By October 21, 2005
While the Cornell football team (3-2, 1-1 Ivy) is riding a two-game winning streak, after home wins against Harvard and Georgetown, the Red will have its hands full, as it hosts Brown (4-1, 1-1 Ivy) tomorrow at Schoellkopf Field. Since both teams already have one Ivy League loss heading into tomorrow’s game, the loser will find its chances of winning an Ivy title severely diminished. “This is probably going to be the biggest game to date right now,” said senior safety Jeff Hahn. “We treat every game like it’s big but this one, of course, has much higher implications because of how explosive they’ve been and how explosive we’ve been. It’s two teams on the up going at it, so it’s going to be real important for us to get off to a good start right away.” The main concern for Cornell will be Brown’s potent offense, which is considered one of the best in the nation. The Bears have averaged 451.6 yards and 36.4 points per contest this season and have scored at least 31 points in each game this season. To further compound matters, Brown boasts Walter Payton candidate Nick Hartigan, who leads Division I-AA in rushing yards per game with 165.4. Last week, Hartigan ran wild, compiling 245 yards on 38 carries in Brown’s 31-28 win over Princeton, in which the Bears needed a fourth quarter, 81-yard drive to put away the Tigers. In addition, junior quarterback Joe DiGiacomo leads a strong Brown aerial attack. DiGiacomo has thrown for nine touchdowns and a 227 yards per game average, primarily hooking up with his favorite target, receiver Jarrett Schreck, who is ninth in the nation in receiving yards per game with 104.33. Similar to its strategy against the balanced offense the Red saw against Harvard two weeks ago, Cornell will attempt to stop the run and limit the Bears’ big play potential. “We’re not going to change anything, we’re going to get in there like in the past couple of weeks and our focus is always to stop the run first,” said senior linebacker Patrick Potts. “Guys are going to have to step up this week, especially with a great running back like [Hartigan] and get the job done.” At the same time however, Cornell is playing extremely well, as it heads into tomorrow’s game against the Bears. The Red dominated Georgetown 57-7 in a homecoming win last week, limiting the Hoyas to just 86 yards of total offense. Under head coach Jim Knowles ’87, Cornell has made Schoellkopf Field one of the most difficult places to play in the Ivies, as the Red is 3-0 at home this season. “Having such an important, pivotal Ivy League game, we couldn’t be coming in with more momentum than we have right now,” Knowles said. “We are on track and together as a team, and people are playing from their heart. It’s a lot of fun to be around these guys right now.” Particularly surprising in comparison to previous years has been the impressive play of the Cornell offense. Last week against Georgetown, Cornell’s running game went to town on the Hoyas’ defense, compiling 323 yards. “Since I’ve been here, this is the first time that our offense has looked anything close to as good as it has been looking,” said senior tailback Joshua Johnston, who ran for 88 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown against Georgetown. “I think it’s [only] getting better.” This effort was led by senior quarterback Ryan Kuhn, who despite only playing two and a half quarters, ran for 85 yards and three touchdowns. The Red’s ground game will further be boosted with the news that sophomore tailback Luke Siwula will be in the starting lineup and get his normal share of carries after suffering an injury during the third quarter in the Red’s win over Georgetown. Last weekend, Knowles gave game balls to the offensive linemen for their major contributions in controlling the Georgetown run defense. “To build a great program, your young offensive linemen need vision for the future and that’s what our offensive line is creating right now with the running game,” Knowles said. “We’re still going to have to throw the ball to win, but when you run it the way we do, you can control the game.” With Brown and Cornell seemingly very tightly matched, the difference maker could be special teams. Since returning to Schoellkopf Field against Harvard two weeks ago, the Red special teams unit has been impressive in setting the tone and preventing opposing teams from gaining good field position. In addition, senior placekicker A.J. Weitsman, this week’s Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week, is 8-of-9 on field goal attempts this year, while sophomore punter Michael Bolling has averaged 35.8 yards per punt, as 12 of his 24 punts have landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. “The Ivy League is so close [and] special teams can swing a game,” Knowles said. “I’ve had some of our leading donors and greatest players in the history of Cornell call strictly because of the kickoff team and when you have people call about the kickoff team, that means they’re having fun watching the game and that’s all about attitude.” Tomorrow’s game time is set for 1 p.m. The forecast is for showers with a high of around 50 degrees. Archived article by Brian Tsao Sun Assistant Sports Editor
By October 21, 2005
March seems so far away right now. We still need to go through about 20 feet of snowfall, the holiday season, and the Super Bowl, among other things. But last Saturday in Newman Arena, on a warm October morning, March was the only thing in the minds of the men’s basketball team. The team is assured of playing at least two games in March, when it travels to Harvard and Dartmouth on the 3rd and 4th of the month, respectively. But after a second-place finish in the league a season ago, the team seems poised to take a trip to the Big Dance for the first time since 1988 – and what would beat March Madness spreading throughout campus after a long, dreary, Ithaca winter? Nothing would. Nope, not even hockey, you puckheads. And after watching the 15 men on the team hustle throughout the 10 a.m. practice while their peers were drinking themselves stupid during Homecoming festivities, it is hard to believe that the 2005 squad won’t be playing a game in the NCAA tournament’s first weekend, with CBS giving us live look-ins and Bill Raftery getting fired up about the gritty little Ivy League team that could. Think I’m getting a little too ahead of myself? Maybe. But there’s reason to be confident in this team. Sure, the squad may have lost its heart and soul from the past few seasons in Eric Taylor ’05, but there are new leaders ready to emerge. Seniors Lenny Collins, David Lisle, and Ryan Rourke are not only standout players, but they are unselfish leaders that will no doubt lead the Red to new heights. One of the reasons why is because the three upperclassmen are not only leaders on the court, but also friends off the court – unlike some other team’s captains at Cornell – which will make the six newcomers, including five freshmen, feel welcome in their new environment. And while the team will look to the captains for guidance, the captains will look to their head coach for direction on the court. Last year, Steve Donahue preached playing as a team, which meant helping each other out on the defensive end and finding the open man on offense. The result was an unselfish team that achieved an 8-6 Ivy record, which included the first sweep of Princeton since the 1984-85 season. The season also concluded with Donahue being named the Ivy League’s Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com – a well-deserved honor. Donahue’s method is simple – keep to the basics. For almost the first hour of Saturday’s practice, nobody even took a shot. In fact, the team worked on defensive and passing drills for the better part of the morning. After that, the only shots that the Red took were from the charity stripe, even though the team was tops in the Ancient Eight in free throw percentage a season ago. Yet, my favorite drill of the practice had to be when two players would stand face-to-face and roll the ball to their teammate, who, in turn, had to dive to snatch up the loose ball. It was like watching a Duke-Maryland game in the middle of October in Ithaca. The intensity that the team brought to its second practice of the year will no doubt be looked upon during the tense moments of this season, when a tournament berth could be decided. And make no mistake, Donahue and company were thinking just that on Saturday morning despite the fact that the first game of the season is still three weeks away. Because no matter how beautiful fall is as the leaves change colors, there is nothing that would look better to the basketball team than to see the name “Cornell” pop up on Selection Sunday in the field of 65. Chris Mascaro is the Sun Sports Editor. He May Be Tall will appear every other Friday this semester. Archived article by Chris Mascaro