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Cornell University Athletics

Sam Musungu halls in a catch at Bucknell.
Amanda Burkart/Cornell Athletics

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE: The Bucknell Game

10/21/2024 9:02:00 AM

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Relive the action of Cornell's 34-21 road win over Bucknell on Saturday, October 19, with these notes below.

PLAYER NOTES

  • Senior linebacker Luke Banbury's 26-yard interception return for a touchdown was the first defensive score of the season for the Big Red, the first pick-six by a Cornell player since Paul Lewis III scored from 55 yards out against Brown in 2023, and was the 54th total in school history.
  • Banbury's haul of an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in the same game was last matched by Nick Bombach '96 in 1995 against Harvard when he had a pick, a forced fumble, and recovered two more. Banbury did all that damage in the first quarter.
  • Banbury had three pass breakups in addition to his interception. His four passes defended were the most by a Big Red player in a game since Michael Irons '22 also broke up four in 2021 against Colgate. Banbury became the first Big Red linebacker with four pass breakups in a single contest since Anthony Ambrosi '11 also had an interception and three breakups at Yale in 2009.
  • Sophomore running back Ean Pope posted a career-high 104 rushing yards and became the first Big Red player to rush for 100 yards since Eddy Tillman recorded 130 in a 2002 contest at Brown. It was the 256th 100-yard rushing game in school history.
  • Junior wide receiver Parker Woodring's 95 receiving yards were a career-high.
  • Sophomore wide receiver Sam Musungu caught 14 passes, one shy of the school's single-game record of 15 by John Tagliaferri '86 in 1985 against Princeton. Musungu joins four other players with 14 receptions, the last coming by Jesse Baker '09 at Columbia in 2008.
  • Musungu has at least five catches and 75 yards in each game this year and has scored a touchdown in 4-of-5 contests.
  • One more touchdown would move him into the top 10 on Cornell's single-season list with six, while his 7.60 catches per game would be third-best in a season for the Big Red if the season ended today.
  • With his 59 rushing yards against Bucknell, senior quarterback Jameson Wang moved into 15th place all-time on the school's career list with 1,557 yards, surpassing Big Red greats Dan Malone '75 (1,547) and Bill Wilson '66 (1,522). Next up is Jeff Fleischmann '51 (1,573).
  • With his three touchdowns tosses against Bucknell, Wang became the first Ivy League player to reach 40 career passing (40) and 20 rushing scores (22) in a career.
  • Sophomore place-kicker Alan Zhao is the first Big Red place-kicker to make their first six career field goal attempts after booting a pair without a miss against the Bison.
  • Freshman punter Caden Lesiewicz made his collegiate debut with four punts against Bucknell, including a career-long 43-yard kick.

TEAM NOTES

  • Cornell leads the all-time series with Bucknell 44-16 dating back to 1888 and snapped the Bison's longest win streak in the series, ending it at three games.
  • The offense ran 92 plays in the contest, the most in a game since running 99 at Dartmouth in 2007.
  • It's 39:47 of possession at Bucknell is the seventh-best mark in school history and was the program's highest in a road contest since the
  • Big Red held the ball for 40:06 in a road win at Marist to kick off the 2019 campaign.
  • It was just the 14th time in school history that the Big Red recorded 30 first downs in a contest and the first time it did so since racking up 33 in a 2007 home win over Brown.
  • The last time Cornell had at least 30 first downs in a non-conference game was in 1982 when the Big Red moved the chains 31 times against the Merchant Marine Academy.
  • The only other time the Big Red had 30 or more first downs on the road came in 1992 against Columbia when it tallied 31.
  • In its two wins this season, the Big Red has rushed for an average of 194.0 yards - in its three losses, that average dips to 110.7.
  • Cornell has had at least one touchdown pass in eight consecutive contests, its longest stretch since a stretch of 24 games from 2012-14.
  • The Big Red's four turnovers forced vs. Bucknell matched the team's total over the first four contests and were the most in a game since also taking the ball away four times against Brown in 2021.
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