ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Columbia defense kept Cornell in check most of the afternoon and did just enough on the other side of the ball to hold off Cornell 18-8 on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. The Lions (7-2, 4-2 Ivy) remained a game behind first place Yale with one to play, while the Big Red slipped to 3-6 overall (3-3 Ivy).
The Lions held the Big Red to 179 yards of offense before ending the game with a 78-yard scoring drive for the team's first points of the night. Senior
Josh Sweet, one of 25 seniors honored prior to their final game in the shadows of the historic Crescent, went the final 7 yards for his second touchdown of the season. Fellow senior
Hayes Nolte caught a shovel pass for the two-point conversion with 1:09 remaining, but the Lions recovered the on-sides kick and ran out the clock to keep their dream of an Ivy title alive. It also allowed Columbia to celebrate with the Empire State Bowl for the first time since 2012.
The late touchdown was emblematic of the Big Red's efforts the last two weekends against the league's two teams that share second place in the conference standings - plenty of fight, but a couple plays short. Despite being eliminated from the championship race, there remains plenty to play for entering the final weekend. A win over Penn would send the seniors out with a winning Ivy League record - something the program hasn't accomplished since 2005. In fact, Cornell hasn't even entered its final contest with a shot at surpassing .500 since. It will also attempt to become just the fifth team in Ivy history to finish with a winning Ivy record after being picked last in the preseason media poll (1968 Penn and 1998 Yale each went 5-2, 2004 Cornell and 2012 Princeton went 4-3).
The Big Red defense held strong, allowing no points in three possessions that Columbia took over with a short field and surrendering just three field goals over the first 56:32. Senior
Nick Gesualdi had nine tackles and a pair of pass breakups, sophomore
Jelani Taylor was credited with nine as well and seniors
Seth Hope and Dan Crochet each forced fumbles. One was recovered by junior
Reis Seggebruch in the Columbia red zone, keeping the game scoreless early, and the second bounced around for several seconds before the Lions won a footrace to the loose ball, saving the possession deep in its own territory. Hope had a big day in his final home contest with four tackles, 1.5 for a loss with a sack and a forced fumble. The interior line of
Jordan Landsman (five tackles, one sack) and
Mason Banbury (six tackles, half-tackle for loss) also provided stout defense.
Junior
Dalton Banks completed 14-of-26 passes for 134 yards through the air, while sophomore
Harold Coles was credited with a team-high 62 rushing yards on 10 carries. Sophomore
Owen Peters hauled in six passes for 50 yards, giving his 25 catches over his last five games. On special teams, three-time reigning Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week
Nickolas Null averaged 45.2 yards on five punts and put his only true kickoff attempt through the end zone for a touchback.
Columbia's Chris Schroer compiled 183 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries on the ground to lead the offense. Josh Wainwright (nine receptions, 140 yards) was the favorite target of quarterback Anders Hill (21-of-31, 206 yards) in the passing game. Oren Millstein made 3-of-4 field goals and scored 10 of the team's 18 points. Defensively, Ryan Gilbert had nine tackles, with Landon Baty making four stops, intercepting a pass and breaking up another. Connor Heeb had two tackles for a loss, including the third quarter safety that put the Lions in the driver's seat.
Notes to Know
• Senior
Nick Gesualdi had nine tackles for the Big Red, moving him into 14th place on the school's all-time list with 241.
• Gesualdi also had a pair of pass breakups, giving him 37 for his career and seven over the last three weeks.
• With three sacks on the day, the Cornell defense lifted its season total to 24 - the most by any Big Red team since 2000 (26).
• Seniors
Seth Hope and
Daniel Crochet each forced a fumble, with junior
Reis Seggebruch recovering one.
• Junior quarterback
Dalton Banks upped his passing yardage total to 1,752 yards on the year, the 15th-most in a season in Cornell history.
Cornell now leads the all-time series 65-37-3 and 5-3 since the introduction of the Empire State Bowl moniker.
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Next Up
• Cornell closes out the season with the 124th all-time meeting with traditional rival Penn on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 1:30 p.m.
• The contest will be played for the Trustees' Cup (Penn leads Trustees' Cup series 15-7) and will be televised on Eleven Sports and simulcast on the Ivy League Network.
• The series, the fifth-most played in college football history, is led by Penn 72-46-5, including three straight wins for the Quakers.
