The battle between Cornell football and the University of Pennsylvania carries so much historical weight it has its own prize: the Trustee’s Cup. However, for the past three years, the Red has struggled to gain its footing in the rivalry, with its last win over the Quakers taking place in 2021.
On Saturday, the Red took the field against the Ivy League’s second-ranked team searching for its first road win of the season and to land a punch on a Penn squad that has been dominating the matchup. Coming off the momentum of a three-win homestand, Cornell (4-4, 3-2 Ivy) made a historic showing to steal Penn’s Homecoming and the coveted Cup.
After eking out a narrow lead in the first half, the Red came out of halftime invigorated. Three consecutive touchdowns catapulted Cornell into a 22-point lead, which it held onto to secure a 39-17 advantage over Penn (5-3, 3-2) by final time. In the process, the Red secured its first four-game win streak since 1999 and its 200th Ivy League victory of all time.
Despite being the underdog on enemy turf, Cornell made the first move. After trading unsuccessful drives, the Red broke out thanks to a 25-yard reception by junior tight end Ryder Kurtz. Though Penn stopped the offense short before the red zone, Cornell was able to put itself on the board with a 32-yard attempt by sophomore kicker Caden Lesiewicz, his first collegiate field goal.
Just before the end of the first quarter, the Quakers rallied a response, making it to the 4-yard line before the quarter break. On the first play of the second, Penn quarterback Liam O’Brien rushed for the touchdown, giving the Quakers a 7-3 lead.
Cornell’s offense again struggled to finish, carrying the ball within field goal range to give Lesiewicz the chance to cut the deficit to 7-6, but the Quakers evened out this score on their next possession, with a field goal keeping Penn up by four.
The Red broke the barrier to the endzone with seconds left in the first half, aided by pass completions and a 15-yard penalty that put Cornell in prime position to capitalize. Junior quarterback Garrett Bass-Sulpizio fired off a pass to junior wide receiver Brendan Lee to close the final gap and put the Red up, 13-10, before halftime.
The Red entered the third quarter with a bang: senior defensive lineman James Reinbold logged a sack on O’Brien that forced a fumble on Penn’s first play of the half, which was claimed by a diving recovery from senior linebacker Joey Cheshire. Cornell took possession on the Quaker’s 24-yard line before Penn had gained any traction.
Taking advantage of a stunned Penn defense, Bass-Sulpizio fired off passes to Kurtz and senior wide receiver Doryn Smith before handing the ball off to sophomore running back Jordan Triplett for the touchdown. Though the extra-point attempt by Lesiewicz was blocked, the Red was now up 19-10, scoring less than a minute into the second half.
Cornell snuffed Penn’s attempt to respond, regaining possession on downs and kickstarting its drive with a 19-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver TJ Hamilton. A series of successful plays inched the Red closer, but the team still faced a one-yard gap while on the fourth down at Penn’s 22-yard line.
As seen many times throughout this season when on fourth down, Swanstrom decided to go for it. This risky play, likely influenced by lack of consistency from its kickers, paid off for the Red. When the ball was snapped to Bass-Sulpizio, he pitched it to senior running back Gannon Carothers, who rushed for the remaining 22 yards to the endzone and secured another touchdown for the Red.
An unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt kept the score at 25-10. Cornell carried its momentum into Penn’s possession, again shutting down the Quakers’ offense to force a punt after three plays.
The Red offense used the energy of a three-touchdown run to march down the field on the back of rushes from Bass-Sulpizio and Triplett. Cornell continued running until it found itself on the 1-yard line, then on second down, Bass-Sulpizio found Carothers in an almost identical play from earlier in the quarter.
Carothers just reached the endzone before dropping the ball in a play that was upheld after official review, putting the game further out of reach for the Quakers. This time around, Swanstrom decided to go for the extra point, which Lesiewicz successfully completed. The score now sat at a dominant 32-10 advantage for the Red.
While the Red seemed to have taken control of the game, the Quakers were not going to let themselves go down without a fight. On the first play of Penn’s drive, running back Donte West broke through the Red defense and ran 75 yards for a much-needed Quaker touchdown. After a successful extra point, the score sat at 32-17.
Heading into the fourth quarter, possession sat in the hands of the Red. After two consecutive penalties set the Red back 20 yards, it seemed nothing was going to come of this drive. This was until Bass-Sulpizio executed a perfect 36-yard pass to Hamilton that put the Red only a few yards behind the endzone.
Bass-Sulpizio took matters into his own hands, rushing for a one-yard touchdown to increase the Red’s lead. Another successful kick from Lesiewicz officially set the score at 39-17.
Now up by three touchdowns with only a few minutes of game remaining, the Red only needed to run down the clock, and that is exactly what it did. Once Cornell regained possession, the Quakers were forced to watch as the game slowly ended, giving the Red its fourth consecutive victory and a Trustees Cup win.
Hamilton was Cornell’s breakout player of the game, logging 123 receiving for his first yards of his collegiate career. Five different athletes scored touchdowns for the Red, with Carothers carrying two.
After being down 0-3 at the beginning of the season, Cornell has come back to hold a winning conference record and a 50 percent overall record. Its 39-point offensive production was its highest score against Penn since scoring 42 in 2013, and its highest against any competitor in the 2025 season.
The Ivy League is now broken open, the Red hold the same conference record as Penn and Dartmouth. This means if things go its way, the Red has a chance to leapfrog its way to the top of the standings. This year, the chance to vie for the Ivy title has higher stakes, with the conference leader having the opportunity to play for the NCAA Division l Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs.
The Red will look to continue its dominant play against Dartmouth, at 1 p.m. on Nov. 15. All the action will be available live on ESPN+.
Alexis Rogers is the sports editor on the 143rd editorial board. She is in the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts & Sciences, and she can be reached at arogers@cornellsun.com.
Matthew Leonard is a member of the Class of 2028 in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He is the assistant sports editor of the 143rd Editorial Board. He can be reached at mleonard@cornellsun.com.
