PRINCETON, N.J. — In a matchup between two sputtering offenses, one big play, a 78-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Trey Peacock, handed the Tigers the 17-13 victory at Princeton Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Cornell’s offense put up 400 yards, but could not break through Princeton’s banged up defense when it counted most — junior Brad Greenway missed a 28-yard field goal and two rushing attempts failed to net the one yard needed to extend Cornell’s drive with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

The football team’s biggest spook on Halloween might be the specter of a five-game losing streak. Cornell has not dropped five in a row since the 2003 season when it finished 1-9, but the team is facing a resilient Princeton squad on Saturday after four consecutive losses to Colgate (45-23 on Oct. 3), Harvard (28-10 on Oct. 10), Fordham (39-27 on Oct. 17) and Brown (34-14 on Oct. 24).

Every time senior Bryan Walters touches the football, he breaks a record, or so it seems.

The Bothell, Wash., native holds every school kickoff and punt return record. Walters was one of the few bright spots for Cornell last week during a 34-14 defeat to Brown, as he eclipsed Chad Levitt ’96 for a school record 5,233 career all-purpose yards and moved into second place all-time in Ivy League history behind the 6,138 yard mark set by Harvard’s Clifton Dawson set in 2006. Earlier this year Walters surpassed legendary running back Ed Marinaro ’72 for all-purpose yards.

It took just two bad minutes for the football team to waste two and a half quarters worth of solid play. Cornell (2-4, 1-2 Ivy) relied on a strong defensive effort to build a 14-7 lead halfway through the third quarter. In less than two minutes, the Red collapsed. Offense, defense and special teams all failed the Red as it relinquished control of the game.

With the season officially halfway over, Cornell and Brown are two similar football teams heading in different directions. When they arrive in Ithaca tomorrow, the Bears will be riding the momentum of a three-game win streak. The Red is on a three-game skid — it hasn’t won since thwarting a last-second two-point attempt at Yale on Sept. 26. Both teams are in a four-way tie for first place in the Ancient Eight with league records of 1-1, and this game could go a long way towards determining how the final standings will shake out.

“We’re all just excited to get back to Ivy League play and it’s a big game for both teams,” said senior wide receiver Bryan Walters. “We’re on a three-game skid and just to snap out of that will be a huge game for us.”

Saturday’s homecoming football game was supposed to be an opportunity for the Red to make a statement in front of its largest home crowd of the year. Instead, Fordham’s senior quarterback John Skelton silenced Cornell.

Skelton threw for 420 yards and five touchdowns in leading the Rams to a 39-27 victory over the Red. He also rushed for a touchdown to cap off his impressive performance.

Check Monday's edition of The Cornell Daily Sun for more coverage

Fordham 39, Football 27

Fordham quarterback John Skelton picked apart Cornell's defense on Saturday afternoon, throwing for 421 yards and five touchdowns on 21-of-27 attempts. Jason Caldwell caught four of the touchdown passes, a school record, but Asa Lucas had the play of the game. Facing a third-and-nine from his own two-yard line on the first snap of the second quarter, Skelton found Lucas about 40 yards downfield, and the wideout took it to the end zone to put the Rams up, 13-3.