Cornell football 2022

[billhoward]

I'm delighted Cornell is 4-2, but let's put this record in context.  The three non-Ivy wins are over teams which are a collective 4-19.  Brown's two wins this season are over Bryant & Central Connecticut State.

There will be no asterisks when the season's scores go into Cornell's sports archives. It just says W. Hey, be happy for the team. Let's revisit this in two weeks when Cornell will be past the toughest part of the schedule and we're, ah, quite possibly 4-4.

[Chris H82]

I believe it was the last year for Cornell QB Jeff Matthews, 2013, when Matthews threw for just under 500 yards in a 42-41 victory over Penn at Franklin Field. Good stuff. Next to last year for Penn now Columbia coach Al Bagnoli. The stadium holds 50,000, about 7,000 showed up.

I played on the freshman team in '78.  We went to Philly to play Penn's frosh at Franklin Field - there were more players than spectators.

[rss77]

Would feel better about Cornell's chances of picking up 2 or 3 more wins if Eddy Tillman was healthy.  By the looks of his injury Saturday he may be out for the season.  Carruthers run hard but not as quick in getting to the line of scrimmage.  Tillman's running was a key to the victory as Wang had trouble finding open receivers against Brown.

[billhoward]

Can you determine the next letter in this progression:

Code Select Expand

[b]W  L  W  L  W  W  __[/b]

Cornell at Princeton Saturday (1 pm 10/29/22) will likely be Cornell's biggest challenge of 2022. Princeton is No. 9 in the current FCS Coaches Poll https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/fcs-coaches-poll (South Dakota State is No. 1, Holy Cross is No. 7, and, uh-oh, Cornell's season-closer Penn is in Others Receiving Votes).

Princeton's best player is senior receiver Andrei Iosivas, No. 9, on the 2022 Walter Payton Award Watch List (best offensive player). He has 40 catches for for 623 yards; Cornell has 867 receiving yards (team total). Princeton is 6-0, 15-1 since 2020 Covid shutdown. Cornell is 4-2 this year, 1-2 in the Ivies, 6-10 post-Covid.

It's also Homecoming for Princeton as well as Halloween weekend, which means lots of kids and students dressed up in orange and black. Weather is near-perfect: sunny, 60 degrees.

Pregame notes from Cornell:  https://cornellbigred.com/news/2022/10/26/football-princeton-preview.aspx

One can only admire Cornell's marcom's upbeat attitude:

[Trotsky]

Has an Ivy ever been #1 in I-AA?  How about those dominating Penn teams (86, 94, 03)?

[billhoward]

Has an Ivy ever been #1 in I-AA?  How about those dominating Penn teams (86, 94, 03)?

I-AA has been around since 1978, Ivies went I-AA in 1982. One of the I-A rules is attendance of 15,000 or more. Per game, the NCAA wanted.

I didn't see any indication of a No. 1 ranking. This 2018 SBNation story notes top 15 rankings:

The league has fielded at least one top-15 team in six of the last eight years, and the depth appears to be increasing quickly, too. That trend should only continue. Per HERO Sports, Princeton signed 2018's No. 1 FCS recruiting class, and three other Ivy schools (No. 2 Yale, No. 6 Harvard, No. 14 Columbia) ranked in the top 15. Harvard and Yale ranked in the top eight in each of the last two years, too.
-- "Why the Ivy League might finally be ready to compete in the playoffs," https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2018/8/7/17298832/ivy-league-fcs-playoffs

So as to keep eLynah free of obscene mutterings, do not read Reason No. 2 (Embracing Parity) for why the Ivies should be in the NCAA playoffs, do not read the David Archer comments (this in 2018). Spoiler alert: Take your hypertension meds before reading further, if you believe 2022's 4-2 record (before Penn, before Princeton) is an outlier.

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Of course, the school [Cornell] probably knew it was investing in a long-term project [hiring Archer]. In a conference full of wily veterans, Cornell promoted Archer to the head job when he was just 34.

"Five years ago," he says, "I wasn't as good as I am now. Having the experience of playing relevant football in November for the first time was ... if you want to squat 500 pounds, you've gotta feel it on your back first."

Archer's recruiting hasn't caught the eye of analysts like that of other Ivies, but he's casting a wide net to find the right 30 guys per year to bring in.

"We're being Cornell," he says. "Let's be great finders. Let's use our resources to scour the country — all 15,000 high schools that play football — and this is the No. 1 college town in the country. 'Any person ... any study' — let's find people that resonates with. A blue-collar mentality, the guys who want to dig in and do something for the first time."

[Al DeFlorio]

Surely, there's some Cornell undergraduate, somewhere, male or female, who can punt straight ahead more than 26 yards.

