The football team is on the road for the second consecutive weekend as it travels to Yale for its first Ivy opponent of the year. The Red will look to repeat the magic of last year’s homecoming win, where Cornell delivered a decisive 47-23 victory over the Bulldogs.
This is the 86th meeting between the two teams, and while Yale leads the all-time series, 52-32-2, the Red has won at its last two meetings.
This year, however, the Red will face an arguably more formidable foe. Transfer quarterback Dante Reno — who left the University of South Carolina to play for his father, Yale head coach Toni Reno — leads the Bulldogs’ offense. Reno helped lead Yale to its first win of the season against College of Holy Cross last week with 13 completions on 18 attempts, good for 16 yards and a touchdown.
The Red’s defense will also need to be focused on the ground game, given that Yale running back Josh Pitsenberger ran for 127 yards and three touchdowns against the Crusaders last week.
In last week’s matchup against UAlbany, the Red’s defensive unit held the Great Danes to 13 points, with no touchdowns allowed until the fourth quarter. Fifth-year Michael O’Keefe is likely to be a contributing force for the Red with his eight total tackles and an interception against UAlbany last week. Senior linebacker Joey Cheshire will also be a player to watch as he recorded 10 tackles, tying his career-best record.
“I think the defense is in a much better place compared to last season,” said head coach Dan Swanstrom. “There are definitely areas we can clean up, for example our tackling, but that all comes with time.”
In Swanstrom’s words, for the Red to “keep up with Yale” it is going to need to get the offensive game started early — which has been a difficulty for the squad. The last time the Red scored a touchdown in the first quarter was Nov. 9 in its 67-49 loss against the University of Pennsylvania.
“[Yale is] a program that thrives on making huge plays in the pass game and coming at you with the run game,” Swanstrom said. “It’s a really hard combination to defend against because they are a team that can throw it over your head, but they are happy to hand it to number seven and let him go to work.”
The biggest question mark left on the offense is who will lead Cornell at quarterback: junior Devin Page or Garrett Bass-Sulpizio. Both recorded eight completions in the loss to UAlbany last week, with Page good for a touchdown and interception.
Swanstrom told The Sun that it will be a “game-time decision” as to who gets the starting position.
“For first-time starting quarterbacks, the progress isn’t linear and there are ups and downs,” Swanstrom said. “The biggest thing we are looking for right now is how they are going to respond to mistakes.”
Kickoff in New Haven will be at noon on Saturday, Sep. 27. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Zeinab Faraj is a member of the class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is the features editor on the 143rd Editorial Board and was the assistant sports editor of the 143rd Editorial Board. You can reach her at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
