Looking to salute its seniors, football took Schoellkopf Field for the final time in 2024 searching for a seemingly improbable win against Dartmouth.
The Big Green, undefeated on the road and boasting a 7-1 overall record, entered as clear favorites.
In a second half riddled with interceptions and possession changes, Cornell ultimately prevailed. A late offensive push — including 20 fourth-quarter points –– put Cornell on top, 39-22, giving its seniors one final salute on Schoellkopf Field.
“Just great. Great performance by everybody. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t clean, but we fought [and] we played hard and competitive,” said head coach Dan Swanstrom.
Coming off a highly contested offensive-minded battle against the University of Pennsylvania, Saturday’s game was anything but. The Red’s defense looked much stronger against one of the Ivy League’s top teams. Cornell also did an exceptional job forcing fumbles and interceptions, making them worthwhile with 17 points scored off Dartmouth (7-2, 4-2 Ivy) turnovers.
On the opening drive of the game, Cornell (4-5, 3-3 Ivy) caught a break when senior quarterback Jameson Wang drew a roughing the passer call on third down. The Red drove down the field and converted the penalty into three points thanks to a kick from sophomore kicker Alan Zhao. The 48-yarder is the longest conversion of Zhao’s career.
After forcing a Big Green three and out, Cornell’s offense took the field with great field position at the 50-yard line thanks to a 17-yard Dartmouth punt.
After getting stopped on the first three plays of the drive, Swanstrom left the offense out on the field on fourth-and-two. With Wang in the shotgun, it seemed as if the Red were primed to take a risk on early risk. Instead, a surprise Wang pooch punt rolled into the endzone for a touchback.
A week after a historically bad performance in its 67-49 loss to Penn, Cornell’s defense stood tall for a second straight drive and Cornell’s offense returned to the field with just under five minutes to go in the first quarter. After a 14-play drive that bled into the second quarter and was aided by a successful fake punt (the second successful fake in as many games), a Zhao field goal put the Red up six.
“A lot of things needed to change [after the last game], we needed to play better,” Swanstrom said. “[Today], we just ran and hit and knocked people back. It was good to see that.”
Cornell dominated the first quarter, running 26 plays and picking up 68 yards to Darmtouth’s six plays and 13 yards. However, on its first drive of the second quarter, Dartmouth’s offense drove down the field and into the endzone on a 10-yard QB keeper to take the lead 7-6. The big play of the drive, a 36-yard catch and run, came in part thanks to a Cornell missed tackle.
On its next opportunity on offense, the Red came storming down the field looking to regain its lead. Led by a drive including a 30-yard pass from Wang to junior wide receiver Doryn Smith, the Red finally found the endzone after another long drive. Junior wide receiver Parker Woodring caught the ball off a short pass from Wang.
Dartmouth quickly came roaring back, converting a 34-yard pass that put the Big Green in Cornell territory. But a seven-yard loss on a rushing play forced Dartmouth to try a 48-yard field goal, which just missed wide and kept the Red ahead.
After the ensuing Cornell drive stalled out, Dartmouth took over on the Big Green 20 with just over a minute and a half left in the first half. Dartmouth picked up a first down and seemed primed to put up points and take momentum into halftime, but Dartmouth quarterback Jackson Proctor was intercepted by freshman cornerback Tyler Gibson.
Wang and his offense took over inside the red zone looking to amass a larger lead before halftime, but on its first play of the drive, Wang was promptly picked off by a Dartmouth player in the endzone with 30 seconds left in the half. Dartmouth took over but couldn’t get much going in a short period of time, leaving the teams heading for their locker rooms with Cornell up 13-7.
Dartmouth received the kickoff for the second half and immediately gained a pair of first downs, looking to erase the deficit. The Cornell defense held strong, though, as Gibson sacked Proctor and the Red defensive line ultimately forced a punt at the 12:09 mark.
A huge 17-yard rush from Wang on third down was ultimately wasted as the quarterback threw his second interception of the game. Dartmouth’s Patrick Campbell made a leaping catch and put the Big Green in scoring position, starting a drive on the 19-yard line. The interception would go on to hurt Cornell, as the Big Green needed just four plays to find the endzone, successfully kicking the extra point and taking a slight lead, 14-13.
Much like its last drive, the ensuing drive for Cornell ended in yet another Wang interception, his third of the afternoon. It marks the second straight game where Wang was intercepted three times.
But in an almost unbelievable fashion, Dartmouth followed that up with another interception of its own. This time, Cornell would make the Big Green pay, as Wang completed a 14-yard rush into the endzone to give Cornell the lead with 1:17 left in the quarter. The Red tried the two-point conversion for an opportunity to go up seven, but sophomore wide receiver Samuel Musungu dropped the pass, holding the score at 19-14.
After a defensive stand that sent Dartmouth’s offense off the field, Cornell took over early in the fourth quarter with an opportunity to extend its lead –– and that’s exactly what the Red did. The eight-play, 60-yard drive ended with a Wang to Musungu connection in the endzone, capped off with a successful Zhao extra point that put Cornell up by 12.
Two more times Dartmouth would get a chance with the ball, and twice Cornell turned it over. The first interception led to three points tacked on from a Zhao kick, which preceded a fumble recovered and endzone run by senior lineman Hunter Sloan.
A Dartmouth touchdown with 2:28 left didn’t end up mattering much, as Cornell was able to eat the clock and conclude its final drive with a Zhao field goal. His fourth field goal of the day ties the Cornell single-game record for field goals made.
“I hope [the seniors] are the original rebirth of this program and take us to a different place,” Swanstrom said. “They’re the first guys that bought into all this, so hopefully it’s the start of something really good here at Cornell.”
The Red will take on Columbia in the Empire State Bowl next Saturday in its final contest of the season. Kickoff in New York City is slated for noon and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.