Big Red Closes Out 2025 with Empire State Bowl, Senior Day

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

PRE-SNAP READ

• Cornell will play its final game of the season on Saturday, Nov. 22 when it hosts Columbia for the annual Empire State Bowl.

• Cornell will honor its Senior Class pregame.

• Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

• The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN+

THE SERIES

• Cornell and Columbia will meet for the 112th time on Saturday with the Big Red leading the series, 66-42-3, including a 37-15-2 record at home.

• The Lions have won each of the last four meetings against Cornell, including a 17-9 win last season.

• The Big Red last defeated Columbia on Nov. 23, 2019, a 35-9 victory at home for Cornell.

• In 2010, the sereies between Cornell and Columbia earned the nickname the Empire State Bowl. Columbia has a 8-6 advantage in the Empire State Bowl.

WITH A WIN...

• The Big Red will finish the season 5-5 overall for the first time since 2022.

• Cornell will snap a four-game losing streak to Columbia.

• The Big Red will improve to 664-566-4 all-time and 235-232-15 in the month of November.

• Cornell will improve to 456-239-21 at home.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

• Columbia finished 1-8 (0-6 in Ivy League play), scoring just 127 points while allowing 267. The Lions were outgained significantly in total offense (2,687 yards vs. 3,441) and averaged nearly 100 fewer yards per game than their opponents.

•Wide receiver Titus Evans led the team with 44 receptions for 561 yards and 6 touchdowns, while running back Michael Walters contributed 476 rushing yards on 108 carries. Quarterback Chase Goodwin passed for 1,092 yards and eight touchdowns in six games.

• The defense allows 172.9 rushing yards per game and has surrendered 35 touchdowns overall. Columbia managed just nine sacks compared to 23 allowed, and the Lions were outperformed in nearly every defensive category including third-down conversion percentage (36.15% vs. 44.74%).

• Columbia's punt return average of 2.33 yards is well below opponents' 6.00 average, and the team has converted just 5-of-7 field goal attempts. The Lions also struggle with turnovers, throwing 10 interceptions while forcing only six.

OBSERVATIONS FROM LAST WEEK

• Bass-Sulpizio posted impressive passing numbers, going 37-of-45 for 328 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. It was his second game of the season with 300 or more yards through the air.

• The Big Red went just 1-for-2 on red zone touchdowns, settling for no points on the other trip (Caden Lesiewicz's missed 38-yard field goal at the end of the first half). Meanwhile, Dartmouth converted 2-of-4 red zone trips into touchdowns and added a field goal.

• Dartmouth's D.J. Crowther gashed Cornell's defense for 197 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries, including game-changing bursts of 67 and 20 yards for scores. Cornell's defense recorded only five tackles for loss and one sack, struggling to generate consistent pressure or disruption. The Big Green controlled time of possession (35:06 to 24:54) largely because Crowther kept the chains moving and the clock running.

BASS-ICALLY MAKING HISTORY

• Junior quarterback Garrett Bass-Sulpizio ran for a touchdown for the seventh-straight game last week against Dartmouth, becoming the first player to do so since 1971 when Ed Marinaro '72 ran for a touchdown in seven-consecutive games.

• Marinaro is arguably the greatest player in Cornell history as he was the Heisman Tropy runner-up in 1971 and holds multiple Cornell rushing records.

• Bass-Sulpizio is fourth in the Ivy League with eight rushing touchdowns this season and second among Ivy League quarterbacks, trailing only Dartmouth's Grayson Saunier (11).

HIGH VALUE KUTZ-ENCY

• Cornell junior tight end and All-American Ryder Kurtz currently ranks 10th in the conference with   55.8 yards per game, which is the most by a tight end in the Ivy League this season.

• Kurtz's four touchdown grabs ranks ninth in the league and second among Ivy League tight ends, trialing Seamus Gilmartin of Harvard who has five scores.

• Kurtz was named to the First Team on Phil Steele's Mid-Season All-American list.

PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999

• Cornell won four-straight games defeating Bucknell, Brown, Princeton, and Penn from Oct. 18 through Nov. 8, marking the programs first four-game win streak since 1999.

• In 1999, the Big Red defeated Princeton, Fordham, Brown, and Harvard from Sep. 18 through Oct. 9.

HOME COOKING

• The Big Red have won three-straight home games, the programs longest home win streak since winning four in a row from 2011-12 when it won the final three games at home in 2011 and the first at Schoellkopf Field in 2012.

• The last time Cornell won three consecutive game in three-consecutive weeks at home was in 1972 when it defeated Colgate, Rutgers, and Penn from Sep. 30 through Oct. 14.

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 Columbia game will conclude the 2025 season. 

• 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.