PRINCETON, N.J. -- Cornell football led 21-0 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back en route to a 49-35 victory on the back of 477 yards of offense. A well-balanced offense had six different Cornell athletes combine for seven touchdowns. With the win, The Big Red improves to 3-4 (2-2 Ivy), while Princeton falls to 2-5 (1-3 Ivy).

Senior quarterback Jameson Wang led the way for the Big Red offense, completing 23-of-30 passes for a 76.7 percent completion rate. He accumulated 262 yards and three scores through the air. In addition to his pass game, Wang rushed six times for 31 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Robert Tucker III led the ground game with 64 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown. Sophomore running back Ean Pope rushed 11 times for 61 yards and a house call. Senior running back Eddy Tillman rounded out the Big Red's major rushers with six carries for 29 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore receiver Samuel Musungu had eight catches for 165 yards and a touchdown, including a game-long 82-yarder. Sophomore tight end Ryder Kurtz caught five passes for 38 yards and two scores. Tucker III posted one catch for 30 yards, the longest of his career. Junior linebacker Joey Cheshire led the Cornell defense with eight stops. Senior linebacker Luke Banbury and sophomore safety Johnny Williamson each followed with seven tackles apiece. Senior safety Damon Barnes and senior defensive lineman Hunter Sloan each tallied two tackles for loss. Sloan's were both sacks. Barnes recovered a fumble and senior defensive back Michael O'Keefe and senior defensive lineman Ezekiel Evans each forced their first-career fumbles.

Princeton quarterback Blaine Hipa completed 26 of his 40 pass attempts for 257 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Dareion Murphy led the rushing game for the Tigers with 25 yards on seven carries. As a team, the Tigers averaged just 2.7 yards per carry. Wide receiver AJ Barber caught a game-high nine passes for 59 yards. Luke Colella followed with 56 yards on five grabs, including a touchdown. Tahj Owens led the Princeton defense with eight tackles. Chase Christopher followed with seven stops. Evan Haynie caught an interception for five yards.
 

FIRST QUARTER

• Cornell took its opening drive all the way downfield to the eight-yard line before Jameson Wang rushed to the right side of the endzone, diving in for the game's first score of the afternoon. The Big Red defense matched the energy, stopping Princeton's first drive on a fourth-and-inches errant pass at the Tiger's own 34-yard line, giving the Cornell offense a short field to work with.
• Just three plays later, Wang connected with Kurtz for a four-yard score, the first of two touchdowns between the pair.
• The Big Red defense again came up big on the Tiger's second drive of the game, After allowing Princeton into its territory for the first time, Cornell halted the Tiger's assault with a forced turnover on downs when Sloan got home for the nine-yard sack on Hipa on fourth-and-three at the Big Red's 38-yard line.
• Cornell took 3:44 off the clock to find the endzone again on an 11-yard Wang to Kurtz pass for the third score of the day.
• Princeton muffed the ensuing kickoff after calling a fair catch, forcing Kenny Jordan to dive on it at the Princeton 10-yard line. The Big Red defense forced three incompletions on three pass attempts to close out the quarter.

SECOND QUARTER 

• After Princeton opened the second quarter with a punt, Cornell again started with an abbreviated field with the offense coming on at the 50-yard line. Wang used 4:21 of the clock to move the ball 48 yards, and senior running back Eddy Tillman punched it in for the score.
• The Big Red looked to be in command of the game up 28-0, but 27 penalty yards moved the Tigers into the red zone for the first time on the afternoon, and Hipa strolled 10 yards into the endzone to end the shutout.
• On the ensuing kickoff, Holmes fielded the kick but stepped out of bounds at the Cornell one-yard line. The Big Red offense moved to the 18-yard line, but the Tiger's defense held up, forcing the first Cornell punt of the day.
• A 40-yard punt from Lesiewicz was returned 14 yards by the Ivy League's top return man, AJ Barber, but penalties continued to plague the Big Red. A late hit out of bounds on the return and a pass interference call on the drive helped Princeton down to the red zone, where the Tigers concluded the drive with a three-yard rushing touchdown from Dareion Murphy.
• Cornell's next drive started with promise after a backward pass to Doryn Smith allowed the wide receiver a window for a 30-yard completion to Tucker III. Wang threw his third interception of the season on the next play when Princeton defensive back Evan Haynie jumped a pass intended for Kurtz.
• The Big Red defense made up for the turnover with a force of their own when Michael O'Keefe forced Hipa to fumble and senior linebacker Damon Barnes jumped on the loose ball.
• The Big Red capitalized on the short field with 27 seconds left in the half. Musungu tracked the ball after a deflection from Torian Roberts who was in coverage. Musungu got two hands on the ball and two feet in, leaving the touchdown to stand after review.
• Princeton ran just two plays before the clock expired.

THIRD QUARTER

• After the Big Red forced Princeton to punt for a second time, the Tigers downed the punt at the Cornell two-yard line. The 98 yards-to-go did not phase the Big Red, as a connection from Wang to Musungu for 82 yards put Cornell in business with a first-and-goal look at the Princeton two-yard line. Ean Pope cashed in on the next play to put Cornell up, 42-14.
• The Cornell defense allowed just eight yards on Princeton's next drive, forcing a third turnover-on-downs at the Tiger's 33. 
• Cornell burnt another 3:01 off the clock on its way to its seventh and final score of the day when Tucker III broke free on an eight-yard rush for paydirt.

FOURTH QUARTER

• The Tigers finally found a score after gaining just 61 yards in the third quarter. Princeton's Hipa connected with Colella on a 14-yard toss to cut Cornell's lead to 28.
• The Big Red's first drive of the fourth stalled at its own 48-yard line. Cornell was forced to punt, and Princeton's special teams unit came up with the big play, blocking Lesiewicz's boot and recovering it at the Cornell 33-yard line.
• Princeton scored two plays later on a 20-yard pass from Hipa to Rossi to make it a three-score game. The Tigers tacked on one more score to close out the game before Cornell's recovery of an onside kick with 19 seconds left on the clock put the game on ice.

MORE NOTES AND NOTABLES

• For the first time since doing so against Fordham on September 25, 1999, the Cornell defense posted six sacks. It is only the fifth time in program history Cornell has posted at least six sacks.
• Cornell held Princeton to 85 yards on the day. It was the first time since hosting Princeton in the 2023 season that the Big Red held an opponent to fewer than 100 yards on the ground.

NEXT UP

• The Big Red returns home next week to host Penn for the Trustees' Cup on Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y. to take on the Quakers on Saturday, November 9.
• The game kicks off at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.