Cornell (3-4, 3-1 Ivy) at Dartmouth (5-2, 2-2 Ivy)
November 4, 2017 • 1:30 pm
Ivy League Network • WHCU 870 AM (Barry Leonard, Phil Mahoney '90)
Hanover, N.H. • Memorial Field (17,000 • FieldTurf)
QUICK HITS
• The Cornell football team enters week eight in a place it hasn't been in several decades — first place in the Ivy League standings — when the Big Red visits Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1:30 p.m. at Memorial Field.
• Barry Leonard and Phil Mahoney '90 will have the radio call locally on WHCU 95.9 FM/870 AM.
• The Big Red will attempt to start 4-1 in conference play for the first time since the 2000 campaign, but to do so will require snapping an eight-game Big Green win streak in the series.
• Cornell enters the game on a high with its first three-game Ivy League win streak since closing the 2005 campaign with wins over Dartmouth, Columbia and Penn after its 29-28 win at Princeton last weekend.
• The Big Red has already won three Ivy games this season, as many as the previous two years combined and one shy of the total from the last three years.
• Head coach David Archer's team has seemingly found an identity in its last three Ivy contests, relying on the run game and a defense playing its best football since 2005.
• In wins over preseason Ivy favorite Harvard (17-14), Brown (34-14) and defending Ivy champ Princeton, the Big Red has averaged 224.0 yards on the ground (4.4 ypc.) with eight touchdowns.
•
Dalton Banks and
Jake Jatis have been solid under center while directing an offense that features seven players averaging three carries per game or better and 17 with at least one reception - a mark that ties a school record (2016).
• The offensive line has also been clicking, allowing the run game to average 197.5 rushing yards with just five sacks surrendered in the last four games (73.0 rushing yards per game – 219 total yards in first three games, 17 sacks over that span).
• The defense, which has allowed its fewest total yards in a four-game stretch in more than a decade (1445 - 289.0 yards per game), has posted its three lowest yardage totals under head coach David Archer's tutelage over the last five weeks.
• Senior
Nick Gesualdi was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week after recording six tackles, an interception and two pass breakups, moving into second place all-time at Cornell for career pickoffs (13).
• All the while, special teams has continued to be consistently good.
• Sophomore
Nickolas Null, the two-time reigning Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week, has ably replaced four-time first-team all-conference punter Chris Fraser and potential All-Ivy place-kicker
Zach Mays.
• Null ranks second in the Ancient Eight in punting (41.4) and is 3-for-3 on field goals, including the 43-yard game-winner with 48 seconds remaining in the win at Princeton last weekend, while also hitting all five PATs and posting touchbacks on all 10 kickoffs.
• In addition, sophomore
David Jones ranks second among the league leaders in kickoff returns (24.0) and Gesualdi is second in punt return average (8.7).
HEAD COACH DAVID ARCHER '05
• Fifth season directing the Big Red football program (12-35 overall, .255; 9-23, Ivy, .281).
• Became youngest Division I head football coach in the country when he was named the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Football on Jan. 3, 2013.
.• Led team to three-game improvement in 2016, tied for program's biggest turnaround since 1986.
• The 2016 win over Colgate was the first top 25 victory since 2007, first top 25 road win since 1950.
• Is 5-3 in season-ending Trophy games against Columbia (Empire State Bowl) and Penn (Trustees Cup).
• Has developed 23 All-Ivy selections, two Ivy league Rookies of the Year and four FCS All-Americans in four years as head coach.
• Spent six seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, including the last four seasons as the recruiting coordinator.
• Coached the fullbacks, tight ends, running backs, offensive linemen and linebackers during his tenure as an assistant.
• His three recruiting classes as coordinator yielded 55 first-year players that earned varsity action and 21 that captured at least one start.
• Was a three-year starter and team captain in 2004 while playing on the offensive line.
ABOUT DARTMOUTH
• Like Cornell, Dartmouth is squarely in the mix for an Ivy League title with a 5-2 record (2-2 Ivy), just a game behind the leaders.
• The Big Green opened the season 5-0 before dropping its last two contests.
• Dartmouth's last six games have been decided by five points or less, with five by a field goal or less and one in overtime.
• The Big Green have hung their hat on defense, allowing opponents to post just 332.0 yards per game, including 115.3 on the ground.
• Jack Traynor (71 tackles, 3.0 TFL, interception, forced fumble) and Eric Meile (64 tackles, five pass breakups, interception, forced fumble) lead the unit.