[Al DeFlorio]

Three interceptions and a fumble killing an otherwise surprising effort against a 6-0 team.  A shame.

Late edit:  now 5 interceptions including the 2-point conversion fiasco.

[scoop85]

Surely, there's some Cornell undergraduate, somewhere, male or female, who can punt straight ahead more than 26 yards.

The punting is an adventure, to put it kindly

[billhoward]

Never seen a five-turnover Cornell team look so good. Offense moved the ball well, outgained Princeton handily in total yards. Junior tight end Manny Adebi blocked both a Princeton field goal attempt and a point after. For a short brief while in the first half, it felt as if Cornell had a chance at an upset.

Have also never seen a pick-two against my own team (2-point conversion picked off and run back 105 yards for 2 points). I can tick that off the bucket list.

It has now been about 52 times dating to 1891 that Princeton alumni at Palmer-now-Princeton Stadium have seen the Big Red Band and the Princeton Tiger, ah, scramble band at halftime and every year they say, "Cornell has a real band. Princeton has a band that runs around, lies on their backs and bicycle pumps their legs [that would be this year], you can't hear what the band announcer says which may be a good thing, and makes our band, and us, look stupid."

Princeton placekick attempt, Cornell March Band, Princeton band:

[billhoward]

Week of 10/28-29/2022

Princeton 35, Cornell 9
Brown 34, Penn 31
Harvard 28, Dartmouth 13
Yale 41, Columbia 13

Princeton at 4-0 Ivy, 7-0 overall is alone at No. 1 in Ivy standings. Penn is no longer undefeated. What would have been the game for the Ivy title in the last weekend, Penn at Princeton, at best would lead to a Penn-Princeton tie. Actually, Penn, Harvard and Yale are all 3-1 so a three-way tie is possible.

One team at 4-0
Three at 3-1
Three including Cornell at 1-3
Columbia at 0-4.

Cornell has a chance to go 6-4 overall (beat Dartmouth, beat Columbia, lose Penn). It would be woofing to hope to also beat Penn this weekend (at Cornell) just because we beat Brown by 3 and Brown beat Penn by 3.

Cornell goes 6-4, you're going to fire a coach with the winningest record in 17 years? The previous 7-3 team was 20th century.

[Ken711]

Week of 10/28-29/2022

Princeton 35, Cornell 9
Brown 34, Penn 31
Harvard 28, Dartmouth 13
Yale 41, Columbia 13

Princeton at 4-0 Ivy, 7-0 overall is alone at No. 1 in Ivy standings. Penn is no longer undefeated. What would have been the game for the Ivy title in the last weekend, Penn at Princeton, at best would lead to a Penn-Princeton tie. Actually, Penn, Harvard and Yale are all 3-1 so a three-way tie is possible.

One team at 4-0
Three at 3-1
Three including Cornell at 1-3
Columbia at 0-4.

Cornell has a chance to go 6-4 overall (beat Dartmouth, beat Columbia, lose Penn). It would be woofing to hope to also beat Penn this weekend (at Cornell) just because we beat Brown by 3 and Brown beat Penn by 3.

Cornell goes 6-4, you're going to fire a coach with the winningest record in 17 years? The previous 7-3 team was 20th century.

I doubt they would fire him either, however, Archer contributed 8 of those losing records in the past 17 years.

[Trotsky]

That placekick photo is brilliant composition, Bill.  It's fucking gorgeous.

[billhoward]

Another tough week Saturday against unbeaten Penn (unbeaten until last week against Brown), which plays Cornell at home Saturday at 1 pm. Odds are this evens Cornell's record at 4-4 with lesser lights Dartmouth (home) and Columbia (NYC) closing the season. Penn also needed OT to beat Dartmouth.

I thought Cornell played well against a superior oppenent last week at Princeton, other than those five turnovers. Thus the 35-9 final. Cornell can win one, maybe two of its final three. This Saturday is the less likely place for a victory.

[Swampy]

Another tough week Saturday against unbeaten Penn (unbeaten until last week against Brown), which plays Cornell at home Saturday at 1 pm. Odds are this evens Cornell's record at 4-4 with lesser lights Dartmouth (home) and Columbia (NYC) closing the season. Penn also needed OT to beat Dartmouth.

I thought Cornell played well against a superior oppenent last week at Princeton, other than those five turnovers. Thus the 35-9 final. Cornell can win one, maybe two of its final three. This Saturday is the less likely place for a victory.

Yeah, and other than several turnovers and bonehead penalties, the Jets were a better team than the Patriots last weekend. Unfortunately, disciplined play is a mark of good coaching.

Cornell (and the Jets) lack disciplined play.