Football Heads to Philadelphia for 131st Meeting All-Time with Penn

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

PRE-SNAP READ

• Cornell will travel to Philadelphia, Pa., for its first road game in three weeks when it takes on Penn at Franklin Field on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m.

• Joe Tordy and Joe Valerio will have the call on ESPN+.

THE SERIES

• One of the oldest rivalries in college football, this was be the 131st meeting between Cornell and Penn. 

• It will be the 30th installment of the Trustees’ Cup.

• Historically, it was played on Thanksgiving in Philadelphia, but the game now alternates between the home fields of both teams. 

• Penn leads the all-time series 78-47-5, including a 67-49 win over Cornell last season.

• Penn has won nine of the last 10 meetings against Cornell.

• The Big Red last won in Philly on Nov. 6, 2021 by the final score of 15-12.

WITH A WIN...

• Cornell will have its first four game win streak since 1999 when it topped Princeton, Fordham, Brown, and Harvard from Sep. 18 through Oct. 9.

• The Big Red will improve to 48-78-5 all-time against Penn and 36-61-4 on the road against the Quakers.

• Cornell will earn its 200th Ivy League win.

• The Big Red will have a .500 or better record through week eight for the first time since 2022 when it was 4-4 following its week eight game.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

• Penn comes into the contest with a 5-2 overall record and 3-1 conference mark.

• The Quakers picked up a 28-21 win over Brown on Oct. 31.

• Penn averages 252.0 passing yards per game with QB Liam O'Brien leading the way with 1,750 yards and 14 touchdowns on 64.3% completion rate. O'Brien's top target is WR Jared Richardson, who has hauled in 53 receptions for 817 yards and nine touchdowns. WR Bisi Owens adds another 45 catches for 514 yards and four scores.

• The Quakers run for 137.9 yards per game behind Liam O'Brien (90 att., 354 yards, five TDs, 3.9 ypc), Julien Stokes (44 att., 225 yards, one TD, 5.1 ypc), and Sean Williams Jr. (43 att., 212 yards, two TDs, 4.9 ypc).

• Leading tacklers John Lista (57) and Ty Cortes (48) anchor a defense that has recorded 11 sacks and three interceptions. The Quakers allow 365.3 yards and 25.0 points per game.

OBSERVATIONS FROM LAST WEEK

• Cornell dominated on the ground with 213 rushing yards on 46 attempts (4.6 yards per carry). The rushing attack was balanced and effective, with Jordan Triplett leading the way with 72 yards on 16 carries, John McAuliffe adding 56 yards on just 9 attempts, and quarterback Garrett Bass-Sulpizio contributing 41 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.

• After falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, Cornell showed tremendous resilience by outscoring Princeton 20-3 the rest of the way. The Big Red's defense stiffened considerably forcing two fumbles in the second half.

• Cornell's defense forced critical turnovers at key moments, including a fumble that sparked the game-winning touchdown drive. 

HIGH VALUE KURTZ-ENCY

• Cornell junior tight end and All-American Ryder Kurtz currently ranks ninth in the Ivy League with 53.3 yards per game, the most among Ivy Leauge tight ends.

• The Phil Steele mid-season All-American selection has 29 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 seven games this season.

BIG RED DEFENSE

• Cornell has the #49 nationally ranked defense (#4 Ivy) in the nation, allowing 361.3 total yards per game.

• The Big Red run defense is #35 in the nation and #4 in the conference allowing just 129.6 yards per game.

• Cornell has been exceptional at bending but not breaking, holding opponents to just a 73.3% red zone scoring rate ranking #14 nationally and #3 in the Ivy League

• The Big Red defense ranks #4 nationally and #2 in the Ivy League with 128 first downs allowed.

BALANCE ON OFFENSE

• The offense has shown improvement with better rushing (163 ypg, #51 nationally, #3 Ivy) complementing the passing attack (199.9 ypg, #73 nationally).

DAWGS ON DEFENSE

• Ben Sahakian - (#4 nationally in forced fumbles, #1 Ivy) - Sahakian has emerged as one of the nation's most disruptive defenders, forcing 0.43 fumbles per game and ranking in the top 5 nationally, creating game-changing turnovers and pressuring quarterbacks consistently.

• Braylon Howard - (#5 nationally in passes defended, #1 Ivy) - Howard continues his dominant coverage with 1.43 passes defended per game, ranking in the top 5 nationally and establishing himself as one of the premier defensive backs in the FCS, while also recording a fumble recovery.

• Keith Williams Jr. - (#16 nationally in interceptions per game, #2 Ivy) - Williams has been exceptional at creating turnovers with 0.43 interceptions per game (3 total through 7 games), ranking among the nation's elite defensive backs and providing crucial momentum-shifting plays.

• Johnny Williamson - (#51 nationally in tackles for loss, #3 Ivy) - Williamson has been a force in the backfield with 1.0 tackle for loss per game and leads the team with 2 fumble recoveries (#7 nationally, #1 Ivy), consistently making plays behind the line of scrimmage.

X FACTOR

Doryn Smith - (#34 nationally in receptions per game, #4 Ivy) - Smith leads Cornell's offense with 5.17 receptions per game and provides explosive plays in the return game with 21.2 yards per kickoff return (#51 nationally, #2 Ivy), ranking #65 nationally in all-purpose yards.

Garrett Bass-Sulpizio - (#73 nationally in points responsible per game, #5 Ivy) - Bass-Sulpizio has improved his production to 8.9 points responsible per game with 6 rushing touchdowns (#61 nationally, #4 Ivy) and 186.4 total offense yards per game (#75 nationally, #6 Ivy), showing growth despite continued passing efficiency struggles.

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 will play its final road game of the 2025 season when it travels to  the Granite State to take on Dartmouth.

• The Big Green and Big Red have met 107 times coming into the Nov. 15 matchup in Hanover.

• Dartmouth leads the series, 63-43-1.

• 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.