• Jack Heneghan has been excellent under center, completing 64 percent of his passes for 1,524 yards and 13 touchdowns with just four interceptions.
• Hunter Hagdorn (30 receptions, 314 yards, two touchdowns) has been his favorite target, while Ryder Stone (404 yards, two touchdowns) has been the primary ball carrier.
• Dartmouth grad Buddy Teevens in in his second go-around as head coach at his alma mater and sports an 84-91-2 record in those 17 seasons and 118-168-2 in 27 years at four schools (Dartmouth, Maine, Tulane, Stanford).
• Teevens helped the Big Green win a share of the 2015 Ivy League title.
THE SERIES
• This will be the 101st meeting between Cornell and Dartmouth, with the Big Green holding a 59-40-1 lead in the series.
• The two teams first met in 1900, a 23-6 Cornell win.
• The two teams have been fairly evenly matched in recent years, with 12 of the last 24 meetings being decided by a touchdown or less (Dartmouth leads 14-10 during that stretch).
• The Big Green has won eight straight meetings in the series, including a 17-13 win last season in Ithaca, N.Y.
A WIN OVER DARTMOUTH WOULD ...
• give Cornell a 4-4 record.
• make Cornell 4-1 in Ivy play for the first time since 2000.
• snap Dartmouth's eight-game win streak in the series.
• be the Big Red's first win in Hanover, N.H. since 2005 (0-5 since).
• narrow the Big Green's lead in the all-time series to 59-41-1.
• be the 640th in program history (13th-most in the Football Championship Subdivision).
THE FIFTH-DOWN GAME
• The 2017 meeting between the Big Red and Big Green is also the 77th anniversary of the famed Fifth-Down Game.
• Played on Nov. 16, 1940 in Hanover, N.H., top-ranked Cornell improved to 6-0 with a 7-3 victory over Dartmouth, scoring on the game's final play.
• After reviewing game film on Monday, Coach Carl Snavely and acting athletic director Robert J. Kane wired Dartmouth officials to tell them Cornell scored on an inadvertent fifth down.
• Though there were no rules compelling the outcome to be changed, in an unprecedented act of sportsmanship, the Big Red relinquished claims to the win. The Big Green accepted the forfeit, winning the contest 3-0.
• It remains the only time a collegiate sporting contest has been decided off the field after the completion of a game.
DESTINY AWAITS
• Entering the final three Ivy League contests, Cornell controls its own destiny in search of its first conference title since 1990.
• At 3-1 in conference action and with games against fellow one-loss Columbia, a Dartmouth team a game behind and a Penn team that shared the Ancient Eight crown last fall, the Big Red is in ths position for the first time since 2000.
• That year, Cornell opened 5-1 and played Penn in the season finale with a chance to claim a share of the Ancient Eight title — a game Penn would go on to win 45-15 at Schoellkopf Field.
• Standing at 3-1 that year, Cornell defeated Dartmouth 49-31 at Schoellkopf Field, then defeated Columbia to set the table for the winner-take-all matchup with the Quakers.
LAST TIME THEY MET
• Dartmouth went into Cornell's playbook in the fourth quarter and duplicated the Big Red's first quarter dominance, but the Big Green's touchdowns canceled out the home team's field goals en route to a 17-13 win at Schoellkopf Field.
• The Big Green scored twice and dominated time of possession in the fourth quarter, holding the football for 13:11 and running 28 plays to Cornell's eight.
• It converted 6-of-7 third downs, completely flipping the script on a dominant Big Red first quarter to open the 100th meeting between the rivals.
• Cornell held the ball for 12:55 and ran 20 plays to four for the Big Green while converting on 6-of-8 third down opportunities.
• The only difference between the two quarters - Cornell scored two field goals despite drives of 13 and 16 plays.
• Dartmouth scored touchdowns to cap 12- and nine-play drives.
• Jack Heneghan found Charles Mack from 7 yards out with 6:42 left in regulation to takes its first lead of the day a little more than four minutes after scoring its first touchdown on a 1-yard plunge by Miles Smith.
• Smith ended the afternoon with 119 yards on 25 carries, becoming the first Big Green player to surpass 100 yards in a game in more than two years.
• Cornell sophomore quarterback
Dalton Banks completed 28-of-43 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown, a 4-yard acrobatic, juggling catch by junior tight end
Hayes Nolte in the back of the end zone that gave the home team a 13-3 lead with 4:26 left in the third quarter.
