Know Your Enemy: Princeton – Cornell University Athletics

Cornell football hopes to get back to .500 in the conference when it travels to Princeton, New Jersey for its 106th meeting with Princeton on Saturday, November 2nd at 1 p.m. at Powers Field in Princeton Stadium. Cornell is 1-2 in the Ivy League, having beaten Yale at Homecoming, lost to Harvard in the teams' Friday night clash on ESPN2 and lost to Brown in the walk-off last weekend.

Princeton notes:

• Princeton starts the week with 2-4 wins over Howard and Brown. Although the Tigers are under .500 in both the Ivy League and overall, the team has yet to lose a contest at home.

• When it comes to avoiding penalties, Princeton is one of the top teams in the entire FCS. The Tigers have the fourth-fewest penalties in the country so far this season (25) and are averaging the eighth-fewest per game (4.17).

• Senior captain and 2023 All-Ivy honoree John Volker is the Orange and Black's lead rusher. He rushed for 280 yards and four scores on 47 carries, including a 66-yard burst against Brown. Sophomore running back Ethan Clark has had just as many rushes against Volker and is close behind with 227 rushing yards. Clark was responsible for a touchdown. Junior quarterback Blaine Hipa has scored two rushing touchdowns, but offensive line issues are bothering the Tigers. Hipa's rushing yards are -24 when allowing the most sacks and tackles for loss in the Ivy.

• Hipa has completed 69 of his 137 pass attempts for 837 yards and four touchdowns this season. Hipa has thrown 12 interceptions this season, including five against Ivy opponents. He didn't have a completion rate above 59 percent in any of his five games this season.

• Senior Luke Colella returns to the field in 2023 after an All-Ivy season. He is the Tigers' leading receiver and had 21 catches for 321 yards, including three home runs. Two-time All-Ivy honoree AJ Barber follows with 18 catches for 225 yards and a score. They are the only two Tigers with double-digit catches and triple-digit receiving yards.

• Sophomore Chase Christopher leads the Tigers' defense in tackles and recorded 39 stops, including 2.5 for loss. Junior Marco Scarano follows with 37 tackles, including six for a loss. He also has a forced fumble, a quarterback rush and a pass breakup. In addition to the standouts, junior defensive back Nasir Hill and senior defensive lineman Jack DelGarbino are back after earning All-Ivy honors in 2023.

• Sophomore Torian Roberts leads Princeton in interceptions and collects three picks.

• Junior Tahj Owens recovered a team-high two fumbles.

• Sophomore punter Brady Clark had an All-Ivy year in 2023 and has returned 24 punts for 988 yards this season, including one for 70 yards. Princeton is perfect on field goal attempts this season, with Sam Massick shooting everything within 29 yards and Jeffrey Sexton shooting everything further.

The series

• This will be the 106th meeting between the Big Red and the Tigers. Princeton has a 66-37-2 edge in the all-time series.

• The Tigers have won eight of the last nine contests, including four in a row at Schoellkopf Field. Cornell hasn't beaten Princeton since its 29-28 win in October 2017.

• Cornell has a 21-24-1 record at home against Princeton.

2024 Princeton head coach

Head Coach: Bob Surrace

Record at Princeton: 80-56 (14 seasons)

Overall record: 98-59 (16 seasons, two at West Conn)

Ivy League record: 53-40 (14 seasons)

2024 Princeton Football Information

2024 captains: offensive lineman Nicholas Hilliard, running back John Volker, defensive lineman Collin Taylor, offensive lineman Tommy Matheson and safety Mason Armstead.

2023 record: 5-5 (4-3 Ivy)

Home/Away/Neutral: 2-3/3-2/0-0

Ivy League Graduation 2023: 4th

Historical information on Princeton football

First year of football: 1869

All-time overall record: 859-420-50 (.665)

Overall Ivy League record: 263-208-5 (.558)