Cornell and Columbia have more to play for than just the Empire State Bowl when the two teams meet in the 2024 season finale on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 12 p.m. at Wien Stadium. The Big Red will attempt to post its first winning Ivy League campaign since 2005 and send itself into the offseason riding a wave of momentum. For the Lions, maybe even bigger short-term stakes - a Lions victory coupled with a Harvard loss to rival Yale would give the Lions a share of the 2024 Ivy title - the program's second all-time and first since 1961.
• Columbia enters the season's final weekend with a 6-3 overall record and a 4-2 mark in conference play, a game behind Ivy leader Harvard in the standings.
• The Lions are 3-1 at home, including a win over nationally-ranked Lafayette in the opener.
• Columbia has been built on defense, as it paces the Ivy League and ranks sixth nationally in scoring defense at 16.9 points allowed per contest.
• Its 349.0 yards allowed per game is third in the Ancient Eight and is especially stingy against the pass. The Lions are first in pass efficiency defense (121.83) and second in the conference in passing yards allowed per game (215.2 ypg.).
• Columbia isn't shabby against the run, sitting third in the Ivy League in rushing yards allowed (133.8 ypg.).
• Five different players are averaging at least five tackles per game, with Anthony Roussos leading the way with 66.
• Hayden McDonald has a team-best four interceptions, while teammate Carter McFadden has three with 11 other pass breakups. The duo ranks 1-2 in the conference in interceptions.
• The offense is averaging a healthy 391.7 yards per game with a great balance of rushing (167.4 ypg.) and passing (224.2 ypg.).
• Joey Giorgi's 695 rushing yards this season are second in the Ivy League, while the passing tandem of Chase Goodwin (879 yards, six touchdowns) and Cole Freeman (755 yards and seven touchdowns) have combined for 1,634 yards and 13 scores, while Caleb Sanchez had also thrown three passes for scores.
• Bryson Canty leads a stable of wide receivers that features four with at least 20 catches, as the senior has 41 receptions for 720 yards and nine scores.
• Place-kicker Hugo Merry has booted 10-of-15 field goals on the season and William Hughes ranks as one of the conference's top punters with his 41.0 yard average this season.
• First-year head coach Jon Poppe, a former assistant coach under legendary coach Al Bagnoli, comes to the Lions after a 10-2 season leading Union College, guiding the Garnet Chargers to the second round of the Division III Tournament a year ago.
The Series
• This will be the 111th meeting between Cornell and Columbia, with the Big Red holding a 66-41-3 lead in the series.
• The two teams first met in 1889, a 20-0 Cornell win.
• The squads have been evenly matched for more than three decades, with the teams nearly splitting the last 34 (Columbia leads 18-16) meetings.
• Cornell had previously won 12 straight contests, the longest streak in the series by either team.
• The Lions had their two-game win streak snapped in 2019 when the Big Red ran away with a 35-9 victory at Schoellkopf Field, but has now won five-of-six and three in a row after last season's 29-14 victory in Ithaca.
The Empire State Bowl
• Officially established in 2010, the Empire State Bowl has been the unofficial nickname of the Cornell-Columbia series for many years.
• Columbia leads the series 7-6.
• The trophy currently resides in New York City following Columbia's 29-14 victory last fall in Ithaca, the Lions' third consecutive victory over the Big Red.
• Cornell's other wins in the series came in 2011 (62-41), 2013 (24-9), 2014 (30-27), 2015 (3-0) and 2019 (35-9).
• 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.
2024 Columbia Football Head Coach
Head Coach: Jon Poppe (Williams '07)
Record at Columbia: 6-3, 1st year
Overall Record: 16-5, 2nd year
2024 Columbia Football Information
2024 Captains: CJ Brown, Patrick Passalacqua
2023 Record: 3-7
Home/Away/Neutral: 2-3/1-4/0-0
2023 Ivy League Record/Finish: 1-6 (8th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 20/8
Offensive Starters Returning/Lost: 8/3
Defensive Starters Returning/Lost: 9/2
Columbia Football Historical Information
First Year of Football: 1870
Overall All-Time Record: 416-697-43 (.378)
Overall Ivy League Record: 117-354-5 (.251)
