With the winds whipping off the Hudson making for an incredibly difficult day for the kicking and passing games, Columbia won a share of its first Ivy League title in 63 years with a hard-fought 17-9 victory over Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Wien Stadium. The Lions’ win, coupled with Yale’s xx-xx win over Harvard, gave the Lions a three-way share of the title with the Crimson and Dartmouth at 5-2. The Big Red closed its 2024 season, its first under head coach Dan Swanstrom, with a 4-6 overall record (3-4 Ivy).
Senior quarterback Jameson Wang, playing his final game in a Cornell uniform, finished the day with 97 passing yards and 154 more passing, finishing his career in 10th place all-time in career rushing (1,811 yards) and third in passing (6,950 yards). He directed the offense to 378 total yards and 21 first downs in the loss.
Sophomore Alan Zhao booted three field goals through wind gusts of more than 30 miles per hour, successfully making attempts from 34, 45 and 22 yards to end his year with 72 points, tied for second all-time in a single season among kickers. Classmate Samuel Musungu caught seven passes for 93 yards and had 105 all-purpose yards, while Ean Poperan for 53 yards on 14 carries. Defensively, Damon Barnes made a career-best 13 tackles and both Luke Banbury (10) and Joey Cheshire (10) also reached double figures. Banbury added 1,5 tackles for loss and recovered a fumble.
The Lions scored the game’s lone two touchdowns on 1-yard runs, the first by Caleb Sanchez in the second quarter and then Joey Giorgi in the third. Giorgi ran for 165 yards on 29 carries, with Sanchez completing 11-of-19 passes for 221 yards. Columbia had 405 total yards of offense in the win. Anthony Roussos made a team-best 10 tackles for the Lions, with Charlie Newton adding nine stops with a sack.
NEXT UP
• The 2024 season is complete.
• The Big Red will get back to spring practice with eyes on preparing for the 2025 season that will kick off on Saturday, Sept. 20 at UAlbany.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.