NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Columbia rushed for 167 yards and four touchdowns, controlling tempo and keeping Cornell on its heels all afternoon to claim a 45-22 victory on Saturday afternoon at Wien Stadium in a battle for the Empire State Bowl. The Lions close the season 6-4 (3-4 Ivy), while the Big Red ended its season 5-5 (2-5 Ivy).
Sophomore
Jameson Wang threw for 196 yards and three touchdowns, including two to fifth-year senior
Thomas Glover, and ran for 70 more as Cornell put up 338 yards of offense in the loss. Glover ended the day with six catches for 74 yards, giving him 106 catches for 1,347 yards and 10 touchdowns for his career.
Matt Robbert also hauled in five passes for 73 yards and a touchdown, capping his school record-breaking three touchdowns for a tight end. Freshman Austin Holmes had 36 rushing yards and
Drew Powell added 31 more as the Big Red posted 136 yards on the ground against Columbia.
The Big Red defense got eight tackles from
Jake Stebbins, six apiece by
Demetrius Harris and
Connor Henderson, and forced fumbles by Harris as well as defensive backfield mates
Trey Harris and
Brody Kidwell.
The Lions piled up 398 yards of offense with 231 in the air with Caden Bell completing 11-of-17 passes, including a touchdown to JJ Jenkins. Joey Giorgi had 91 rushing yards and a touchdown, Ryan Young found the end zone twice and Ty'son Edwards added a fourth on the ground. Fara'ad McCombs caught three passes for 73 yards, posted eight tackles on defense and returned an on-sides kick attempt 48 yards for a touchdown in the closing moments of the contest.
Cornell converted on 11-of-18 third downs and won the time of possession battle (31:37-28:23), but could not get the Lions off the field much of the contest.
Gallery: (11-19-2022) Football at Columbia, 11.19.22
First Quarter
• Columbia took a 7-0 lead after the first quarter on a 2-yard run by Giorgi midway through.
• Cornell punted on its first possession and threw an interception on the second, sandwiched around a seven-play, 78-yard scoring drive by the Lions.
• A 53-yard connection from Bell to Marcus Libman was the big play on the drive, converting a third-and-9 and flipping the field.
• The Cornell defense got a takeaway after its own turnover, with
Trey Harris knocking the ball out
Paul Lewis III recovering at the Big Red 11.
• The Big Red took over with 5:51 remaining and ran out the quarter, converting on third-down three times with a pair of 10-yard passes to Glover highlighting.
• Cornell held the ball for 10:39 of the quarter and ran 20 plays to just nine for the home team.
Second Quarter
• Cornell could not convert on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth, and the Lions drove the field to make it 14-0.
• Columbia took a page out of the Cornell playbook, running 13 plays for 62 yards before Edwards went the final yard after a goal-line stop by captains Stebbins and Harris on the previous play.
• Alex Felkins banged home the PAT to put Columbia up two touchdowns with 8:38 remaining on the clock before the break.
• Cornell answered with a 13-play, 78-yard drive that lasted 7:19, eventually getting on the board with 1:14 left on the clock.
• A 23-yard run by
AJ Holmes was the breakout play during a sustained march, with Wang finding Glover in the end zone on third-and-12 to cut the Columbia lead in half heading into halftime.
Third Quarter
• The Lions took control in the third, scoring twice after driving the field against the Big Red defense.
• Young scored both touchdowns, one on a 2-yard carry and another on a 3-yard jaunt.
• The Big Red yielded just two first downs and 37 total yards in the quarter, while the Lions piled up 129 yards and eight first downs.
•
Demetrius Harris forced a fumble on Columbia's scoring drive, but the offense was able to fall on the ball to keep possession.
• A pair of Cornell penalties on third down kept that drive alive.
Fourth Quarter
• Columbia put the game away with its fifth touchdown of the day, a 31-yard pass from Bell to Jenkins that made it 35-7 just over a minute into the fourth.
• Cornell didn't bow out quietly, marching 75 yards on 12 plays with a 21-yard throw and catch from Wang to Robbert setting up an 11-yard scoring strike that cut the lead to 35-14 after
Jackson Kennedy's PAT kick.
• Columbia was able to run more than six minutes off the clock on the ensuing possession, ending in a 28-yard field goal to make it 38-14 with 4:00 to play.
• The Big Red again scored, this time going to the air for 35 yards to Robbert and the final 16 to Glover for a touchdown.
• Cornell scored a two-point conversion, using a hook-and-ladder that ended with
AJ Holmes in the end zone to make it 38-22 with 2:06 left.
• The miracle comeback was not to be, as the on-sides kick was struck right into the hands of McCombs at the Big Red 48 and he raced to the end zone to put the clinching points on the board.
Next Up
• The 2022 season is complete.
• Cornell opens the 2023 campaign when it visits Lehigh on Saturday, Sept. 16 in Bethlehem, Pa.
