Senior Day Nears for Football, Empire State Bowl Edition

David Archer '05
The Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Cornell Football

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS
• Cornell battles for the Empire State Bowl when it hosts Columbia at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.H. The contest will go down on Saturday, November 18 at 1:00 p.m.
• The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Nick DeLuca and Matt Miller will be on the call.
• The Lions enter the contest searching for its first Ivy League win of the season after going 0-5 in the conference slate. Despite no Ivy wins this season, Columbia took Brown to overtime last week. Columbia lost by only one score to Princeton and Penn, while shutting out Georgetown and Marist in the team’s loan wins.
• A win this weekend would mark the most conference wins since 2019, when the Big Red went 3-4.
• The Big Red notched a rare achievement against Brown when brothers Paul and Jeremiah Lewis each caught an interception. It was the second time in Cornell’s history this has happened.
• Picked to finish seventh in the Ivy League preseason media poll, Cornell seeks to again surpass expectations after turning a last-place preseason selection in 2022 into a sixth-place finish and .500 record.
• Cornell’s captainship is held by two this year, seniors Micah Sahakian and Jake Stebbins. Each game will have a third game captain. The game captain for Lehigh and Yale was senior Holt Fletcher. Jackson Kennedy served as game captain against Colgate. Manny Adebi was the game captain at Harvard and vs. Bucknell. Connor Morgan was captain against Brown. Brody Kidwell served as the captain against Princeton, and Brendan Chestnut earned the honor at Penn. Nic Paschall served as the final road captain at Dartmouth
• Stebbins is a three-time All-Ivy honoree including a first-team selection in 2021. Sahakian earned an honorable mention All-Ivy nod.

A LOOK BACKWARDS
• The Big Red finished the 2022 season with a 5-5 overall record (2-5 Ivy). 
• Two of the five losses were by a single touchdown.
• The five-win season marked the best record for the Big Red since 2011, when the team also went 5-5.
• The 2022 season saw a 3-2 road record, the best for the Big Red since the 2016 season.
• Cornell put 12 student-athletes on All-Ivy teams, a mark matching the 2005 total, which was the most since 1995 when the team boasted 14.
• The Big Red return 18 of the 28 starters from last season, including a three-time All-Ivy honoree in Jake Stebbins, who is back for his fifth season in the Carnellian and White.
• Stebbins will serve as a two-time captian for the team after being one of four last season.
• Another returner to note is junior quarterback Jameson Wang, who passed for over 1,600 yard in 2022, while also scoring eight rushing touchdowns.
• Other All-Ivy returners include Jackson Kennedy (PK), Davon Kiser (Ret.), Paul Lewis III (DB), Connor Henderson (LB), Matt Robbert (TE), and co-captain Micah Sahakian (OL).

A WIN OVER COLUMBIA WOULD...
• improve the conference mark to three wins for the first time since the 2019 season.
• be the 30th win for Coach Archer.
• up Cornell’s record in the all-time series to 67-40-3.
• give Cornell a 236-230-15 (.553) record all-time in the
month of November.
• mark the fourth win in the past seven matchups, and be the second road win in the series since 2005.
• prevent a four-game slide, which hasn’t happened for the Big Red since the beginning of the 2021 season.
• be the 657th in program history (15th-most in the Football Championship Subdivision).

ABOUT COLUMBIA
• Columbia has the second-ranked scoring defense in the Ivy League, as the Lions have held opponents to 18.7 points per game. The Lions have been strong against both the run and pass. 
• It has been a struggle for the Lions on the other side of the ball, though, as they rank last in the league in scoring (14.1 points per game) and total offense (260.1 yards per game). 
• Columbia ranks fourth in the Ivy in rushing offense (150.2 yards per game) but last in passing offense (141.4 yards per game). The Lions have had fewer than 150 yards passing in five games. 
• Columbia running back Joey Giorgi is third in the Ivy League in rushing yards (578). 
• Columbia has used two quarterbacks — Joe Green and Caden Bell — this season. Green leads the team in yards (702), touchdowns (4) and completion percentage (57.5%). 
• Defensive back Carter McFadden is second in the Ivy League in punt return yardage (162). He’s fourth in kickoff return yardage (313). 
• Punter William Hughes leads the league in punt yardage (2,052). He has 17 touchbacks and 15 punts of at least 50 yards, with a 71-yarder being his longest. 
• Linebacker Anthony Roussos is second in the league with 86 tackles and third with 8.5 tackles for a loss. Defensive lineman Justin Townsend has 5.5 sacks, the second-most in the Ivy League.


THE SERIES
• Cornell has a 66-40-3 lead in the series, which began in 1889. However, the Big Red has lost the last two meetings. 
• Cornell is 37-14-2 at home against Columbia. 
• The Empire State Bowl has been the unofficial nickname of the Cornell-Columbia series since 2010. Each team has won six games in that span. 
• Columbia won the first-ever Empire State Bowl in 2010 with an exciting last-minute 20-17 victory at Wien Stadium to capture the traveling trophy.

