First Ivy Road Contest of 2024 Awaits Football at Brown

Dan Swanstrom
The Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Cornell Football

STREAKS, STORYLINES & SIDEBARS
• Cornell football remains on the road when the team travels to Providence, R.I. when the team takes on Brown. The teams are set to square off against the Bears at Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium. Kick-off is set for Saturday, October 26 at 12:00 p.m.
• The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
• Brown enters the week 2-3 with a season-opening road win over Georgetown, and an upset over Harvard in the team's first Ivy game of the season. Since starting 2-0, the Bears are on a three-game skid.
• Brown was selected to finish sixth in the 2024 preseason Ivy League poll but is tied for third at 1-1 in conference play.
• Picked to finish seventh in the Ivy League preseason media poll, Cornell seeks to surpass expectations again after turning a last-place preseason selection in 2022 into a sixth-place finish and a .500 record, the best record for the Big Red since a 5-5 finish in the 2011 season. The Big Red is currently tied for first after a 1-0 start in Ivy play.
• Cornell will take a different approach to the captainship this season compared to years past. Each week, Cornell will name game captains, rather than having a pair host the duties the whole season. Quarterback Jameson Wang has been a captain each week. Alongside him in week one were Damon Barnes, Hunter Sloan, and Jack Powers at Colgate. Wang, Muhammad-Ali Kobo, Joey Cheshire, and Brendan Chestnut served as the homecoming captains. Eddy Tillman, Luke Banbury, and Mason Yacovelli were the captains against UAlbany. Against Harvard Parker Woodring, Joey Cheshire, and Maxwell Van Fleet held the honors. Wang, Trey Harris, Hunter Sloan, and Jack Powers were road captains at Bucknell.

A LOOK BACKWARDS
• The Big Red finished the 2023 season with a 3-7 overall record (2-5 Ivy) after a hot start. 
• In the second game of the season, Cornell grabbed a road win against a Yale team receiving votes in the national polls, 23-21, when then-senior Jackson Kennedy booted in a last-second 37-yard field goal to take just the second Big Red road victory over the Bulldogs this century.
• The Big Red also bested Ivy foe Brown at a time when the Bears' offense led the league in offense. The Big Red defense stifled the Bears, allowing no points until 5:48 remained in the third quarter. Cornell's defense allowed just two scores all game and forced three turnovers, including a 55-yard pick-six.
• Cornell put six student-athletes on All-Ivy teams, accounting for seven spots with Jackson Kennedy earning the nods for second-team punter and place kicker.
• The Big Red returns just six of the 22 starters from last season. Two-time All-Ivy quarterback Jameson Wang is the lone true starter back on the offense.
• Wang is the only returning 2023 All-Ivy honoree after the other five student-athletes graduated.

A WIN OVER BROWN WOULD...
• move Cornell back over .500 in conference.
• be the second consecutive season that the Big Red starts the conference slate 2-1.
• be the third win at the Division I level for Coach Swanstrom.
• cut Brown's lead in the all-time series to 28-31-1.
• give Cornell a 316-255-14 (.552) all-time record in the month of October.
• move Cornell back to .500 for the second time in the Coach Swanstrom era.
• be the 659th in program history (15th-most in the Football Championship Subdivision).

