ITHACA, N.Y. — The football team turned big defensive plays in the first quarter into instant offense, then staved off Yale for a 27-13 victory in front of boisterous Homecoming crowd of 15,493 fans on Saturday afternoon at sunny Schoellkopf Field. The victory gives Cornell its first 2-0 start (1-0 Ivy) since 2009, while dropping the Bulldogs to 0-2 (0-1 Ivy).



Sophomore quarterback Dalton Banks completed 23-of-32 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns, and the Big Red defense came up with three interceptions.  

A couple of strong defensive plays from junior safety Nick Gesualdi set the stage for the Big Red's offense and a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. He broke up a pass on third down to force a Yale punt leading to Cornell's march down the field and J.D. PicKell's 1-yard run for his first collegiate touchdown. Gesualdi then picked off a Rafe Chapple pass, his sixth career interception, and returned the ball to the Yale 38 on the next possession. Cornell took advantage of the short field and Marshall Deutz scored on a 10-yard screen pass.

After Yale got on the board with a field goal, Cornell responded quickly. Jack Gellatly scampered for 18 yards up the left sideline, and Matt Sullivan hauled in a 19-yard pass. Banks then completed a 43-yard pass that sent Ben Rogers diving into the end zone and helped Cornell's lead balloon to 21-3.

Reigning Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week Zach Mays tacked on a 37-yard field goal to close out the first half. He was once again perfect on the day with two field goals and three PATs, while also putting four of his five kickoffs for touchbacks in the second game played under the experimental Ivy rule that had kickoffs marked at the 40 yard-line and touchbacks taken at the 20.

Yale turned in a 12-play drive for a touchdown to start the third quarter — and briefly conjure up memories of the Bulldogs' second-half rally for a win last year — but Cornell immediately countered with Mays' second field goal of the day and prevented a Bulldogs return trip to the end zone. The Big Red had three interceptions and recovered one fumble on the day, with senior captain Jackson Weber and junior Justin Solomon each grabbing their first career picks.

Besides Banks, Rogers caught three passes for 69 yards and a score on offense to lead the receiving corps, while Gellatly ran eight times for 44 yards and caught two passes for 14 more. Senior Jackson Weber led the defense with 11 tackles, including one for a loss, along with an interception and a pass breakup, and sophomore Reis Seggebruch had eight tackles in his first career start. A week after making two interceptions, DJ Woullard had two pass breakups and sophomore classmate Victor Olapinsin had a sack and a forced fumble.

Cornell wasn't threatened after halftime, spending most of the half up three scores until a late Bulldog field goal. 

If any win could be proof positive of improvement, this would be one. A year ago, the Big Red took a 26-13 lead into the break in New Haven. Cornell wouldn't hold on, as the home team outscored the Big Red 20-0 in the second half and 14-0 in the final 81 seconds for a 33-26 win. The offense, defense and special teams all played a key role and the crowd as the 12th man was the icing on the cake.

It was a good day for Cornell football. 



Numbers to Know
• Cornell held a decisive 34:01-25:59 advantage in time of possession, including 9:46-5:14 advantage in the fourth quarter.
• Between the two teams, only one kickoff was returned with Yale failing to advance to the 20 in its only attempt as the Ivy League's new kickoff rule went into effect.
• Twelve different receivers hauled in a pass from sophomore Dalton Banks, with none of them surpassing four catches.
• Banks has accounted for five touchdowns in his first two career games, going 40-for-56 (.714) for 466 yards and three touchdowns throwing the ball and zero turnovers.
• Sophomore Zach Mays has already surpassed his freshman total (two) with his three field goals in two games.
• The Big Red is now 5-1 under head coach David Archer '05 when holding opponents to 20 points or fewer.

All About The Ball
• What's the biggest numbers in Cornell's first two wins of 2016?
• The Big Red has forced seven turnovers and committed just one.
• Included is five interceptions by the Big Red defense after posting just four in 10 games a season ago.

Notes To Know
• Cornell snapped a three-game skid in Ivy League openers.
• The Big Red improved to 36-31-2 on Homecoming, including 4-2 in its last six games.
• With his three punts downed inside the 20, senior All-American Chris Fraser moved into third place on the school's list with 51, matching Drew Alston '11.
• Cornell has already matched its win total from the last two seasons combined.
• The Big Red has won three of its last four games dating back to last season, with its only loss a 34-21 decision at 2015 Ivy champion Penn in last season's finale.
• The Big Red defense has held its last four opponents under 400 yards of offense after seven straight games over that mark.

Quotable


Boothe, Oliaro Inducted Into Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame
• A pair of Cornell football legends are being inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame and were honored at halftim prior to induction Saturday night.
• All-American and two-time NFL Super Bowl champion Kevin Boothe '05 and top 10 all-time rusher Scott Oliaro '92 are among 10 inductees.
• Boothe was a three-time first-team All-Ivy pick and four-year starter for the Big Red at offensive tackle.
• He became just the fourth Cornell player to earn first-team all-league honors three times.
• A sixth round pick in the NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders, Boothe played a decade in the NFL and won two Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants, including as a starter in 2011.
• One of Cornell's most versatile offensive players, Oliaro holds the single-game rushing record (288 yards) and the single-game all-purpose yardage record (395 yards), ranks seventh all-time in career touchdowns, eighth all-time in career all-purpose yards and 10th all-time in career rushing yards.
• He led the team in receptions in 1989 and 1990, points in 1990 and 1992, and rushing yards in 1992.
• Oliaro was named to the All-Ivy second team in 1990 and 1992.
• He was named one of the top 50 athletes in Vermont sports history by Sports Illustrated.

Coach to Cure MD

• For the ninth year in a row, Cornell football and college football coaches nationwide joined together in support of the Coach To Cure MD program.
• The Big Red was proud to host Nick Rafferty, Aaron Jorgernson and their families. Both Nick and Aaron have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
• The annual effort has raised more than a $1.2 million dollars to battle Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
• This weekend, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) members wore a Coach To Cure MD logo patch on the sidelines and college football fans were be asked to donate to research projects supported by Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), the largest, most comprehensive nonprofit organization in the U.S. focused entirely on Duchenne.  
• Football fans can help support the fight to end Duchenne by either going online to www.CoachtoCureMD.org or by texting the word CURE to 90999 (a $5 donation will automatically be added to your next phone bill).
• In 2015, more than 10,000 college coaches at more than 525 different institutions participated in Coach To Cure MD events.
• Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed during childhood and primarily affects boys across all races and cultures.
• People with Duchenne develop progressive muscle weakness that eventually causes loss of mobility, wheelchair dependency and a decline in respiratory and cardiac function.
• Currently, there is no cure for Duchenne and limited therapeutic options exist.

Next Up
• The Big Red will make its second day trip of the year for a road game at a Patriot League foe when it visits Colgate on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. in Hamilton, N.Y.
• Cornell holds a narrow 48-46-3 lead in the all-time series, though the Raiders have won seven in a row.
• The Big Red's last win in the series came in 2007, a 17-14 victory at Schoellkopf Field.
• Cornell's last win in Hamilton came in 1992, a 25-7 Big Red triumph.