THE LAST MEETING WITH COLUMBIA
• Cornell posted its sixth consecutive game with at least 100 rushing yards as a team - the first time it hit that milestone since the final six contests of 2019.
• With two successful PAT kicks against Columbia, the Big Red has now converted 60 consecutive attempts.
• With 14 sacks allowed this season, Cornell’s offensive line surrendered its second-fewest since the stat was first kept in 1996. Only last season, with nine, saw fewer. 
• Cornell’s average of 33:32 in time of possession is the most in school history - just ahead of the 2005 squad that averaged 33:27 per game.
• On average, Cornell’s 33:32 time of possession per game was nearly two minutes longer than any other team in the Ivy (Princeton, 31:44). 
• The Big Red converted its first two-point conversion since 2021 when Jameson Wang threw to Thomas Glover, the second time that season the two connected after a touchdown.
• It was the 84th successful two-point conversion in school history dating back to 1958.
• Cornell had three players with at least 40 points scored (Jameson Wang 50, Jackson Kennedy 46, Thomas Glover 42) for the first time since 2012 (Luke Hagy 54, Luke Tasker 50, John Wells 46) and just the fourth time this century (2000, 2005, 2012, 2022).
• Cornell has led its opponent in time of possession for five straight games, the longest streak since the final four games on 2006 and the first of 2007.
• The 2006 season was also the last that saw the Big Red hold a time of possession edge in eight contests.
• Fifth-year senior Thomas Glover caught two touchdown passes in a game for the second time this month and third time in his career.
• Jameson Wang threw three touchdowns, becoming the first Cornell QB to pass for three scores in a game since Dalton Banks at Brown on Oct. 20, 2018.
• Wang is now responsible for 30 career touchdowns, the 10th most of any player in Big Red history. 

LAST TIME OUT
RECAP I BOX SCORE I HIGHLIGHTS I GALLERY I POSTGAME NOTES
• Cornell came up short to Dartmouth, 30-14, in the schools’ 106th meeting.
• Dartmouth used the ground and air game to find the endzone four times in the outing.
• Junior Jameson Wang became the program’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with his 19th career score. It was his seventh rushing score this season. 
• Wang is responsible for 15 touchdowns this season, with eight through the air and seven on the ground. He will tie 1962 Gary Wood (17 touchdowns) for 10th on the program’s single-season touchdowns list with two more scores.
• Wang now has 1,307 career rushing yards, the 22nd-most in program history. 
• Junior linebacker Luke Banbury set a career-high with 11 tackles. 
• Senior linebacker Noah Taylor recorded his first sack of the season. 
• Senior wide receiver Nicholas Laboy caught five passes for 51 yards. It was his seventh game this season with at least five catches. 
• Freshman running back Ean Pope recorded his first career rushing touchdown. 
• Two freshmen -- Pope and Samuel Musungu -- have scored touchdowns for the Big Red this season. It’s the first time that has happened since 2012. 
• Jackson Kennedy punted five times for 220 yards, the second-most punting yards he’s had this season. 
• Amon Williams blocked Cornell’s first punt since Jalyx Hunt’s block against Brown in October 2021. 
• Cornell lost the time of possession battle for just the third time this season. The Big Red held the ball for 29:10, while the Big Green possessed it for 30:50. 
• Cornell gained 16 first downs to Dartmouth’s 15. The Big Red has picked up more first downs than its opponent six times this season.

HALL OF FAME FIGURES
• Over Homecoming weekend, Cornell honored the 2023 Cornell Hall of Fame honorees with an on-field ceremony.
• From football, J.C. Tretter ‘13 was inducted in this years class. During his time at Cornell, the offensive lineman was named a unanimous All-Ivy First Team selection. At the time, he protected Jeff Matthews’ blindside, helping the Big Red to set a new Cornell and Ivy passing record. Tretter’s protection also earned him a second-team All-American recognition. He was the 25th pick of the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, where he was selected by the Green Bay Packers. He also spent time with the Cleveland Browns. In the spring of 2020, Tretter was named the President of the NFL Players Association.
• A “special category” inductee alongside Tretter is the former Meakem Smith Director of Athletics & Physical Education, Andy Noel. Noel was the head of Cornell athletics for 24 years. Under him, the Big Red won 106 Ivy League team titles and 37 national championships. Nearly, 2,300 athletes earned All-Ivy honors, including 850 first-teamers and 400 All-Americans.
• 13 other inductees were honored alongside Tretter and Noel.
 