ABOUT BROWN
• Brown ranks fifteenth in the nation in passing offense, totaling 258.6 yards through the air per game.
• Fifth-year senior quarterback Jake Willcox is the leading rusher for the Bears, totaling 177 yards on 46 rushes. His longest rush was clocked at 20 yards, which he tallied against Harvard. He scored a rushing touchdown at Rhode Island. Freshmen running back Matt Childs is the team's second-leading rusher, posting 166 yards on 39 carries, including one for a touchdown. Junior running back Qwentin Brown is the go-to in the redzone, scoring five touchdowns on just 18 attempts, none for longer than 10 yards
• Willcox has completed 111 of his 189 throws this season for 1288 yards. He connected on six passes for touchdowns. Willcox has thrown five interceptions in five games, including three last week against Princeton. He has only passed for fewer than 200 yards in one game this season.
• Childs has proven to be Willcox's favorite target. On his team-high 17 receptions, he has clocked 282 yards and two touchdowns. He averages nearly 17 yards per catch. Junior receiver Solomon Miller and fifth-year Mark Mahoney follow with 15 catches apiece. Miller has 225 yards and a score on the season while Mohoney has tallied 219 yards and three house calls.
• Brown returns first-team All-Ivy offensive lineman Jack Connolly, in addition to four other 2023 All-Ivy honorees in Willcox, running back Stockton Owen, kicker/punter Austin Alley, defensive back Isaiah Reed, linebacker Caleb Moorhead, and defensive lineman Kyle Philbin.
• Senior defensive back Tim Malo leads the Bears in tackles with 37. Malo has also tallied two interceptions this season.
• Moorhead and junior linebacker Sam Smith follow with 32 stops each.
• Owen Clarke and Quincy Eutsay both have tallied a forced fumble.
• Alley has punted 22 times for the Bears, averaging 39.68 yards per boot. Senior kicker Christopher Maron has made four of six field goal tries, his longest from 33 out. Maron is a perfect 14-for-14 on extra points.

THE SERIES
• Brown has a 38-31-1 edge in the series, which began in 1895. 
• Cornell has won five of the last six meetings, including a matchup in Rhode Island in 2022 where the Big Red pulled off a 24-21 victory. The Big Red had lost nine in a row until starting this stretch in 2017.
• Last season, Cornell's secondary stifled the league's top offense and the nation's No. 1 passing scheme at the time in a 36-14 win on Schoellkopf Field. In the game, Paul Lewis III caught the 49th pick-six in school history and the longest by a Big Red player since Rush Imhotep '15 brought one back 55 yards against Columbia in 2011.
• Brown is 20-14 when defending its home turf. 

THE LAST MEETING WITH BROWN
• The Big Red righted the ship with a 36-14 win over Brown at Schoellkopf Field.
• The win marked the largest margin of victory for the Big Red since the 2019 season.
• For the first time since 2017, the Carnelian and White tallied three interceptions in a single contest. Cornell (3-3, 2-1 Ivy) pulled back to .500 with the victory and moved into a four-way tie for the Ivy League lead with Harvard, Penn, and Dartmouth. Brown fell to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the league
• Cornell led 20-0 at halftime and continued to build on its lead in the third quarter. The Big Red went ahead 33-0 until 5:48 remained in the third quarter when Jake Willcox connected with Soloman Miller for a 61-yard touchdown.
• Brown doubled down before the end of the third quarter when Willcox found Graham Walker on a 43-yard pass to cut the Cornell lead to 19, but Jackson Kennedy all but secured the win for the Big Red with his third field goal of the day and 13th of the season.
• For the second time in program history, a pair of brothers caught an interception. Paul and Jeremiah Lewis each caught a pick. Paul accounted for a pick-six, while Jeremiah picked off a deep endzone shot by Willcox.
• The last time the Big Red held the ball in an Ivy game for more than the 39:47 against Brown was in 2017, also at home against the Bears, when it was at 40:20 for the contest.

