LEXINGTON, Va. -- For months, Cornell head coach David Archer '05 has been stopping his players randomly on campus and having them sing the fight song, "Cornell Victorious," along with him. On Saturday, after the Big Red's season-opening 28-22 win over VMI at Foster Stadium, they understood why.

Because when the time came to sing the song again, they needed to be prepared.

All offseason, the Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Cornell Football, preached embracing preparation. When the moments came on Saturday - like William Enneking's first two career receptions going for touchdowns, or Holt Fletcher's pick-six, or Max Lundeen's strip-sack - they took the opportunity. Cornell's talented, but inexperienced group, grabbed hold of every opportunity they earned against the Keydets, then held on for dear life at the end in order to sing Cornell Victorious.

The Big Red defense dominated for the first three quarters, forcing three turnovers with two more turnovers on downs, as well as picking up a huge goal-line stand. The team had six sacks and nine total tackles for loss. Cornell held the Keydets to -2 rushing yards. VMI posted 169 of its 356 total yards on its final two possessions in the game's final five minutes when it was desperately trying to cut into Cornell's lead, which was 28-2 at one point.
 
On offense, sophomore quarterback Jameson Wang completed 5-of-10 passes for 42 yards and two touchdowns, both to senior William Enneking - his first two career catches. Freshman running back Gannon Carothers had 16 carries for a game-high 57 yards and a touchdown in his first collegiate game. In all, four different rushers had at least 20 yards on the ground as Cornell piled up 159 yards.

Senior linebacker Jake Stebbins made eight tackles, including two on the key goal-line stand in the first quarter, and added a half-tackle for loss and a fumble recovery. Fletcher's 11-yard interception to the house, senior captain Demetrius Harris' pick for 17 yards and Lundeen's strip sack also highlighted the defensive effort.

VMI's Collin Ironside was 16-of-18 for 275 yards in relief of Seth Morgan. Isaiah Lemmond made three catches for 80 yards, Leroy Thoms notched seven for 77 and Chance Knox grabbed six for 69 yards and a score. Stone Snyder had 19 tackles with a tackle for loss and a forced fumble.
 

First Quarter

• Cornell couldn't have scripted a better start to 2022.
• The defense posted a three-and-out after Connor Henderson put pressure on VMI's Morgan and Noah Labbe broke up the third-down pass.
• The Big Red took over at its own 38 and marched 66 yards on 13 plays covering nearly seven minutes to get on the board.
• Wang led the march, helping Cornell convert all three third downs before the sophomore found Will Enneking from 3-yards out.
• A big Connor Morgan sack ended the second VMI possession, but it was the third time the Keydets handled tha ball that turned the tide.
• VMI went 74 yards in eight plays down to the 1, but Cornell held on third- and fourth-and-goal to keep the home team on the scoreboard.
• Even after the Big Red got charged with a safety on the ensuing possession, all that did was energize the Cornell defense.
• VMI would gain just 24 total yards over the next 24 plays leading into the fourth quarter.
 

Second Quarter

• The Big Red's first possession of the second quarter ended with a turnover, its first of the night, but Lundeen gave Cornell the ball back just eight seconds later.
• Lundeen bull-rushed his opposite, pushing him back to Morgan and chopped down at the ball to separate it.
• Stebbins hopped on the football at the VMI 33.
• Six plays and 33 yards later, Gannon Carothers went in from 2 yards out to make it 14-2.
• Less than a minute later, it was 21-2.
• On second-and-22 after a Rick Coleman Jr. tackle for loss and a holding penalty, a Morgan pass floated to Holt Fletcher who sprinted 11 yards to the end zone for the score.
• At the break, VMI had just 77 yards, was 1-of-6 on third-downs, and had just five yards on 17 rushing attempts.
 

Third Quarter

• Neither team could gain much traction as the second half began, though the Big Red defense once again made the difference.
• On VMI's second possession, Fletcher made his second big play of the day with a sack, and on the very next play Demetrius Harris came up with the interception.
• Taking over at the Keydets 14, Cornell used six plays until Wang found Enneking in the other end zone from the same distance for a 28-2 lead.
 

Fourth Quarter

• VMI made it interesting with a wild, pass-happy attack in the fourth with Ironside at the helm.
• He connected on 14-of-15 passes for 252 yards in the quarter and threw and ran for a score.
• The last touchdown came with four seconds left, making the score closer than the game play.
 

Next Up

• Cornell opens its home and Ivy League schedules when it welcomes Yale on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
• The contest will serve as Homecoming at Cornell.
• The Big Red and the Bulldogs meet for the 84th time in program history (Yale leads 51-30-2) with Yale having won four straight, including a 23-17 home win in 2021.
• The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.