NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Heading into the final quarter tied at 10-10, Cornell felt like it had the momentum to topple preseason Ivy League favorite Yale on the road for the first time in a decade. The final 15 minutes, however, belonged to the opportunistic Bulldogs in a 27-16 victory over the Big Red on Saturday afternoon at the Yale Bowl.

Yale took advantage of four Big Red turnovers, including a touchdown return for an interception, and scored its final touchdown on an on-sides kickoff return touchdown in the final minutes to balloon the final score. Despite that, Cornell out-gained the Bulldogs (339-327) and had its chances to win the game before Yale took control.

The defense forced one turnover, limited a powerful Yale rushing attack to 3.3 yards per carry and stopped the home team on 9-of-14 third downs, along with a fourth down stop. Junior Kenan Clarke had his first career interception in the fourth quarter to keep Cornell alive, while David Jones, Jelani Taylor and Jake Watkins each had a team-best seven tackles. Senior Mo Bradford had a pair of tackles for loss, including a half-sack, and broke up a pass.

On offense, senior Harold Coles tied a career high with 141 rushing yards on 17 carries, while sophomore Delonte Harrell caught six passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns, the first of his career. Richie Kenney completed 14-of-28 passes for 210 yards and the two scores, including an 89-yard strike to Harrell in the third quarter to put the visitors into the lead. In all, seven different receivers combined for the 14 catches. 

Nickolas Null made his first appearance of the season at punter, averaging 48.0 yards on four kicks with a long of 56 and two pinned inside the 20 and another at the 21. Garrett Patla's first career field goal late in the second quarter sent the game into the break tied at 3-3.

Zane Dudek had 91 yards on 24 carries and Kurt Rawlings was 15-of-21 for 181 yards and a touchdown for the Bulldogs. Both Dathan Hickey and Rodney Thomas II had a pair of interceptions to lead the defense, with Micah Awodiran collecting a game-high 10 tackles.

First Quarter
• Yale attempted to exert its will on its first possession, taking the opening kickoff and marching 77 yards on 14 plays and taking 6:35 off the clock.
• The drive didn't end with points, however, as Cornell's defense made a huge fourth-and-1 stop from the 3 to keep Yale off the scoreboard. • Cornell went three-and-out on its opening drive, with Null blasting a 53-yard punt in his first action of the season. 
• With a short field, Yale went 38 yards on five plays, ending it with a 21-yard field goal by Sam Tuckerman to make it 3-0 with 5:13 remaining in the first quarter.
• Cornell nearly ran out the clock in the first before Null launched a 51-yard punt that pinned Yale at its own 5.

Second Quarter
• The teams traded punts throughout the second quarter, with a 27-yard run by Harold Coles as the highlight.
• The Big Red took over with 3:55 remaining and Coles went to work.
• The senior broke off runs of 17 and 33 yards on consecutive plays, among the 81 yards he posted on five carries in the quarter.
• The Big Red settled for the halftime tie after having first-and-goal from the 8, with Garrett Patla connecting from 21 yards for his first career field goal with 35 seconds remaining before the break.
Third Quarter
• Cornell took the opening kickoff and drove 44 yards on 10 plays, but Patla missed a 48-yard field goal after a penalty and a sack moved the Big Red out of the red zone.
• The Big Red defense forced a quick punt and took a deep shot on the first play on offense.
• The shot connected, with Kenney finding a streaking Harrell down the right sideline for an 89 yard score, the fourth-longest pass play in Big Red history.
• Harrell tightroped the sideline in avoiding a defender and it held up after review. • Patla's PAT gave Cornell a 10-3 lead with 6:26 left in the third.
• Cornell's defense forced a three-and-out, but Richie Kenney sailed a first down screen pass into the hands of Yale's Rodney Thomas II, who returned it 22 yards to paydirt to tie the score.

Fourth Quarter
• A wild fourth quarter started with Yale scoring on the end of a 12-play, 79-yard drive with Yale quarterback Kurt Rawlings finding Mason Tipton for a jump-ball touchdown in the back of the end zone to put Yale back into the lead.
• The Big Red turned the ball over on the ensuing possession with Thomas collecting his second interception of the half and returning it to the Cornell 6.
• Needing a big play, junior Kenan Clarke made an acrobatic interception at the goal line, stepping in front of a receiver and making a twirling catch to get Cornell the ball back. • Cornell ended up turning the ball back over on an interception, and that turnover resulted in a nine-play, 38-yard Yale drive that took nearly five minutes off the clock and ended with a 33-yard field goal by Tuckerman to extend the lead to 20-10.
• On its heels, the Big Red offense connected on four straight big pass plays - a 17-yard pass to Eric Gallman, a 16-yard strike to Delonte Harrell, a 22-yard pass to Devan Cross and a 20-yard touchdown to Harrell with 1:55 remaining.
• The PAT was blocked, but Cornell was still within 20-16.
• Yale put the game away on the next play, as the on-sides kick attempt too a fortuitous bounce into the hands of JP Shohfi, and the senior captain raced 49 yards untouched for the score.
• Cornell had one last chance, but the first pass was intercepted and Yale ran out the clock to escape with the win.

Notes to Know
• The matchup was the 82nd all-time between the programs and marked the 20th straight year the Big Red and the Bulldogs kicked off their Ivy League season against each other.
• Harold Coles' 141 yards tied his career high (at Brown in 2018).
• He ended the day with 1,501 rushing yards, good for No. 16 all-time at Cornell.
• It was Coles' seventh career 100-yard game, tied with Dan Malone '75 for eighth in school history.
• The 134 receiving yards by Delonte Harrell was the most by a running back since Scott Oliaro had 139 against Penn in 1992 and is the second most in school history.
• Cornell's coaches wore patches on their game day outfits with the Coach to Cure MD insignia to bring awareness to raise awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Duchenne is a progressive genetic disorder diagnosed during childhood, primarily in boys. It is 100 percent fatal – but there are promising treatments on the horizon, and raising money for research has proven fruitful with two drugs already having been approved by the FDA and other therapies under review. The project, a collaboration between the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD). Teams all across the country will be wearing similar patches to show their support for Coach to Cure MD, which has raised more than $2.1 million for Duchenne research on its 11 years. You can make a $25 donation by texting 'CURE' to 501501 or by visiting CoachToCureMD.ORG.



Next Up
• Cornell will open up its home schedule when it will welcome Georgetown to Ithaca for a 3 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Oct, 5 at Schoellkopf Field.
• The Big Red will be celebrating its Homecoming weekend.
• Cornell has won two of the three meetings between the teams, including victories in two straight contests by a combined 112-14 (57-7 in 2005 and 45-7 in 2007).