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Cornell University Athletics

The Cornell Big Red football team competes against Harvard on Saturday, Oct. 12 in Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, MA.
Eldon Lindsay/Cornell Athletics
10
Cornell COR 0-4 , 0-2
24
Winner Harvard HARV 4-0 , 2-0
Cornell COR
0-4 , 0-2
10
Final
24
Harvard HARV
4-0 , 2-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
COR Cornell 0 7 3 0 10
HARV Harvard 0 3 14 7 24

Game Recap: Football |

Defense Gives Big Red A Chance, But No. 22 Harvard Too Much In 24-10 Football Win

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- In a battle of two of the Ivy League's top defenses, No. 22 Harvard made two more big plays than Cornell and turned them into a 24-10 victory on Saturday afternoon at Harvard Stadium. The Crimson remained unbeaten at 4-0 (2-0 Ivy), while the Big Red slipped to 0-4 (0-2 Ivy).

The Big Red defense surrendered just 343 yards to a powerful Crimson offense with 110 coming on the Crimson's final two scoring plays. Cornell forced three turnovers - one on an interception, one on a forced fumble and another after a muffed punt - and caused a total of 10 negative plays. It limited Harvard to 4-of-14 on third down and had had 24 different players credited with at least one tackle.

Jake Stebbins had seven tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, and Michael Irons made five stops with two for a loss, including a sack, and a pass breakup. Demetrius Harris, who had an interception on Harvard's first play from scrimmage and ended the afternoon with another pass breakup and four stops, set the tone. The Crimson entered the game averaging 42.3 points per game and 239.0 yards on the ground.

Koby Kiefer averaged 41.7 yards on seven punts, with two over 50 yards and Garrett Patla booted all three of his kickoffs through the end zone. Scott Lees made a 32-yard field goal to knot the score at 10-10 in the third and Logan Thut recovered a fumble on a punt return to highlight the play of the special teams.

The Big Red offense had 299 yards of offense against Crimson, including 103 on the ground against a defense that had allowed just 149 total in its first three games. SK Howard rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown on eight carries to lead the way. Richie Kenney completed 20-of-42 passes for 196 yards, including eight passes for 92 yards to his favorite target, Alex Kuzy. Cornell's offense didn't turn the ball over, but was just 2-of-16 converting on third down and was 0-for-4 on fourth down.

For Harvard, Aaron Shampklin finished with 92 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while BJ Watson had two receptions for 87 yards, including the go-ahead 75-yard score on a toss from Charlie Dean. Dean came off the bench to complete 12-of-21 passes for 204 yards. James Herring and Andrew Irwin each had a game-high nine tackles to pace the defense.
 

First Quarter

• It was an uneventful first 15 minutes overall, though it started off with a bang for the Big Red.
• After getting the opening kickoff and going three-and-out, Demetrius Harris picked off a Jake Smith pass on Harvard's first play from scrimmage for his first career pick. • The Big Red defense didn't surrender a first down until Harvard's third possession, and the offense dominated time of possession throughout the quarter (10:23-4:37).
• Cornell out-gained the Crimson 69-33 and the defense allowed just 13 yards on the ground on six attempts in the scoreless quarter. 
 

Second Quarter

• Unlike the first, the second quarter was chock full of big plays by the Big Red defense, and that handed some momentum to the other two phases of the Cornell attack.
• At the break Cornell had six tackles for loss, a pair of sacks and four pass breakups.
• Early in the second, the Crimson got inside the red zone on a 19-yard run by Aidan Borguet, but Cornell's defense stiffened.
• Harvard picked up a first-and-goal from the 5, but two consecutive run stops inside the 3 forced a short field goal. • Jonah Lipel converted from 20 yards out to put the Crimson on the board with 9:27 left before halftime.
• Cornell was forced to punt, and Kiefer's boot was blocked by Herring and was recovered by the home team at the Big Red 20.
• After the Big Red made two quick stops, Dean fumbled while being pressured by Jordan Patrick and Jack Muench.
• The ball hit the turf and Lance Blass and Jalyx Hunt were the first to the football for Cornell's second forced turnover of the day. • With the wind at its back, Cornell was able to drive the ball 74 yards on six plays to take the lead, the final 24 yards on the strength of SK Howard's legs.
• Scott Lees' PAT made it 7-0 with 4:30 to play in the half. • Another three-and-out on Harvard's ensuing possession ended with a Jon Sot bomb of 56 yards. 
• Cornell punted in back three plays later, but Kiefer's 50-yarder was muffed by Gavin Sharkey and recovered by Logan Thut at the Harvard 35.
• The Big Red couldn't carve out much on offense, and Lees' attempted a 52-yard field goal that went wide to keep the score 7-3 with 1:12 to play before halftime.
• A Michael Irons sack convinced Harvard to take it back into the locker room knowing they'd have the first possession after the break in a one-score game.
• At the break, Cornell held a 152-94 edge in total offense and had limited the Crimson to 2-of-8 on third down. 
 

Third Quarter

• Harvard took the lead in the third and largely took control, outscoring Cornell 14-3 to go into the fourth with a 17-10 lead.
• The Crimson scored on each of their first two drives after halftime, 
• A 10-play, 75-yard drive secured Harvard's go-ahead touchdown. 
• It took six plays inside the 10, aided by a pair of penalties, for the Crimson to put itself in the lead when Shampklin found the end zone 4:47 into the half.
• Cornell answered right back, tying the score on a 32-yard field goal by Lees. • The nine-play, 65-yard drive was highlighted by a 16-yard run by Howard and 14 and 19 yard passes from Kenney to Thomas Glover and Devan Cross, respectively.
• Harvard wasted little time putting itself back on top.
• Just 13 seconds later, BJ Watson was in the end zone and the Crimson had the momentum after a 75-yard screen pass that Dean took to the house, out-running the defense over the final 50 yards.
• The teams traded punts before a 24-yard pass from Kenney to Raymond put the Big Red inside the red zone.
• Facing a fourth-and-1 from the Harvard 7, the Big Red couldn't make up the yard needed and turned it over on downs with seconds left in the quarter.. 
 

Fourth Quarter

• The Big Red offense had three more possessions in the fourth trailing by a touchdown, but never crossed midfield.
• The Crimson broke through and scored with 1:47 left to effectively put the game away.
• On a second-and-5, Shampklin went around end and marched 35 yards for the touchdown to make it 24-10.
• Besides the scoring play, Cornell limited Harvard to 15 yards on eight carries while trying to keep the team in the contest.


Next Up

• Cornell returns home for the first of two Friday evening games at Schoellkopf Field when it welcomes Central New York rival Colgate to Ithaca on Friday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.
• The two teams have met 101 times with a dead-even split in the series, 49-49-3. 
• Colgate has had the better of the series since 1975, going 32-9 in the last 41 contests, including 10 straight victories (1993-2005) before the Big Red commenced on a two-game win streak.  
 
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