ITHACA, N.Y. -- Princeton scored on its first five possessions and allowed a heavy downpour in the second half helped hold its lead as the 15th-ranked Tigers remained unbeaten with a 34-16 victory over Cornell on Friday evening at Schoellkopf Field. The Big Red dropped to 1-6 (0-4 Ivy) with the loss.

Princeton built a 21-0 lead less than a minute into the second quarter, taking advantage of a lost Big Red fumble and an interception to put two of the touchdowns on the board. The Big Red outgained the Tigers 357-328 in a game televised nationally on ESPNU and heavily affected by torrential rain throughout, but especially in the second half.

Facing a stiff Tiger defense and the weather, Cornell rushed for 80 yards overall and passed for 276 more with two touchdowns. Princeton snapped a streak of 11 consecutive Big Red games with a rushing touchdown , its longest stretch in more than a quarter-century.

Richie Kenney completed 20-of-40 passes for 257 yards and a touchdown, while Jameson Wang ran 12 times for 51 yards and threw for a score. Thomas Glover posted his third 100-yard game of the season with eight catches for 133 yards and a 28-yard touchdown strike in the second half, with Alex Kuzy adding five receptions for 65 yards and a 19-yard score. 

The defense limited the Tigers to 137 rushing yards on a hefty 47 carries, less than three yards per rush. Jake Stebbins was a one-man wrecking crew, notching 13 tackles with three for a loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry to pace the effort. The Big Red was helped by the special teams, with Koby Kiefer averaging 42.5 yards on four punts with two downed inside the 20 and Scott Lees putting all three kickoffs through the end zone for touchbacks along with a 36-yard field goal.

Niko Vangarelli had two touchdowns in just three carries in the red zone for Princeton, while Cole Smith was efficient at quarterback with 15-of-22 passing for 191 yards and a 10-yard pass for a score to Carson Bobo. Dylan Classi caught four of those passes for 9 yards, including a 67-yard reception that set up the second of Vangarelli's scores. Colin Eaddy grinded out 63 yards on 16 carries on the ground.

James Johnson made 10 tackles and Jeremiah Tyler notched five stops with a pass breakup and returned a fumble 36 yards for a game-changing touchdown in the first quarter. Jeffrey Sexton connected on a pair of field goals in the second quarter, a 32- and 39-yard kick.
 

First Quarter

• Cornell took the opening kickoff and marched 37 yards on seven plays, including a 23-yard run by Wang on third-and-4, but was eventually stuffed on a fourth-and-3 play at the Tigers' 41.
• Princeton took the turnover on downs 59 yards the other way, though it took 13 plays before Vangarelli scored from 3 yards out on third-and-goal to make it 7-0 after Sexton's PAT kick.
• Wang went 11 yards on the first play of the next possession, but on the second play of the drive, just 45 seconds after Princeton's initial score, Matthew Jester forced a fumble that was recovered and returned 36 yards to the end zone by Tyler.
• The Big Red began moving the ball again, including a 14-yard pass from Kenney to Kuzy, to get out near midfield.
• On a third-and-6 play, Kenney was intercepted at the Princeton 46 when Carter Christopher batted a pass that was caught by Daniel Beard.
• The Tigers drove the ball downfield to the Cornell 19 when the horn sounded to end the first quarter.
 

Second Quarter

• Princeton extended its lead to 21-0 when Smith hit Bobo down the left side for a short pass that bob took in from the 10 just 56 seconds into the second quarter.
• Cornell got some juice back, going 79 yards in just eight plays to make it 21-7.
• Kenney opened the drive with a 39-yard pass from Kenny to Curtis Raymond III.
• A 10-yard pass to Kuzy and a 20-yarder to Glover set te Big Red up for first-and-goal from the Princeton 4.
• A 15-yard penalty on a block below the waist pushed the ball back to the 19, but just opened the field up for Wang, who scrambled and came back to the left where Kuzy was able to beat a defender and the freshman delivered a perfect pass for the touchdown. • The teams traded field goals with Sexton booting one from 32 yards and Scott Lees hitting from 36 to make it 24-10.
• The Tigers marched 53 yards on 13 plays and was able to get Sexton into position for a 39-yarder just before halftime to go into the break up 27-10.
 

Third Quarter

• The Tigers got the ball to start the second half and all but put the game away in the first minute.
• After Eaddy ran for 7 yards, Smith hit a wide open Classi on a crossing pattern and a broken coverage left him all alone, finally getting knocked out at the 1 by Michael Irons after a 67-yard gain.
• On the next play, Vangarelli went in from the 1 to push the lead to 34-10.
• The teams traded punts back and forth four times before the quarter ended.
 

Fourth Quarter

• A pair of punts to open the fourth ended when on the second play of Princeton's drive, Stebbins got into the backfield for a strip-sack, and Max Lundeen pounced on it for the turnover. • Although the Big Red turned it over on downs, it game the Big Red good field position, and after a three-and-out by the defense and a nice 16-yard punt return from Eric Gallman, Cornell went to work.
• Kenney found Glover for passes of 19, 24 and 28 yards, the last for a score to make it 34-16 with 6:26 remaining.  • A two-point conversion pass was stopped, keeping the score where it was. 
• Short gains and heavy rain made the up final seven minutes as the Tigers ran out the clock to remain unbeaten. 
 

Next Up

• After a three-game home stand, Cornell returns to the road to face Penn at Franklin Field on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m.
• It will be the 127th all-time meetings between the teams with the Quakers in the lead 75-46-5. 
• The series is the fifth-most played in college football history.
• The game will be played for the Trustees' Cup, with Penn leading 18-7 for the trophy.