Football Set to Open 2025 in State Capital

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

PRE-SNAP READ

• The 2025 college football season is in full swing, and Cornell will join the action when it opens Saturday, September 20, on the road at UAlbany.

• Entering his second season, head coach Dan Swanstrom will look to build on an impressive offensive revival that saw Cornell surge from 18.2 points per game in 2023 to 30.2 in 2024. While the Big Red aims to maintain its status among the Ivy League's elite offenses, addressing defensive struggles remains a priority after allowing 31.8 points and 431.2 yards per game last season—both ranking seventh in the conference.

• Cornell's 2024 campaign featured the Ivy League's third-best scoring offense (30.2 points per game) and total offense (412.6 yards per game), setting high expectations for the upcoming season.

• With star quarterback Jameson Wang graduated, Cornell faces its biggest question mark at the sport's most crucial position. The competition comes down to juniors Garrett “Bito” Bass-Sulpizio and Devin Page—neither of whom has significant collegiate experience. Bass-Sulpizio has completed just one career pass, while Page, a transfer from Penn prior to last season, has yet to attempt a pass in game action.

• The quarterback uncertainty is balanced by stability in the backfield, where the junior tandem of Ean Pope and Robert Tucker III returns intact. Pope led Cornell with 535 rushing yards on 113 carries and two touchdowns in 2024, while Tucker III contributed 308 yards on 109 attempts with two scores of his own.

• Whoever wins the quarterback battle will have reliable targets in a veteran receiving corps led by tight end Ryder Kurtz, who hauled in 36 catches for 441 yards and four touchdowns last season. Doryn Smith looks to build on his 22-catch, 311-yard campaign, while Parker Woodring returns as one of the team's best touchdown threats after catching 36 passes for 293 yards and five scores.

• The Big Red will, however, miss standout receiver Samuel Musungu, who played most of 2024 on a torn ACL yet still managed 83 catches for 960 yards and 10 touchdowns.

• UAlbany enters with three games of experience, though recent results have been frustrating for the Great Danes. After dropping their last two contests by one score each—falling 37-32 at Delaware State and 24-17 at home to first-year Division I program New Haven—UAlbany will be eager to bounce back.

• Cornell seeks its first season-opening victory since 2023 and would claim its third opener win in four seasons with a road victory.

• Swanstrom brings a solid 3-2 record in season openers as a head coach (3-1 at Ithaca College, 0-1 at Cornell), making Saturday's matchup a chance to establish early momentum for year two of his tenure in Ithaca.

THE SERIES

• Cornell and UAlbany share a limited but intriguing history on the gridiron, having met just twice over the past two decades. The series began on September 30, 2006, when Cornell edged the Great Danes 23-21 in a thrilling contest at Schoellkopf Field.

• UAlbany evened the all-time series last season with a dominant 31-10 victory, also played in Ithaca.

• Saturday's matchup will mark new territory for the Big Red—literally—as Cornell travels to Albany for the first time in the series history.

A WIN OVER UALBANY WOULD...

• Secure Swanstom's first season-opening victory as Big Red head coach.

• Take a 2-1 sereis lead over UAlbany in the all-time matchup.

• Claim the Big Red's earliest road victory and first season-opening win since 2023.

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).

SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES

• The Great Danes enter Saturday's matchup in a challenging position, picked 12th out of 14 teams in the CAA Preseason Poll and sitting at 0-3 following a 24-17 loss on September 13.

• Junior quarterback Jack Shields directs UAlbany's attack, completing 56.0% of his passes for 834 yards and six touchdowns through three games. While Shields has added 86 rushing yards, the Great Danes' ground game has struggled mightily, averaging just 53.7 yards per contest with Griffin Woodell leading the way at 37.0 yards per game.

• Through the air, Shields has found reliable targets in Caden Burti and Carter Moses, each with 13 receptions. Burti leads the team with 265 receiving yards, while Tavahri Groves has emerged as the primary red-zone threat with three touchdown catches.

• UAlbany's defense has shown vulnerability early in the season, surrendering 31.7 points and 402.0 yards per game. Ron Holmes anchors the unit with a team-high 30 tackles (20 solo, 10 assisted), part of a trio of Great Danes with 20 or more stops.

• Pass rush has been minimal, with just three team sacks on the season. Ibrahim Sanogo leads with 1.5 sacks, all of which came in the week two contest at Delaware State.

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.

• 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.

NEXT UP
• Cornell will open Ivy League play on Saturday, Sep. 27 when it travels to Yale for the 87th all-time meeting with the Bulldogs. 

• Kickoff is set for noon from New Haven, Conn.