Football Closes 2023 Road Slate at Dartmouth

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

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS
• Cornell seeks win number four of the season when it travels to Hanover, N.H. to take on the Big Green. The contest will go down on Saturday, November 11 at Memorial Field.
• The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• The Big Green enters the contest searching for its fourth Ivy League win after opening the conference slate at 3-2 coming off of a won over Princeton on Friday night. A win could keep Dartmouth in the running for the Ivy League title.
• 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 eraned the honor at Penn.
• Stebbins is a three-time All-Ivy honoree including a first-team selection in 2021. Sahakian earned an honorable mention All-Ivy nod.
• The Big Red returns 18 starters, boasting one of the most experienced line-ups in the Ivy. 

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 DARTMOUTH WOULD...
• improve the conference mark to three wins for the first time since the 2019 season.
• be the 85th Ivy League road win in program history.
• up Cornell’s record in the all-time series to 43-62-1.
• give Cornell a 236-229-15 (.553) record all-time in the
month of November.
• mark the fouth win in the past seven matchups, and be the second road win in the series since 2005.
• prevent the start of a three-game skid.
• be the 657th in program history (15th-most in the Football Championship Subdivision).

ABOUT DARTMOUTH
• Under first-year head coach Sammy McCorkle, Dartmouth is 4-4 overall and 3-2 in Ivy League play. The Big Green beat Princeton 23-21 last week. 
• Dartmouth is fifth in the Ivy League in scoring offense (20.5 points per game) and seventh in total offense (317.6 yards per game). The Big Green has the third-best rushing offense in the league, averaging 144.5 yards on the ground per game. 
• Dartmouth is third in the Ivy in time of possession (30:48 per game), trailing Penn (31:19) and Cornell (35:35).
• The Big Green has four games this season with two or more turnovers.
• Dartmouth ranks third in the league in total defense (305.9 yards allowed per game) and sixth in scoring defense (20.8 points allowed per game). The unit is third against the run and fourth against the pass.
• The Big Green has held four opponents under 100 yards rushing.
• Dartmouth has been using three quarterbacks regularly this season: Dylan Cadwallader, Jackson Proctor and Nick Howard. 
• Cadwallader has completed 62.2% of his passes for 585 yards with a touchdown. Proctor has connected on 79.4% of his attempts for 525 yards with two scores. 
• Howard, meanwhile, leads the Big Green in rushing attempts (106), yards (415) and touchdowns (7). 
• Senior wide receiver Paxton Scott is fourth in the Ivy League in catches (42) and fifth in yards (531).
• Kicker Own Zalc leads the Ivy League in made field goals (15 of 19). He’s 4-5 from 40-49 yards.
• Defensive lineman Charles Looes and linebacker Braden Mullen are tied for the Ivy League lead with 5.5 sacks.
• Dartmouth defensive back Sean Williams is one of six Ivy League players with a pick-six this season. He has three interceptions (tied for second in the league).


THE SERIES
• Cornell has won two of the last three games in the series. The Big Red lost 10 in a row from 2009-2018. 
• Of the last 29 games, 14 have been decided by a touchdown or less, including Cornell’s 17-13 win last year in Ithaca. 
• Cornell is 14-33-1 on the road against the Big Green. Its last win in Hanover came in 2020.

