Cornell football delivered a historic upset Saturday, defeating No. 4 Lehigh 48-38 at Schoellkopf Field for its first victory over a top-five opponent since 1939. The Big Red improved to 3-2 overall, while the Mountain Hawks suffered their first loss of the season, falling to 6-1.
Cornell wasted little time establishing momentum, scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions. Jordan Triplett opened the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown run before Garrett Bass-Sulpizio connected with Ja’Von Broussard for a 37-yard touchdown.
Lehigh answered with a fumble recovery touchdown, but Cornell extended its advantage to 31-17 by halftime behind touchdowns from Brendan Lee and Bass-Sulpizio and a field goal from Alan Zhao.
The Mountain Hawks pulled within 31-24 during the third quarter before Bass-Sulpizio found Lee for a three-yard touchdown pass to restore Cornell’s two-score advantage.
Lehigh continued battling in the fourth quarter, twice cutting the deficit to seven points. However, Triplett added his second rushing touchdown before Zhao connected on a 32-yard field goal with under two minutes remaining to secure the victory.
Bass-Sulpizio led Cornell’s offense, completing 22-of-34 passes for 366 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 103 yards and another score.
Triplett added 75 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Lee recorded five receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown.
Cornell finished with 600 yards of total offense, its highest single-game total since 1995, while holding Lehigh to 387 yards.
The Big Red returns to action Saturday, October 24, traveling to face Brown at noon.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.
