Cornell vs Columbia: Football season finale

[Ken711]

Injuries just killed this season. Best receiver out for the season, best place kicker out for the season, numerous injuries to the running backs. Have to bring in more quality depth. Defense was undersized and it showed.  I hope Coach Swanstrom can also take a hard look at the play calling by his offensive and defensive coordinators.

[wolcoma]

Another tough loss today and while I was not an Archer fan, Swanstrom has not exactly been an upgrade.   While Harvard vs. Yale were playing in a packed stadium in New Haven, this game may have drawn 1,000 fans at best.   Schoellkopf Field has become a dump.   Why would an 18-year old recruit want to play at Cornell, when they can play for Harvard or Yale?    The offensive line can't block and the defense gave up one big play after another.    I will never understand why Cornell can't hire a good football coach.   In addition, despite the very small crowd at the game, the concession line was ridiculous and can someone at least clean the stadium bathrooms?  All I wanted was a 50/50 coffee and hot chocolate, to keep warm and concessions ran out of hot chocolate.  Pathetic, but no one cares at Cornell. 

[ugarte]

I think you missed a good five game stretch. the kids play better than the upperclassmen (Kurtz and Smith aside) and i think despite eating it today the program is on the upswing.

[Ken711]

I think you missed a good five game stretch. the kids play better than the upperclassmen (Kurtz and Smith aside) and i think despite eating it today the program is on the upswing.

Many don't realize the bottom the Cornell football program fell under Archer. Swanstrom is bringing in recruits Archer never could recruit.  The key to playing on a level with the Yale, Harvard and Dartmouth programs, is the number of of those highly recruits they can bring in. Cornell started DL players this season quite undersized compared to the rest of the league. They have more DL size coming in this years class if they stay committed. It doesn't mean I don't agree with some of the play calling (the pass play on 3 and goal from the 1 is an example) and I've been critical of the DC Jared Buckus's defensive system since Archer brought him in. The Ivy League parity has vastly improved, look at the Brown and Dartmouth game as an example. I just hope the injury bug that plagued this team doesn't return next season.

[ugarte]

I don't know if it's the scheme or the talent but the secondary was ridiculously bad. I thought the run defense was... frustrating. A lot of stops at the line but way too many jailbreak runs. That also feels like a secondary scheme issue tbh.

GBS was decent enough for a middling team but definitely not good enough to lead a better team. He throws too flat a ball to clear coverage and it has led to a lot of picks when he had open receivers.

The OL was decent in pass protection and I thought the running game improved a lot when Triplett took over for Pope. We have a lot of guys who seem capable of getting open and catching the ball. Especially Kurtz, who I could see getting invited to the combine next year.

There's a lot of speculation about the young backup QBs but tbh Swanstrom wasn't shy about starting the kids. QB might be different but it's as possible that they didn't live up to the reputation in practice as that they needed the year to adjust to the level. I'd be surprised if GBS has any kind of lock on the position next year but they also weren't going to bench him this year after a four game win streak.

See you next year. LGR!

[rss77]

Coach Swanstrom freely admitted during the season that the level of talent on the team needed to be upgraded. I think he has gotten a huge "buy in" from his team.  I cannot recall a time when there were 30 seniors on a Cornell squad. Per the Columbia I have to admit I was a  bit disheartened.  Admittedly Cornell's defense got pushed around but lack of execution, turnovers, and untimely penalties also hurt the cause.

[BearLover]

Another tough loss today and while I was not an Archer fan, Swanstrom has not exactly been an upgrade.   While Harvard vs. Yale were playing in a packed stadium in New Haven, this game may have drawn 1,000 fans at best.   Schoellkopf Field has become a dump.   Why would an 18-year old recruit want to play at Cornell, when they can play for Harvard or Yale?    The offensive line can't block and the defense gave up one big play after another.    I will never understand why Cornell can't hire a good football coach.   In addition, despite the very small crowd at the game, the concession line was ridiculous and can someone at least clean the stadium bathrooms?  All I wanted was a 50/50 coffee and hot chocolate, to keep warm and concessions ran out of hot chocolate.  Pathetic, but no one cares at Cornell. 

No comment on Schoellkopf conditions but  why even bring that up in the middle of complaining about the coach? Not really sure what you expected, in Swanstrom's first two seasons he has matched Archer's best seasons (3-4 in Ivy League), doing so mostly with Archer's recruits and this year without the star quarterback responsible for most of the past few seasons' success (however little of it there was). It's way too early to call Swanstrom "not exactly an upgrade" or "[not a] good football coach." I mean, the fact you're talking about how bad the stadium conditions are and how hard it is to recruit at Cornell undermine everything else you say about the coach being bad. Seems evident to me that Swanstrom has Cornell trending upward, and if he doesn't win it's going to be due to Cornell's structural disadvantages rather than Swanstrom being a bad coach. If you want real functioning toilets at Schoellkopf then I suggest endowing a bathroom rather than complaining about random stuff on an internet forum.

[wolcoma]

My apologies as I was very frustrated after the game yesterday.   I am just not thrilled with Coach Swanstrom's schemes and play calling.   He's known as a offensive guy, but that's not what we are seeing on the field. 

In terms of Schoellkopf Field, I can assure you we have given significant dollars to that facility.   Yesterday when I was in the men's room, a father was helping his little boy use the bathroom and the door kept swinging open as the lock has been broken all season.   Meanwhile, concessions line was ridiculous and they were running out of stuff by the time it was my turn.  During the game,  I was on my phone checking out the Yale vs. Harvard game, and it's like two different worlds inside the Ivy League.   What drives me nuts at Cornell is our ongoing lack of detail and no one seems to care.   If the AD and Admin doesn't care, then why are we donating money to this university?   

[Chris '03]

Another tough loss today and while I was not an Archer fan, Swanstrom has not exactly been an upgrade.   While Harvard vs. Yale were playing in a packed stadium in New Haven, this game may have drawn 1,000 fans at best.   Schoellkopf Field has become a dump.   Why would an 18-year old recruit want to play at Cornell, when they can play for Harvard or Yale?    The offensive line can't block and the defense gave up one big play after another.    I will never understand why Cornell can't hire a good football coach.   In addition, despite the very small crowd at the game, the concession line was ridiculous and can someone at least clean the stadium bathrooms?  All I wanted was a 50/50 coffee and hot chocolate, to keep warm and concessions ran out of hot chocolate.  Pathetic, but no one cares at Cornell. 

No comment on Schoellkopf conditions but  why even bring that up in the middle of complaining about the coach? Not really sure what you expected, in Swanstrom's first two seasons he has matched Archer's best seasons (3-4 in Ivy League), doing so mostly with Archer's recruits and this year without the star quarterback responsible for most of the past few seasons' success (however little of it there was). It's way too early to call Swanstrom "not exactly an upgrade" or "[not a] good football coach." I mean, the fact you're talking about how bad the stadium conditions are and how hard it is to recruit at Cornell undermine everything else you say about the coach being bad. Seems evident to me that Swanstrom has Cornell trending upward, and if he doesn't win it's going to be due to Cornell's structural disadvantages rather than Swanstrom being a bad coach. If you want real functioning toilets at Schoellkopf then I suggest endowing a bathroom rather than complaining about random stuff on an internet forum.

I think you missed a good five game stretch. the kids play better than the upperclassmen (Kurtz and Smith aside) and i think despite eating it today the program is on the upswing.

Let's hope Swanstrom likes Ithaca more than Philly. Priore is retiring at Penn.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2025/11/24/penn-football-coach-ray-priore-step-down/87451606007/#