HAMILTON, N.Y. -- Cornell football dropped a 41-24 decision to Colgate on Saturday afternoon at Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium. After cutting it to a 10-point game late, Colgate tacked on one more score with less than two minutes remaining to add to the Big Red deficit. With the loss, Cornell drops to 0-1 (0-0 Ivy) and Colgate improves to 1-3 (0-0 Patriot).

Senior quarterback Jameson Wang completed 29-of-37 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener. The El Segundo, Calif., native had no negative yardage plays, taking no sacks and tacking on a team-high 41 rushing yards on 10 attempts. Sophomore Brendan Lee led the Cornell receiving core with 89 yards on 4 receptions. Wang's favorite target was Samuel Musungu, who had seven grabs for 77 yards and a touchdown. Johntu Reed and Parker Woodring each caught a touchdown pass. Johntu's reception marks the first of his career. On defense, Luke Banbury led the charge with eight tackles including 0.5 for loss. Trey Harris followed with seven tackles and a pass breakup. Muhammad-Ali Kobo, Braylon Howard, and Damon Barnes all tallied six stops. Ben Sahakian had a forced fumble, the first of his career.

Colgate's quarterback room of Jake Stearney, Michael Brescia, and Zach Osborne all combined for 18-for-29 passing. Stearney led the pack, completing 17-of-27 for 184 yards and a touchdown. The favorite target for the Raiders was Brady Hutchison, who caught six passes for 83 yards and was on the receiving end of the touchdown. Treyvon Saunders also caught six balls for 79 yards. The Raiders had three players totaling over 70 yards rushing. Chris Gee had 15 carries for 79 yards, and Brescia scampered for 77 yards on 11 attempts for two touchdowns. Marco Maldonado posted 10 rushes for 73 yards and a touchdown. Winston Moore rounded out Raider scorers with two rushes for 31 yards and a touchdown.

FIRST QUARTER

• The Cornell offense wasted no time getting into gear, scoring after just 2:01 of game time. After starting at the Big Red 35 when Colgate sent the opening kickoff out of bounds, Jameson Wang connected with sophomore Brendan Lee on the second snap of the day for 45 yards.
• Wang led the Big Red down to the Colgate 15 before the Raiders defense held the Big Red to a field goal. Sophomore Alan Zhao got the honors of the first points of the Dan Swanstrom era when he put the 32-yarder between the uprights.
• Colgate answered 5:59 later with a 40-yard field goal off the boot of Luke Vogeler.
• Wang kept up on the passing game in the second drive of the game, completing five of six attempts including a 40-yard connection with Lee. The drive was capped off with a 10-yard pass from Wang to Samuel Musungu for the first touchdown of the season.
• Colgate answered less than two minutes later with their own touchdown to tie the game at 10.

SECOND QUARTER

• Cornell ended the first quarter charging downfield and punctuated the drive with a two-yard pass from Wang to Woodring just 25 seconds into the quarter before Colgate answered on its next drive.
• The Raider defense began to settle in, forcing the first Cornell punt of the day. The Raiders tagged on another touchdown to take their first lead of the day a 3:54 remaining in the quarter.
• The next Cornell drive was a three-and-out, and Colgate put up a field goal to make it 27-17 at the break.

THIRD QUARTER

• The third quarter was quiet, scoring-wise. The only points came from a Colgate touchdown at the 3:30 mark.

FOURTH QUARTER

• The fourth quarter remained scoreless until 2:35 left on the clock when Wang connected with Johntu Reed on a one-yard pass to cut the Colgate lead to 10.
• Colgate added on one more touchdown with 53 seconds left to put the game out of reach for the Big Red.

MORE NOTES AND NOTABLES

• Brendan Chestnut made his 11th consecutive start, and the 14th of his career, the second-longest active streak for the Big Red.
• Nathaniel Hillenburg booted away a punt for a career-long 61 yards on Cornell's last drive of the first half.
• Johnny Williamson's fourth-quarter pick marks the first of his career, and the first Cornell interception since Oct. 21, 2023, when the team totaled three picks against Brown.
• Quarterbacks Devin Page and Garrett Bass-Sulpizio each took their first career snaps in the contest.

NEXT UP

• The Big Red kicks off the home slate next weekend when the team returns to Schoellkopf Field to host Ivy for Yale for Homecoming 2024.
• The game kicks off at 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 28. It will be broadcast live on ESPN+.