Football
Columbia Defeats Football, Clinches Share of Ivy Title for First Time in 63 Years
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With the loss, Cornell’s streak of finishing Ivy play with a .500 record or below continued for an 18th straight season.
The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/cornell-football-2024/)
With the loss, Cornell’s streak of finishing Ivy play with a .500 record or below continued for an 18th straight season.
Penn led the series 77-47-5, and Saturday’s 67-49 win tacked on another point in favor of the Quakers.
“So those are the things I focus on, to make sure that I’m always in the moment and staying one step ahead, and trying to prepare our guys in the moment in the game to go compete and hopefully set the example for them on how to continue to compete play after play.”
This game exemplified the potential synergy between offense and defense, with key defensive plays setting up successful offensive conversions.
“I’m not measuring [this year] by outcomes. I’m measuring it by growth and how we compete. I think the way we came out of practice this week and are working through a bunch of things shows a lot about where we are going as a program,” Swanstrom said. “This week’s game will look similar to last week. With the size, the speed, and the strength of Harvard, it will be tough.”
With the weather looking much more favorable than last week, the Red are optimistic about igniting a winning streak that could defy the Ivy League preseason polls, which predicted a seventh-place finish.
This weekend’s game marks the 84th matchup between the two Ivy League schools, dating back to 1889.
Defensive struggles characterized the loss in Swanstrom’s debut.
Cornell football started its 2023-2024 season on top of the world. It all kicked off in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with a strong win against Lehigh University, followed by a nail-biting triumph at Yale, overwhelming the defending champion Bulldogs late in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the winning momentum didn’t stay with the Red for long. The team walked off Schoellkopf Field with former head coach David Archer ’05 for the last time on Nov. 18, 2023, after a heartbreaking 29-14 loss to Columbia, leaving them with a measly 3-7 record.
Only one day later, Nicki Moore, director of athletics and physical education, announced an immediate change in football leadership, relieving Archer of his responsibilities after 11 years of coaching for his alma mater.
On Dec.
“Until our guys develop their strength, until they develop their endurance, their conditioning, until they develop their explosiveness, it’s going to be a challenge. And that’s what we’re working on right now, too. Those are things I want to be working on. I hope it shows up on the field. That’s my hope.”