Cornell Football celebrates Homecoming this weekend when the team plays host to its eldest Ivy foe, Yale, on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs have won four Ivy League titles in the last six seasons. Yale is the winningest team in all of FCS with 938 wins dating back to 1872.
A look at Yale:
- Yale opened the season 1-0 over the weekend with a 38-31 road win over Holy Cross. Holy Cross was picked to finish second in the 2024 Patriot League preseason poll.
- Yale is the 2024 favorite to win the Ivy League according to the 2024 Preseason Ivy League Poll.
- Senior Grant Jordan was named the Bulldog's starter ahead of the season, but he left the game against Holy Cross with an injury sustained in the opening drive. Junior Brogan McCaughey stepped in and stepped up to help guide the Bulldogs to victory. McCaughey completed 18-of-32 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown in his second career appearance. He also rushed for 14 yards and a touchdown across four attempts.
- Senior Nathan Denney was the primary rusher for the Bulldogs. He took 29 rushes for 80 yards in the opener, including two for touchdowns. Junior Wilhelm Daal had seven runs for 49 yards and a touchdown.
- Senior David Pantelis was the favorite target of the Bulldogs offense, catching six passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. Senior Mason Shipp followed with five catches for 74 yards.
- Yale returns 2023 All-Ivy League offensive lineman Michael Bennett and running back Josh Pitsenberger, though Pitsenberger did not see action against Holy Cross.
- Senior captain linebacker Dean Shaffer leads the Bulldogs with nine tackles, more than his season total from 2023. Sophomores Osize Daniyan and Abu Kamara each follow with eight tackles apiece.
- 2023 All-Ivy honorees Alvin Gulley, Jr. and Sean Guyton are back on the defensive side for the ball.
- Freshman Breylan Thompson forced a fumble in the season opener.
- Punter Shamus Florio has punted 4 times for 143 yards for an average of 35.8 yards. He booted a season-high 42-yarder at Holy Cross and has two inside the 20.
- Junior kicker Nick Conforti is 1-for-2 on field goals through one game this season. He's perfect on PATs.
The Series:
- Cornell and Yale have met 84 times (Yale leads the series 52-31-2). Yale is the earliest Ivy League contest for Cornell, dating back to 1889.
- Yale has won eight of the last 10 meetings, but the Big Red soured a five-game Bulldog winning streak last year when the team walked off a 23-21 win on a Jackson Kennedy field goal.
- Cornell looks to even the home game record against the Bulldogs this weekend (Yale leads, 18-17-2)
- Cornell has not won a home meeting against the Bulldogs since September 24, 2016, when the team captured a 27-13 win.
2024 Yale Head Coach:
Head Coach: Tony Reno (Worcester State '97)
Record at Colgate: 68-43, 12th season
Overall Record: Same
Ivy League record: 45-32
Ive League Titles: 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023
2024 Yale Football Information:
2024 Captain(s): linebacker Dean Shaffer
2024 Record: 1-0
Home/Away/Neutral: 0-0/1-0/0-0
2023 Ivy League Record/Finish: 5-2/1st
Starters Returning/Lost: 15-7
Yale Football Historical Information:
First Year of Football: 1889
Overall All-Time Record: 938-390-55
Overall Ivy League Record: 269-188-8
