When Cornell and Lehigh played on Thanksgiving Day of 1887 in Elmira, N.Y., the second collegiate football game for the Big Red, few might have guessed that rivalry would remain strong 136 years later. When the the team takes the field on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 12 p.m. at Lehigh's Goodman Stadium to kick off the 2023 campaign, that will be just what happens. Cornell will take the gridiron against a Mountain Hawk team entering week three and hoping to give first-year head coach Kevin Cahill his first home win. Cornell head coach David Archer '05, meanwhile, begins his 11th year heading the Big Red program, the third-longest stint in school history, with high expectations. 

• Lehigh enters week three with a 1-1 record after edging past Merrimack this past weekend following a season-opening 38-10 defeat to Villanova.
• First-year head coach Kevin Cahill won't soon forget his first win as a collegiate head coach, as the longtime Yale assistant picked up a 14-12 victory over Merrimack this past Saturday at Harvard.
• The game was moved from Merrimack to Harvard after Friday storms cut power and damaged the Merrimack campus, with a lightning delay during warmups delaying the game for 2:15.
• The Mountain Hawks have done most of their damage on offense through the air, averaging 233.0 yards per game with all three touchdowns coming by way of the pass.
• Brayten Silbor has thrown for 466 yards and three touchdowns while completing 55 percent of his passes.
• Connor Kennedy has caught seven passes for 66 yards and two scores, with Geoffrey Jamiel hauling in a team-best 10 passes for 99 yards.
• Lehigh's pass defense has been exceptionally strong, surrendering just 109.0 yards in its first two games, good for fifth in FCS.
• The Lehigh defense has limited opponents to 2-for-24 on third down (.083), a mark that ranks atop the FCS and among the top 10 in all levels of college football.
• Captain Mike DeNucci has 17 tackles with three for a loss, while Nick Peltekian has aso recorded double-digit stops with 13.
• Special teams includes punter Ben Banks-Altekruse, who is averaging 42.7 yards per punt with seven of his 18 kicks downed inside the 20 and five going at least 50 yards. 
 

The Series

• Cornell and Lehigh have met 27 times on the gridiron (Cornell leads 16-9-2).
• The two programs first played in 1887, the Big Red's second game in program history. 
• Cornell earned a 19-15 decision over the Mountain Hawks last October, clinching the Big Red's first unbeaten non-conference season since 2007. 
 

Cornell vs. the Patriot League

• Cornell has a 135-86-7 record against the seven current members of the Patriot League football conference, including a 16-9-2 edge against Lehigh.
• The Big Red has advantages over five of the other seven conference schools: Bucknell (43-15), Colgate (51-49-3), Fordham (4-3-0), Holy Cross (5-0-0) and Lafayette (14-8-2).
• The series with Georgetown (2-2) is even.
• This is the first of three scheduled matchups with Patriot opponents in 2023, with the Big Red scheduled to host Colgate (Sept. 30) and Bucknell (Oct. 14).
 

2023 Lehigh Football Head Coach

Head Coach: Kevin Cahill (Springfield '01)
     Record at Lehigh: 1-1, 1st season
     Overall Record: 1-1, 1st season
 

2023 Lehigh Football Information

2023 Captains: Dean Colton, Mike DeNucci, George Padezanin
2022 Record: 2-9
     Home/Away/Neutral: 1-4/1-5/0-0
2022 Patriot League Record/Finish: 2-4 (t-4th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 13/9
Offensive Starters Returning/Lost: 8/3
Defensive Starters Returning/Lost: 5/6
 

Lehigh Football Historical Information

First Year of Football: 1884
Overall All-Time Record: 706-632-45 (.527)
Overall Patriot League Record: 132-68-1 (.659)