QUICK HITS
• The 130th football team to represent Cornell University on the gridiron will take to the field for the first time when the Big Red visits Delaware on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 3:30 p.m. at Tubby Raymond Field at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Del.
• The contest will be broadcast live on Hens All-Access and locally on WHCU 870 AM, with Barry Leonard, Jason Weinstein and Buck Briggs '76 on the call.
• The Big Red sports an all-time record of 92-33-4 (.729) in its 129 previous season openers, including 2-2 under fifth-year head coach David Archer '05.
• Cornell and Delaware are two storied college football programs, both ranking among the top 15 all-time in wins among FBS programs (Delaware, 8th with 682; Cornell, 13th with 636).
• The Big Red has collected five national titles (1915, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1939), won more than 600 games and  has  had  legendary  players  and  coaches  perform  on  historic Schoellkopf Field. Names such as Glenn "Pop" Warner and Heisman Trophy finalist and NCAA record-breaker Ed Marinaro have suited up for  Cornell,  while  seven  College  Football  Hall  of  Famers  (including Warner,  Gil  Dobie  and  Carl  Snavely)  and  multiple-time  Super  Bowl  winner  George  Seifert  have  set  the  strategy  as  head  coaches.
• The Fightin' Blue Hens have won six national titles (1946, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1979, 2003) and returned to the FCS National Championship game in 2007 and 2010. Three members of the College Football Hall of Fame have Delaware ties, and dozens have played in the NFL, including 2002 MVP Rich Gannon and Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco.
• A year ago, the Big Red had its first winning road record since 1994 and posted just its ninth 3-0 start since the formation of the Ivy League in 1956.
• The Big Red will be the second-to-last Division I football team to kick off (Dartmouth kicks off at Stetson at 6 p.m.) when it opens a promising 2017 campaign against a storied program it will be meeting for the first time.
• After entering the 2016 campaign with an eight-game non-conference losing streak, the Big Red went 2-1 with wins at Bucknell and No. 25 Colgate for its first winning non-Ivy season since 2012.
• Cornell's three-game improvement last year tied for its biggest turnaround since 1986.
• Additionally, three of its six losses came by a touchdown or less.
• The team's 39-38 win at Colgate was also its first over a top 25 team since 2007 and its first on the road since 1950, as the Big Red rallied from a 23-point deficit against the 2015 Patriot League champion and NCAA quarterfinalist (biggest comeback since 2000).
• The Big Red's 26 seniors will be looking to help Cornell continue its upward trend after improving three games from 2015 (1-9) to 2016 (4-6).
• Rising senior safety Nick Gesualdi, one of four captains, earned All-America honors a year ago and leads a defense that returns nine starters.
• Led by Gesualdi's Ivy League-leading six picks (third in FCS), the Big Red had 15 interceptions as a team in 2016 — the most by a Cornell team in 20 years.
• The Big Red expects to have an explosive offense, as running back Chris Walker (All-Ivy first team) and quarterback Dalton Banks (All-Ivy) honorable mention — both juniors — highlight that side of the ball.
• Two-time Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week Zach Mays returns as the team's place-kicker, but the Big Red will need to replace four-time first-team All-Ivy League punter Chris Fraser on special teams.
• After opening with two straight road games, the Big Red will play four consecutive at home from Sept. 30-Oct. 21, on historic Schoellkopf Field (first time with four straight home games since 2003).
 
HEAD COACH DAVID ARCHER '05
• Fifth season directing the Big Red football program (9-31 overall, .225; 6-22, Ivy, .214).
• 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 DELAWARE
• Delaware has two games under its belt, splitting contests with Delaware State (W, 22-3) and No. 18 Virginia Tech (L, 27-0) to open 2017.
• The Blue Hens were picked to finish fifth in the preseason Colonial Athletic Association poll.
• Offensively, the Blue Hens are averaging 327.5 yards of offense and have been well-balanced between rushing (166.5 ypg.) and passing (161.0 ypg.).
• Quarterback Joe Walker (308 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) and Diante Cherry (seven catches, 124 yards, one touchdown) have been a dangerous pitch-and-catch combination, while Thomas Jefferson (129 yards, 4.0 yards per carry) is leading the team in rushing.
• Defensively, Delaware has surrendered just 15.0 points and 263.5 yards per game over its first two contests.
• Charles Bell has a team-high 12 tackles, while Bilal Nichols has nine tackles and 1.5 sacks.
• On special teams, Nick Pritchard is averaging 39.5 yards per punt with three kicks downed inside the 20, while Frank Raggo and Jake Roth have combined to connect on 2-of-5 field goals.
• Delaware is 25-2 in its last 27 non-conference home games and has not been shutout at home since 1983 (a span of 223 straight games).
• First-year head coach Danny Rocco joined the Blue Hens program after 11 seasons as a head coach at Liberty and Richmond, posting a 90-42 record with three NCAA playoff appearances.
• Rocco has been named conference Coach of the Year four times, has been a national Coach of the Year finalist five times and has guided teams to six conference titles.

THE SERIES
• This will the first-ever meeting on the gridiron between Cornell (first football game in 1887) and Delaware (first football game in 1889).

CORNELL VS. THE COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
• Cornell has a 7-2 record against the 11 current members of the Colonial Athletic Association football conference, though it will be the first-ever meeting with Delaware.
• Cornell holds series leads against Albany (1-0),New Hampshire (1-0) and Richmond (4-1) and is tied with Towson (1-1).
• The Big Red has never faced Elon, James Madison, Maine, Rhode Island, Stony Brook, Villanova or William & Mary.

CORNELL ON OPENING DAY
• If the Big Red continues its historical pattern of success in season openers, it could spell big trouble for this year's opponent, Delaware.
• The Big Red sports an all-time record of 92-33-4 (.729) in its 129 previous season openers.
• Cornell opened the 2016 campaign with a 24-16 win at Bucknell on Sept. 17 behind three touchdowns from quarterback Dalton Banks.
• The Big Red has won six of the last 10 season openers.
• Four times in the last 14 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 this season, as Dartmouth kicks off at 6 p.m. at Stetson.

A WIN OVER DELAWARE WOULD ...
• improve Cornell's record in season openers to 93-33-4, including 3-2 under Archer.
• make the Big Red 3-1 in its last four non-conference contests.
• give the Big Red a win in its first-ever meeting with Delaware.
• give Cornell a 106-62-5 (.627) record all-time in the month of September.
• push the Big Red's record against current CAA opponents to 8-2 all-time.
• be the 637th in program history (13th-most in the Football Championship Subdivision).

NEXT UP
• The Big Red opens Ivy League season when it visits Yale on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. at the Yale Bowl.
• The contest will be broadcast live on Eleven Sports and simulcast on the Ivy League Network.
• Yale leads the all-time series 46-31-2, though the Big Red got the better of the Bulldogs a season ago in Ithaca (27-13).