LAST TIME OUT
RECAP I BOX SCORE I HIGHLIGHTS I GALLERY I POSTGAME NOTES
• The Cornell defense put on a clinic for nearly the entire first half, shutting out the Bison for over 22 minutes and forcing a pair of turnovers, en route to a 34-21 victory over Bucknell on Saturday afternoon at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
• With the win, Cornell improves to 2-3 (1-1 Ivy) while the Bison fall to 3-4 (1-0 Patriot).
• Senior quarterback Jameson Wang joined a club of one this weekend, becoming the only quarterback in Cornell history to account for 40 touchdown passes and 20 rushing touchdowns in a career.
• Wang completed 32-of-49 passes for 274 yards and three scores through the air. He rushed for 59 yards on 13 attempts
• Ean Pope led the rushing game with 111 yards on 17 carries. For the first time since the 2022 season, Cornell had a rusher tally over 100 yards with sophomore Ean Pope's 111 yards on 17 carries. Now-senior running back Eddy Tillman was the last Big Red to do so when he posted 130 yards on 13 carries at Brown on October 22. The 111 yards marked a career-high for Pope.
• Johntu Reed rounded out the major contributors in the running core with 15 yards on three carries.
• Two Cornell receivers neared the 100-yard mark with Parker Woodring clocking 95 yards on five catches and a touchdown, Samuel Musungu followed with 94 yards on 14 catches and two house calls.
• Musungu's 14 catches matched the second most in a single game in program history, and the most since 2008.
• Sophomore tight end Ryder Kurtz posted 31 yards on three catches.
• Luke Banbury led the defensive unit with seven stops, while Joey Cheshire and Muhammad-Ali Kobo followed with six tackles a piece. 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. He was the first in Cornell history to tally a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a pick-six in a single game.
• Alan Zhao drilled two field goals on special teams.
• Bucknell quarterback Michael Hardyway went 21-of-39 passing for 214 yards and two scores.
• Tariq Thomas led the Bison rushing core with 94 yards on nine carries. Micahel Cadden was the next-highest rusher with 16 yards on four carries.
• TJ Cadden was the Bison's top receiver, clocking 84 yards and a touchdown on seven catches. Josh Gary was next with three grabs for 57 yards.
• Bucknell's Gavin Willis had a game-high 19 tackles including one for loss.

HALL OF FAME FIGURES
• This year, Cornell honored a class of 11 inductees during halftime of the Homecoming game against Yale.
• Included in this group is two-time All-American quarterback Jeff Mathews '14, who ended his storied Cornell career as the most prolific quarterback in Ivy League history and one of the top in all of college football. He ranks among the top 20 all-time in career passing yards in the FCS and set the Ivy League's all-time passing record by more than 2,000 yards. Mathews owns 47 Big Red school records and 18 Ivy League marks for passing and total offense. The three-year team captain was named one of 16 finalists for the National Football Foundation's William V. Campbell Trophy which recognizes the top football scholar-athlete in the nation. The three-time All-Ivy selection was a Capital One Academic All-District first-team selection and a two-time finalist for the Bushnell Cup for the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year, winning in 2011. Mathews also was a two-time member of the Walter Payton Award Watch List as FCS national player of the year. After the season, Mathews became the fifth Cornellian to accept an invitation to the East-West Shrine game, serving as a team captain for the East team, and also accepted an invitation to the NFL Draft Combine before signing a contract with the Atlanta Falcons. Mathews also spent time on the practice squad with the Indianapolis Colts and the Arizona Cardinals before playing four seasons in the CFL, including winning a Grey Cup in 2017 with the Toronto Argonauts.
• Joining Mathews is special category honoree Bernie DePalma.
• A legendary figure in Big Red athletics, DePalma served generations of student-athletes and shaped one of the nation's most respected sports medicine departments over 42 years. After arriving at Cornell in 1980 as Head of Physical Therapy and Supervisor of Athletic Training and Rehabilitation and taking over as head athletic trainer three years later, DePalma's expertise provided a significant impact on national athletics legislation. He served on numerous NCAA committees, including the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sport Safety, which he chaired; the NCAA Special Committee on Student-athlete Welfare, access and equity; and the National Athletic Trainer's task force which developed medical coverage guidelines for all intercollegiate athletic programs. He played an important role in the initial development of the Ivy League's collaboration with the Big Ten on concussion research while developing a return to academics and play protocols in the league and nationwide. DePalma was honored in 2001 by the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) with the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award. That same year he was honored with the Thomas Sheehan Award for character, commitment, and achievement in athletic training by the New York State Athletic Trainers' Association. He presented at numerous national conventions, published dozens of papers and written chapters in textbooks that are used in Athletic Training curriculums, and served on professional committees at the university, state, regional, and national levels as a recognized expert in various topics around health and safety. He has been instrumental in developing and implementing various programs, including strength and conditioning initiatives when he arrived at Cornell, graduate assistant internship programs, and undergraduate athletic training student clinical experiences. One of DePalma's outstanding achievements was his innovative approach to injury prevention and rehabilitation as seen in his many publications and invited national presentations. His enduring commitment to athletic training, dedication to the athlete's health, safety, and welfare, leadership in the profession, and pioneering contributions to sports medicine contributed to his impact on the profession of athletic training.