THE LAST MEETING WITH DARTMOUTH
• The formula established by the Cornell seniors - ball control offense, stingy against the run defensively and a steely reserve against adversity - played itself out in their final home contest of their collegiate career. 
• The Big Red used all three phases of the game to pull out a 17-13 win over defending Ivy League champion Dartmouth at Schoellkopf Field.
• Cornell held the ball for nearly 38 minutes on offense and piled up 141 rushing yards, limited the Big Green to 47 yards on the ground itself, answered Dartmouth’s go-ahead score with a special teams touchdown and guaranteed itself its first .500 or better season since 2011 in the process. 
• The win was a just reward for a senior class of 18 in front of the home crowd and kept alive hope for the program’s first winning season since 2005.
• Connor Henderson had 10 tackles and a key pass breakup in the fourth quarter, Brody Kidwell recorded three tackles for loss and  senior captain Demetrius Harris forced and recovered a fumble to spur a defense that allowed just 281 total yards. 
• The offense methodically used the clock to its advantage, keeping the Big Green defense on the field for 37:52 grinding out 17 first downs. 
• Robert Tucker III scored the lone touchdown, the first of his career, on a 1-yard run in the second quarter to give the home team the lead. 
• Jameson Wang controlled the game, completing 13-of-18 passes for 128 yards and running for 32 more with both Nicholas Laboy (three catches, 39 yards) and Thomas Glover (three catches, 31 yards) his favorite targets.
• Freshman Davon Kiser gifted Cornell the go-ahead score late in the third quarter with an electric 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, the first by a Big Red player since Rashad Campbell took a kick back 78 yards at Princeton on Oct. 29, 2011. 
• It was the 20th kickoff return for a score in school history. 
• Additionally, Jackson Kennedy booted all four of his kickoffs through the end zone for touchdowns and his 28-yard field goal in the fourth meant that Dartmouth couldn’t settle for one of its own in the final seconds.
• Nick Howard completed 19-of-33 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown and ran six times for an additional 26 yards to pace the Dartmouth offense. 
• Defensively, Charles Looes had 12 tackles with a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery, while Joe Heffernan (11 tackles, forced fumble) and Macklin Ayers (10 tackles) also had double-digit stops.
• The Big Green defense surrendered just 276 yards and 17 first downs itself. 

LAST TIME OUT
RECAP I BOX SCORE I HIGHLIGHTS I GALLERY I POSTGAME NOTES
• Two breakaway rushes by Penn helped power the Quakers to a 23-8 victory over the Big Red in Philadelphia, Pa.
• All three touchdowns Penn scored came off the run game, two of which came on gains over 65+ yards, including the longest single offensive play in Quaker history, a 96-yard rush.
• Despite the loss, Jameson Wang etched his name in the Cornell record books by completeing the most passes since Jeff Mathews threw for 33 completions at Penn nearly a decade ago on Nov. 23, 2013, also at Penn.
• Cornell was shut out the entire first half, but come out of half time hungry when the team stormed downfield and Wang connected with Doryn Smith for a five-yard passing touchdown.
• The Big Red was held off the scoreboard the remaining 26:11 of play, while Penn added one more score to put the game away.
• Wide receiver Doryn Smith set career highs in catches (10) and yards (93). He scored his second career touchdown
• Wide receiver Davon Kiser matched his career high with nine receptions.
• With 325 passing yards and 54 rushing yards, quarterback Jameson Wang accounted for a career-high 379 yards of total offense. It was Wang’s fourth career game with more than 300 yards passing.
• Wang now has 3,928 career passing yards, the sixth most in program history.
• Wang’s 1,276 yards rushing rank 23rd in program history. 
• Wang moved into sixth place in program history in total offensive yards (4,925), passing  Chad Levitt (4,657 yards) and Ed Marinaro (4,715 yards). 
• Wang is tied for 13th place in Big Red history with 43 touchdowns. 
• Linebacker Noah Taylor led the Big Red with 10 tackles. He’s had at least that many in a game twice this season. 
• Linebacker Luke Banbury recorded his first sack of the season and the third of his career. 

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 over 35 minutes per game.
• Cornell ranks ninth in the FCS in first down defense, allowing 142 across eight games.
• The Big Red ranks third in the Ivy in passes intercepted with eight.
• Cornell turnovers lost ranks 15th in FCS, losing just eight turnovers.
• Cornell ranks 15th in the FCS in passes had intercepted, with just four interceptions across the season.
• Cornell has the second-highest completion percentage in the Ivy, completing 65.2 percent of its passes.
• Cornell hasthe most blocked kicks in the Ivy League and fifth in the FCS in blocked kicks (4).
• Jackson Kennedy ranks second the FCS in field goals per game (1.75).
• Kennedy also ranks fourth in the Ivy League in scoring, averaging 4.8 points per game.
• Manny Adebi ranks third in FCS in blocked kicks (3).
• Jameson Wang has the fourth-most total offense in FCS, averaging 292.8 yards per game.
• Wang has the seventh-most completions per game in the FCS, averaging 24.00.
• Hunter Sloan ranks ninth 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 watchlistas he sent a field goal up and in against Princeton.
• With 88 career field goal-points, Kennedy is up to 10th place all-time in kicking points.
• His 21 career field goal makes ranks fourth all-time at Cornell.
• With 54 points through seven 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 Big Red closes out the 2023 season when the team returns home to host Columbia.
• Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18 at Schoellkopf Field. Fans at home can catch the game on ESPN+.