ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell recorded 232 yards on the ground Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field to defeat Bucknell by a final score of 30-20. The Big Red improved to 1-4 overall on the season while the Bison moved to 4-4.
Junior quarterback
Garrett Bass-Sulpizio accounted for 187 total yards and three touchdowns, completing 14-of-22 passes for 164 yards and a score while rushing for two touchdowns.
Jordan Triplett paced the ground attack with 107 yards on 22 carries, while freshman
John McAuliffe added 89 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts as the duo combined for 196 yards rushing.
Bucknell quarterback Chris Dietrich threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-32 passing, but the Bison managed just 87 rushing yards on 33 attempts. The Bison turned the ball over three times in the contest.
Cornell outgained Bucknell 396-322 in total offense and controlled possession for over 32 minutes, while forcing two turnovers with a pair of interceptions by junior defensive back
Keith Williams Jr.
Bucknell took an early 7-3 lead in the second quarter when running back Logan Bush punched in from 1 yard out to cap an 85-yard drive. Cornell had opened the scoring with a 32-yard field goal from junior kicker
Jonathan Roost late in the first quarter.
The Big Red seized control before halftime when Bass-Sulpizio capped an eight-play, 60-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run to give Cornell a 9-7 lead at the break after Roost's extra point attempt missed.
Cornell dominated the third quarter with back-to-back touchdown drives. McAuliffe powered in from 2 yards out to extend the lead to 16-7, then Bass-Sulpizio broke free for a 12-yard scoring run to make it 23-7 midway through the period.
The Big Red put the game away early in the fourth quarter as Bass-Sulpizio connected with tight end
Ryder Kurtz on a 30-yard touchdown strike to push the advantage to 30-7 with 9:15 remaining.
Bucknell managed two late touchdowns, with Dietrich hitting Sam Milligan for a 15-yard score and connecting with Michael Cadden on a 13-yard touchdown pass in the final six minutes, but the outcome was sealed with Williams Jr.'s second pick of the afternoon with 1:45 to go.
Next Up
Cornell will welcome in Brown for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 25. Nick DeLuca and Matt Miller will have the call on ESPN+.
The Bears lead the all-time series 39-31-1, including a narrow 23-21 win in Providence last season.
