ITHACA, N.Y. -- VMI kicked a field goal as the horn sounded at halftime to regain a lead that held up as the 22nd-ranked Keydets earned a hard-fought 31-21 victory over Cornell on Saturday evening in front of a Homecoming crowd of 12,555 at Schoellkopf Field. VMI improved to 2-1 on the season, while the Big Red dropped its first game played in nearly two years.
Cornell knotted the score at 7-7 and 14-14 after falling behind early, but the visitors kicked a 41-yard field goal to take the lead at 17-14 heading into the break after a long kickoff return and a penalty set up the Keydets late. VMI extended the lead to 24-14, but the Big Red again got within a field goal before running out of gas in the fourth quarter.
Senior
Thomas Glover posted a career-high seven catches for 159 yards and a touchdown, all coming in the first half, while classmate
Richie Kenney threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns. The Big Red offense outgained VMI (353-342), but the road team's three successful fourth-down conversions allowed it to hold an important time of possession advantage (32:39-27:21).
SK Howard ran for a score and
Curtis Raymond III made his first reception count, going to the house for a score. The offensive line also kept Kenney on his feet, not allowing a sack in 47 dropbacks. It has now allowed just one sack in its last 111 passes. Defensively,
Logan Thut had a team-high seven tackles,
Kenan Clarke had a pair of tackles for loss and two pass breakups and
Eric Diggs intercepted a pass for the Big Red's lone takeaway of the day.
Korey Bridy had 92 rushing yards and a score for VMI, while backup quarterback Collin Ironside came in off the bench to complete 27-of-42 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns, both to All-American Jakob Herres. Fellow All-American Stony Snyder notched six tackles and recovered a fumble to lead the defense.
Gallery: (9-18-2021) Football vs VMI, 09.18.21
First Quarter
• Cornell's defense set the tone early with a quick three-and-out after VMI took the ball to begin the game, including a tackle for loss by
Jack Muench on second-and-long.
• After getting the ball at its own 39, the Big Red picked up a first down, but the drive was then stalled after a bad snap from center was fallen on and the Big Red could only make it back to the line of scrimmage.
• VMI went on the first extended drive of the day, posting a 10-play effort that eventually ended in a punt after three VMI penalties.
• A 28-yard connection from Kenny to Glover moved the Big Red to midfield, but Cornell lost it there and All-American linebacker Stone Snyder returned it 20 yards to the Big Red 30.
• Five plays later, VMI took advantage of the short field and Bridy went the final yard for a score.
• The big play on the drive came on a 25-yard reception from Ironside to Bridy on thord-and-13 all the way to the 1.|
• A three-and-out by the Big Red ended the quarter with the visitors up 7-0.
Second Quarter
• Cornell dominated the second, outgaining the Keydets 144-65 and scored its first two touchdowns of the season in the period.
• A VMI punt downed at the 1 to start the quarter led to shifting field positions, and it was a missed 35-yard field goal that got the Big Red back in business.
• Cornell needed just four plays to go 80 yards, with a 27-yard hookup from Kenney to Glover followed up shortly after by a 45-yard connection.
•
Scott Lees booted the PAT for his first collegiate point and it was all square 7-7 with 11:08 remaining before halftime.
• The Keydets used another short field, this time after Cornell came up short on a fourth-and-2, to regain the lead at 14-7.
• Ironside hit Herres with a 16-yard strike for the first of his two touchdown scores on the day with 4:21 left.
• After the offense punted the ball away, the defense got it right back when
Eric Diggs picked off a deflected ball and returned it nine yards to the Big Red's 49.
• It took seven plays to go 51 yards with
SK Howard going the final three yards on a third-and-goal call.
• The drive started by another Kenney to Glover pitch-and-catch, this time for 30 yards.
• Bridy got the momentum right back to VMI and brought it into the locker room thanks to a 61-yard return on the kickoff to the Cornell 34, with a Big Red holding penalty tacking on 10 yards on the first play from scrimmage.
• Jerry Rice took advantage of the extra yardage and his kick from 41 yards out was true to send the Big Red into the locker room trailing 17-14.
Third Quarter
• After trading punts back-and-forth, VMI extended its lead to 24-14 after a 12-play, 53-yard drive put the visitors back on the board with 6:19 left in the third.
• Ironside rushed 4 yards for the touchdown, but only after connecting on 6-of-9 passes for 41 yards on the scoring drive.
• Cornell answered right back by chewing up 75 yards for a score, with Kenney hitting
Curtis Raymond III for his first collegiate reception - a 17-yard score to make it 24-21.
• The Big Red defense forced a three-and-out, but the offense couldn't convert it into points heading into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
• Down three, the Big Red got within the VMI 29 before a penalty knocked the Big Red out of field goal range.
• The teams exchanged punts until VMI took the ball at its own 28 with 11:10 to play.
• Bridy gashed the defense for 42 yards on first down to flip the field, and six plays later Herres won a jump ball in the corner of the end zone to push the Keydets' lead to 31-21 with 6:57 left.
• Cornell had one last charge in it, but looking to cut into the lead with a 10-play drive to get to the VMI 21, but a field goal trying to cut the Keydets' lead to a touchdown went wide and VMI was able to run out the clock for the win.
• That possession was highlighted by a 40-yard catch by
Ryan Fitton, his first career reception.
The Schoellkopf March
Next Up
• Cornell opens Ivy League competition when it visits Yale on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 12 p.m. at the Yale Bow in New Haven, Conn.
• The Big Red and the Bulldogs meet for the 83rd time in program history (Yale leads 50-30-2) with Yale having won three straight, including a 27-16 home win in 2019.
