PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Cornell football team will bring the Trustees' Cup back to its Ithaca campus by bus, but it rode a fantastic defensive effort all day in a 15-12 triumph over Penn on Saturday afternoon at Franklin Field. The Big Red (2-6, 1-4 Ivy) snapped a six-game skid against the Quakers (3-5, 1-4 Ivy).

Cornell limited the Quakers to 325 yards, including just 78 on the ground, had nine pass breakups and intercepted a pass and never allowed a double figure play drive or any that gained more than 55 yards. Its bend-but-not-break effort kept Penn's offense out of the end zone and limited it to just two field goals. The Big Red did all that despite having to be on the field for more than 32 minutes as the home team controlled possession over the final three quarters.

Max Lundeen had a big night on the defensive line, batting down three passes with an additional quarterback hurry and a tackle for loss, while Kenan Clarke also posted a pair of pass breakups. Eric Diggs had a takeaway with an interception and Jake Stebbins posted a game-best 12 stops - his third straight contest with at least 12 tackles.
   
While the defense was fantastic, so was the offensive line. Cornell rushed for 125 yards and  pair of touchdowns by Jameson Wang and didn't allow a sack for the third time this season. The Big Red's two scoring drives were 55- and 75-yard marches.

SK Howard had a game-high 65 yards on the ground in his return from injury, while Wang ran 10 times for 55 yards and two scores. He joined with Richie Kenney to complete 12-of-27 passes for 183 yards.Alex Kuzy caught five passes for 70 yards, Thomas Glover had three catches for 59 and Curtis Raymond III hauled in three for 58 more.

Penn freshman quarterback Aidan Sayin completed 26-of-45 passes for 247 yards and led the team with 32 rushing yards. His favorite target was Owen Goldsberry, who snatched seven passes for 72 yards. Defensively, Jason McCleod had four tackles, an interception and three pass breakups in the loss. Daniel Karrash booted a pair of field goals - one from 40 and another from 24 yards.

Cornell faced plenty of adversity during the week and the game - from an illness passing through the team, to having two touchdowns wiped off the board due to penalties, a punt blocked for a touchdown to surrender the lead for the first time and the general expectation of a team looking for its first conference win to be down on itself. It never looked anything other than confident on Saturday, and the end result was its "bowl" victory.
 

First Quarter

• After trading punts to open the game, Cornell went on a sustained 10-play drive that saw the visitors reach the end zone, only to have it called back.
• A pass of 34 yards from Richie Kenney to Curtis Raymond III set up a 37-yard connection between the two for a touchdown.
• The play was called back due to pass interference on Raymond and the points came off the board. 
• Facing a second-and-29, Koby Kiefer eventually punted and pinned the Quakers at their own 11.  
• The defenses didn't allow much else as the scoreless quarter ended.
 

Second Quarter

• The Big Red dented the scoreboard first, with Jameson Wang finding the end zone when he went 21 yards on a fourth-and-9 three plays after an Eddy Tillman 30-yard scoring run was called back for holding.

• Penn answered with a drive that brought them to the Cornell 31, but a deep shot was intercepted by Eric Diggs at the 2, the senior's second pick of the year. • The teams traded three-and-outs before the Quakers regained possession with 8:08.
• The ensuing drive ended in Penn's first points, taking advantage of a short field to gain just 25 yards on nine plays.
• Daniel Karrash cashed in from 40 yards to make it 7-3.
• Just 3:48 later, Penn headed to the locker room with momentum after Karrash booted a 24-yard field goal to make it 7-6 at the break.
• Penn held the ball for nearly 12 minutes in the second quarter (11:46-3:14) with Aidan Sayin tossing for 100 yards in the quarter.

Third Quarter

• Both offenses fizzled on the first two possessions after halftime, though a 53-yard on the first punt by Koby Kiefer flipped the field.
• On the second, however, Kiefer's kick was blocked by Jordan Niles and Mozi Bici fell on it for the touchdown to give Penn a 12-7 lead after the two-point conversion pass was batted away.
• Cornell answered right back, marching 75 yards on just six plays with the big play a perfectly-executed 40-yard deep ball from Kenney to Glover down to the 18.
• Jameson Wang then hit Alex Kuzy for 17 yards down to the 1 before carrying it over on the next play.
• Cornell went for two, with Wang finding Glover in the end zone to make it 15-12 with 1:08 left in the third.
 

Fourth Quarter

• Penn had three first downs on its next drive, spanning the third and fourth quarters, but it ended in a punt that pinned Cornell at its own 15.
• After two short possessions, Cornell's offense ate some time with a nine-play drive that took up 3:28. 
• The Quakers took over at its own 6 with 6:35, but Cornell held strong on a third-and-2 when Jack Muench stepped in a gap to keep Penn short and force a punt.
• A Jameson Wang run for a first down helped the Big Red force Penn into using all three timeouts before it got the ball back with 2:39 left.
• From its own 21, Sayin hit Joshua Casilli for 21 yards on the first play, but outside of a short pass, couldn't get anything going.
• The decisive play came on fourth-and-7 from the Penn 45. 
• Sayin tucked the ball away and looked ot run, but fumbled it near midfield.
• Though he was able to ultimately hop on the ball, he was a yard short and the Big Red took over on downs after a lengthy review.
• The Big Red got into victory formation and took three knees to celebrate its victory.

Next Up

• Cornell returns to the road to face nationally-ranked Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 1:30 p.m. at Memorial Field in Hanover, N.H.
• The Big Green leads the all-time series 61-41-1, though Cornell won the last meeting between the teams 20-17 in 2019.
• The Big Red's victory over Dartmouth on its Senior Day ruined a perfect season and proved to be Cornell's first win over a ranked Ivy team on the road since 1950, as well as a win over its highest ranked opponent since topping No. 4 Ohio State in 1939.