It’s been a year since the Red completed its gritty 23-21 comeback against Yale in New Haven, Connecticut.
This year, Cornell starts a three-game homestead — kicking off with this weekend’s homecoming matchup — after a disappointing loss to the Colgate Raiders (1-3, 0-0 Patriot) in their season opener with new head coach Dan Swanstrom.
“Colgate ran their game plan exactly as they wanted, using their single-wing quarterback to run the football and beat us,” Swanstrom said.
This weekend’s game marks the 84th matchup between the two Ivy League schools, dating back to 1889. Cornell trails the series 31-52-2. The last time the Red defeated the Bulldogs in Ithaca was during the 2016 season.
Last weekend, the Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0 Ivy) scored a late touchdown to beat the Holy Cross Crusaders (0-1, 0-0 Patriot) in front of an audience of nearly 15,000, underscoring its roster’s tenacity and strength.
“Yale’s won multiple Ivy League championships in a row. They are very big [and] they’re very talented in the group,” Swanstrom said. “They’ve recruited well over the years and [didn’t] lose much over the last [few years]. So they’re highly competitive, they’re big, they’re powerful and they’re very active on defense.”
Looking forward to this weekend, Swanstrom ensures his players learn from last weekend’s mistakes. While he says nerves and excitement will be common factors throughout the game’s first moments, he wants his players to focus strongly on the fundamentals: ensuring all the gaps are accounted for, their hand placements are correct and every tackle is clean.
He hopes that each game this season is a step in the right direction, with lessons stacked on top of each other and mistakes never repeated.
“You never want to waste a loss,” Swanstrom said. “You know, you always have to learn who you are. You got to learn what they’re doing. … I’m hoping we have an edge, and I’m hoping we have that excitement. I’m hoping that we’re prepared to play.”
Interestingly, the Swanstrom era has brought a new tradition of weekly game captains — a rotation of four players who will serve based on their leadership and performance the prior week.
Senior quarterback Jameson Wang was one of them for the Colgate matchup. After completing 29-of-37 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener, all eyes are back on him to lead the Red’s offense against the Bulldogs.
Sophomore wide receivers Brendan Lee and Samuel Musungu will aim to build on their receiving yards and receptions, hoping to find the end zone.
Senior linebacker Luke Banbury, senior safety Trey Harris and senior defensive linemen Muhammad Ali-Kobo and Hunter Sloane are all set to strengthen the defensive front against Yale’s formidable offense.
Sophomore kicker Alan Zhao will likely be key in adding to the Red’s extra-point efforts once again.
Cornell will take on Yale at Schoellkopf Field on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN+.