After opening the season with two straight victories, the Red has dropped each of its last six games. The Red’s best remaining chance to earn a victory will come tomorrow, when Cornell hosts the Columbia Lions. Cornell will close the season the following week at Penn, a team that has not lost since September.

The task at hand, however, is breaking a six-game losing streak. The Red (2-6, 1-4 Ivy) has lost heartbreaking games by a combined margin of the seven points over the last two weeks. In the final home game of the season, the Red intends to get back on the winning track.

“We just need to put everything that we’ve been doing all together,” said sophomore receiver Shane Savage. “We’ve been making mental mistakes. That usually has been our downfall. We’ll make one mental mistake that usually decides the game.”

Columbia (2-6, 1-4 Ivy) players have made some mental mistakes of their own in losing their last five games. The Lions suffered a one-point defeat against Yale, but the team has been blown out in several of its other games. Penn, Dartmouth and Harvard each beat Columbia by at least two touchdowns.Taking their lumps: Tomorrow’s game against Columbia will be the last chance for the seniors on the football team to get a win at Schoellkopf Field.

Columbia has rotated between three quarterbacks this season. Senior M.A. Olawale started the season and had some success as a dual threat to pass or throw. After a 28-6 loss against Dartmouth, he was replaced by freshman Sean Brackett. Brackett attempted 12 passes last week, but he appears to have been passed on the depth chart by sophomore Jerry Bell. Bell does not possess the running ability of his fellow Lion quarterbacks, but he has the best arm, as evidenced by his 226-yard passing performance last week.

“All the quarterbacks bring something different,” said Cornell head coach Jim Knowles ’87. “It’s difficult to prepare for them.”

Although the Red has not performed up to expectations lately, Knowles contends that his players are yet to be discouraged.

“They’re bruised and they’re hurt, but they’ll never give up. They’ve worked too hard,” Knowles said. “You’re going to be disappointed, but never defeated. You’re never defeated unless you give up.”

The Red is especially committed to breaking the losing streak tomorrow so that the seniors on the team can get a win in their final game at Schoellkopf Field.

“[The seniors] are going to walk out with their parents. They’re going to see the culmination of a lot of hard work,” Knowles said. “It’s not easy to put in that kind of work and not win as many games as you would hope. These guys, they’re not on scholarship, they did it because they love it.”

Savage also believes that the underclassmen have an added responsibility to send the seniors off with a victory.

“We’re really trying to get our seniors a win in their last game at home,” he said. “We’ve been emphasizing the fact that we want to send the seniors off with a nice ‘W.’”