• Cornell's offense was otherwise bottled up, collecting 270 yards of offense in the game despite three separate scoring drives of at least 13 plays, including a 17-play, 86-yard drive that took more than half of the third quarter to develop.
•
Nick Gesualdi had 10 tackles to lead the Big Red, while
Kurt Frimel made eight stops, including one for a loss.
•
Justin Solomon was credited with four tackles and also intercepted a pass and broke up two others.
• Senior All-America punter Chris Fraser averaged 44.0 yards on four punts, pinning two kicks inside the 20.
LAST TIME OUT
• Sophomore place-kicker
Nickolas Null drilled a 43-yard field goal with 48 seconds remaining to lift Cornell into first place in the Ivy League standings thanks to a 29-28 comeback win at Princeton.
• Facing the defending Ivy League champion and preseason favorite Tigers in the 100th meeting between the programs under the lights on national television, the Big Red added another chapter to one of the most exciting series in college football.
• The game was the 14th time in the last 28 years the Cornell-Princeton game was decided by a field goal or less or in overtime.
• Null's field goal, his second of the fourth quarter and third of the game, erased a 12-point fourth quarter deficit and pushed the Big Red to 3-1 in Ancient Eight play for the first time since 2000 - matching Columbia and Yale at the top of the standings.
•
Nick Gesualdi recorded his 13th career interception in the first half, then later broke up a pair of passes and had a tackle for loss.
• Junior
Cyrus Nolan had a sack, classmate
DJ Woullard intercepted a pass and senior captain
Kurt Frimel had seven tackles, including 1.5 for a loss.
• The offense was balanced, with Cornell rushing for 163 yards and passing for 202.
• Senior
Jake Jatis ran for a team-high 61 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, while junior
Dalton Banks completed 23-of-29 passes for 171 yards.
• Junior
Chris Walker ran for a score and senior
Hayes Nolte pulled down a second quarter aerial for a touchdown.
• Princeton's Chad Kanoff was again exceptional, completing 28-of-41 passes for 370 yards and two touchdowns while running for a third.
• Defensively, Thomas Johnson had a team-best 16 tackles and both Quincy Wolff and Ben Ellis had interceptions.
NOTES VS. PRINCETON
• Sophomore
Nickolas Null, the reigning Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week, will be a great candidate to repeat. Not only did he connect on all three field goals, including the game-winner with under a minute to play, but he also put all seven kickbacks through the end zone for touchbacks and netted 37.0 yards on four punts.
• Senior
Nick Gesualdi moved into a tie for second on the school's interception list with a first half pick, the 13th of his career.
• The Big Red rallied from a two-touchdown deficit for the second time this season, as Cornell rebounded from a 14-0 deficit against Harvard as well in a 17-14 victory.
• The Cornell offensive line didn't allow a sack for the second time in four Ivy League games.
• Sophomore
David Jones had a pair of long kick returns and averaged 35.5 yards per effort on the day.
• Sophomore
Tommy McIntyre (TE) and junior
Mason Banbury (DL) each made their first college starts.
NULL, GESUALDI IVY LEAGUE WEEKLY HONORS
• After their crucial roles in helping the Big Red football team defeat the defending Ivy League champion and Princeton, senior
Nick Gesualdi and sophomore
Nickolas Null were named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week and the Special Teams Player of the Week, respectively.
• Null earned the honor for the second week in a row after kicking the game-winning 43-yard field goal with 48 seconds remaining to help the Big Red overcome a 12-point fourth quarter deficit. He also made all three PAT kicks for a career-best 12 points, booted all seven kickoffs through the end zone for touchbacks, and punted four times for a 37.5 yard average (37.0 net yards).
• Gesualdi posted six tackles, including a half-tackle for loss, an interception, and a pair of pass breakups. His three impact plays – both pass breakups and the tackle for loss – ended a Princeton drive midway through the fourth quarter that set up the go-ahead field goal.
NEXT UP
• The Big Red will close its home schedule when Columbia visits Schoellkopf Field on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 1:30 p.m.
• The contest will be played for the Empire State Bowl (Big Red leads Empire State Bowl series 5-2) and will be televised on SNY and simulcast on the Ivy League Network.
• Cornell will be looking to extend its four-game win streak in the series and its 65-36-3 edge all-time.
