ITHACA, N.Y. -- Here are some notes from Cornell's 28-22 win at VMI on Saturday, Sept. 17 at Foster Stadium in Lexington, Ky.
 

TEAM

• Cornell is the first team to defeat a current member of the Southern Conference since Columbia knocked off VMI 26-7 on Oct. 28, 1939. It is the first-ever win by an Ivy school on the road against a Southern Conference opponent.
• The last time Cornell limited an opponent to negative rushing yards was on Nov. 5, 2005 when Dartmouth managed -1 yards on 20 carries, and it was the fewest rushing yards allowed in a game by a Big Red defense since giving up -5 yards (on 28 carries) at Columbia on Nov. 15, 1986.
• The -2 rushing yards ranks as the seventh-fewest allowed in a game all-time, with the record at -62 yards (on 25 carries) against NYU on Sept. 25, 1948.
• The win evened the all-time series between Cornell and VMI at 1-1.
• Cornell improved to 94-36-4 all-time in season openers, including 4-5 under head coach David Archer '05.
• Virginia is the 15th state Cornell has played a football game in all-time, and with its win, now also has a winning record in Michigan (6-5) and New York (513-283-25), with a .500 mark in Ohio (1-1).
• Cornell is now 105-67-5 all-time in the month of September.
• The win was the Big Red's fifth straight on the date of September 17.
• The win was the program's 649th, the 15th-most in the Football Championship Subdivision.
• In its last two home openers on the road (2019 at Marist, 2022 at VMI), the Big Red offense held the ball an average of 39:33, including 38:59 vs. the Keydets.
• Though VMI made a valiant fourth quarter comeback, the Big Red now sports a 432-42-4 mark when entering the fourth quarter with a lead (.908).
• Coupled with last season's 34-20 win over Colgate, Cornell has now won consecutive non-conference games for the first time since 2016 when captured road games against both Bucknell and Colgate.
• Despite four new starters on the offensive line, Cornell surrendered just one sack - and has now allowed just 11 total in its past 13 games dating back to 2019.
• The team's nine tackles for loss is the most in a non-conference game since also recording nine at Delaware in 2017.
• The six sacks in the most against a non-league opponent since registering eight against Wagner in 2011.
• It is the third time since 2019 and fourth time since 2017 that Cornell allowed two rushing first downs or fewer in a game.
• Cornell's 107 passing yards is its fewest in a win since it had just 41 in a 3-0 win over Columbia in 2015.

 

INDIVIDUAL

• Senior linebacker Jake Stebbins, wide receiver Thomas Glover and offensive lineman Joe Kelly each made their 11th consecutive starts in the contest - the longest stretch on the team.
• With his 2-yard scoring run, Gannon Carothers became the first Cornell freshman to score in a season opener since Eric Gallman caught a 27-yard pass in the third quarter at Delaware in 2017.
• William Enneking became the first Cornell tight end to score two receiving touchdowns in the same game with his pair of scoring catches vs. VMI. In fact, no Big Red tight end has ever scored more than two touchdowns in an entire season since 1973 when Cornell first initiated the position listing.
• Holt Fletcher's 11-yard interception return for a touchdown was the first by a Big Red player since David Jones had a 48-yard return against Sacred Heart, and is the first by a linebacker since Brandon Lainhart's pick-six went 24 yards against Brown in 2009. It is the 47th pick-six in school history.
• Sophomore Jameson Wang has six touchdowns on just 50 career passing attempts.
• Of the seven players that had at least one reception against VMI, it included the first career catch for four of them (Enneking, Nicholas Laboy, Davon Kiser, Parker Woodring).
• Malin White posted his first career sack and had four total tackles.
• Fifth-year senior captain Demetrius Harris earned his second career interception, while Holt Fletcher's was his first.
• Max Lundeen's strip-sack was his first career sack and his second forced fumble.
• Luke Duby's 8-of-12 passing for 65 yards were all career highs.
• Fourteen players made their first collegiate start: Terrance Caldwell (OL), Anthony Chideme-Alfaro (CB), Tye Chirico (OL), Trey Harris (S), Connor Henderson (LB), Bradley Jackson (OL), Davon Kiser (WR), Noah Labbe (LB), Nicholas Laboy (WR), Matt Robbert (TE), Wallace Squibb Jr. (DL), Rasean Thomas (S), Eddy Tillman (RB), Jameson Wang (QB).
• 23 players made their first collegiate appearances (out of 53 that saw action against VMI): Luke Banbury (LB), Gannon Carothers (RB), Rick Coleman Jr. (CB), Kyle Fitzgerald (CB), Trey Harris (S), Gavin Heintschel (LS), Nathaniel Hillenburg (P), DJ Hooker (S), Jackson Kennedy (PK), Davon Kiser (WR), Muhammad-Ali Kobo (DL), Nicholas Laboy (WR), Ayden McCarter (P), Michael O'Keefe (CB), Wilson Selzer (LB), Hunter Sloan (LB), Doryn Smith (WR), Robert Tucker III (RB), Maxwell Van Fleet (DL), Davis Watson (OL), Malin White (LB), Parker Woodring (WR), Mason Yacovelli (DL).