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Game Week

Cornell Preview

The Bulldogs travel to Ithaca this week for the start of Ivy League play against the Cornell Big Red. Kickoff is slated for 2 PM ET and the game will air on ESPN+.

The Big Red fell to Colgate last weekend in a 24-41 contest to open the Dan Swanstrom era. Swanstrom joined Cornell after a short stint as Penn’s offensive coordinator making this a revenge game on two fronts for the losses against Cornell and Penn a year ago.

Senior QB Jameson Wang (6’1”, 205 lbs.) once again leads Cornell’s offense and shows improved passing skills to go along with his quickness in the running game. Wang finished the contest last week with an impressive 313 passing yards and 3 TDs with a completion percentage of 78.4%. Wang was not sacked and was also the top rusher for the Big Red with 41 rushing yards (4.1 yards per carry). Sophomore RB Ean Pope (5’7”, 176 lbs.) is a speedy back that saw the most carries for Cornell last week but struggled with just 2.8 yards per carry. Sophomore RB Robert Tucker III (5’8”, 204 lbs.) is the top returning running back from a year ago and posted 7.7 yards per carry. Junior RB Johntu Reed (6’2”, 230 lbs.) is a big back with great receiving skills out of the backfield. Cornell has a very deep receiving corps that was difficult for Colgate to contain. Sophomore WR Brendan Lee (5’11”, 176 lbs.) caught 5 passes for 101 yards, while fellow sophomore WR Samuel Musungu (6’1”, 192 lbs.) added another 7 catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. Pope and Reed combined for 9 catches out of the backfield, so our linebackers will have their hands full in the passing game this week. Cornell’s offensive line averages 293.8 lbs. across the board and returns one starter from a year ago in senior LT Davis Watson (6’6”, 276 lbs.). The offensive line has yet to give up a sack this season but did not display superior run blocking skills in the lone contest. The Bulldogs will need the defensive line to generate a much better pass rush this week while keeping Wang contained from breaking loose with his legs. Yale will also need to line up quickly as Cornell likes to utilize a hurry up offense particularly after big plays.

Colgate was able to generate 457 yards of total offense with 270 rushing yards a week ago. The Raiders averaged 6.3 yards per carry which enabled them to control the clock with over 34 minutes of possession time. Swanstrom did not make a change at defensive coordinator, so it’s a very familiar defensive scheme that we’ve seen from Cornell in the past. Senior LB Luke Banbury (6’2”, 237 lbs.) led Cornell in tackles with 8 including half a tackle for loss. Senior DL Muhammad-Ali Kobo (6’4”, 257 lbs.) proved difficult for the Raiders to block with 6 tackles on the afternoon. 5th year senior DL Brendan Chestnut (6’4”, 283 lbs.) is a returning starter at defensive tackle that anchors the Big Red’s front. Senior S Trey Harris (6’4”, 202 lbs.) has been starting since his sophomore season and posted 7 tackles with a pass breakup. Colgate had early success in the passing game before leaning heavily into the running game to bleed the clock. Cornell’s cornerbacks often play far off the line of scrimmage, so there should be opportunities for Shipp and Pantelis to rack up yardage on short passing plays. Yale matches up well against Cornell’s defense, although play calling on 1st and 2nd downs will have to improve from last year’s contest as stalled drives were backbreakers.

Sophomore K Alan Zhao (6’0”, 197 lbs.) nailed his only field goal attempt and was perfect on PATs. Senior P Nathaniel Hillenburg (6’3”, 230 lbs.) averaged 36.0 yards per punt with a long of 61 yards. This should be a tight contest that could come down to special teams play, so Yale will need to limit mistakes especially on the kickoff team.

Go Bulldogs! Beat the Big Red!  

92 replies on “Cornell Preview”

This is going to be a major test for Yale’s defense, particularly for the secondary. The defense will need to show marked improvement from week 1 to come out of Ithaca with a win. This is Cornell’s Homecoming game, so you know Swanstrom will be extra motivated to get his first win as head coach in front of the alumni.

Expecting a big game from Denny. Who will be the QB? Jordan is listed as the starter on the two deep but we know from past experience we can’t rely on that.

What’s with Pitsenberger? I hope he’s not going to have the bad luck with injuries that Dudek had which kept him on the sidelines far too often.

Looking forward to this game. 5 hours is just to long of a ride. I see Yale handling Cornell. 31 to 17
Go Yale.!!

Gentlemen; Assuming Mr. Peterson and Mr. Pitsenberger are unavailable for the Cornelian game Mr. Dahl should get more carries.

FY’s 32 and 12 starting in coverage…interesting against one of the best QB’s in the league.
(Unless jersey numbers have been swapped since last week.)

Guess not. We have been spoiled the last couple of years. We are back to the Yale defenses we all remember that give up the big play.

11 1/2 point favorites, struggling to win (if they even can).
Hate to break it to Team 151 but this is supposed to be the “easiest” league game they’ll play this year.
Lots of work to do…

Second year in a row Yale’s coaching staff has looked past the Cornell game. No game is a gimme in the Ivy League.

Can’t believe Reno didn’t go for it in 4th and 2. Guess he’s happy to go into half time down 13.

Especially with a Cornell getting the ball to start the 2nd half. Yale needed to score on that drive.

Yale needs to come out a different team for the 2nd half. Can the coaching staff make the necessary adjustments?

Swanstrom did the same thing to Yale’s secondary last year as Penn’s OC. Yale seems unable to adjust.

True, but two fumbles, a roughing the kicker, followed by unsportsmanlike conduct doesn’t help a defense which is struggling.

It appears that this year’s defense will need to be bailed out in every game. Last week, the offense was up to the task. This week, not so much.

One on plenty of time left.!! I’m glad they took Brogan out. Give him a break. Howe coming in cold. He’ll get the job done

When was the last time Yale looked this bad against a mediocre team? I mean HC was good in 2022 and 2023.

They will likely need 4 scores in the last 1 1/2 quarters to win this “gimme” game. Perhaps more, if the defense keeps playing like this.
Not looking good at all.
Lots of work to do in the next 2 months.

Howe and Mason not on the same page. No reason to have taken Brogen out.
Awful decision to not use the penalty and take the 4th and one.
Secondary is an embarrassment. Not even fast enough to stop a
This loss will be entirely on Reno.

Reno is making some boneheaded calls. Taking the football for a field goal. GO FOR IT !! EXTRA 4 POINTS.!! DON’T GO FOR 2 .!! 27 to33 stupid

Not sure I would have gone for two there. It’s only the 3rd quarter. If the D doesn’t make some stops it won’t matter.

Coaches play calling is atrocious.!! This is utterly a total failure. From top to bottom. IDK what is going through Reno’s empty head

And since they were stupid enough to go for two on the last TD, they are down 17 instead of 16. Three scores instead of two. Obviously, it won’t make a difference, but it could have.

Cornell 47- Yale 23. Final.

If Cornell was supposed to be the worst team in the Ive League going into this game what does that make Yale now?

Defense was flat out unprepared like they usually are. We have too much talent to lose league games like this. It clearly comes down to coaching

Brogen did not have a bad game. No interceptions and were it not for the two awful fumbles he likely would have led Yale to another score or two. He’s a rookie with poise and stays cool under pressure. With more games under his belt I think he will be fine as our starting qb. Reno’s decision to put in Howe when Yale was in the red zone was just plain dumb. I guess having a great qb like Nolan Grooms for two years helps hide a lot of coaching flaws.

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