Big Red Hit the Road for Friday Night Test Against Harvard

Dan Swanstrom
The Roger J. Weiss '61 Head Coach of Cornell Football

PRE-SNAP READ

• Cornell travels to Cambridge, Mass., for a Friday night Ivy League matchup on ESPNU with Harvard, marking the fourth-straight year that the matchup between the two rivals is set for national television.

• Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

• Eric Frede and Jack Ford will have the call on ESPNU.

THE SERIES

• Friday night will mark the 89th meeting all-time between Cornell and Harvard, with the Crimson leading the all-time series 52-34-2, including a 38-20 win in last season's matchup.

• Harvard has won each of the last five meetings against the Big Red, with the last Cornell win coming on Oct. 6, 2018, by the final score of 28-24.

• The Big Red has not won in Cambridge since Oct. 7, 2000, when it defeated Harvard 29-28.

• Cornell has a record of 17-30 on the road against Harvard.

A WIN OVER HARVARD WOULD...

• Make Cornell 16-55-2 all-time against ranked opponents, including a 7-33-2 record on the road.

• Give the Big Red back-to-back wins against ranked opponents since defeating No. 20 Harvard and No. 23 UAlbany in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

• Give Cornell its first win over a ranked opponent on the road since topping No. 11/12 Dartmouth on Nov. 16, 2019.

• Improve Cornell to 35-52-2 all-time against Harvard, including 18-30 on the road.

• Give Cornell its first win at Harvard Stadium since Oct. 7, 2000.

• Give the Big Red its first win of 2025.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

• Harvard enters with a perfect 3-0 record after dominant victories over Stetson (59-7), Brown (41-7), and Holy Cross (59-24). They're averaging an explosive 53.0 points per game while allowing just 12.7.

• Harvard is averaging 493.3 total yards per game with 304.7 coming through the air and 188.7 on the ground. The Crimson converte 40% of third downs and 77.8% on fourth down.

• The Crimson are also dominating time of possession, controlling the ball for an average of 35:10 per game and wearing down opposing defenses.

• Craig has been exceptionally efficient through three games, completing passes at a 74.7% clip with a stellar 207.9 passer rating. He's thrown 9 touchdown passes against just one interception in 71 attempts.

• Once Harvard gets inside the 20-yard line, they're nearly unstoppable, scoring on 89% of their red zone opportunities (16 of 18 trips).

• The Harvard defense has been exceptional at creating turnovers, hauling in 7 interceptions that they've returned for 104 yards including one touchdown, creating a turnover differential of +6.

• The defensive front has been getting consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks, recording 6 sacks for 51 yards.

• Harvard was selected to finish atop the Ivy League in 2025.

OBSERVATIONS FROM WEEK THREE

• Despite the loss, Cornell outgained Colgate 458-384 in total yards and had 26 first downs to Colgate's 19. The Big Red averaged 5.7 yards per carry on the ground (233 total rushing yards) compared to Colgate's 4.7.

• After falling behind 28-6, Cornell put together impressive touchdown drives of 94 yards (9 plays) and 84 yards (14 plays) in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 28-21. Garrett Bass-Sulpizio led both drives effectively, showing the offense could execute.

• Cornell controlled the ball for 31:15 compared to Colgate's 28:45, particularly dominating the third quarter (10:20 to 4:40).

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

• Cornell has played a total of 12 games on Friday in its storied history, holding a 2-11 record in those contests.

• Friday will mark the fourth time Cornell and Harvard have met on Friday night, with the Crimson winning each of the first three meetings.

• Cornell football's last win on Friday came on Oct. 15, 2021 when it defeated Colgate 34-20 at home.

• When you combine Friday night and ranked opponents, the Big Red are 0-4 all-time.

vs. RANKED OPPONENTS

• The Big Red is 15-55-2 all-time against ranked opponents, including a 7-33-2 record on the road.