BIG RED RANKINGS
• The Big Red ranks number one in all of Division I football (FBS and FCS) in time of possession, averaging nearly 35 minutes per game.
• Cornell ranks 12th in the FCS in first down defense, allowing 157 across eight games.
• The Big Red ranks third in the Ivy in passes intercepted with eight.
• Cornell turnovers lost ranks 12th in FCS, losing just nine turnovers.
• Cornell ranks 10th in the FCS in passes had intercepted, with just four interceptions across the season.
• Cornell has the third-highest completion percentage in the Ivy, completing 64.8 percent of its passes.
• Cornell has the most blocked kicks in the Ivy League and second in the FCS in blocked kicks (5).
• Cornell has the fewest passing yards allowe din the Ivy, permitting only 182.9 per game.
• Jackson Kennedy ranks fourth the FCS in field goals per game (1.56).
• Kennedy also ranks sixth in the Ivy League in scoring, averaging 6.2 points per game.
• Manny Adebi ranks third in FCS in blocked kicks (3).
• Jameson Wang has the 11th-most total offense in FCS, averaging 280.7 yards per game.
• Wang has the eighth-most completions per game in the FCS, averaging 23.44.
• Hunter Sloan ranks 12th in the FCS and is tied for first in the Ivy League in fumbles recovered, scooping two in eight games.

THE KENNEDY FILE
• Kennedy became the 25th player in Cornell history to hit the 100-point mark as he sent a field goal up and in against Princeton.
• With 102 career points, Kennedy is up to 10th place all-time in kicking points.
• The point mark ties Eric Krawczyk form 22nd most points scored in a Cornell unifrom.
• His 21 career field goal makes ranks fourth all-time at Cornell.
• With 56 points through nine games, Kennedy sits fifth in a season in kicking points at Cornell. He is approaching Brad Greenway’s single-season kick scoring record of 75 points from 2011.
• In the game against Brown, he drilled a 28-yard field goal as time expired to end the first half. The senior has now ended five of the past 11 halves of play with a walk-off kick.

RED WEEKLY HONORS
• After week one, Big Red punter and placekicker, Jackson Kennedy, was named the Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week.
• Kennedy earned the nod after booting the second longest punt in school history (81 yards). He also went 2-for-2 in field goals in the fourth quarter, providing the winning points for the Big Red. He was the only player in the Ivy League to kickoff, punt and placekick in the opening weekend.
• In week two, Kennedy repeated with the Special Teams POTW award, and he was joined by Connor Henderson, who was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week.
• Kennedy drilled the winning field goal from 37 yards out as the clock expired to life Cornell over Yale for the first time since 2016. He went 3-for-3 on field goals, while also securing both extra points and punted his first-career I20 punt.
• Henderson matched his career-high in solo tackles with five, and added two assists for a season-high seven. He tallied his second-career interception and returned it for five yards at the perfect time,  preventing Yale from marching down the field, holding the Bulldog lead to 14-3 at halftime. Henderson headlined a Cornell defense that held the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, Nolan Grooms, to his second-lowest completion percentage of his collegiate career (38.9%). The senior linebacker and the rest of the defense held Yale to just 301 yards, over 60 yards less than what the Bulldogs put up against #5 Holy Cross.
• Kennedy was the first back-to-back Cornell awardee since 2019.
• Week two marked the first time since 2017 that the Big Red had multiple honorees in the same week since October 30, 2017 when Nick Gesualdi and Nickolas Null were named Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week, respectively.
• In week six, Kennedy earned his third Ivy Special Teams POTW honor following his three-field goal performance against Brown in the team’s 36-14 win.
• Kennedy is the third Cornellian to be a mutli-time special teams honoree, and the first since 2017 when Nolan Null earned the honor four times.

The Class of 2023

• Schoellkopf Field has been an indelible mark of Cornell football since it opened in 1915 and this year will be the 107th season at the home field. 
• A gift from Willard Straight ‘01 and the family of Henry (Heinie) Schoellkopf ‘02 made the construction possible for the current stadium. 
• The Big Red’s first year on the field was one of its best, going 9-0 and winning the national championship. 
• In 1915, General Electric Company completed work on a flood searchlight system for the field, and in 1924 a construction project was completed to bring capacity from 9,000 to 21,500 by adding the famed Crescent. 
• In 1947 that capacity was increased to 25,597 and a press box was added. 
• In 1971 a gift was made to put artificial turf on the field, and it was resurfaced three times, the last time in 1999. 
• A new press box was built in 1986.
• The 2008 season saw installation of FieldTurf synthetic grass to replace the artificial turf. 
• In 2016, the West Stands were demolished and the field was moved 15 feet toward the Crescent while replacing the FieldTurf to ready for more construction at the site, lowering the capacity to 21,500 in the process.

Few collegiate football programs have the storied history of Cornell University. With more than 130 seasons of football in the books, the Big Red has collected five national titles, won over 650 games and has had legendary players and coaches perform on historic Schoellkopf Field. Names such as Glenn "Pop" Warner and Heisman Trophy finalist and NCAA record-breaker Ed Marinaro have suited up for Cornell, while seven College Football Hall of Famers (including Warner, Gil Dobie and Carl Snavely) and multiple-time Super Bowl winner George Seifert have set the strategy as head coaches. Now, with David Archer '05 leading the program, there’s little doubt that history will continue to be made.

NEXT UP
• The Empire State Bowl will wrap up the 2023 season for the Big Red.
• Cornell returns to the gridiron next season when the team travels to Colgate in the season opener on Sep. 21, 2024.