NATIONAL NOTICE
• For his efforts against Bucknell, Luke Banbury became the first defensive player in Cornell history to earn the National Player of the Week honors, and the first Big Red to be honored nationally since the 2022 season when Jackson Kennedy was named the FedEx Ground National Special Teams Player of the Week.
• Bunbury became the second player in single-game recorded history at Cornell (since 1995) to tally a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a pick-six. In addition to his turnover prowess, the Pittsburgh, Pa., native posted seven tackles including five solo stops. He also tallied three PBUs, the most by a Cornellian since the 2021 season. The fumble recovery, which came on Bucknell's first drive of the game, stopped a Bucknell touchdown after Jeremiah Lewis forced it at the Cornell two-yard line and Banbury dove on it on the one. The interception came on the subsequent Bucknell drive, which he returned for 26 yards to the house.
• In addition to the national recognition, Banbury was also named the Ivy League's Defensive Player of the Week.

 BIG RED BY THE NUMBERS
• Cornell's team completion percentage of 69.7 percent ranks best in the Ivy and fifth nationally.
• The Big Red has collected more fumbles than anyone else in the Ivy, recovering five. The number is good for 28th nationally.
• The Big Red offensive line has held strong this season, allowing just 0.6 sacks per game and 3.2 tackles for loss per game. The sack number is the second-fewest in the Ivy and fifth-fewest nationally. The TFL mark is fewest in the Ivy and fourth in the FCS.
• The Big Red has committed the fourth-fewest turnovers in all of FCS, losing only four. That number is good for the best in the Ivy, tied with Dartmouth and Harvard.

ALL EYES ON JAMESON WANG
• Wang was named the Phil Steele Ivy League Preseason first team coming off the heels of a season where he ranked atop the Ivy (and 21st nationally) in completion percentage, connecting on 64.8 percent of his throws.
• In his junior season, Wang threw for over 2400 yards, good for third-most in the conference.
• This year, Wang has become the Ivy's top touchdown passer, accumulating 13 touchdowns in five games. His passing efficiency of 148.9 ranks second in the conference, and his completion percentage of 69.3 ranks first. His 1205 passing yards rank second in the Ivy, just shy of Brown's Jake Willcox (1288).
• The El Segundo, Calif. native has etched his name in the Cornell record books in nearly every major passing category, including passing attempts (853, 6th), pass completions (541, 5th), passing yards (5631, 6th), passing touchdowns (40, 3rd), pass completion percentage (63.0%, 1st), pass efficiency (129.0, 4th), passing yards per game (176.0, 7th).
• He also ranks top-20 in rushing attempts (369, 12th), rushing yards (1557, 15th), and rushing touchdowns (22, T-5th).

• Schoellkopf Field has been an indelible mark of Cornell football since it opened in 1915 and this year will be the 108th 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 the 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 be 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. A new era begins in 2024 when Dan Swanstrom takes the helm.

NEXT UP
• The Big Red closes out a three-game road swing next weekend when the team travels to Princeton, N.J. to take on the Tigers on Saturday, November 2.
• The game kicks off at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.