• The last time Cornell faced a ranked opponent was No. 24 Dartmouth on Nov. 16, 2024, defeating the Big Green by the final score of 39-22.

• Cornell holds a 2-7 record against ranked Harvard teams, with its last win over a ranked Crimson squad coming in 2005—since then, the Big Red has lost six consecutive times to ranked Harvard teams.

RANKING SUMMARY

• Cornell ranks inside the top 15 nationally in fewest penalties (13th-24), fewest penalty yards (14th-187), first down defense (2nd-48), fumbles lost (9th-1), and passing yards allowed per game (8th-153.3).

• Ryer Kurtz and Doryn Smith are tied for third in the Ivy League with two receiving touchdowns on the season.

• Smith is also third in receptions per game in the league with 5.67 per contest thus far.

• Kurtz's 65.7 receiving yards per game ranks fifth in the Ivy League.

IVY PRESEASON POLL

• After earning a share of the Ivy League crown in each of the past two seasons, Harvard has been selected as the preseason favorite in the 2025 Ivy League Football Preseason Poll. The poll was conducted among 16 media members who regularly cover Ivy League football.

• Harvard, one of three teams to share last season’s title, received 114 points and garnered nine first-place votes. Dartmouth, which also claimed a share of the title the last two seasons, edged out Yale for second place with 105 points and four first-place votes. Yale followed closely with 103 points and three first-place selections.

• Columbia, fresh off its first Ivy League title since 1961, was picked fourth with 72 points.

• Rounding out the poll were Princeton (55), Penn (49), Cornell (42), and Brown (32).

PHIL STEELE PRESEASON ALL-IVY

• A total of eight Cornellians were selected to the Phil Steele All-Ivy preseason teams.

• Wideout Samuel Musungu and long snapper Nolan Albright were selected to the first team.

• Ryder Kurtz (TE), Alan Zhao (K), and Caden Lesiewicz (P) made the second team, and Max Van Fleet (DL), Joey Cheshire (LB), and Jeremiah Lewis (RB), were selected to the third team.

• The eight preseason honree's for the Big Red are the most since placing nine on the 2023 Phil Steele Preseason All-Ivy Teams.

NEXT UP

• Cornell returns home for the first of three-straight at Schoellkopf Field when they take on Bucknell at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18.

• The Big Red hold a 44-16 record against the Bison with a 34-8 mark at home.

• The game will air on ESPN+.

• Schoellkopf Field has been an indelible mark of Cornell football since it opened in 1915 and this year will be the 109th season at the home field. 
• A gift from Willard Straight ‘01 and the family of Henry (Heinie) Schoellkopf ‘02 made the construction possible for the current stadium. 
• The Big Red’s first year on the field was one of its best, going 9-0 and winning the national championship. 
• In 1915, General Electric Company completed work on a flood searchlight system for the field, and in 1924 a construction project was completed to bring capacity from 9,000 to 21,500 by adding the famed Crescent. 
• In 1947 that capacity was increased to 25,597 and a press box was added. 
• In 1971 a gift was made to put artificial turf on the field, and it was resurfaced three times, the last time in 1999. 
• A new press box was built in 1986.
• The 2008 season saw the installation of FieldTurf synthetic grass to replace the artificial turf. 
• In 2016, the West Stands were demolished and the field was moved 15 feet toward the Crescent while replacing the FieldTurf to be ready for more construction at the site, lowering the capacity to 21,500 in the process.

Few collegiate football programs have the storied history of Cornell University. With more than 130 seasons of football in the books, the Big Red has collected five national titles, won over 650 games and has had legendary players and coaches perform on historic Schoellkopf Field. Names such as Glenn "Pop" Warner and Heisman Trophy finalist and NCAA record-breaker Ed Marinaro have suited up for Cornell, while seven College Football Hall of Famers (including Warner, Gil Dobie and Carl Snavely) and multiple-time Super Bowl winner George Seifert have set the strategy as head coaches. A new era begins in 2024 when Dan Swanstrom takes the helm.