The last time they met, a nationally-ranked Dartmouth team let Cornell hang around and watched the Big Red pull out a 20-17 win to spoil its Senior Day. The Big Green didn’t make the same mistake on Saturday at Memorial Field, putting the Big Red away early in a 41-7 victory. The Big Green improved to 8-1 (5-1 Ivy), while Cornell dropped to 2-7 (1-5 Ivy) in the loss.
Dartmouth outgained the Big Red 499-181, dominated time of possession (36:26-23:34) and never allowed the visitors to feel comfortable on either side of the ball in clinching at least a share of the Ivy League title. It can claim at least a share of the Ivy League title with a win over Brown next weekend or a Princeton loss to Penn. Dartmouth led 28-0 at the half, and except for a brief offensive spurt to open the second half, never threatened the defending Ivy champs. over the final 30 minutes.
Nick Howard ran for 172 yards and four touchdowns as the Big Green posted 292 yards and five scores on the ground. At the same time, a balanced Dartmouth squad also completed 17-of-22 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown, with Derek Kyler hitting on 14-of-18 passes for 182 yards. Dale Chesson caught seven passes for 106 yards and a touchdown.
Jake Stebbins led the Big Red defense with nine tackles, including two for a loss and a sack, while Demetrius Harris had eight. Holt Fletcher and Onome Kessington each were credited with sacks.
On the offensive end, Eddy Tillman had a career-high 36 rushing yards on six carries, while Devon Brewer scored the lone touchdown for Cornell en route to 19 yards on four carries. Thomas Glover hauled in four passes for 53 yards in the loss.
Next Up
• Cornell returns to the road to face nationally-ranked Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 1:30 p.m. at Memorial Field in Hanover, N.H.
• The Big Green leads the all-time series 61-41-1, though Cornell won the last meeting between the teams 20-17 in 2019.
• The Big Red’s victory over Dartmouth on its Senior Day ruined a perfect season and proved to be Cornell’s first win over a ranked Ivy team on the road since 1950, as well as a win over its highest ranked opponent since topping No. 4 Ohio State in 1939.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].