Big Red Look to Keep Win Streak Alive at Dartmouth

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

PRE-SNAP READ

• Cornell will play its final road game of the season on Saturday, Nov. 15 when it travels to Hanover, N.H., to take on the Big Green of Dartmouth.

• Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

• The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.

THE SERIES

• Cornell and Dartmouth have met 107 times prior to Saturday's matchup, with the Big Green leading the series 63-43-1.

• The two teams first met in 1900, a 23-6 win for Cornell.

• The Big Red defeated Dartmouth a season ago, taking down the then 24th-ranked Big Green by the final score of 39-22.

• Cornell has a 14-34-1 record in Hanover, N.H., with its last road win over Dartmouth coming on Nov. 16, 2019 by the final score of 20-17.

• Dartmouth owns a 7-3 record over the last 10 meetings between the two teams.

WITH A WIN...

• The Big Red will have its first five-game win streak since 1994 when it defeated Princeton, Fordham, Lehigh, Harvard, Bucknell, and Dartmouth in a six-game stretch from Sep. 17 through Oct. 22.

• Cornell will guarantee a .500 or better record for the season for the first time since 2022 when it finished the year with a 5-5 record.

• The Big Red will earn its fourth win in conference play, the most since the 2005 season when it won four of its seven league games.

• Cornell will move to 44-63-1 all-time against the Big Green and 190-307-10 all-time on the road.• Cornell will earn its 200th Ivy League win.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

• Dartmouth is 6-2 on the season and 3-2 in Ivy play after defeating Princeton in week eight.

• The Big Green are outscoring opponents 212-164 while averaging 377.3 total yards per game compared to 345.5 for opponents.

• The Big Green have rushed for 1,268 yards and 19 touchdowns versus just 970 yards and 6 TDs allowed, led by D.J. Crowther (692 yards, 8 TDs) and dual-threat QB Grayson Saunier (344 rushing yards, 10 TDs).

• The defense has forced 10 interceptions while giving up only 4, with Sean Williams leading the way with 4 picks and Tyson Grimm returning one 75 yards for a touchdown.

• Grayson Saunier is a dual threat at quarterback, putting together an outstanding season with a 141.61 passer rating while completing 67.9% of his passes (146-of-215) for 1,746 yards and 6 TDs, while also contributing 10 rushing touchdowns and accounting for 2,090 total yards of offense.

• Grayson O'Bara leads all receivers with 34 catches for 480 yards, while Chris Corbo has added 32 receptions for 380 yards and 3 TDs, and Ky'Dric Fisher has contributed 15 catches for 243 yards, giving Saunier three reliable targets averaging between 11.9-16.2 yards per catch.

OBSERVATIONS FROM LAST WEEK

• Cornell turned a tight 13-10 halftime lead into a commanding 32-10 advantage by outscoring Penn 19-0 in the third quarter. The Big Red capitalized on a Penn fumble on the opening drive of the second half and never looked back, scoring on four consecutive possessions in the third quarter.

• Sophomore wide-out TJ Hamilton had a breakout game, hauling in five passes for 123 yards. The sophomore came into the contest with no catches in his first two games of the season. He was Garrett Bass-Sulpizio's top-target in week eight, accounting for 46.4 percent of the teams yards through the air.

• After only have nine minutes of possession in the first half, the Big Red dominated possesion in the second half, holding the ball for 22:05 and finishing the game with a total time of possesion 31:19.

HIGH VALUE KURTZ-ENCY

• Cornell junior tight end and All-American Ryder Kurtz currently ranks ninth in the Ivy League with 51.3 yards per game, the most among Ivy Leauge tight ends.

• The Phil Steele mid-season All-American selection has 32 receptions on the season and a team-leading four touchdown receptions.

• He recorded a season-high 91 yards on five receptions in week two against Yale.

• Kurtz has hauled in four or more passes in five of eight games this season.

MOVE THE CHAINS!

Cornell has been exceptional at sustaining drives, recording 180 first downs to lead the Ivy League and rank in the top 10 nationally.

On the other side, Cornell is ranked #2 nationally and #2 in the Ivy League in first down defense, allowing 143 through eight weeks.

FUMBLE!!!

• The defense has created turnovers with seven fumble recoveries, leading the Ivy League and ranking in the top 25 nationally, providing game-changing momentum shifts.

• Ben Sahakian has forced three fumbles in the last two weeks, two of which have set up game-changing touchdowns. Against Princeton, Sahakian forced a fumble that resulted in the game-winning TD for Cornell and against Penn last week, he forced a fumble on the Quakers opening drive of the second half to spark a 19-point quarter for the Big Red.

• Sahakian ranks #1 in the Ivy League and #2 nationally in fumbles forced.

I DON'T WANT THEM TO GAIN ANOTHER YARD

• The Big Red defense ranks #4 in the Ivy League in total defenes which is good enough for #48 nationally.

• Cornell is allowing 354.1 yards per game through eight weeks, but have held opponents under 350 total yards five times this season, including each of the last two weeks.

• The Big Red get even tougher in the red zone, holding opponents to a 75% success rate in the red zone, which ranks 19th in the nation and #4 in the Ivy.

JUST KEEP RUNNING

• Cornell ranks third in the Ivy League in rushing yards this season, carrying the ball for 165.5 yards per game, trailing only Yale and Harvard for the conference lead.

• Sophomore Jordan Tripplett has been stellar since taking over the lead back duties in week four, averaging 68.2 yards per game, while scoring four touchdowns, including three in Cornell's OT win over Brown.

• Junior Garrett Bass-Sulpizio leads the team with seven touchdowns and has rushed for one in each of the last six games.

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

• The Big Red will return to Ithaca for the final game of the 2025 season when it hosts Columbia on Nov. 22 at 1 p.m.

• Cornell leads the all-time series, 66-42-3, including a 37-15-2 record at home.

• 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.