy League titles aren't built in a day, a week or even a year.
• The Ivy League title hasn't come – yet. But it's impossible to talk about the program in any way other than it continues to move forward in ways that are obvious on and off the field, and in ways that aren't obvious to everyone – yet.
• All-Ivy League running back Luke Hagy, arguably the conference's top returning offensive threat, will continue to spearhead a renewed commitment to the running attack.
• The most successful teams in program history have come when the Big Red was able to move the ball on the ground. Players with starting experience return all over the field on offense – five experienced offensive linemen, four that saw time at quarterback, three at tight end/fullback and three at receiver.
• The defense, so significantly improved a year ago in the second season with its new scheme, returns reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year Nick Gesualdi, returning captain Rush Imhotep and junior All-Ivy linebacker candidates Miles Norris and Jackson Weber, among others.
• Rookie of the Year has been a theme under Archer – his recruits have captured the conference's top award for newcomers each of his first two seasons. Another two of his recruits have been freshmen All-American.
• The 2013 Rookie of the Year, punter Chris Fraser, has now been first-team All-Ivy in each of his first two seasons.
• As the Big Red becomes more potent and efficient in its second year running a new offense, Fraser's ability to flip field position will be an even greater benefit to the defense.
 • 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 (4-16 overall, .200; 3-11, Ivy, .214).
• 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 55th meeting between Cornell and Bucknell, with the Big Red holding a 42-12 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.
• Bucknell snapped a seven-game losing streak against Cornell with a 20-7 victory over the Big Red in Lewisburg, Pa. on Sept. 27, 2014.
 
ABOUT BUCKNELL
• Bucknell is 1-1 on the season after suffering its first loss of 2015, dropping a 26-7 home contest to Duquesne last Saturday.
• The Bison opened the season with a 19-0 shutout of Marist.
• The Bucknell defense is surrendering just 254.0 yards per game and 4.0 yards per play.
• Bucknell is in season number 130, ninth in the FCS. Cornell is 10th in its 128th season of football.
• The Bison, under head coach Joe Susan, finished second in Patriot League play a season ago and are picked second again in 2015.
• Bucknell returns 13 starters from last year's team, which topped Cornell 20-7 in Lewisburg, Pa.
 
CORNELL VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
• Cornell has a 130-78-7 record against the seven current members of the Patriot League football conference, including a 42-12 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 (15-9-2).
• Cornell will play two of its three non-conference games against Patriot League opponents. The Big Red will host Colgate on Friday, Oct. 2 at Schoellkopf Field. 
 
A WIN OVER BUCKNELL WOULD ...
• extend the Big Red's series record against Bucknell to 43-12, including 2-1 under head coach David Archer '05.
• improve Cornell's record in season openers to 92-32-4.
• make Cornell 4-1 in its last five home openers.
• improve the team's record on Homecoming to 36-30-2 all-time and make the team 4-1 in its last Homecoming games.
• move its record all-time against Patriot League opponents to 131-78-7
• snap a five-game non-conference losing streak dating back to 2013.
• give Cornell a 104-60-5 record all-time in the month of September.
• be the 632nd in program history (12th-most in the Football Championship Subdivision).
 
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, Bucknell.
• The Big Red sports an all-time record of 91-32-4 (.732) in its 126 previous season openers.
• Cornell opened the 2014 campaign with a 27-12 loss at Colgate onSept. 20 despite 13 tackles and two sacks from Miles Norris.
• The Big Red has won five of the last eight season openers.
• In four of the last 12 years, Cornell has been the last Division I football team to kick off its season (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2011). The Big Red will be the second-to-last team to start, as Princeton kicks off at 6 p.m.
 
BIG RED ON HOMECOMING
• Cornell football has a 35-30-2 record dating back to 1948 in Homecoming games.
• The Big Red fell to Lehigh 31-14 last season at Schoellkopf Field on Oct. 18 in front of 14,333 fans.
 
PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATIONS & CORNELL FOOTBALL
• In inauguration years, the Big Red football team has posted a cumulative 51-41-1 record in those 10 seasons.
• The first two inaugurations of Cornell presidents predated Big Red football.
• The 1921 season, when Livingston Farrand was inaugurated as the third Cornell President, was the most successful with a perfect 8-0 campaign, a national title and a 392-21 score differential.
• The Cornell colors (Carnellian Red, PMS 187, and White), worn proudly on the gridiron, were established on a banner for President Andrew Dickson White at the first inauguration ceremony in 1868.
 
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, a total that will reach 122 this season.
• The 102 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 96 years. They trail only the Lafayette-Lehigh series, which has been played every year since 1897.
 
SOME NOTES TO KNOW
• 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 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.
• Senior running back Luke Hagy enters the season with a streak of three consecutive 100-yard rushing games. He is looking to become the first Cornellian to run for more than 100 yards in four straight contests since Chad Levitt '97 had six straight during the 1996 campaign. The school record is 10 games set by Ed Marinaro '72 over the final 10 games of his storied career.
• 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.
• Hagy has at least one catch in all 29 varsity games. If he makes a catch in all 10 this season, he would tie the school record for consecutive contests with a catch, currently held by Keith Ferguson '03.
•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.
• The Big Red will play its 99th all-time game vs, Dartmouth this season, its 98th against Princeton and its 97th vs. Colgate.
• The Big Red offense hasn't been shut out in 49 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.
• 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.
• 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 will meet Sacred Heart in non-conference action, its 89th opponent all-time. Among active Division I football schools (BCS and FCS), Cornell has also played exactly one game against Albany (1-0), Cincinnati (0-1), Michigan State (1-0), New Hampshire (1-0), Stanford (0-1)and Virginia Tech (1-0).
• With four more points, Cornell will reach 23,000 points scored in its history. Over 1,164 games, that averages 19.8 points per game.
 
HAGY A CANDIDATE 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.
 
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 631-499-34 (.557) in its 127 years of football.
• The program's 631 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
• Two Cornellians were on NFL opening day rosters in 2015.
• Bryan Walters '10, one of the Big Red's all-time greats at wide receivers, begins his sixth NFL season overall and first with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• He spent the last three seasons with his hometown Seattle Seahawks with a Super Bowl ring to his name in 2014.
• He previously had spent time with the San Diego Chargers and the Minnesota Vikings.
• Walters, a wide receiver and special teams returner, enters the season having played in 21 career games with one start.
• He has caught nine passes for 84 yards, returned two kickoffs for 43 yards and returned 35 punts for 252 yards.
• Third-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, and was slated to be the Packers' starting center in 2014 before a preseason injury.
• He appeared in eight contests as a reserve for the Packers in 2014 once getting healthy, seeing action at both tackle spots and left guard.
 
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 opens the Ivy League season next weekend when it visits Yale on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. in New Haven, Conn.
• The Big Red returns home for three of its next four contests after visiting the Bulldogs beginning with a matchup against Central New York rival Colgate on Friday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.