ELynah Forum

I think it's awesome the Cornell vs. Syracuse game will be played on Long Island on Saturday, April 12th!   Even though it's a travel contest, this venue is in the heart of both the Cornell and Syracuse alumni base.    Last year the Cornell vs. Notre Dame game drew a big crowd for both programs at Bethpage Stadium   The NYC Metro area is in Cornell's DNA.   Go Big Red!

I was at the Columbia game yesterday and it was a fun Cornell crowd.  I am pleased with some of the things Swanstrom did this year as our new head football coach.   The defensive line was short-handed much of the season with injuries and that is one area that needs to be addressed for next year.  

My primary concern is Cornell's style of offense that has never had much success on the East Hill with a no-huddle spread attack.   There were some splashes of excitement but the running game once again struggled for the Big Red.   Ian Pope had a pretty good season rushing for just over 500 yards, but in reality Cornell football has not had a 1000 yard rusher since Luke Siwula back in 2005 when we finished 6-4, which is our last winning team.  Our two best running backs had a combined four rushing touchdowns all season.   The reason I bring this up is Ithaca is not Florida or Texas, with often inclimate weather and that's why our best teams over the years have featured a strong running game.  As I previously mentioned, Jeff Matthews broke all the passing records at Cornell but he never had a consistent running game to keep the other team's offense off the field.  Sadly he did not have a winning season throughout his four year career on the East Hill.   Meanwhile, Columbia's Joey Giorgi rushed 29 times for 165 yards, thus wearing down our defense.   The Ivy team with the best running attack usually wins the Ivy League title.   Go Big Red!

Nice win on Saturday for men's basketball!   Why was the game played at noon though during the football game?  For many alums who visit Ithaca, it's nice to attend the football game in the afternoon and then basketball or hockey game in the evening.  Many of our alums drive several hours to Ithaca for home games and some may want to watch both games, meaning not playing at the same time.   Noon is an odd time for a college or even high school basketball game?

A great win on Saturday against a very good Dartmouth football team.   The key was running the ball for 175 yards and winning time of possession by nearly 10 minutes, thus keeping the Big Green offense off the field.  In terms of the running game, we didn't have many long runs just ongoing gains and enough yardage to move the sticks.  Go Big Red!

Both George Seifert (75-76) and Jim Knowles (04-09) struggled at Cornell but then went on to great success in the NFL and major college football.  Jim knowles had a lot more success at Cornell than Seifert, as the team when 6-4 in his second year as head coach.   Knowles was basically a .500 coach at Cornell but like Seifert he struggled to develop a consistent winning program.  

Dan Swanstrom brings an impressive resume to the East Hill and despite the football teams struggles this season, the Big Red have shown some flashes of brilliance this fall.  Even during the loss to Penn, the team kept playing hard to the end.  It also appears AD Nicki Moore has garnered more support for the football program too.  It's been over thirty years since our last Ivy title.   Go Big Red!

Agreed Dartmouth is very good.  Run the football to keep Dartmouth's offense off the field.  Cornell does not have the defense to host another track meet like the Penn game.  Sure that may mean some three and outs, but Cornell has the passing tools to make a big play if we can run the football.   Going back to Pop Warner football I can remember our coaches saying it's only 10 yards for a first down.   Really not that far to move the sticks.   Run the football and if nothing else the game will be closer at the end.

Dan Swanstrom is a QB guy and I have no doubt he's probably already developing someone after Wang graduates.   Regardless let's enjoy this season's team.   Big game this Saturday at Schoellkopf vs. Penn.   Again run the ball, run it again and again, will free up things for our QB and receivers.   Obviously Penn is favored but you never know.   Go Big Red!

It's always easier for offensive linemen to run block than pass block. The Cornell offensive line are plenty big and strong to open up holes for our running backs.  Run the ball like we did against Yale and Bucknell!   Look at the NY Jets last night, they absolutely stunk in the first half, then they came out running the ball in the second half, and they surprised Houston.   Wang is a proven  Ivy QB, but we have to run the football to open up the passing game a little more.   Run the ball, win time of possession, and we knock off the Tigers.   Go Big Red!

One of the best recent recruits is Ryan Goldstein who last year, like many freshman in college athletics was undersized at 5'9" and 145 lbs.   Time in the weight room and probably just natural growth he has the potential to be a super star for Cornell lacrosse.  My nephew plays for a very strong DIII program and he was pushed all over the league his freshman season, but last spring as a sophomore he scored 40 goals and 20 assists earning all conference honors.   Again he's not playing at the DI level, but just his size, strength, and overall skills skyrocketed with maturity and time in the weight room.   Go Big Red!

Screw the NIL and focus on the academics.   We have a family friend who was three time All Ivy in football and he also ran track.   He received scholarship offers from multiple FBS programs.   Today he's a Managing Director for one of the top banks in the world and his bonus check exceeds multiple times the money he would have earned under at a major football program.   When he was accepted to an Ivy, his single mother said forget the scholarship we'll scape together the funds to go Ivy.   The value of a good education simply cannot be understated.

Similar to some of our other losses, Brown ran the ball for 218 yards and Cornell logged only 58 yards, with most of them coming from our Quarterback.  As a result we lost time of possession and our defense just tired out in the 2nd half.   Our three running backs combined rushing was only 8 carries for 17 yards.   Jameson Wang had a good day with 49 passing attempts for 299 yards, but statisticaly when you throw the ball that many times most teams lose the game. This was a winnable game with just a couple of rushing first downs in the second half would have burned enough clock and kept our defense off the field, and the score is 21-20 in favor of the Big Red.

If you look at the history of Cornell football, all three Ivy League titles (we only have three shared titles) were the result of a strong running game with guys like Marinaro, Malaga, and McNiff/Oliaro.   Ask any offensive lineman, it's a lot more fun to run block than pass block.  If you have less talent on the OL, it's also easier to run block than pass block.   It's not rocket science just football 101.  Go Big Red!

I think Cornell's red and white uniforms are some of the best looking in all of college football.   However, college football should always be about the student-athletes who are playing the game and if they get excited about wearing black uniforms against Harvard tonite, then let them enjoy the experience.   Trust me as a former student-athlete at Cornell, practicing day after day after day gets old and having something fun and new is always cool!    See you tonight and Go Big Red!

I think we'll see better play on defense against Harvard.   Backus coached defenses usually step up.   On the offensive side, I hope the team really commits to the running game like we did against Yale.  Wtih the new head coach, I think he's trying to find "that guy" who can really carry the load running the football.   The weather looks good for Friday night lights on ESPN2.   Come out to Schoellkof and cheer on the Big Red!

Harvard is always good, although they were upset by Brown but then they beat UNH.   We need to improve tackling like we did against Yale and run the football.   I know Coach Swanstrom likes to play fast, but if we lose time of possession like we did against Albany, then our defense will be "gassed" by the third quarter again.   If you look at the history of Cornell football, all our winning seasons were tied to a strong running game, which you especially need in Ithaca's climate.  Go Big Red!

Cornell did some good things, but it usually comes down to who has the best running game.  Albany dominated time of possession nearly 37 minutes to our 23 minutes.  The Great Danes rushed for 273 yards to our 97 yards.  The rushing stats alone usually results in a win.  Go Big Red!